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BOB NIGHTENGALE
MLB

Nightengale's Notebook: New Padres manager Bob Melvin finally has what he needs to win it all

Hamstrung by Oakland's financial limitations for 11 years, baseball's best manager now finds himself in a perfect situation in San Diego.

Corrections/clarifications: A previous version of this column contained inaccuracies that were clarified in Major League Baseball’s schedule release last week.

PEORIA, Ariz. — It was like looking out of your living room window every day, seeing your gorgeous new Mercedes-Benz sitting in the driveway, but still waiting for the dealership to deliver the keys.

It has been nearly five months since Bob Melvin was hired by the San Diego Padres to be their manager and only now, after the 99-day lockout, can he finally run his team.

Melvin, who signed a three-year, $11.5 million contract with the Padres after leaving the Oakland A’s, will be the best acquisition the Padres make all year.

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