Hader and the haters

Of course it would not go according to plan, not immediately. They’re the Padres.

They added to their virtual trophy case by winning the Trade Deadline World Series, to go with their assorted Winter World Series hardware. They gave Washington a Marshall Plan package of kids in order to get outfielder Juan Soto, and they gave Milwaukee a more limited haul to get lefty reliever Josh Hader.

Of the two, Hader was the more immediate fix. Few relievers have ever been as impossible as Hader was in Milwaukee. He had a sterling 0.882 WHIP in his six years there, with an average of 15.4 strikeouts per nine innings. In 2021 his opponents hit .128 and slugged .193, and in 2019 he struck out 47.8 percent of the men he faced.

Hader reached the 400-strikeout mark faster than any other pitcher in MLB history. In 2020 he was the first to begin a season with 12 hitless appearances.

San Diego gave up its own slumping closer, Taylor Rogers, in the deal, but surely Hader would patch the team’s most tender spot and let the Padres glide into the playoffs.

Instead, it took Hader two games to bring out the boos from perhaps the most placid fan base in baseball.

When Hader gave up three runs in the ninth against San Francisco on Aug. 9 (in a game San Diego won), he was kicked upstairs into the less consequential innings, and the Padres remained an unsteady sixth in the six-team playoff matrix, a game and a half ahead of Milwaukee.

They end the season with nine home games against teams with little incentive (if the Dodgers haven’t already nailed down the first-overall seed by then). Of course, Hader might prefer a more impartial jury, since he has given up six earned runs in six outings for San Diego, for a 12.46 ERA.

Hader’s slide began in Milwaukee, where he made it clear he wanted to pitch only one inning at a time. He is making $11 million this year with one year of arbitration to come, before free agency. Milwaukee figured it could function just as well with ex-Rookie of the Year Devin Wiliams handling the eighth and Rogers the ninth. Then they went 1-5 against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati with bullpen betrayals in three of those.

But as one scout said last week, “There’s only one Mariano Rivera,” and even he got touched up when the Yankees were eliminated in 1997 and 2001.

Relief pitching is the most confusing and least predictable part of the game. It’s a bit like goaltending in the NHL. When the confidence goes, your clothes might as well follow.

Take the past 10 seasons and look at the 10 pitchers who have had the most save opportunities in each. Hader is on that list in each of the past four seasons. The only closer with more is Kenley Jansen with eight, seven of which were in the service of the Dodgers. This year he is closing for Atlanta.

Of the top 10 busiest closers this season, Jansen, Hader and the Mets’ Edwin Diaz are the only holdovers from last season. Some of that is the function of how much their teams win, but it’s rare for a closer to be healthy and consistent enough in three or four consecutive seasons. If the health is there, one would expect him to figure out the flaw and be monstrous again. Hader is still flinging it at 97 mph with the same angular intimidation. It’s just not planting fear anymore. Or maybe he’s giving away his pitch selection. Who knows?

If the National League playoffs are to be determined by the last line of the bullpen, it’s difficult to believe in anyone but the Mets. Diaz has given up 30 hits in 50 innings with 94 strikeouts, and he has allowed eight runs all season.

Craig Kimbrel has been far too turbulent for the neuroses of Dodger fans, with 66 walks and hits in 43 and one-third innings. Promoting Evan Phillips could be the answer, and conceivably the Dodgers could stash the fearsome Dustin May in the pen if they’re confident in a rotation that won’t have Walker Buehler.

But why predict? In 2019 Washington gasped its way into the postseason with the most punchdrunk bullpen in the big leagues. Then, with Daniel Hudson borrowing Rivera’s cape, the Nationals were 6-for-7 in saves, struck out 52 batters in 50 innings, and won their first and only World Series.

The Padres have played nine World Series games in a history that began in 1969 and have won one. Despite years of hype about the good times to come, they still seem flawed and haunted.

Fans are frustrated by nature, but they should know that booing the sight of Josh Hader is about as effective a remedy as throwing your cellphone against the window. Don’t transfer a 53-year ache to the guy who just got here.