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MIAMI -- You can call it confidence or conviction, and some may say it is even cockiness.

Savvy Marlins manager Jack McKeon isn't one to mince words. Asked a direct question, he fires back a straight answer. Nothing rehearsed, and often it's what he believes in his heart.

 

So when he sits with a group of reporters and is asked what he thinks about the surging Marlins' chances, without flinching he claims: "We're going to make it. I've got a feeling we're going to make it."

 

No, McKeon wasn't making any Broadway Joe Namath-like playoff guarantee. And momentarily, he shrugged to the writers, indicating he might prefer that they not print what he said. Seconds later, he reconsidered in his nonchalant, "what-the-heck" way.

 

"I've got a feeling we're going to make the playoffs," said the 72-year-old manager who has infused youthful energy into the franchise. "But that is no guarantee."

 

Based on his track record over the nearly three months he has managed the Marlins, it's difficult to doubt him.

 

The emerging Marlins no longer are the sinking fish that floundered through the first six weeks of the season, stumbling to a 16-22 record after losing 5-4 to Colorado on May 10.

 

The next day, McKeon was introduced as the new Marlins manager, replacing Jeff Torborg.

 

Why the change so quickly into the season? And why was McKeon called back in 2 1/2 seasons after being let go as Reds manager in 2000?

 

"His experience he brought to the table," Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said. "At first we knew people were going to be a little reluctant because Jeff is such a fine man. But we needed something else to run the club."

 

The rumbling that resulted from replacing a manager who was popular among the public and the players, has since been displaced by the bottom line. For whatever reasons, the Marlins are 60-51 and two games behind the Phillies in the National League Wild Card race.

 

The Marlins are 41-22 over their last 63 games, and 44-29 under McKeon.

 

Along with changing managers, the Marlins shuffled their staff. Wayne Rosenthal replaced Brad Arnsberg as pitching coach. Doug Davis became the new bench coach, with Jeff Cox going from that role to bullpen coach.

 

At 72, McKeon is the third oldest manager in Major League history. Only Connie Mack, who was 88 when he completed his 50 years at the helm of the Philadelphia A's, and and Casey Stengel, who was 75 in his final year with the New York Mets, were older.

 

"I had heard all the commentary about his age," Loria said. "That didn't faze me. In fact, it encouraged me. He has a heap of experience, and his baseball wisdom, you can't really question."

 

Prior to the days leading up to the hiring, McKeon had never met Loria or Marlins general manager Admin Beinfest. But he was a close friend of Bill Beck, the Marlins director of team travel, who had done some television work in Kansas City and San Diego and knew McKeon, who managed the Royals from 1973-75 and the Padres from 1988-90, for years.

 

McKeon was flown to Miami from his home in Elon, N.C., where he spent the past few years watching his grandchildren play baseball and softball.

 

Over lunch in a South Florida restaurant, McKeon stood out to the fashion-conscious Loria with his plaid jacket and plaid shirt. In the midst of a weight-loss program, McKeon was dining on tuna and impressing his soon-to-be bosses with insights and ideas on how to turn potential into results.

 

McKeon, who was also a general manager with the Padres, had the reputation of recognizing talent and turning around slumping teams.

 

In San Diego, he was known as "Trader Jack" for eagerly pulling the trigger on deals.

 

With the Marlins his role was simple: Tap into the talent pool that had been evaluated better than it was performing.

 

"He's definitely competitive," first baseman Derrek Lee said. "I think it was our time to play better. Jack may have helped push it along."

 

Armed with 50 years of professional baseball experience, managing at the minor and Major League levels, McKeon made it clear from day one that he believed in the Marlins, even as everyone else doubted.

 

"The first day, I said, 'I believe in you guys,'" McKeon said. "I believe you can make the playoffs."

 

At six games under .500, the words could have been disregarded as lip service. Matters could have become much worse after the team dropped six straight and fell to 19-29 on May 22. In the middle of that slump, McKeon held his second team meeting following a 2-1 loss to the Dodgers.

 

The Marlins had just been swept in Los Angeles, scoring three runs in three games.

 

The tone of this talk was much different than his introductory rah-rah speech. McKeon simply blasted the players behind closed doors, giving many a tongue-lashing they'd never experienced.

 

If anything, the in-your-face pep talk showed McKeon was here to win, not to coddle.

 

His eye on the playoff prize, McKeon knows at times he ruffles feathers. One TV analyst reported in May that McKeon was out of touch with young players.

 

Yet, the players that he pushes, many of them in the early 20s, embrace the veteran manager who recently became the 63rd skipper to pass the 800-wins plateau.

 

"He gets along great," pitcher Josh Beckett said. "There is definitely not a gap.

 

"I think that he has had a good influence on us. But a lot of it is we're playing a lot better baseball, too. I don't want to take anything away from him, because it all started happening when he came over here. I think he is a motivator, a little bit. He's been good for us, though. No doubt about it."

 

Beckett notes that McKeon is the type of manager who doesn't get too bubbly with players.

 

"He cares what people think," Beckett said. "He doesn't have a complex about it. He tries to do things right, and to the best of his knowledge. He doesn't want to give you too much of this [pats on the back]. He will give you just enough, almost to be ticked off at him. He will come up after the game and say, 'Good job,' and that's it. If you pitched a no-hitter, he would probably be the same way -- 'Good job.' He wouldn't be one of the guys in the crowd jumping around."

 

McKeon's formula for getting back into the race was preaching the need to pick up a game a week. Go 4-3 in seven games. Some weeks, you may go 5-2 or 6-1.

 

Before you know it, a 10-game-under spill turned into a .500 record.

 

"I told them, when we get to .500, then we're going to go," McKeon said.

 

Through adversity the Marlins endured, largely because the pitching and defense has remained steady while the hitting has been just enough.

 

Team spirits sagged in early May when ace A.J. Burnett suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow. The hard-throwing 26-year-old, expected to carry the staff, was lost for the season and underwent Tommy John surgery.

 

A few days later, Beckett had a sprained right elbow and went on the disabled list. Left-hander Mark Redman, who broke a bone in his left thumb in May, was also lost.

 

The depleted staff, in need of help, turned to 21-year-old Dontrelle Willis.

 

After just six starts at Double-A Carolina, Willis brought his 4-0 minor league record to the Major Leagues on May 9, filling in when Beckett went on the disabled list.

 

Little did anyone know Willis would energize the team with his high-kick, unorthodox delivery and youthful enthusiasm.

 

Immediately, McKeon was impressed with Willis' work ethic and how the team responded to the left-hander.

 

The 72-year-old manager put full trust in the 21-year-old from Alameda, Calif.

 

After Willis experienced a tough loss, getting hit around pretty good in a 6-4 setback at Montreal on May 20, McKeon sat down with the rookie and told him to be himself.

 

McKeon felt Willis was giving the opponents too much respect, rather than going after them.

 

"I'm not one to be babied," Willis said. "I like people to be straightforward with me. I'm not somebody who is sensitive about it. Tell me if there is something to say. Don't tell someone else.

 

"I think when I came up here, initially I tried to be too fine, throwing everything on the black, so to speak. He likes me because I work hard, for the most part, and he respects that. Even when things are going good or going bad, he knows I get my work done. He knows I'm out there having fun, so he leaves me alone. He emphasizes going after hitters. They might end up hitting you hard, but so what? They might line out."

 

The messages McKeon delivers are intended to challenge the players, make them work a little harder.

 

His third team talk came right after the All-Star break. He thanked the players for their efforts and congratulated them for getting back into the race. He also noted there is unfinished business.

 

"They've got to keep digging and keep pushing," McKeon said. "I'm from the old school where we don't need a lot of publicity. We don't need no advertising or fanfare."

He has sure done very good for us, i think we should sign him for another year. He has done a fantastic job carrying this team. Bobby Valentine said it wasnt the Manager it was an Attitude change but i believe its the managerial change.

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