Search for new manager begins

wanks1212 · October 3, 2005

MIAMI -- A thankful and emotional Jack McKeon stepped down as Marlins manager on Sunday, leaving behind a successful three-year run with the organization while creating an opening for new leadership.

By departing the dugout to accept a special advisor position to team owner Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins now are in the market for the franchise's eighth manager.

General manager Admin Beinfest and the front office will soon begin assembling a list of candidates. The time frame for the next hire, however, may take a few weeks because some possible candidates could be on the staffs of playoff teams.

"You have to let things flush out," Beinfest said. "There may be some candidates that are involved in the postseason. I think it's only fair to leave them alone and leave their teams alone, and then go through the permission process afterwards.

"I'm sure Jeffrey will be very involved in the interview process. It will be multi-layered. We're getting [a list] together. There are always names and rumors. You have to put it down, line it up and then talk about it."

Among the choices expected to receive consideration are former Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella, Yankees bench coach Joe Girardi, and Braves third base coach Fredi Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, ironically, spent the past three days at Dolphins Stadium as the Marlins swept the Braves.

From 1999-2001, Gonzalez served as the Marlins third base coach. Born in Havana, Cuba, Gonzalez spent many years with the Marlins, serving as the organization's first Minor League manager in 1992.

Before Friday night's game, a number of observers took notice when Loria spoke on the field with Gonzalez as the teams were warming up.

As the managerial search is about to begin, the club also will be considering coaching possibilities.

The only member of the staff expected to return is infield coach/first base coach Perry Hill, who was not with the club the final three games because of personal reasons.

"The coaching staff -- they have been given permission to seek employment elsewhere, except for Perry Hill," Beinfest said. "We expect him to return in '06. I did speak to the coaches. They are aware that they have permission. What will happen here is when we have the new manager hired, we'll then reconsider the coaches that were here. There were no promises or guarantees. That's where we are right now."

That puts in limbo the status of pitching coach Mark Wiley, hitting coach Bill Robinson, third base coach Jeff Cox, bench coach Harry Dunlop and bullpen coach Luis Dorante.

Expected to return are bullpen coordinator Pierre Arsenault and the medical staff: head trainer Sean Cunningham, assistant trainer Mike Kozak and strength and conditioning director Paul Fournier.

Heading into the offseason, the Marlins again are faced with many tough decisions. One of the lowest revenue-generating teams in the league, they have 13 free agents and five arbitration-eligible players in line for big raises. Dontrelle Willis, who finished the year at 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, is in line to make about $4 million in his first year of arbitration, and Josh Beckett should get bumped to about $4 million in his second arbitration year.

Some key free agents include shortstop Alex Gonzalez, outfielder Juan Encarnacion and closer Todd Jones. Pitcher A.J. Burnett, asked to leave the team a week ago after making critical comments, hits the free agency market. The team has already said it will not make an offer to Burnett.

"It's like every other year," Beinfest said. "We talk about challenges and this offseason is no different."

Beinfest noted there will be changes. How much will be cleared up in a few weeks when the payroll parameters are set.

"Obviously, it's a little early to talk about the '06 Marlins, but as we get into it, and we get some direction from Jeffrey in terms of payroll and the complexion of the team, that may also lead us one way or another with the manager," Beinfest said. "I don't know if it's veteran, or if it's rookie [managerial candidate] at this point. Any of those types of characteristics we're going to put together a list. I'm sure it will be exhaustive."

In looking back at McKeon's three seasons with the Marlins, Beinfest credits the 74-year-old skipper for instilling a winning attitude.

"When we initially hired him, we were looking for a turnaround, and we called him a turnaround specialist," Beinfest said. "That's exactly what he did. For me, he really taught the organization what it was to win, and to work hard. It was all about winning early on, every game. He set the tone in the clubhouse, then the working hard. He was out here before the players often, and working hard. Then he challenged a lot of the young players here who had not been challenged to work harder."

McKeon's greatest success came in 2003, when the Marlins rallied from 10 games under .500 to win the World Series. "I'm specifically talking about '03. But he set the tone to win and to work hard," Beinfest said. "Another reason it worked so well is because Jack and Jeffrey's single focus is to win each night. It's not about last night, and it's not about tomorrow. It's about winning tonight. I think they are always in sync about just winning tonight's game. I think part of my job is to learn from last night and to worry about tomorrow. Their job was to win every night. I think that worked well together."

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

PBMarlin · October 3, 2005

The only member of the staff expected to return is infield coach/first base coach Perry Hill.

"The coaching staff -- they have been given permission to seek employment elsewhere, except for Perry Hill,"

That's the best news I've heard today. It's time for a fresh start and Perry Hill is the only coach I really want to return.

Accord · October 3, 2005

Lou Piniella, Joe Girardi, Jim Leyland, Davey Johnson, Mike Mordecai, Fredi Gonzalez.

IrishHarrington · October 3, 2005

i will be happy to see robinson and cox go they let us down big time . as to managers I would prefer Girardi who is young enough to relate to todays players and has the rings as a player to get their respect

Boog Sciambi · October 3, 2005

i think we should kidnap len kasper and make him our manager :o )

MarlinFan10 · October 3, 2005

We should keep Bill Robinson and make him manager. :mischief

EndLine · October 3, 2005

I really want Fredi Gonzalez

Fishfan79 · October 3, 2005

boog for manager!

bollostar · October 3, 2005

Personally, I'd like to see Lou Piniella getting the job. I like what he does when he has a decent team. It wasn't his fault that the D-Rays didn't have many players worthy of being in the bigs.

FreshFish · October 3, 2005

I hope we get Fredi

- Fredi Gonzalez (brings great experience from the Atlanta organization, fully billingual is nice)

- Pinella (great resume and established career, would cost more than the other options.)

- Girardi (would NY Yankee ball work here?)

Fredi Gonzalez is in his third season as the Braves third base coach after spending 2002 as manager of their Triple-A Richmond affiliate. Gonzalez, 41, was the Florida Marlins third base coach from 1999 through 2001. Before joining the Marlins major league club, he managed in the minor leagues for nine years, earning league manager of the year honors from Baseball America three times: in 1993 when High Desert finished 82-52 in the regular season and won the Class-A California League championship; in 1994, when Brevard County went 78-61 in the Class-A Florida State League; and in 1997, when he guided Portland (ME) to a 79-63 record and first place in the AA Eastern League. Gonzalez began his managerial career in 1990, taking over the unaffiliated Miami Miracle of the Florida State League with 20 games to play. He continued with the Miracle in 1991 before becoming the first minor league manager in Marlins franchise history in 1992, leading Erie to the New York-Penn League championship series. After spending 1993 with High Desert, he managed Brevard County from 1994 through 1996, and then moved up to Portland in 1997 and Charlotte of the AAA International League in 1998. Selected by the New York Yankees in the 16th round of the 1982 June draft, Gonzalez spent six seasons as a catcher in their farm system. Personal: Gonzalez, his wife Pamela, daughter Gabrielle and son Alex Christopher reside in Marietta, GA.

Pinella

Bio: Named the Rays third manager on October 28, 2002...In two years, the Tampa native has led the Rays to improvements in each year going from 55 wins in 2002 to 63 wins in 2003 to a club record 70 wins in 2004.

He has compiled a 133-190 (.412) managing record with the Rays, best managerial record in club history...His predecessors were Admin Rothschild (205-294 .411) and Hal McRae (113-196, .369). Lou will enter the 3rd year of a four-year contract extending through the 2006 season. The Devil Rays received the rights to negotiate with Piniella and acquired shortstop Antonio Perez from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Randy Winn...The transaction was agreed upon by both clubs on Friday, October 18, 2002, and was contingent upon the Rays reaching an agreement with Piniella for their managerial position. ALL-TIME:

Piniella owns a 1,452-1,325 career managerial record for a .523 winning percentage. Piniella is 20th in alltime wins among ML managers...Trails Hall of Famer Earl Weaver who is in 19th place by 28 wins...He ranks 21st alltime in games managed with 2,777...Fred Clarke is 20th on the list at 2,783. Lou is also 41st in all-time winning pct (.523)...Is the only manager to lead two teams to wire-to-wire finishes (1990 Cincinnati and 2001 Seattle). Led 2001 Mariners to an AL record 116 wins, matching the 1906 Cubs for most in ML history. AMONG ACTIVES:

His 1,452 wins are 4th among active managers and his 5 postseason appearances are tied for 4th most with Dusty Baker behind Bobby Cox (14),Tony LaRussa (9) and Joe Torre (9). His .523 winning percentage is 5th among actives (minimum 1,000 games). 1,400 OF EACH:

On May 31, 2004, Memorial Day, Lou picked up his 1,400th career win, the 23rd manager to do so, with a 7-3 win at Minnesota. He also became the 6th manager ever to win 1400 games and get 1400 hits in the major leagues, only the 5th to do it in the modern era...Piniella and Joe Torre are the only active mangers to accomplish the feat. Lou needs only 48 wins to become only the 3rd manager to get 1500 wins and 1500 hits. SPRING TRAINING:

In 2004, Lou led the Rays to an 11-8 record, their first-ever winning season in Grapefruit League play. Lou has a 244-229 (.516) record in spring training. His teams have won 20+ games three times: 1992 Cincinnati (22-9), 1994 Seattle (21-9) and 1999 Seattle (20-12). OPENING DAY:

Lou's team's have gone 10-7 on Opening Day. EJECTIONS:

Lou has been ejected 57 times as a manager and 71 times overall, and 7 as a Devil Ray. Among active managers, only Atlanta's Bobby Cox has more (112)...Lou was ejected 3 times last season...Hall of Famer John McGraw was ejected 131 times, believed to be the alltime leader...The Earl of Baltimore, Earl Weaver, another Hall of Famer,was ejected 98 times.

Joe Girardi

Bio: Will make his coaching debut this season as the Yankees Bench Coach and Catching Instructor ... spent the 2004 season as a broadcaster for the YES Network team after attending spring training with the Yankees squad ... as a non-roster invitee, brings his veteran clubhouse leadership and 15-plus years of on-the-field experience to the Yankees coaching staff Playing career:

Spent four years as catcher with the New York Yankees from 1996-1999 and was part of three World Championship squads (1996, 1998 and 1999) .. was the catcher for Dwight Goodens no-hitter on 5/14/96 vs. Seattle as well as David Cones perfect game on 7/18/99 vs. Montreal ... owns a .267 career batting average over 15 Major-League seasons with four different teams ... was named to the 2000 National League All-Star team as a member of the Chicago Cubs.

Personal:

Lives with wife, Kim and children, Serena and Dante in Chicago ... was the recipient of the 1997 Good Guy Award by the New York chapter of the BBWAA ... previously worked as a member of ESPN Radios broadcasting team during coverage of the National League Division Series in 2003 ... was selected to Baseball Digests All-Rookie Team following the 1989 season.

Admin · October 3, 2005