MLB: Five Managers on the Hot Seat

Most teams are only as good as their coaching, and it’s evident that some need a new manager. Heading into the final stretch of the season, we’ll take a look at some of the MLB managers on the hot seat.

Yes… believe it or not, managing a Major League Baseball club is much harder than submitting your lineup in fantasy baseball. Believe it or not, managers do more than set the lineup, decide when to pull the pitcher, and determine when it’s acceptable to lose his mind on an umpire.

I assume the life of an MLB manager is a fun one, but also extremely stressful and taxing. While some managers can be very good coaches and have good leadership and mentoring skills, it’s not easy to make your team successful.

Most managers play the game, then coach for many years, and if they’re lucky, they get the chance to manage their own major league ball club. Once getting that chance, it’s not a certainty that he’ll get to stick around.

In fact, out of the 30 current MLB managers, 12 of them have worked as managers for other teams and were either fired or let go before coming to their current team. (Note: John Gibbons was fired as as the manager of the Blue Jays in 2008, and rehired in 2013.)

It’s easy to see that not all MLB managers stick around for the long haul, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad coaches. Terry Francona won two World Series in Boston before being fired, and now manages the first-place Cleveland Indians. The same can be said about Bruce Bochy, the manager with the most experience in the league.

There are numerous reasons a manager can begin to wither in their current position. Usual occurrences are that a manager is too comfortable in his role, the roster just isn’t great, or he’s lost control of the clubhouse.

Now that we are officially underway in the final months of the season, we will take a look at some of the managers on the hot seat, and who may be unemployed come October.

Next: Safe for now

Safe for now

• Paul Molitor

The Twins manager has certainly seen major regression from his successful rookie managing campaign in 2015. A year ago the Twins won 83 games, but now are 41-64 and 20 games back in the American League Central.

The only reason I consider Molitor safe is because it’s just his second year, and he had such great success in his first year with a team that wasn’t great. I expect Molitor to be given at least another year.

• Andy Green

Andy Green didn’t take over the Padres in a very favorable time. Although “rock star” GM A.J. Preller has made moves left and right over the last two years, the Padres are still very much in a rebuilding stage.

Green’s Padres are 15 games under .500 and have no chance of contending this season, but it’s not all on Green. He’s actually done some very good things this season, one that includes the development of Wil Myers.

• Bob Melvin

The five-year Athletics manager isn’t having a very good season, but he doesn’t have much reason to worry about his job status with Oakland. Billy Beane hired him in 2011, and since then has led them to three winning seasons.

Melvin is considered a good manager around MLB, and the Athletics would make no real progress by firing the manager who has lead his club to a 47-58 record this season.

Next: Chip Hale

Chip Hale

Just a week ago it didn’t look like Chip Hale would be the manager of the last-place Diamondbacks for long, but he has managed to hold onto his job.

There were reports that Hale was going to be fired last Monday night and would be replaced by Phil Nevin. Those rumors never came to fruition, but Hale is still not safe. The D-Backs are the fifth worst team in MLB, and have seen total meltdowns from promising players.

Hale wasn’t able to get Shelby Miller on track, and now the former All-Star finds himself in AAA. In addition, Hale’s not been able to overcome injuries to Zack Greinke and A.J. Pollock.

I certainly don’t blame Hale for all the Diamondbacks’ problems. Many of those hang on the shoulders of Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart, but he seems to be the scapegoat. The Diamondbacks may not be good for a couple of seasons, and they might think about changing the environment and culture without Hale.

Arizona fans aren’t happy with Hale, and they aren’t happy with losing. Since last season, Hale has a .457 winning percentage in Arizona, and it looks like his time might be running out in the fans’ eyes. Sports Illustrated projected an 81-win season, a now close to impossible feat.

Chip Hale might not deserve to be fired, but it doesn’t always work out that way. It’ll be interesting to see if the D-Backs make a switch by the end of the season. At the very least, it seems that come October they may be holding interviews.

Next: Kevin Cash

Kevin Cash

Life can’t be easy for Kevin Cash. Imagine your big brother was the Varsity QB all four years, went to Harvard, and became a millionaire, and now you’re having to step into his shoes. Joe Maddon changed the culture and the entire organization that was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays into the World Series contending Rays and then fled to Chicago.

It was understandable that Tampa would not be as good as Maddon’s Rays, but they have been underachievers for the better part of this year.

Boasting numerous young pitchers like Chris Archer, Matt Moore (now a Giant), Drew Smyly, Jake Odorizzi and Blake Snell, the Rays shouldn’t have had many pitching issues throughout the season. However, the team ranks 16^th in team ERA and 18^th in opponent batting average.

The Rays have been noncompetitive in the AL East, sitting in dead last, 20 games under .500, and 10.5 games back of the fourth-place Yankees. The Rays have put up a pathetic 7-17 record against teams in their division, and it looks like time is running out for Cash.

Cash hasn’t been able to inspire much this season and the Rays have gone on numerous losing streaks, with their longest building up to 11 games. Sports Illustrated predicted at least 84 wins and a third-place finish, but that’s a pipe dream at this point in the season. Cash doesn’t seem like the guy for the job in Tampa.

Next: John Farrell

John Farrell

For fans that don’t follow the Red Sox that closely, this may come as a surprise given the Red Sox are 57-46 and are in the heat of a playoff race. But, if you check in Boston, the manager is not very popular. Just take a look at Twitter and the trending hashtag…

Farrell has made numerous odd decisions over the course of the year. It seems that he doesn’t know when to pull a pitcher or even when to start warming one up. He’s been criticized for his pinch-hitting tactics and poorly-timed days off.

What is most concerning about Farrell is that he was once the Red Sox pitching coach and hasn’t had much success in that department over the last two years. This year, the staff is 20^th in ERA, and I guess compared to last years’ 25^th ranking, it’s an improvement.

Some may argue that the Red Sox would never fire a manager in the middle of a playoff race, but it’s been done before. Just ask Ned Yost. He was canned by the Brewers in 2008 with 12 games remaining in the season, and they ended up making the playoffs.

The Red Sox have a good back-up option in Torey Lovullo who led the team to a 28-21 record last season when Farrell battled cancer. Lovullo took the Red Sox on a six-game winning streak toward the end of the season and made them one of the better teams of the second half.

If the Red Sox can continue to stay in the race, Farrell’s firing may not be imminent, but if they miss the playoffs, he most likely will be unemployed come October.

Next: Mike Scioscia

Bryan Price

Bryan Price certainly hasn’t had an easy go of things since taking over the Reds in 2014. He has a combined record of 172-241, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much better this season. The Reds are 42-62 this season, and won’t competing for anything. Last season, they were 64-98 and ended 34 games back of the Cardinals.

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Before you say, “But they trade away all their good players, it’s not his fault,” you should realize something very important. HE HAD A CHANCE TO COACH THOSE VERY GOOD PLAYERS AND DID A BAD JOB. This seems like a popular defense for coaches to go to, but it really makes no sense.

At one point, Bryan Price had Todd Frazier, Johnny Cueto, Aroldis Chapman, Jay Bruce and Joey Votto all on the same squad. In addition, the Reds also had Brandon Phillips, Homer Bailey, Zack Cozart, Devin Mesoraco and Billy Hamilton.

Price has coached six different All-Stars with nothing to show for it. Billy Hamilton’s full potential has gone untapped, and Joey Votto won’t be able to compete at the level he is at for much longer. The Reds have some good prospects in the farm system, but I question whether or not the Reds will entrust Price with mentoring, maturing and developing them.

Next: Trade Deadline Losers

Price is probably still lucky to have gotten a chance in 2016 after his infamous media blowup in 2015. Price used the “F” word 77 times while berating the Cincinnati media for sharing private information about the status of his players. Part of being a manager is dealing with media and being the face of the franchise, something Price has done poorly.