Mired in a nine-game losing streak, the Athletics are making changes. They announced this morning that they have relieved manager Bob Geren of his duties and hired former MLB manager Bob Melvin to take his place as the interim manager for the rest of the season.
Geren, a longtime friend of A's GM Billy Beane, rose through Oakland's system as a minor league manager before taking over the big league club. The A's had a 334-376 record in four-plus seasons under Geren, never finishing above .500. The 2011 Athletics are 27-36 after last night's loss to Baltimore.
The A's have dealt with a number of injuries this year – Mark Ellis, Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Rich Harden, Brandon McCarthy and Tyson Ross are currently on the disabled list. Earlier in the season, Brian Fuentes and former A's reliever Huston Street publicly criticized Geren.
Melvin has experience managing the Mariners (2003-04) and D'Backs (2005-09) and had been working as a special advisor in Arizona's front office this year. The 2007 NL Manager of the Year has a 493-508 record in seven seasons as a skipper.
