Bittersweet farewell for McKeon

By Joe Capozzi

 

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

 

Monday, October 03, 2005

 

MIAMI GARDENS ? Jack McKeon stood in the center of the Marlins' clubhouse Sunday and wiped tears from his eyes as he told his players what they had long suspected.

 

He was done managing the Marlins because he had made a promise to his family that the 2005 season would be his last.

 

"He told us he loved us all." Lenny Harris said. "He kept saying, 'Thank you.' It was pretty much a sad moment in this locker room.''

 

Players responded with hugs, handshakes, warm applause ? and a 7-6 come-from-behind win against the Atlanta Braves.

 

"Everybody kind of saw it coming,'' outfielder Jeff Conine said. "We all got very emotional. It's like your granddad telling you he's going away and you're not going to see him again.''

 

It was also a moment met by many players with relief. McKeon's gruff style, which was so effective when he took over the team in May 2003 and led it to a championship, had grown old with some.

 

As the Marlins struggled this season to compete with a club-record payroll $65 million, many players felt it was time for a change.

 

Owner Jeffrey Loria gave McKeon the choice to stay or leave, and the 74-year-old manager sensed it was time to move out of the clubhouse. The only man to lead the Marlins to three consecutive winning seasons, McKeon will stay on the payroll as a special adviser, working mainly from his home in North Carolina.

 

He also said he would consider managing again, although he will not solicit offers from other teams.

 

"Sometimes you need to step back and maybe take a breather for six or seven months and get recharged,'' he said. "I haven't given up the thought of managing again.''

 

The Marlins today will begin compiling a list of candidates to replace McKeon, who won his 241st game Sunday, the most of the eight men who have managed the Marlins since 1993.

 

Infield coach Perry Hill will return next year, but the rest of Florida's coaching staff was told they could seek other jobs. Some might be asked to return, but that will be up to the next manager, who probably won't be hired until after the World Series at the earliest.

 

"My family, they live and die with every game,'' McKeon said, looking at his wife, Carol, who was standing in the back of a room packed with media members after Sunday's game. "I promised them last year that this would be my last year, so I'm going to honor that request.''

 

But McKeon, the third-oldest manager in major-league history, offered hints that the reason for his departure went beyond family.

 

"I also said when I came here that when I didn't have as much fun, I was going to get out of it, and the last couple of years, I didn't have as much fun as I'd like,'' he said, adding that he made his mind up for good about two months ago.

 

In June, The Palm Beach Post reported that several unnamed players had said McKeon's harsh demeanor was contributing to the team's failures.

 

Last week, pitcher A.J. Burnett was kicked off the team after a tirade in which he said the Marlins "manage scared.'' Also, third baseman Miguel Cabrera was disciplined for arriving late for a game, which many players said was part of a pattern of tardiness that McKeon had ignored.

 

Before the Marlins swept the Braves, they had lost 12 of their past 15 games after holding a one-game lead in the NL wild-card race on Sept. 14.

 

Picked by many in spring training to win the World Series, they finished tied for third in the NL East.

 

"It was emotional to see him go because we had more good times than bad times,'' center fielder Juan Pierre said.

 

"Just to see him go out on this note, I feel like I let him down. He deserved to go out on a better note. We wish him all the best. Whatever he does, we know the cigar smoke will be somewhere close.''

 

Asked if they thought a managerial change was needed, players chose their words carefully.

 

"We like Jack. We respect Jack. That's a tough question,'' pitcher Dontrelle Willis said. "We fell short this year, but I like the baseball we were playing. For three years, we had a winning ballclub.

 

"He paid his dues. He's said enough's enough. You have no choice but to respect him.''

 

McKeon said that after he thanked his players during the clubhouse meeting for their efforts, "I also told them that if I offended anybody and hurt their feelings, it wasn't on purpose.''

 

Infielder Mike Mordecai said it's unfair for players to blame the team's failures this season on McKeon.

 

"There's a reason why this team has won the last three years ? it's all on the players,'' Mordecai said. "Jack just lets the guys play. So when they lose, who do you want to blame? The guy in that office? He's got a World Series title under his belt.

 

"He told me the other day, 'I'm the same guy. We just didn't do it.' "

 

Link

I'll miss him, his quotes and his style are very unique.

Wow, only Perry Hill is a certainty...

 

Personally, I don't understand why Bill Robinson doesn't get more love.

 

 

 

I'll miss him, his quotes and his style are very unique.

 

quotes? We're remembering the man for his quotes?

Interesting to me that Pierre was quoted in this article.

 

If you remember, he was the named player who lead the initial revolt that was reported by the Palm Beach Post back in June (Mike Lowell was the anonymous source). To pretty much be the man to blame for McKeon's job being in doubt since the start of the summer, and then to express remorse really tells me how conflicted of an individual Juan Pierre is, interesting, to say the least...

(Mike Lowell was the anonymous source).

 

Link?

 

I hate to do that, but I hear people speculating this all the time, but I've never actually read it from a reputable source.

(Mike Lowell was the anonymous source).

 

Link?

 

I hate to do that, but I hear people speculating this all the time, but I've never actually read it from a reputable source.

 

Me either.

You'll have to forgive him. He dislikes Mike Lowell proved positively by his constant implications of steroid use by Mike Lowell.

(Mike Lowell was the anonymous source).

 

Link?

 

I hate to do that, but I hear people speculating this all the time, but I've never actually read it from a reputable source.

 

Read the quotes from 2004 when we were scuffling, Mike Lowell was quoted as saying it wasn't fun anymore without Pudge, Ozzie Guillen and a few other guys who departed. This year, the whine came again, adding Mike Redmond to the list, but this time, instead of coming from Mike Lowell, it came "from an anonymous source."

 

Same bitch-fest, just a year later and without the name this time.

(Mike Lowell was the anonymous source).

 

this is just assumption. i dont really believe that unless its proven.

He assumes Mike Lowell took steroids and presents it as fact so should not be surpising he did it here too.

Hey guys. It does not matter anymore. There is backstabbing everywhere. McKeon always seemed to have faith in both of them even though they struggled mightily (even to a fault as TSwift said about Beckett). These were the guys he had faith in. If they were the unnamed sources, then they should be ashamed. One of his faults was that he did trust the guys who were part of the 2003 with the notion that they knew how to win. This is a profession. People like the person but not always everything they do.

 

Time will tell though. Younger blood with the coaching staff could help or could adversely affect the performance of some. I think David Hydes article says it the best...there are a lot more problems in the clubhouse with respect of the game than most people can imagine.

Link to the rant

The one thing that stands out the most is what Mordecai said about the players not leaving their egos at the door anymore. That's one of the things we heard the most in 2003. Jack wanted everyone to know that they were just 1/25th of the team.. that nobody was bigger than anybody else...

 

I think guys like Beckett, Burnett, and even Cabrera don't feel that way anymore. They've won a World Series and they're talked about all the time, so they feel bigger than that now.. They probably feel like they're above a lot of players....

 

Jack McKeon didn't change. The players around him changed... I'm gonna miss that old man... There is no way he should take the blame for anything that happened this year. He was thrown a lot of curve balls and he dealt with them all and still had the team leading the wild card, well into September...

Big Tex might be cocky and arrogant, but I wouldn't put him on the level(or anywhere near) that of The AJ. He stated many times that he was pitching so that the team could win, and if he was so egotistical and thought that he was more important to the team than certain others, I doubt he would of been the first out of the dugout every time Dontrelle finished a game, or TJ, or congratulating the youngens such as Vargas...always had a big ass smile and a bear hug or handshake/high five waiting on anyone who went out there and performed, wether it good or bad...that shows me that Beckett is a leader, not a "look at me" prick. He is what we need next year, him and Dontrelle...IMO, some might argue, but Beckett is one of the best team players we have on the team. A primadonna wouldn't of taken the ball in game 6 on 3 days rest in the hostile Bronx.

Link to the rant

 

 

 

Do you have the link to what Mikey said in 2004? I agree with you that it is probably Mike... and probably Pierre too. Two pussies.

 

By the way, a few people in that rant you posted thought Beckett was one of the anonymous players, but it seems to me like this year he's certainly gotten a good attitude about things. He seems very positive and willing to take on responsibility for his own failures (not that he had many this season) and the team's problems.

Big Tex might be cocky and arrogant, but I wouldn't put him on the level(or anywhere near) that of The AJ. He stated many times that he was pitching so that the team could win, and if he was so egotistical and thought that he was more important to the team than certain others, I doubt he would of been the first out of the dugout every time Dontrelle finished a game, or TJ, or congratulating the youngens such as Vargas...always had a big ass smile and a bear hug or handshake/high five waiting on anyone who went out there and performed, wether it good or bad...that shows me that Beckett is a leader, not a "look at me" prick. He is what we need next year, him and Dontrelle...IMO, some might argue, but Beckett is one of the best team players we have on the team. A primadonna wouldn't of taken the ball in game 6 on 3 days rest in the hostile Bronx.

 

 

What you're saying isn't true regarding the 2004 "I'm the World Series MVP and dating Leanne Tweeden" Josh Beckett, but he's really matured this year.

 

He's constantly spoken in defense of McKeon, and I haven't heard him negatively call one of his teammates out publicly (like he did last year with that AGon should have been error). Josh has grown up, and he needs to, he's probably the "captain" of next year's team.

That's a great point.... Beckett in 2004 was showing his arrogance, but he really matured this year. It probably wasn't fair for me to throw his name in there.. I guess the Beckett of 04 popped in my head.. But you guys are right.. He showed a lot of maturity this year....

Big Tex might be cocky and arrogant, but I wouldn't put him on the level(or anywhere near) that of The AJ. He stated many times that he was pitching so that the team could win, and if he was so egotistical and thought that he was more important to the team than certain others, I doubt he would of been the first out of the dugout every time Dontrelle finished a game, or TJ, or congratulating the youngens such as Vargas...always had a big ass smile and a bear hug or handshake/high five waiting on anyone who went out there and performed, wether it good or bad...that shows me that Beckett is a leader, not a "look at me" prick. He is what we need next year, him and Dontrelle...IMO, some might argue, but Beckett is one of the best team players we have on the team. A primadonna wouldn't of taken the ball in game 6 on 3 days rest in the hostile Bronx.

 

 

 

I agree. I like Beckett's attitude. We have Jack to thank for that. IMHO, Beckett and AJ shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. Beckett is cocky for sure, but he's a gamer and all he wants to do is win... you never hear him blaming other people for his failures. :thumbup

He is pivotal...he and Dontrelle are why I think we can sustain life with Olsen(K machine), Vargas(great freshman season), and Johnson(Brad Penny v2.0) in the rotation next year. And I for one like Big Tex's arrogance and cockiness, his comments before game 1 of the NLDS against the Giants, while only one sentence, showed me we were going to win:

Reporter: Are you going to pitch to Barry Bonds?

Beckett: He's in the lineup aint he?

 

Cocky, sure, but total confidence...as much as I love D-Train, Beckett is the guy I want to take the team on his back, and to lead by example...and I think that arrogant confidence will rub off on people, as much as or more than the excitement that everyone feeds off Dontrelle...we need the kids that had the mentality of "we wont win, we are just happy to be here, might as well f*** some people up while we are at it" mentality that we had in 2003, next season.

Mordy's quote also stood out to me. For the reason, he had little to no experience within the clubhouse this year

He is pivotal...he and Dontrelle are why I think we can sustain life with Olsen(K machine), Vargas(great freshman season), and Johnson(Brad Penny v2.0) in the rotation next year. And I for one like Big Tex's arrogance and cockiness, his comments before game 1 of the NLDS against the Giants, while only one sentence, showed me we were going to win:

Reporter: Are you going to pitch to Barry Bonds?

Beckett: He's in the lineup aint he?

 

Cocky, sure, but total confidence...as much as I love D-Train, Beckett is the guy I want to take the team on his back, and to lead by example...and I think that arrogant confidence will rub off on people, as much as or more than the excitement that everyone feeds off Dontrelle...we need the kids that had the mentality of "we wont win, we are just happy to be here, might as well f*** some people up while we are at it" mentality that we had in 2003, next season.

 

Well we did lose that game :lol

I flip flopped my opinion on Jack constantly, but he was a good manager.

 

Thank you for you kindness. Your tenure was wonderful.