PEORIA, Ariz. —
This isn’t about honing two-strike approaches, dissecting defensive shifts or scribbling down thoughts about rotations or lineups. Not now. Not yet.
Priority No. 1 … and No. 2 and No. 3 … for Padres manager Jayce Tingler is to hustle like a politician stumping on the campaign trail, shaking hands until his shoulder aches. Every minute counts. Every conversation matters.
No job looms as more critical, more time-sensitive, than proving one locker at a time that he’s worth playing for, worth believing in, worth the title he’s acquired for the first time at age 39.