ARLINGTON -- After finishing up their three-game road series against the Rangers, the Padres' next set away from home is against the Athletics, starting July 3, which means manager Andy Green will have to get right back into the mindset of an AL skipper.
Before Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Green opined on the difference between managing with the designated hitter versus with pitchers hitting -- and he prefers the latter.
"Maybe that makes me a traditionalist, but I enjoy the National League game," Green said. "I love managing the National League game. It's definitely more fun for a manager. A lot more decisions to make, a lot more impact on the game. I enjoy that."
Green doesn't get much satisfaction out of Interleague road games in which he doesn't need to worry about how to handle pinch-hitting for pitchers, double switches and the other idiosyncrasies of NL managing. It's not necessarily easier, he said.
"There's far less things to concern yourself with … it's definitely a slower-paced game for a manager," Green said of AL rules. "I have said [it's like] checkers and chess before, but you can still get screw this up pretty easily, too, if you let yourself. I've been beat in checkers before, too."
One complaint NL teams often lodge about playing under AL rules is the fact that AL teams build their teams with DHs, while NL teams typically have to use a bench player in the role. But Green views it differently.
"I don't see it as a disadvantage. I see it probably more of the other way," Green said. "American League clubs, now their pitchers have to hit, and you can do it right. Against Oakland … we turned pitcher at-bats into double plays because we can challenge them aggressively because they don't get at-bats very often."
Green lauds Margot's impressive at-bat
A day after the Padres rallied for a 3-2 victory with a three-run eighth inning off reliever Jake Diekman, Green continued to heap praise on Manuel Margot for his 13-pitch at-bat that resulted in a popout but rattled the Rangers lefty and set up the comeback.
"It changes everything when a guy has to go through a 13-pitch at-bat, especially after he walks the leadoff guy," Green said. "And then Manny goes up there patient and takes a couple pitches, ends up 0-2 and then fouls off eight or nine straight pitches. That definitely impacted the quality of the execution after that. It gave us pitches to hit. It won the game for us. I love the fact that his teammates saw that and appreciated that and responded to that very favorably."