Kouz is Bud Black's Invention

We at FF find ourselves looking forward to Kevin Kouzmanoff's at bats more than any other Padre these days. His story is nothing short of amazing - especially in San Diego. Batting just .108 on May 10, Kouzmanoff would have certainly been relegated to the bench under former skipper Bruce Bochy. Sure, there was a time and place where we bought into the myth that Bochy was perhaps the best manager in the league; what with his 8 3/4 cap size, you almost have to think there's extra information floating around in his head. But in the last portion of his 11 year tenure in San Diego, FF beat writers realized a major flaw in Bochy's style was his massive preference for veterans over rookies (perhaps call Sean Burroughs Syndrome (SBS)?). We certainly aren't against trotting solid veterans out on the field when you have them, but at the same time you have to be able to inject some youth into your lineup. Since being traded from the club, there have been many occasions where Xavier Nady would have been a solid starter in left field. Sure - Mike Cameron came to the club for Nady, but GM Kevin Towers surely could have worked out another avenue to bring Cameron to the club. But KT actually did what he had to - moved a player that Bochy never seemed to care for and brought in the kind of player that fit his manager's style. You might point to Josh Barfield or Adrian Gonzalez as flaws in our "Bochy dislikes rookies theory" - okay, let's take a look:

• Josh Barfield: If the '06 Friars hadn't been completely dysfunctional at 3rd base (i.e., if Mark Bellhorn had managed to bat above the Mendoza line), then Geoff Blum, Bellhorn or Todd Walker would have replaced Barfield, at least in a platoon relationship
• Adrian Gonzalez: Don't recall how upset Gonzalez was at the end of Spring Training '06 that he was being passed over for Ryan Klesko? Had Klesko not been hurt, who knows how that would have gone down.
  

The only guy that might discredit the argument is Khalil Greene. But even Bruce Bochy could see that Greene could bat .100 and still be an vast improvement for the pitching staff in Petco - and that was before Bochy became afflicted with SBS.

So what's this have to do with Kevin Kouzmanoff again? Simply stated, Bud Black's patience has resulted in a .308 batting average since May 10th. Kouzmanoff has been the major cog in the Padres offense for many games this season. We at FF are glad to see a little faith from a manager into an overly-qualified front office and scouting staff whose opinions should be part of the daily decision making process. Playoffs or not - Bud Black's first season has been solid. We're not sold on his bullpen management at all times - but that's for another article...