Padres keep Bud Black through 2015

Monday afternoon, the Padres made a commitment to the future by picking up Bud Black's 2014 and 2015 club options, ensuring that the second-longest tenured skipper in team history will be around for the next three seasons.

Personally, I love this decision.  The Padres are an up and coming team with some exciting young talent and the last thing the organization should do is disrupt its continuity.  Buddy is the portrait of cool.  He never gets too high, nor too low.  He has the respect and trust of the clubhouse, two very important aspects of leadership.

Now, I know there are going to be those out there that would love nothing more than for Buddy to leave town and never come back, citing the fact that Padres have finished with losing records in 4 of his 6 seasons as manager.  I have the feeling that the same people that think Buddy is a bad manager based on his winning percentage are also the same people that thought Mat Latos was a lousy pitcher in 2011 because of his 9-14 record.  Win-loss records, particularly in baseball, don't always tell the whole story.  Regardless of Latos' mediocre record in his final season with the Padres, he had a very good ERA of 3.47, while 9 of his 14 losses occurred when the offense was only able to muster 1 or 0 runs to support his efforts.  The same can be said of Bud Black's record as manager....it isn't all on him.  It was only three seasons ago when Black was named NL Manager of the Year as he guided an overachieving Padres squad to a 90 win season and a 2nd place finish in the NL West.  The fact is that Bud still has not had a team that was talented enough to be considered a serious contender for the postseason since he took over the ballclub in 2007.  That could be changing in the very near future as Josh Byrnes, with the support of an exciting new ownership group, look to shore up the rotation and possibly add a couple of key pieces to the offense.  The Padres, and the fans, owe it to Bud Black to see what he can do with a formidable lineup and a healthy pitching staff.