Normally, being No. 1 in your profession is a good thing.
Bud Black Favored to be First Baseball Manager Fired in 2012
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It means you have reached the top, everyone recognizes you and when a topic comes up, your name comes to mind.
Unfortunately for Bud Black, that recognition means he might not have a job much longer.
Sportsbooks opened the San Diego Padre skipper as the manager most likely to get fired first in 2012, just two years after he was the National League manager of the year. So much for the glory of being No. 1.
"He’s 3/1 to be the first victim of a GM’s itchy trigger finger," said Mike Pickett of OddsShark.com, SBNation’s odds partner. "But we don’t think black is the right color here – we think it will be red."
As in Cincinnati Reds boss Dusty Baker. He’s 11/2 according to some shops and the early-season turmoil has some bettors picking Dusty to bite the dust.
Ryan Madson’s elbow fell off. The team emptied its bank account on Joey Votto. The Reds are favored to win the division, despite the fact the defending World Series champs live there.
"If that seems like a lot of potential trouble to you, it does to us as well," said baseball analyst Jack Randall. "There are good teams in this division and when the expectations are high, fingers start pointing quickly."
The other suspects are Brad Mills in Houston, although the Astros are so bad, it`s hard to imagine what the point would be in sacking the manager. He is 5/1.
Buck Showalter is no stranger to getting fired and the Baltimore Orioles embark on their 419th consecutive losing season. He is good value at 6/1.
Philly’s Charlie Manuel is 10/1 but we think he has a long leash and enough perfume from his World Series win to blow the stink off any bad starts. And how long can any Philly losing streak be with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay each starting once a week?
Who will be the first manager to be fired in 2012? [ Live Baseball Odds at SBNation ]
Bud Black, San Diego 3/1
Brad Mills, Houston 5/1
Dusty Baker, Cincinnati 11/2
Buck Showalter, Baltimore 6/1
Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota 6/1
Jim Tracy, Colorado 9/1
Charlie Manuel, Phillies 10/1
Joe Girardi, Yankees 10/1
Bruce Bochy, San Francisco 10/1
Mike Scioscia, Angels 12/1
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