The curse of Bud Black
The Padres have found a foe in Bud Black and the Colorado Rockies. Team records be damned, the Padres can't seem to solve this puzzle.
Look, I have no other explanation for what has happened and continues to happen every time the San Diego Padres take on the Colorado Rockies. There must be a witch and a curse involved. It’s the only thing that makes sense.
Here’s a stat for you:
The Colorado Rockies have a .488 winning percentage since Buddy Black became their manager in 2017, after he was unceremoniously fired by A.J. Preller and replaced by Pat Murphy. But, against the Padres, they have a .569 winning percentage.
As a matter of fact, outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Bud Black’s team has never posted a losing record against his former team. Here is the Rockies’ record against the Padres by year:
2017: 12-7
2018: 11-8
2019: 11-8
2020: 3-7
2021: 11-8
2022: 5-2
Yup, Bud Black definitely paid a witch to put a curse on the Padres whenever they’re playing against the Rockies. Or maybe at all times. Who’s to say?
Heading to Colorado, the Padres were arguably at the high point of this still-young season. They had kicked the crap out of the Cubs for a 4-game sweep, the pitching was on track (and we assumed Gore’s bad start was a blip), and the offense was starting to do some real damage.
In three games against the Rockies, the Padres scored 11 runs to Colorado’s 23. MacKenzie Gore’s blip of a bad start became a pattern. And Manny Machado sprained his ankle.
The Padres are now without their two best players, their ROY candidate seems to be falling apart in a hurry, and now they come home needing Yu Darvish to stop yet another losing streak caused by the Rockies.
This hurts.
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