There's a very simple explanation for why you never hear a sports announcer talk about the road-team advantage. It's because there is no such thing.
Playing on the road is harder than playing at home because, if for no other reason, most of the odds are stacked against you. Certainly most of the fans in the stands are against you (no jokes here about Dodgers fans at Petco Park, please), the weary travel is against you, and many feel even the umpires are against you. You sleep in a hotel bed, eat out, spend countless hours sitting around in your room doing next to nothing, then go out on the field and you can't even get a call to go your way.
On the other side, of course, is the home-team advantage. In this case, there is such a thing. At least there's supposed to be. You have all the comforts of home -- your family, your food, your bed, you have rest, you have fans backing everything you do, and those same calls the umps are making against you on the road are now going your way in your ballpark.
So somebody please explain to me why the Padres have a better record (15-13) on the road than they do at home (14-14) so far this season? This just is not the way it's supposed to be. And if the Padres are ever going to become the big-time team everyone's expecting over the next year or two, this is something that they're going to have to remedy. Of all the teams in Major League Baseball with winning records, only two -- the Rays and the Braves -- have better records when they play in unfriendly confines.
Oh, and of course, the Padres are in that category, too. Here's the deal in a nutshell: good baseball teams normally play around .500 ball away from home. And the Padres are a good team, and they have done that. Being 15-13 after trips to St. Louis, San Francisco, Arizona, Washington, Atlanta, Colorado, Los Angeles, Toronto and New York is a very respectable mark. The Friars have won five of the nine series' they've played on the road so far and they were even in another. (Their only series losses are dropping two out of three in L.A., Denver and the Big Apple).
Unfortunately, in order to be a great team, you have to dominate at home. And the Padres haven't been able to do that. Look around baseball at the teams with the best records: New York Yankees 19-11 at home, Tampa Bay 17-11, Minnesota 19-9, Houston 22-8, Philadelphia 20-11, Chicago Cubs 18-10, and Dodgers 22-7. These teams don't mess around and they send teams packing.
As noted earlier, the Padres are 14-14 at Petco Park. Not bad. But not good, either. And certainly not great. In nine series' at home, they've won only four. They had to sweep three from Arizona in their last home series just to get to the .500 mark. So what's the problem?
One could come up with a bunch of theories ranging from Petco is a tough place to hit all the way to San Diego is too nice and friendly of a place to play and visitors are just too comfortable here. But to me, it all comes down to attitude. You have to want to defend your home turf. Turn teams away. Get the feeling into their heads that they're going to come to San Diego, take their beating, and go home.
It's an attitude that is not too late to develop. Maybe this coming homestand, which starts tonight against the lowly Miami Marlins, will be the one that gets it turned around. The tough Phillies and lousy Nationals are also coming to San Diego as part of a 10-game stretch. The Padres can't be happy with 5-5 or 6-4. They need an 8-2 (or better) to let everybody know they're serious about contending this season.
One-third of this season already is in the books. The Padres have a chance to reach the postseason for the first time in 13 years. But they're going to have to get rid of that sour taste at home before they can.