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Even after delivering a 10-4 win against the Baltimore Orioles last night, the Marlins have announced that they’ve fired manager Fredi Gonzalez and two other coaches: bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley.
“It is never easy to make a change in managers. Fredi has been with our club for four years. We have become close, and I am extremely fond of Fredi. I, along with all our fans, am grateful for Fredi’s contributions. At the same time, we can’t let personal feelings get in the way of taking steps that we believe are necessary to improve our ballclub,” said club owner Jeffrey Loria in a statement.
Havana-born Gonzalez had received praise for aptly coaching a team with few superstars and a pitifully low payroll, but failed to make the play-offs in any of his three full seasons.
Edwin Rodriguez will take over as interim manager. Brandon Hyde and John Mallee will fill in as the interim bench and hitting coaches. Rodriguez has previously served time as skipper for the Marlin’s associated AAA team in New Orleans.
The Marlins, with a record 34-36 record, currently sit fourth in a relatively-densely packed National League East.
Random thought: Is announcing the move in the middle of big World Cup matches an attempt to somewhat bury the news?
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