Now we know why the Padres refused to grant the Brewers permission to have their Triple-A manager Pat Murphy join Craig Counsell’s overhauled MLB coaching staff last month: San Diego wanted to keep Murphy around to replace Bud Black.
Murphy has been named the Padres’ interim manager, stepping into the job after Black was fired in the middle of his ninth season. Black hasn’t had a winning record since 2010 and had an overall winning percentage of .477 in San Diego, but the front office overhauling the roster to create big and ultimately unrealistic expectations likely led to his taking the fall.
Murphy was Arizona State’s coach from 1995-2009, when he resigned amid NCAA investigations and took a job with the Padres. And now he is San Diego’s manager, at least through the end of this season.