Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Everyone saw what was coming this season for the San Diego Padres when they broke the bank and traded for everyone who was anyone to join their team this MLB season. We all had to see it very clearly. They were going all in as the new general manager was allowed to spend a ton of someone else’s money to try and buy the Padres into contention with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. As of Monday, June 15, it has now cost manager Bud Black his job.
There are a few problems with what has happened with this team so far. First of all, the Dodgers and Giants, while certainly spending plenty of money annually, were not built in one year. That makes it a bit silly for the Padres to think one high-spending offseason will even the playing field completely. Also, it is irresponsible to think that the manager is the main problem.
In the case of the Padres, there is only one thing that could really have been a problem for Black and that is managing the egos of the high-priced players to come on-board during the offseason. It certainly cannot be said to be his fault that the Padres have yet to really gel as a team since they really only started playing together a few months ago. Still, maybe someone new could spur the millionaires along a little bit.
So, sure, go ahead and fire the manager. But what happens when the Padres still cannot catch the Dodgers and the Giants over the long haul of the 2015 season? Who’s fault is it then? Maybe, just maybe the GM will have to rethink his position that a few players who excelled on other teams would magically make the Padres better and their old team worse with a simple switch of jersey.
The worst part about this deal is that if the Padres actually do improve over the next few months, it will be said to be because Black wasn’t a good manager and that just isn’t true. That’s the nature of MLB though, so the ball keeps rolling. Perhaps one day in the future when a GM throws a ton of money at a bunch of players and it doesn’t work, the GM will actually be held responsible. Who knows? It could happen.
David Miller is an MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
