When the San Diego Padres were taken down by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the divisional round, Manny Machado felt sour. The Padres’ silver slugger wasn’t too keen about how his team went out. After all, Los Angeles won the World Series against the New York Yankees. As a result, Machado had his eyes set on this NL West rival.
Safe to say that the rival hasn’t changed. It remains the Dodgers. However, he keeps reminiscing on the loss in the divisional round.
“I hate losing, I really do,’’ Machado tells USA TODAY Sports Bob Nightengale. “We had them. We had them. But we came up short. When you lose to the champions, it stings. You see them win it all, it’s like, “Damn, it could have been us right?’
“You soak it in, and after that, you got to flip the switch. You have no choice. But that’s the beauty of baseball. The stuff gets harder every year. That’s why I love this game so much; it keeps you hungry.’’
Machado understands the struggle. He hasn’t won a World Series, although appeared in 2018 with the Dodgers, funny enough. He didn’t win that one but has been yearning to get back. The taste of a World Series leaves Machado wanting more, and that echoes to his teammates.
Manny Machado wants the Padres revenge on the Dodgers
Revenge can come in all shapes and sizes. However, the Padres will have their work cut out for them. They have a barrage of All-Stars and even MVPs. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts are only a handful of the elite players they have. It allowed them to make it to the World Series.
Machado understands that better than anyone.
“The Dodgers are [bleeping] good, man,” Machado said. “But we’re excited to take them down. There’s nothing better than having a championship team in your division that you can knock off.’’
Even with Machado joking about being 100%, the Padres will need every bit of that. The NL West isn’t solely the Dodgers. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants made some intriguing moves this offseason. Last season, there was a possibility that four teams could’ve gotten in.
Machado echoed that sentiment.
“Our division now is by far the best division in baseball,’’ Machado said. “Hands down. We’ve got four teams who could make the playoffs.
Despite the increased competition, Machado has his eyes set on taking down one, and one team only. The Dodgers.
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