SAD NEWS: San Francisco giants coach Bob Melvin was fired earlier today after confronting the….

Bob Melvin is his old self again. In his new position as manager of the San Francisco Giants, he’s relaxed, thoughtful, congenial. He wasn’t that way at times last season, his second and final managing the underperforming San Diego Padres.

The expectations and the stress in San Diego got to him, Melvin recently told Sportico as spring training in Arizona unfolded.

“You know, it was just a rough year, right?” Melvin said. “There were high expectations. We didn’t make the playoffs. We were a high payroll team. Just throwing money around doesn’t get you anything.”

Melvin came to the Padres off two managing jobs in Arizona and Oakland where the payroll and expectations were both exceedingly low. In San Diego, late owner Peter Seidler tried to build a World Series-winning team before he died. Following an NL Championship Series appearance in 2022, the Padres’ payroll rose to $256 million, third-highest in Major League Baseball last season and the highest, by far, in franchise history.

It didn’t work. San Diego finished 82-80, missing the playoffs by two games despite a feverish 19-7 finish. Seidler died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma shortly after the season.

“Peter was a beautiful man,” Melvin said. “He did everything he could. It was very frustrating. With the players we had we felt at one time or another it was going to take off. We did at the end, but it was just too late.”

Melvin, hired in 2022 to guide the Padres to a World Series title, admitted he didn’t hold up well under the pressure.

“The top three payrolls didn’t make it to playoffs last postseason,” Melvin said, referring to the New York Mets, New York Yankees and Padres. “Nothing is guaranteed by just spending money.”

Still, Melvin was set to fulfill his contract and manage the 2024 season in San Diego until then-Giants manager Gabe Kapler was let go and San Francisco came beckoning. Melvin grew up in the Bay Area, played for the Giants and managed the A’s. Padres general manager A.J. Preller let him out of the contract.

Melvin now has a big smile on his face.

“It’s my dream job,” Melvin said. “I just bring experience. This is my fifth managing job. It’s not often anyone gets that kind of opportunity. Certainly, there’s the pride of being home. To be able to manage the A’s and the Giants in one lifetime is pretty special.”

Now Melvin is back in a situation of percolating expectations, this time on a three-year contract with the Giants, which are coming off a 79-83 season and have made the playoffs only once since 2016.