Melvin the man of the moment in Oakland

OAKLAND -- Bob Melvin arrived early to the Oakland Coliseum on Friday, sometime around 11 a.m. He knows the place well. A native of nearby Menlo Park, Melvin grew up going to games and concerts here. His uncle worked next door as a trainer for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

But getting to the visiting clubhouse?

"Honestly, I didn't know how," Melvin said. "Kind of had to find my way. It had been a while since I came in on that side."

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For 11 seasons, Melvin sat in the home dugout in Oakland, skippering the A's to six playoff appearances while winning two AL Manager of the Year Awards. After the first inning of the Padres’ 8-3 victory over his former team on Friday night, Melvin received a tribute on the Coliseum video board.

Never one to be comfortable as the center of attention, Melvin merely waved and touched the bill of his cap, before going straight back to work.

“We’re trying to win every single day for him,” said Fernando Tatis Jr. “But it matters a little bit more, especially with him coming back after a long time.”

When Melvin left Oakland to manage the Padres in October 2021, it mostly sent shockwaves through the baseball world. In the end, though, it made perfect sense. A's brass had informed Melvin that the organization would be headed in a different direction, focused on rebuilding. Melvin wanted a different challenge.

Nearly 500 miles south of Oakland, the Padres were a team focused very much on winning in the present. Quietly, Melvin interviewed and then agreed to a deal to become manager in San Diego. The opportunity to direct a team with immediate World Series ambitions was too good to pass up.

Which makes this 2023 season all the more frustrating. The Padres reached the National League Championship Series in Melvin's first year at the helm. They reinforced their roster and planned to take the next step in ’23.

Instead, Melvin arrived back in Oakland this weekend with his team sitting eight games below .500, well outside the playoff picture.

"It's hard," Melvin said. "Probably the hardest [season] I've had because of the expectations that we had as a team. I feel responsible. I feel accountable for what goes on here. So I think everybody's disappointed some, certainly myself included."

With 14 games remaining, the Padres aren’t yet prepared to call their 2023 season. (Though their recent decisions to shut down Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove for the season suggest otherwise.) So what’s left to play for?

“Win games,” Melvin said. “Because this has been a disappointing season for us. There were a lot of expectations here, and we haven't lived up to them. We've got to continue to play hard and try to win as many games as we can.

“We’re not eliminated at this point. We’d have to basically run the table. But as long as that carrot’s still out there, it’s our job to go out there and play the best baseball we possibly can.”

On Friday night at least, they lived up to that standard. Tatis hit an opposite-field homer and reached base four times. Seth Lugo pitched six quality innings. José Azocar launched a three-run homer, the first of his career in his 290th career plate appearance.

Still, barring a miracle run, the Padres’ season appears destined to end far sooner than anyone envisioned. Given the lofty expectations, questions have arisen about Melvin’s future in San Diego. Really, questions have arisen about nearly every aspect of the organization.

On Friday, the San Diego Union-Tribune published a piece about the team’s clubhouse culture and chemistry. Manny Machado was at the center of those questions. Speaking pregame, Melvin took exception to that, defending his star third baseman who has been playing hurt for most of the past month. Say what you will about the players, Melvin contended, the lack of success should fall at his feet.

“There's stuff written today about leadership here, and ultimately, I’m the leader,” Melvin said. “So I have to feel accountable for what has transpired here. You always have players as leaders. But it's me that's the ultimate leader here. So it falls on me, as far as leadership goes, that, unfortunately, we're in the spot that we're in.”

Which is, assuredly, far from where Melvin envisioned when he left Oakland for San Diego nearly two years ago.