There’s a difference between noise and signal, and San Diego just crossed that line. The Padres didn’t merely lose a manager this week; they exposed a seam that runs through the top of the organization.
When the dust from Mike Shildt’s resignation settled, the real story was still upstairs —how much runway AJ Preller has left and who’s actually holding the keys. For a franchise that’s sold out the ballpark, sold hope, and sold star power, the question is suddenly brutal in its simplicity: does all that splash still have the trust of the people writing the checks?