How can it be a good thing when a last-place team, on pace for back-to-back 90+ loss seasons, extends their manager’s contract? How could a skipper with a career 198-236 record deserve further commitment? From the outside looking in, the San Diego Padres’ extension of Bud Black’s contract might raise some eyebrows, but a closer look reveals that Black has proven himself the right man for a tough job.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Buddy Black when I first met him in 2007. It’s almost impossible not to like Black, who is personable and engaging, remembers your name and looks you in the eye. But his early appearances at postgame press conferences were stilted to the point of pain. Never wanting to say one thing that could be construed as critical, Black would pause 20 seconds and pick out his words more carefully then a Supreme Court nominee. Was Black a leader, or just a company guy?That question remained open through most of 2007, when, as a first-time manager, Buddy stewarded a veteran team within a play-in game of a playoff berth. For much of that year, Black almost seemed along for the ride. But, the unfortunate events of one Sunday afternoon at Petco Park solidified for me that Black was a manager, not a pitching coach out of position.
Two-point takedown by Buddy
September 23rd, 2007, Rockies vs. Padres. First, Milton Bradley stepped on Mike Cameron’s hand, knocking the center fielder out of action for the rest of the year. Then, Bradley’s crazy clock finally struck twelve, as he went after umpire Mike Winters at first base. Black stepped in, jiu-jitsued Bradley to the ground, and in doing so shredded Milton’s knee ligaments.
This is where an overmatched manager would have panicked in some form or fashion, either tearing into Bradley, or Mike Winters, or his mom for making him take jiu-jitsu, someone. Black not only kept his cool personally, but kept his team from coming apart at the seams. A clubhouse that easily could have been torn apart by Cameron’s injury, Bradley’s tirade (and subsequent injury) and the fallout which followed instead stayed together. The Padres rebounded from their funk to win four straight games, and if not for a pair of Hoffman blown saves, Black would have steered them into the playoffs.
Since then, Bud Black has been tested in more ways than one. He was given a lousy ballclub in 2008, his owner got divorced, the payroll shrank by more than half, the prospects he was given to work with weren’t ready, his ace was dangled all winter in trade, his right fielder got tangled in an ugly lawsuit, and the front office underwent a power shift. A 2009 team which was constructed to fail started well and kept its head above water into June. When it finally, inevitably fell apart, Black kept humming along, never once losing his cool and ripping his team publicly.
Some in town have questioned Bud Black’s fire, but I’m sure this guy burns somewhere in there…he’s just an amazing compartmentalizer. What I see is a manager who has recognized the ground shifting under him and yet kept his balance. He inherited a veteran team in 2007 and two years later has a group fresh out of the minors, but Black is still smiling, still teaching, still the same.
Young pitchers like Mat Latos may hold the key to Black's future/AP Photo
As Chris and I discussed in a podcast earlier this week, things have been looking up for the hometown nine over the past week. In addition to swinging the bats better and pulling out back-to-back series wins over Cincinnati and Milwaukee, the Padres now seem to finally have a purpose. Peavy is gone, and the team has moved on. Young players that need playing time and experience such as Headley, Blanks, and Cabrera are being given room to grow and the encouragement to keep developing. A pitching staff that was once led by Peavy and Young is now just…well, young.
Bud Black will be given a chance to groom pitchers like Clayton Richard, Mat Latos, and Aaron Poreda. His success or failure on this count may be the determining factor as to whether or not he continues as Padres manager in 2011. But for this team, at this time, Bud Black has proven himself as the right man for the job, and his contract extension is another encouraging sign for what could be a promising future.
MORE: Listen to Chris and Craig talk about Black’s future in this 619 Sports podcast:
