Padres A Year After Bud Black Firing

The Padres fired long time manager Bud Black after 65 games in 2015. The move was supposed to kick start the season and save it from ending badly. It didn’t – what has changed in a year?

This year the Padres through Saturday were 26-37 and in dead last. When Black was fired they were 32-33, so just about the same number of games. The difference though in expectation is what makes it stand out.

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The jury is still out on new manager Andy Green. He seems to be liked by the players and media, and has shown he can get fiery when needed. Black was the third most tenured manager in baseball at the time of his firing (the other two, Bruce Bochy and Mike Scoscia are still managing) but was also as reported by Grantland.com only one of three managers since 1900 to keep his job for at least 8 years without making it to the playoffs or winning more than 90 games in a season.

It looks like the Executive team of Mike Dee and Ron Fowler are not going to be as patient if the shipping out of James Shields is any indication. On the flip side, they also were able to put in more money than any of the three ownership groups Black worked under. GM A.J. Preller has shown he can make trades and build up a farm system – though he has yet to do both at the same time.

Early reports on the Padres draft is pretty positive as far as value goes, part of Preller’s strategy as he stockpiled picks even when he could’ve gotten other prospects by trading free agents in waiting Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy last season. Will the picks pan out?

Next: Padres Day 2 Draft Results

The Padres need to figure out a plan of attack – something they didn’t have last year when they fired Bud Black. Interim manager Pat Murphy came in and was unable to get any more out of his players as the Padres limped to their worst finish in several seasons despite the money infusion.

At this point 2016 isn’t looking much better, but certainly Manager Andy Green or GM A.J. Preller’s job appear safe. Just how long the Padres can avoid the trigger finger if 2017 looks the same at this point in the season will be an interesting scene to watch unfold.