The San Diego Padres wasted little time replacing Bud Black after firing him Monday, naming Pat Murphy as the interim manager for the remainder of the season, according to a release posted on the team’s Twitter account.
Murphy spoke of his new position after the club made the news official:
General manager A.J. Preller also spoke of the decision:
Murphy served previously as the manager for the organization’s Triple-A team in El Paso, Texas. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports offered more information on his background as a skipper:
Despite loading up on talent this offseason with the likes of Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Wil Myers, the Padres have stumbled out of the gate, starting the year 32-34 and falling to fourth in the competitive NL West.
Murphy will now have the tricky task of getting this team to play up to its ability.
Clearly, Black’s message was no longer resonating with the players. The hope in San Diego will be that Murphy—who certainly has a lengthy managerial career behind him—will be able to jolt this underachieving club to life.
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