SAN DIEGO – Bud Black understood full well the expectations to win now with his remade, star-studded roster — and with a new front office, too.
The Padres fired Black on Monday, with San Diego sitting in third place in the loaded NL West at 32-33. The Padres never reached the playoffs during Black's tenure after he took over when Bruce Bochy departed to manage the San Francisco Giants in 2007.
The Padres said they would immediately begin a search for an interim manager. Former Padres outfielder and current bench coach Dave Roberts was set to manage San Diego as it hosted the Athletics for a two-game series at Petco Park starting Monday night before going to Oakland for two games.
Black inherited an entire new outfield during the club's offseason overhaul, one Matt Kemp called the best outfield in baseball.
All three came in trades during General Manager A.J. Preller's winter frenzy. All three within 48 hours: Kemp in a deal with the reigning NL West champion Dodgers, 2013 AL Rookie of the Year Wil Myers from the Rays and Justin Upton swapped by Atlanta.
Preller also traded for All-Star catcher Derek Norris in a deal with Oakland, then brought in free agent pitcher James Shields on a $75 million, four-year deal.
"I was excited," Black said during spring training, referring to Preller' big moves.
Black, 57, has a 649-713 managerial record after pitching parts of 15 major league seasons. He was named 2010 National League manager of the year after leading the Padres to 90-72 record, the most wins by San Diego since a franchise-record 98 in 1998. But the Padres lost the division title on the final day of the season when they lost at San Francisco, and the Giants went on to win the World Series.
