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The Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond on Sunday after losing to the Braves 6-0. That part wasn’t so surprising, given rumors of dismissing Redmond existed from early on in the 2015 season. What has taken people aback is Miami’s plan to replace Redmond, by making their general manager the on-field manager.
Dan Jennings hasn’t coached a team since college, back in the mid-80s. He’s spent his professional career as a scout and an executive, and should get eternal credit for not only building up the Marlins’ farm system, but also for his part in convincing Giancarlo Stanton to sign his 13-year, $325 million contract this offseason. Instead, he’s been placed in the dugout, leaving Marlins’ President of Baseball Operations, Michael Hill, to run the front office, along with assistant general manager Mike Berger.
This is all pretty awkward, and even more so since Hill and Jennings are both in the final years of their contracts and have been thrust into new roles on a whim by their fickle boss, owner Jeffrey Loria. That doesn’t mean it will fail, of course: Hill was previously the assistant GM and was already Jennings’ boss in baseball ops, and Jennings has experience as a scout and will work with bench coach, Mike Goff, who has served in that role previously for the Mariners.
It’s fair to wonder, though, if Loria has just run out of people he feels he can trust, or if he just doesn’t feel like paying a third manager, since Ozzie Guillen, the Marlins’ manager in 2011 and 2012, is still under contract for the rest of this season. Let’s be honest: It’s the Marlins. It could be both of those things or neither of them and something completely different our non-Lorian brains can’t pinpoint.
- Hey, remember the Bud Selig rule about interviewing minority candidates for managing jobs? MLB doesn’t seem to.
- The A’s bullpen can’t possibly be this bad, unless it totally is.
- Wilmer Flores doesn’t have the glove for shortstop even if he has the bat, so dealing Daniel Murphy could help the Mets out in a whole lot of ways as they try to stay relevant in the NL East.
- One reason the Mets’ lead has become so tenuous is thanks to Bryce Harper, who basically took three out of four games from the Padres by himself. Harper is batting .543/.636/1.314 with eight homers in his last 10 games, and is now leading the NL in games played, plate appearances, runs, homers, walks, intentional walks, slugging, total bases, OPS and OPS+.
- Before the Marlins fired Mike Redmond, they came one out shy of being no-hit by Braves’ Shelby Miller.
- A man was beaten down by a gang of Phillies’ mascots and then eaten alive.
- Player salaries are not keeping pace with revenue, so the MLBPA should see about raising the minimum player salary during the next round of collective bargaining negotiations with MLB.
- Barry Bonds is going to file a grievance for collusion against MLB, and his odds of winning require some explanation.
- A terrible man-child in a Phillies jersey stole a souvenir home run ball from a lady who was reaching for it on the ground. How come the mascots didn’t eat this guy?
- Hitting a home run into a tub of potato salad counts even though the batter didn’t call his shot.
- In his new book, Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez explains that Mets’ COO Jeff Wilpon forced him to pitch while he was injured in 2005 -- Pedro’s career would end a few seasons later, far earlier than it should have. You have made many dangerous new enemies with this revelation, Mr. Wilpon.
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