For the second time in as many weeks, Don Mattingly has done something that would justify the Miami Marlins in firing him. Is his seat getting hot?
If manager Don Mattingly’s seat in the Miami Marlins dugout isn’t red-hot right now , it’s because the front office has given up and is looking ahead to 2023.
It really is that simple.
Honestly, even if the decision has been made to punt on 2022? That might not be enough to save Miami’s long-time skipper from being issued his walking papers. All of this has been made possible by three events that have happened since the calendar turned to June, with the most recent being Mattingly’s calamitous managing of the eighth inning of Miami’s 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night.
However, before getting into Monday night’s debacle, one has to go back to June 3rd, when the Phillies fired their own embattled manager in Joe Girardi. Before that point, an MLB manager hadn’t been fired during the season since 2018. A drought so long, that it had started to be treated as gospel in some circles that it just wouldn’t happen anymore. Gone were the days of the snap firing to rally the troops and shake-up the clubhouse. Another casualty of analytics, perhaps, and the increasing involvement of the front office in day to day, in game operations.
And then the Phillies went first, ousting Girardi.
Four days later, the Los Angeles Angels fired Joe Maddon. Since then, the cries amongst Chicago White Sox faithful to fire Tony La Russa have reached a fever pitch, to the point that it very much has the feel of a not if, but when situation in the Southside. Manger firing is suddenly very much back in vogue.
I really think there is something to this going first aspect. It’s a quick journey from revolutionary to reasonable. I’m not convinced you’d of found many analysts willing to take the over bet on two manager firings to start the season. Now? I think a majority might be willing to take the over on two manager firings going forward. For a variety of reasons, teams don’t want to be viewed as reactionary, as foolhardy, and especially not as old-fashioned. But I also think there’s a much simpler explanation for the nearly four year freeze on mid-season manager firing:
Covid.
Between poor PR optics and challenging personnel logistics, I’m just not convinced a team really could have fired someone the past two seasons. Definitely not in 2020 itself. Still a hard sell in 2021. No, the truth is very likely that teams never stopped being reactionary and impulsive at heart, and that some of those old-fashioned approaches to running an organization are still very much with us.
Which brings us back to Donnie Baseball, and his two blunders in a two-week stretch.
Last Tuesday, after a team meeting, Don Mattingly addressed the media to share the news that…the meeting didn’t resolve everything, and that he wouldn’t be surprised if the team came out “flat” that night. In the best light, it was an endearing moment of human honesty. In actuality, it was a major slip, one that was actually made worse when Miami came out and clobbered the visiting Nationals 12-2. Mattingly went from only looking completely lost and dejected, to also appearing to have no read on how his team would perform at all. This, by itself, was really bad. Fortunately for all concerned, Miami went on to sweep the cellar-dwelling Nationals, sweeping this lapse under the rug along with them.
Then came Monday’s late game management. Staff ace Sandy Alcantara had seen his pitch count run up to 98 pitches after seven innings. The decision was made to send him back out in a 2-1 game with the most dangerous part of the Phillies order coming up. Alcantara had earned this. As noted in the story link above, this was the seventh consecutive time Alcantara had thrown seven innings while surrendering 2 ER or less this season. Yet even this decision could be fairly questioned. If Miami had a better bullpen, maybe he never goes out for the eighth.
Out he went though. At which point, without question, you have to leave him out there until he loses the lead he’d worked so hard to protect. Instead, with two outs and a runner on third, Mattingly pulled his ace and played the matchups. Played the matchups with a soft tossing reliever, when a much better option was available. Alcantara was seething when he left, and would end up beating the bench with his glove with much more velocity than that soft tossing reliever achieved when he gave up the game tying hit immediately upon coming into the game.
This decision cost Miami the game. Technically, Philly didn’t win until the following inning, but that’s largely irrelevant. Not only did the decision cost Miami the game, but it very likely cost the Marlins something with the relationship between their manager and their ace. Which now makes it both Alcantara and Jazz Chisholm Jr. that might have some notes on how the team is being run right now.
None of which touches upon all the earlier moments in 2022 that had a few players and more than a few fans grumbling about Mattingly. Or all the moments in 2021. Or the fact that, quite frankly, the ninth inning choices didn’t go unquestioned either. After not being used in the eighth, closer Tanner Scott was available. Bass has been great in some high leverage situations this season, but in both 2022 and 2021, has just morphed into a completely unreliable pitcher in the game’s final frame.
Tonight, though? Indefensible. Especially not if turning this thing around and getting back to .500 and into the Wild Card race is the goal. Even if it isn’t, the Marlins will probably want time to evaluate any in-house options they have before making a commitment for 2023 and beyond. If troubles like these continue, I would be shocked if Don Mattingly is the manager of the Miami Marlins on July 1st. And if this last week on the road goes really poorly? Don’t rule out an interim manager taking over as soon as June 21st, when the team returns home to face the Rockies.
Whatever happens, June is going to be an interesting month for the Miami Marlins. Particularly for their manager.