Conventional wisdom says that a team brings in a salty old timer coach to right the shaky ship, teach the young whippersnappers a thing or two, and claw its way back to respectability.
But the Marlins have actually gotten worse since 80-year-old skipper Jack McKeon took over this summer, statistics show.
When McKeon took over from Edwin Rodriguez on June 20, he inherited a rapidly slumping team. The Fish were on a 10-game skid and had lost 18 of their last 19 outings.
Still, the team's winning percentage at the time was .444 (32-40), within striking distance of .500.
Yet, after last night's collapse to the Washington Nationals -- a game the Marlins might have won had their closer's ID not been made from cardboard and duct tape -- the team's winning percentage was .44375 (71-89).
The numbers speak for themselves. For all the talk of a turnaround, the Marlins are actually worse than when McKeon wandered his cranky way into the clubhouse.
We wish Captain Jack the best in his octagenarian adventures. But let's hope that the irascible Ozzie Guillen has a more positive effect on the W-L ratio.
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