Padres Week in Review May 18-24th: Black’s Time Ending Soon?

Manager change coming soon for the Padres? Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Opening Statement

It is now safe to say that this years Padres squad is not meeting expectations. Their pitchers lead the league in home runs allowed. The offense has had more nights than not where they show their incredible potential, but they also have had quite a few shutouts. The team’s defense, while better in the outfield than many expected, has still contributed to quite a bit of unearned runs. Just ask Andrew Cashner.

So as May comes to a close, the questions comes down to what GM A.J. Preller can do to turn things around and light a fire under the team. Rumors abound about a new shortstop as Alexi Amarista struggles to hit his weight – and he only weighs 160 pounds. The bullpen has righted the ship and though Craig Kimbrel has struggled more than he usually does, he is still doing a fine job closing out games for the Padres. The next logical person to take the blame and fall is manager Bud Black. Black of course has been the manager since 2007 and is tied with Bruce Bochy for second in longest tenure of MLB managers behind Angels manager Mike Scoscia. He has outlasted several ownership and GM changes but has no playoff appearances to show for it. With previous teams it was easy to say he didn’t have the talent, but with the shopping cart of talent delivered this off season to the Padres, those expectations are drastically different.

With that backdrop, how would the Padres respond after losing 3 of 4 to the Nationals heading into this week?

Padres Week in Review May 18-24th: Black’s Time Ending Soon?

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