The Florida Marlins announced they were overhauling their team’s coaching staff on Wednesday, revealing they had fired manager Fredi Gonzalez, and two other assistants.
Along with Gonzalez, batting coach Jim Presley was also sent packing and so was bench coach Carlos Tosca.
The owner of the Florida Marlins, Jeffrey Loria, released a statement praising Gonzalez and explaining the decision.
"It is never easy to make a change in managers. Fredi has been with our club for four years. We have become close, and I am extremely fond of Fredi. I, along with all our fans, am grateful for Fredi's contributions. At the same time, we can't let personal feelings get in the way of taking steps that we believe are necessary to improve our ballclub,” the statement read.
The three will be replaced immediately in the interim by coaches already within the Marlins’ organization. Edwin Rodriguez, named interim coach, came over the Marlins’ farm organization in 2003 as a hitting coach for the Double-A Carolina Mudcats. He then became a head coach of the GCL Marlins, before becoming a manager for the team’s Single-A Greensboro club.
Finally, for over a year now he has been the head coach of the Marlins’ immediate farm team in New Orleans, the Zephyrs. While it is unlikely Rodriguez will maintain his position as interim coach for long, his being appointed as head coach of a Major League baseball team completes his improbable journey to the big leagues as a manager. Long ago he’d had a brief playing career, playing for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres in the early 1980s.
He’ll be bringing Brandon Hyde, the Zephyr’s infield co-ordinator along with him to the Marlins to serve as interim bench coach. John Mallee with become interim hitting coach.
A need to improve
The move comes only days after a rookie mistake was made by Gonzalez, when during the ninth innings Brian Barden, the Marlins’ infielder, was determined to have batted out of order by umpire Lance Barksdale. Gonzalez came out and began arguing vehemently with Barksdale, but was ultimately ejected.
Regardless of that incident, the Marlins have other reasons to be dissatisfied with the status of their team at present. The Marlins are playing under .500 ball, going 34-36 and currently sitting just two games above the worst team in the NL East division, the Washington Nationals, who boast a 33-39 record.
Unless the new coach can dramatically turn the club around, they’ll almost surely miss the playoffs, with perennially contenders the Atlanta Braves sitting atop the division 7.5 games ahead of the Marlins, and the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets also inhabiting the division, making any playoff run unlikely.
The Marlins have not made the playoffs for years since winning the World Series in 2003, although they managed to compile a winning record last year and are looking to rebuild their team to make a future run.
An end to an era in Florida
Gonzalez finished his career with the Marlins having played 555 games, going 276-279 in that span, becoming manager in 2006 immediately after Joe Girardi was fired following the 2006 season. While he never made the playoffs with the club, he won more games than any other manager in Marlins history.
His departure marks the end of a long relationship with the Marlins, which began with the club’s creation in 1992. Initially beginning as a coach for prospects for the new club, he took on various roles coaching their minor league affiliates. After a brief stint with the Atlanta Braves organization he came back in 2006 with the promotion to big league manager. He was named the Sporting News Manager of the Year in 2008.
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