The Marlins fired manager Fredi Gonzalez and two coaches, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Edwin Rodriguez, who had been managing the organization's Triple A affiliate, will replace Gonzalez as interim manager, according to ESPN.com. The 34-36 Marlins also replaced coaches Carlos Tosca and Jim Presley with Brandon Hyde and John Mallee.
Gonzalez has a 276-279 record in three-plus seasons managing the perennially low-payroll Marlins. Earlier in the season he and superstar Hanley Ramirez attracted national attention after Gonzalez benched Ramirez for lack of hustle.
Rodriguez, who turns 50 this summer, has led the New Orleans Zephyrs to a 33-37 record so far this year. It's his second season managing the Zephyrs and his eighth in the Marlins organization. Rodriguez played in parts of three seasons for the Yankees and Padres from 1982-85.
Like the manager he replaced, Joe Girardi, Gonzalez is well-respected and other teams will presumably be interested in his services. Jon Heyman of SI.com has often suggested that Gonzalez, a longtime Braves coach, could replace Bobby Cox in Atlanta in 2011. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes (via Twitter) that Gonzalez "immediately moves to top of the list of potential Cox replacements."
Wow… New Braves special assistant?
Just a shameful move. Fredi restored discipline to a team of young hot heads with bloated egos. The Fish firing needed to be done on the next rung up the ladder.
truly, the fish stinks from the head down
Well I was not expecting this to say the least, umm get Willie Randolph, maybe?
Willie Randolph is unavailable…he is the Bench Coach for Milwaukee
Pirates need to fire Russell and hire Fredi!
Only three games shy of .500 despite those working conditions. I don’t agree with all his tactical moves, but he deserved better.
Happy to know Florida threw in the towel before the all star break .. makes Atlanta’s next managerial choice after Cox retires REALLY easy
Is there any chance that he’s NOT managing the Braves in 2011?
Yeah, if someone else hires him before the end of the year.
Wow. Just wow. I don’t get this at all. I had been saying since before the season started that Ned Yost would be the next manager of the Braves, but now I have to reconsider. I just don’t understand this from the Marlins side
This is not throwing in the towel, the Marlins WILL be a better team without Fredi. He’s a horrible manager and Saturday just further proved that more.
Horrible manager? He lead your team to a second place finish last season … he threw the hammer down when your arrogant SS threw a hissy fit for not hussling and getting benched for it. Florida management should be ashamed they let a good guy go .. let the plummet begin for the fish
I do respect Fredi for benching Hanley…but I found him to be a somewhat poor manager during games…his management of the bullpen specifically has been questionable…..and I personally don’t like how he does basically everything “by the book”
He was not the best manager, but expecting the playoffs with Loria’s budget constraints is kind of ridiculous. I think Loria has a hardon for Hanley (the bling, etc.), thus, the firing. There are worse managers out there – Bob Geren, in particular, but also Bochy and Yost.
Any sports fan should know you don’t need the highest payroll or even the best players to win games and championships. The 2010 Marlins should be leading the NL East, especially with the Phillies faltering so much this season. Who wouldn’t have a hardon for a stud like Hanley? Yes he has a ego, yes he deserved to be benched and disciplined for his play a few weeks ago. I think most fans respect Fredi for benching Hanley, but that was probably the only positive out of him this season.
The Marlins have under achieved this year and it looks like they’re making positive strides to get back over the .500 mark. Getting rid of Fredi, Tosca, Presley, Sosa and Pinto should bring a smile to Fish fans everywhere.
The only thing he did correctly this year was the Hanley situation, but it shouldnt save his job. he was on the hot seat all year long but hat bought him some time. he is an awful manager who does everything by the book and doesnt try anything new. no passion, no fire. The second place finish last year was all due to the talent of the team and the pieces beinfest put together. Fredi had nothing to do with that. ACTUALLY, if Fredi made moves like a man, and pulled some guys sooner or gave guys more chances in the pen, we would have won 6 more games and made the playoffs. One great example, the team gives him Arthur Rhodes, and he DOESNT USE HIM.
And yes Rhodes was in 08, but its something im STILL angry about
This makes no sense to me. He was able to coach his team to second place last year, despite managing a team that won’t sign a big league player. How can they expect to be so cheap and stay competitive? They were the only team in baseball last offseason that didn’t sign a player to a major league deal, and somehow it’s the manager’s fault? Fredi did what he could with what he had, and did a pretty good job with it. I think he’ll be happy to manage a team that provides him with actual players.
Marlins won despite Fredi. Don’t let the numbers fool you, this team is much better than what they have done the past 2 seasons.
If anything I’d say that they’re worse than what they’ve done the past two years. Maybe they can have the same record as they had last year, but there is no way that that will be good for 2nd place again. Maybe 3rd, most likely 4th place this year. But it wasn’t the manager’s fault.
Some how, you really believe that.
wat
You win Hanley
This happened to be a very good decision and let me explain to everyone out there who does not follow the Marlins on a consistent basis.
First of all he is a lousy motivator and he does not get his team fired up to play. At times during the season they have showed a lack of confidence as a result of the underdog mentality they have because of their payroll. The Marlins need a more fiery manager who can light a fire when the team is not meeting expectations and playing up to their potential. He was basically a lame duck.
Despite this season’s terrible bullpen as a result of the Front Office not doing their due dilligence during the offseason to put together good arms, Gonzalez has been mismanaging the bullpen from the very beginning. I don’t blame him for this year’s bullpen debacle, but that still does not dismiss the fact that he was using the wrong guys in the wrong situations.
Also his lineups have been extremely flawed! Why not have Hanley bat leadoff and move everyone up in the order? For example, you could have Stanton bat third and keep Cantu at cleanup. In addition, why not move Hanley to the leadoff spot since he has been struggling tremendously this year with runners in scoring position and try to take advantage of his speed at the top of the order. You could move Coghlan to the 2 spot Stanton to third Cantu 4th Uggla 5th Ross 6th Sanchez 7th Paulino 8th. Sanchez is not a number two hitter by any stretch of the imagination. Gonzalez could not figure out an organized and cohesive batting order.
So before everyone jumps to conclusion about the firing, you need to consider why he might have been fired first instead of looking at the team’s record and just the basic stats. This was definitely merited
So you’re… saying they fired him because he didn’t bat their best slugger in the leadoff spot? If that is true, that would be just horrible GM work. You’d have to be crazy to bat Hanley any spot other than 3rd or 4rth, though one MIGHT be able to make a good fight about putting him in the 2nd hole.
With that said, the firing just makes no sense. Might Fredi have his flaws? Surely. Is there another manager available to sign who is better? Probably not. So… if you’re unlikely to end up with a better manager, what’s the point? Definitely, there are probably tons of better managers around but the time needed to find a good replacement pretty much assures they won’t see any benefit this season.
Buddy he has been terrible all year with runners in scoring position and his RBI’s are down from last year. For example, when he has been up with the bases loaded he tenses up under pressure and he gets over anxious by trying to do way too much. When your team is in the bottom of the division, you have to be willing to try new things to spark the team. I also said that they fired him because of his questionable game management decisions and because he did not do a good enough job getting his team prepared to play.
Also the Marlins have struggled in the situational hitting department, they have had defensive issues, plate discipline problems with too many strikeouts and they have been very inconsistent this year. Gonzalez was never able to lead the Marlins to the postseason during his tenure as the club’s manager. The Marlins Front Office knows exactly what they are doing.
Just another example of the worst run professional sports organization doing things bass ackwards. Well, at least they are consistent. We can all agree on that.
Excuse me? Are you kidding me? Your saying they are the worst run sports organization? Did you forget that we have two World Series championships 1997 and 2003? You can easily say that the Marlins have the worst owner in Professional Sports. A statement like that would be right on the money! Even though owners such as LA Clippers owner Don Sterling can give Loria a run for his money However, the Front Office has done a sensational job keeping the team competitive with a low payroll. Also, they have done a terrific job developing prospects. ! At the end of the day, Loria is an incompetent cheapskate who pockets revenue sharing money. He is so cheap that whenever he opens up his wallet he finds confederate bills. Anyways he is a disgrace to Major League Baseball. Bud Selig should be absolutely ashamed of himself for approving his bid to own the team. I can assure you that most rational Marlins fans despise Loria with a passion, including me! However, Gonzalez was a dead man walking for quite some time. A change needed to take place.
Great news! I was worried the Braves were going to end up with Ned Yost. Gonzalez is a much better manager.
LOL smart move…
Yes it was you guys would have wanted his head if he was in Boston ha ha
By the way I am catching your sarcasm
Go Yankees
Excuse me the worst run sports organization? Did you forget that we have two World Series championships 1997 and 2003? You can easily say that the Marlins have the worst owner in Professional Sports. A statement like that would be right on the money! However, the Front Office has done a sensational job keeping the team competitive with a low payroll. Also, they have done a terrific job developing prospects. Even though owners such as LA Clippers owner Don Sterling can give Loria a run for his money! At the end of the day, Loria is an incompetent cheapskate who pockets revenue sharing money. He is so cheap that whenever he opens up his wallet he finds confederate bills. Anyways he is a disgrace to Major League Baseball. Bud Selig should be absolutely ashamed of himself for approving his bid to own the team. I can assure you that most rational Marlins fans despise Loria with a passion, including me! However, Gonzalez was a dead man walking for quite some time. A change needed to take place.
Well there’s the NEW Braves manager for 2011 🙂
People are talking a lot about Gonzalez to replace Cox for the Braves. However, I’d like to see the Blue Jays make a run on him to replace Cito Gaston. It should be an interesting off season in terms of managerial moves.
I have something for Braves fans to get lost in thought about for the rest of the day…Fredi did an admirable job with a team that has a 30,000 + or – a few thousand pay roll. Can you imagine what he can do with a payroll 3 times that amount?
It’s not about payroll, it’s about talent. You could put the best manager ever on the Pirates and they’d still be below .500- not because they have a lack of payroll, but because they have a lack of talent.
But when you have talent AND payroll, you can put a supporting cast around that talent.
and WATCH the games*
The Marlins are one of those teams that needs a GREAT manager. Not just a GOOD one. With all of the young inexperienced guys on that team, they most importantly need a leader. I’m not a Marlins fans, nor do I ever really see the Marlins play being a fan of the White Sox (we did get them for a series this year), but from what I’m hearing Freddi didn’t spark the team the way they needed to. Guys like Jeter and David Wright know what they’re doing out there and don’t need overwhelming motivation, but this isn’t a team of guys like that. Almost all of them are young and they need to be guided at this point in their careers. So, trusting the Marlins fans, I think Freddi needed to be ousted because he just wasn’t enough of a leader.
Batting Hanley in the leadoff spot is the worst thing he could’ve done. Why would you bat your best run-producer leadoff? He may be struggling with RISP this year, but he had on of the highest averages with RISP last year, and that was over a full season. So he can obviously do it. And you don’t want to put that much pressure on a 20 year old rookie and bat him 3rd, just look at how Heyward’s numbers have dropped since he was moved up in the order. And he is considered to be a better hitter than Stanton. I think Fredi did all he could with what he had. The Marlins don’t spend money, and as a result their team struggles. And fans stop caring about their team, as witnessed by the 13 people who show up to home games. It’s not Fredi’s fault, and it’s probably not the GM’s fault. Ownership=terrible
The Marlins over the last couple of years have been nothing better than a 4A ball club with a couple of good young players who deserve to be on a better team. The fact that the Marlins did so well under Gonzalez is a testament to his managerial ability. Who ever it was that gave the front office credit is wrong; the front office wasn’t down their making sure the Marlins were winning, Gonzalez and his coaches were.
You’ve obviously never watched the Marlins play.
I don’t understand this.
Jack McKeon! Where are you trader Jack? The Marlins should bring him back one more time, trade the punk Hanley before the deadline for a package of Lowell, Beckett, and Scutaro.
Can anyone say Bobby Valentine?
No he is a jerk.
I agree CWERadio…since he’s been there, they’ve been hanging in there in a decent division, with basically a good AAA team. Quite a bit of young talent there, but Fredi was more like a kindergarten teacher, and all with a payroll like some of the other teams’ pocket change.
No he is a jerk.