Jeffrey Loria has every right to do with his baseball team as he wishes. I just wish he wouldn't pull the trigger on firing Fredi Gonzalez. Loria is reportedly very upset the Marlins didn't make the playoffs this year when he thought a team with a 35 million dollar payroll, and one of the youngest teams in the majors should have. Loria can feel his team should do better but does he honestly think bringing in a different manager would of gotten the Marlins to the post-season?
Loria seems to think so. Now they're reports out there suggesting Loria will fire Gonzalez this week and hire Bobby Valentine as the new manager of the team. Gonzalez won 87 games this year at times with inconsistent pitching, hitting and a bullpen which had a hard time closing games. Loria is out of his mind if he honestly thought this team underachieved. If anything the Marlins overachieved. Knowing Loria and the boneheaded moves he's made in the past, I have a feeling Gonzalez has managed his last game and Valentine who is a very good manager will take over. I can't argue with the hiring of Valentine because he has won a pennant and seems to get the most out of his teams. But why fire a guy who's done a great job in the three seasons he's been there already?
Let's also say this, if the Marlins fire Gonzalez, you don't think the Atlanta Braves who had Gonzalez on their coaching staff for years and is a close friend of Bobby Cox, won't become the heir apparent for Cox when he retires next year? If that's the case then make that two managers (Joe Girardi) which will have ended up in better situations than when they left the Marlins. Check that three if you count Jim Leyland now with the Tigers, but wasn't managing when Loria bought the team.
Fredi doesn't deserve this fate. Then again his fate could be even better if he ends up in Atlanta anyway.
