Padres new manager: "I am willing to take this job."

On November 3, the San Diego Padres named Arizona Diamondbacks third-base coach Andy Green as the team's new manager, following the dismissal of interim manager Pat Murphy, who was filling in for the fired Bud Black. On November 4, Green spoke with SD on the QT about the experience.

"[Diamondbacks General Manager] Dave Stewart called me into his office and said, 'Andy, as you know, a team has to have a manager. Otherwise, you end up throwing away a World Series victory by not pulling your starting pitcher when he walks a guy to lead off the ninth inning, the way the Mets did in Game Five this year. That said, I have good news and bad news. San Diego called, and they want you to be their manager. I'll leave you to decide which part of that is which.'"

At first, Green was hesitant, "for obvious reasons. But then I thought about it a bit. San Diego has, hands down, the nicest weather of any town I've ever worked in since I started coaching. Back in 2012, I was up in Missoula; we had a blizzard on opening day. Then it was down to Mobile, where a pitcher can throw a spitter just by letting the humidity build up on the ball between pitches. Finally, I wound up with the Diamondbacks, and if you think this past October was hot in San Diego, that's because you've never had to spend time outdoors in Phoenix. So there's that. Plus, I'm young, which means I'm probably resilient enough to bounce back from whatever happens, and I can blame any real disasters on my relative inexperience."

"All in all," concludes Green, "I can say with absolute honesty that I am…that I'm looking forward to…that I will be the San Diego Padres manager for next season. Or some of it, anyway."