October 4, 200917 yr I love Bobby Valentine, hope that the Marlins can snag him. And no, Valentine would not come in and take over a manager spot, period. He'll have some other role within the organization and have to work his way up, aka a Admin Boa type of role.
October 4, 200917 yr I wouldn't call him anti-marlins but he has no problem being at least disrespectful and seeing the glass half empty. He's never been a fan of Loria but again that's his choice. He's in favor of contraction and he thought (I believe) unrealistically that the Marlins should be paying for 100% of the stadium. He and Verducci were the guys on SI who "broke" the Hanley to Red Sox story and his revised version is still on their site. The original has been removed but it can be found I believe here and other fan sites where it was originally quoted.
October 4, 200917 yr But if Valentine was to come in to replace Fredi, I would be very happy. An experienced, in your face manager is something every team needs, especially the Marlins.
October 4, 200917 yr I love Bobby Valentine, hope that the Marlins can snag him. And no, Valentine would not come in and take over a manager spot, period. He'll have some other role within the organization and have to work his way up, aka a Admin Boa type of role. Valentine is not going to come back to MLB in a position less than manager.
October 4, 200917 yr I don't really think changing the manager is the primary issue at this point. From my perspective it has been the front office that has been inhibiting the success of the Marlins as of late. It wasn't Gonzalez who got nothing in return for Josh Willingham and made the decision to start Bonifacio everyday. It's not Gonzalez's fault that Volstad, West, and Miller severely underperformed this season and the Marlins had no fallbacks. It's not Gonzalez's fault that the front office doesn't buy out arbitration for certain players. I am becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Loria, Beinfest, Hill, et al even ignoring the payroll issues. Why the heck would you blame Beinfest? Show me another GM who could put together a team with 80+ wins and a payroll lower than 40 million. Such a person does not exist. He's an above average GM but there remains a talent evaluation problem among our collective front office. A team with the Marlins' turnover rate of trading developed talent for prospects should have a much better farm system. It wasn't Gonzalez that forced the Marlins to come up short. It was overconfidence with the rotation, Bonifacio, and an inconsistent bullpen. I highly doubt it was ultimately Fredi's decision on when Lindstrom and Nunez would be the designated closers.
October 4, 200917 yr Valentine would be a decent choice, but I would probably take Eric Wedge if I was choosing from all of the available managers.
October 4, 200917 yr Valentine isn't coming to Florida. It's just a rumor. Fredi is staying. He did a decent job with the payroll, etc. The FO has done a decent job. Loria should be pissed at himself and the fan base for not showing up for games so the payroll is higher. Loria is rich enough to afford a 60 million dollar payroll. And more fans could show up. Those are the two problems.
October 4, 200917 yr Marlins president David Samson says that he is not aware of any talks with Bobby Valentine, according to Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. Current manager Fredi Gonzalez is signed through 2011. Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports reports that Samson would not dispel speculation that Gonzalez' job may be in jeopardy.
October 4, 200917 yr I can't figure out if this is a hoax, blind hatred toward baseball generally or complete stupidity at CBS 4 Miami. You decide: news sports Fredi Get Ready Jeffrey Loria reportedly will fire Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez this week By CARLOS MILLER Updated 5:18 PM EDT, Sun, Oct 4, 2009 Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is reportedly going to fire manager Fredi Gonzalez for not making the playoffs this year. It wouldn’t be surprising considering Loria fired the team’s last manager after making the playoffs – not to mention being named Manager of the Year that year. Despite having the lowest payroll in the major leagues this year, the Marlins will finish the season in second place with the third-best record in franchise history, according to The Miami Herald. But Loria expected more, so he will meet this week with front office executives to make a final decision. ESPN is reporting that former major league player and manager Bobby Valentine has been in contact with the Marlins about a possible job within the organization, possibly as manager. Loria fired manager Joe Giraldi in 2006 after he guided the team to a surprising wild-card playoff berth, even though they had the lowest payroll in the major leagues that year. Loria was upset because Giraldi told him to stop heckling an umpire from his seat behind home plate during a game in August. Giraldi now manages the New York Yankees. First Published: Oct 4, 2009 4:01 PM EDT http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Marlins-Owner-Reportedly-Will-Fire-Manager-63482777.html Huh?
October 4, 200917 yr What?!? And who the f*** is Carlos Miller? Which is why I asked "is this a hoax" (?) it's still up on Google News where I read it.
October 4, 200917 yr Forgive me if this Herald piece has already been posted: Will Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez be fired? Stay tuned By Clark Spencer Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is reportedly upset with the club's failure to reach the playoffs and will meet with front office executives next week to decide whether to keep manager Fredi Gonzalez and the rest of the coaching staff. The Marlins will finish the season with the third-best record in franchise history. But club officials, including Loria, felt the second-place team should have done better despite having a $35 million payroll, the lowest in the majors. And Gonzalez could be on the hot seat despite receiving a two-year contract extension last spring that carries him through the 2011 season. We're all disappointed, Marlins president David Samson said Sunday. Certainly, winning 87 or 88 games is positive for the organization, but our goal every year is to make the playoffs. Samson would neither confirm nor deny that Gonzalez's job was safe. Asked if Gonzalez should be concerned, Samson replied: For me, with any job in any organization, baseball or Wall Street or anywhere, everybody but the owner should be concerned every year. You have to guard against complacency in any business you run.'' The Marlins have enjoyed winning seasons five of the past seven years, and won the World Series in 2003, despite annually fielding one of the lowest-paid clubs in the majors. But they have also gone through a series of managers under Loria since the New York City art dealer took over as owner of the club in 2002. Gonzalez was hired to replace Joe Girardi, who was fired after the 2006 season -- one in which he was named National League Manager of the Year -- due to friction with the front office. Girardi now manages the New York Yankees. I guess you'd have to ask him, Samson said when asked if Loria was displeased with how this season turned out. But I believe he feels the same way we all feel, which is we set out each year to make the playoffs and we didn't make it this year, which is something we wanted to do. On Saturday, ESPN.com reported that former major league manager Bobby Valentine was in communication with the Marlins about a job. Not that I'm aware of, Samson said of the Valentine report. Gonzalez said he was not concerned about the Valentine rumors. You've got to talk to Admin (Beinfest) about that one, Gonzalez said. I don't worry about it. He's (Valentine) a good baseball man. Samson said every employee in the organization, not just Gonzalez, receives a post-season evaluation. He said the Marlins, unlike some other teams, have avoided layoffs or furloughs due to the economic downturn. But Samson said that could change, too. We have not done furloughs, we haven't done mass firings in the front office that other teams have done, Samson said. But we're evaluating the possibility of that, too. Link
October 4, 200917 yr SI JonHeyman Reports: Marlins loria "dissatisfied'' missing playoffs. gonzalez in jeopardy despite 87-74. valentine "in talks'' The guy dishes out only $37 million in payroll and he's "dissatisfied"!?!?!? What the hell does he expect? Also, if this report is accurate, I think it is obvious that Loria never wanted Gonzalez to be manager and only agreed to do so because the baseball guys told him it was the way to go. Again, I think Loria should let the baseball guys do their jobs. Really, who cares how much he spent on payroll. I'm happy he's not satisfyed missing the playoffs. Do you really want an owner who doesn't care about the playoffs? He may be cheap, but he's better then PIT, KC, WAS and other teams who shell out the big bucks to just "Show" were trying. He spends money wisely. You would do the same.
October 4, 200917 yr WTF, I made a comment on the article letting him know his information was wrong and it was removed.
October 4, 200917 yr SI JonHeyman Reports: Marlins loria "dissatisfied'' missing playoffs. gonzalez in jeopardy despite 87-74. valentine "in talks'' The guy dishes out only $37 million in payroll and he's "dissatisfied"!?!?!? What the hell does he expect? Also, if this report is accurate, I think it is obvious that Loria never wanted Gonzalez to be manager and only agreed to do so because the baseball guys told him it was the way to go. Again, I think Loria should let the baseball guys do their jobs. Really, who cares how much he spent on payroll. I'm happy he's not satisfyed missing the playoffs. Do you really want an owner who doesn't care about the playoffs? He may be cheap, but he's better then PIT, KC, WAS and other teams who shell out the big bucks to just "Show" were trying. He spends money wisely. You would do the same. I want him to be dissatisfied when he puts they miss the playoffs and he puts the team in the best position to win. We have holes that could be filled with a little more money and he didn't do it.
October 4, 200917 yr Marlins president David Samson says that he is not aware of any talks with Bobby Valentine, according to Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. Current manager Fredi Gonzalez is signed through 2011. Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports reports that Samson would not dispel speculation that Gonzalez' job may be in jeopardy. Valentine is one of the most popular managers in the game, and knows alot about the game as well. Im sure we could make the playoffs with him at the helm and almost the same team returning. I see a Al Leiter Pitching Coach, a Mike Piazza Hitting Coach, and a Ricky Henderson 3B/1b coach. LOL Face it, Bobby V would bring more asses in the seats, especially with all the NY homers here. I want Bobby V, and I want him in the Dugout like this--
October 4, 200917 yr My God is Loria making our organization look like an even bigger joke. If he is looking for someone to blame with how this season has played out, he need only look in a mirror. He and the FO are primarily to blame. There is only so much that Fredi can be blamed for.
October 4, 200917 yr SI JonHeyman Reports: Marlins loria "dissatisfied'' missing playoffs. gonzalez in jeopardy despite 87-74. valentine "in talks'' The guy dishes out only $37 million in payroll and he's "dissatisfied"!?!?!? What the hell does he expect? Also, if this report is accurate, I think it is obvious that Loria never wanted Gonzalez to be manager and only agreed to do so because the baseball guys told him it was the way to go. Again, I think Loria should let the baseball guys do their jobs. Really, who cares how much he spent on payroll. I'm happy he's not satisfyed missing the playoffs. Do you really want an owner who doesn't care about the playoffs? He may be cheap, but he's better then PIT, KC, WAS and other teams who shell out the big bucks to just "Show" were trying. He spends money wisely. You would do the same. I want him to be dissatisfied when he puts they miss the playoffs and he puts the team in the best position to win. We have holes that could be filled with a little more money and he didn't do it. A little more money and a bit more prospects. and still no guarentee that it would pan out. I dont think there are any closers worth the prospects mentioned to get them. Hoffman was really the only closer on the market, as well as the 7mm a year kerry wood.
October 4, 200917 yr SI JonHeyman Reports: Marlins loria "dissatisfied'' missing playoffs. gonzalez in jeopardy despite 87-74. valentine "in talks'' The guy dishes out only $37 million in payroll and he's "dissatisfied"!?!?!? What the hell does he expect? Also, if this report is accurate, I think it is obvious that Loria never wanted Gonzalez to be manager and only agreed to do so because the baseball guys told him it was the way to go. Again, I think Loria should let the baseball guys do their jobs. Really, who cares how much he spent on payroll. I'm happy he's not satisfyed missing the playoffs. Do you really want an owner who doesn't care about the playoffs? He may be cheap, but he's better then PIT, KC, WAS and other teams who shell out the big bucks to just "Show" were trying. He spends money wisely. You would do the same. I want him to be dissatisfied when he puts they miss the playoffs and he puts the team in the best position to win. We have holes that could be filled with a little more money and he didn't do it. A little more money and a bit more prospects. and still no guarentee that it would pan out. I dont think there are any closers worth the prospects mentioned to get them. Hoffman was really the only closer on the market, as well as the 7mm a year kerry wood. I don't care about the closer, I care about not having a 3B for 4 months. If we had had an average 3B we'd be in the playoffs. And now we're going to lose Uggla too and put Boni right back in the lineup? He's weakening our team for monetary reasons and then getting mad when we don't make the playoffs! It's stupidity.
October 4, 200917 yr This is Joe Capozzi of the PBPost report of David Samson's press conference this afternoon in Philly. It includes a partial transcript of what was said (which I find very Illuminating) : Florida Marlins brass won’t guarantee manager Fredi Gonzalez will be back by Joe Capozzi Marlins president David Samson just spoke with reporters in Philadelphia for about 15 minutes and the most interesting development was what he wouldn’t say — that manager Fredi Gonzalez will be back. “After every season we always evaluate everything, so that’s normal. We’re all disappointed. Certainly winning 88 games is positive for the organization but our goal every year is to make the playoffs,� Samson said. Samson was given several opportunities to clarify Gonzalez’s future but wouldn’t say he was definitely coming back. “There is no difference between this year and every other year I’ve been in baseball that at the end of the season we meet and talk about the following year as it relates to payroll, as it relates to on the field, as it relates to marketing as it relates to sales, as it relates to everything but finance. He (owner Jeffrey Loria) doesn’t evaluate the accounts receivable person. But everybody else does.� How does Loria feel about the rest of the season? “I believe he feels the same way that we all feel which is that set out every year to make the playoffs and we didn’t make them this year, which is something we wanted to do. But that doesn’t take away from the great things that have happened on the field and off the field.� Here are excerpts from the rest of the interview. (Why isn’t Mr. Loria here?) “When they’re in New York he does but when the season ends in October like it is he has art stuff to take care of. � (Can you understand how saying you are evaluating a guy who got an extension to several months ago almost makes it sound like you’re backing off on a commitment?) “I don’t agree with that. Admin has a deal until 2015 and he gets evaluated the exact same way every year. So I don’t agree with that at all. It’s the same, same thing.� (Aren’t you concerned whether he will be back next season?) “For me with any job in any organization baseball or Wall Street, any body but the owner should be concerned every year. You just have to guard against complacency in any business you run.� (Does Loria feel that this was a playoff team?) “There’s no question we felt that we should have been a playoff team.� (Your fans will see that the team has improved every year under Gonzalez and this year he guided them to the third-best finish in franchise history. They might not see the year as a disappointment.) “I love our fans, whether they come to the ballpark or just watch on TV. But on the other hand our job is not to be fans. Our job is to evaluate everything differently because we are in the business. We don’t evaluate according to bloggers or according to fans. “According to the emails I’ve gotten, at one point or another this season, our fans would have had every one of the 25 guys traded, including Hanley.� (On the timetable for these decisions) “We don’t have a date.� (Is it reasonable to expect that Fredi will have an answer, say, by the end of the week?) “You keep saying it’s about Fredi and I keep saying this is not about Fredi. That’s the difference and I’m not communicating it right. I’m sorry, I’m trying. It’s not about Fredi. It’s everything. … “We are not ready to address that situation. Our year ends Oct. 31. That’s when the contracts ends for our coaches and our employees. That’s the end of the fiscal year. … ‘We have not done furloughs, we have not done mass firings in the front office like other teams have done but we are evaluating the possibility of that, too, and that has an impact and our decisions on what we do.� (Has Loria considered the possibility that maybe you make the playoffs if more money is invested on the 25-man roster?) “It’s a great question. We are not going to lose money. We tried it in ‘05 when we won 83 games and didn’t make the playoffs and we are still paying the price right now for what we did to have payroll so high… “For us our expectations when we take the field, it’s 9 against 9. There are teams that raise their payroll $20- or $30-million. We raised our payroll $15 million or something and won how many extra games? I don’t think that he would look at it and say man if I had just put in 20 more million dollars, that would have made the difference in making the playoffs. There are some people who could argue we could have taken $4 million off this team and maybe done better.’’ (Has the team spoken to Bobby Valentine about any position?) “Not that I am aware of in any way.’’ (David, because you won’t come out and say Fredi will be back, fans will conclude his job is on the line.) “I would not conclude that. My conclusion if I were a fan is, there’s an evaluation going on at every level of the organization and our job is to do the best we can to win as most games and get a parade here. That’s our job.’’ http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2009/10/04/florida-marlins-brass-wont-guarantee-manager-fredi-gonzalez-will-be-back/
October 4, 200917 yr A team with the Marlins' turnover rate of trading developed talent for prospects should have a much better farm system. We are pretty consistently ranked in the top 5 of all farm systems. I'm not sure what more he can do.
October 4, 200917 yr I wonder what all of the baseball analysts are going to say after Gonzalez gets fired. They were perplexed enough after Girardi got canned but at least their was the "incident" that signified a dispute between the manager and the front office that leads to termination. If Gonzalez gets fired they will be observing a case where a $37 million team won 87 games and fired its manager. This is going to be hard to explain. Oh I can tell you what they'll say. They will rip the Marlins organization apart. He is named as a possible candidate for MOY in some articles I've read and on the MLB network Barry Larkin and another guy (can't remember cause it was a while back) were naming him as their favorite for MOY. Seriously, Loria and Co. are only making our organization look like a bigger joke.
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