It could be suggested that the Miami Marlins are the early disappointment amidst the early stages of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. Heck, even people well immersed in the world of MLB like Grantland’s Jonah Keri and Michael Baumann took the Marlins to win the World Series in 2015.
The Marlins have only won three of their first 13 games and there are whispers that ownership is already suggesting changes might be imminent for the last placed NL East club. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has shown over his career within MLB that as he is not afraid to make swift changes.
During the 2003 season he relieved Jeff Torborg as manager. He replaced him with Jack McKeon and the team went onto win the World Series versus the New York Yankees.
Loria hired rookie manager Joe Girardi prior to the start of the 2006 season. Girardi finished one season in Florida with a record of 78-84 and despite being named NL Manager of the Year, was fired at the conclusion of the regular season, further exemplifying the volatility within the organization. He left Florida and he went back to familiar ground where he was an ex-catcher with the Yankees, eventually signing a deal to become manager following the 2007 retirement of Joe Torre. In 2009 against the Philadelphia Phillies, Girardi and the Yankees were crowned world champions.
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After Girardi’s departure from Miami, Fredi Gonzalez managed the Marlins from 2007-210. In June of 2010, Loria relieved Gonzalez of his duties and replaced him with interim bench boss Edwin Rodriguez. McKeon then returned for 90 games at the conclusion of the 2011 season. At the start of the 2012 season, the team coaxed 2005 World Series winning manager Ozzie Guillen out of Chicago. He guided the club for only one season, finishing the season with a 69-93 record. Guillen and his potty mouth were promptly fired at the end of the year despite three seasons remaining on his contract.
Former Marlins managers Joe Girardi and Ozzie Guillen were successful in their careers from within the dugout, albeit one after and one before their respective stints with the Marlins. The two both have resumes well known within baseball circles. Both vocal managers were relieved during their tenures in Miami after only one season. Loria has shown that he doesn’t like “laid back” managers and wants vocal “take no nonsense” approaches in the dugouts. However, there is also proof that vocal managers who have that “take no nonsense” work ethic can clash with the owner and also be shown the door by Loria.
Replacing managers in-season has been done many times across MLB. However, the Marlins are not even at the 20 game mark of this season. Could Loria be crazy enough to make a change? According to the Miami Herald newspaper, one name that is being kicked around as a replacement for manager Mike Redmond is Triple-A manager Wally Backman of the New York Mets affiliate Las Vegas 51s.
The Marlins had made a huge splash in the winter shoveling big bucks towards outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich. In November of 2014, the Marlins presented Stanton with a 13-year, $325 million contract. Stanton’s contract is the largest contract within all four of the major North American sports leagues. Yelich signed a four-year, $49.75 million contract on March 22. In December of 2014, they also acquired second baseman Dee Gordon from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gordon went to the East Coast to play in Miami along with pitcher Dan Haren and infielder Miguel Rojas.
Marlins prized asset Stanton spoke out last week. He expressed his view on the team’s lack of intensity. He went on to say that it has put an early damper on the season so far. The Marlins were projected as being a team capable of competing for a postseason seed this fall. That notion seems barely logical anymore.
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With sources swirling about Loria not happy as owner and displeased with the way the new season has panned out so far for the team in the sunny south, changes could be coming. The Marlins have had very vocal managers in the past under Loria’s watch. Guillen, Girardi, Gonzalez and McKeon all were such the type. With a lack of intensity permeating throughout the clubhouse, Redmond could be the scapegoat for laid back attitudes in the dugout, as things often trickle downstream.
At the conclusion of this season, baseball prognosticators had visions of the Philadelphia Phillies as cellar dwellers in the NL East. The Phillies and Marlins play against each other this week in a three game set. It might only be April, but this series could hold similar implications to a playoff one for Redmond’s outlook. The Marlins need to win two out of three or sweep this series against Philadelphia.
The MLB season is a long six month journey of highs and lows, peaks and valleys. In professional sports, success is dictated by how many games are won. Managers thrive in this game if they hoist a championship trophy at the end of the season. If they clash with owners or their team flounders and success is not achieved, they can be on the outside looking in. The Miami Marlins and Redmond are one of the frontrunners right now for that dubious status and it’s not even May.