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09/29/2006: "Fire The Right Guy"

All season long, the overachieving Florida Marlins have been setting records. If the reports are to be believed, it appears they may well be about to set another record - first ballclub to fire the Manager of the Year.

Jeffrey Loria, owner of the Marlins, has been a thorn in the side of baseball for years. As owner of the Expos, he was the guy who successfully swapped his interest in the club for the Marlins, leaving the Expos as baseball gypsies who ultimately left Canada for DC. In South Florida, he inherited a club that went on to win the '03 World Series, and promptly dismantled it. During the past offseason, after a renewed Marlins squad nearly qualified for the playoffs, he dismantled it again. Each time he blamed the fans and lawmakers of the region as the source of his problems. On Opening Day, he openly hosted a delegation from San Antonio in the hopes they'd make him an offer to move there. A friend to baseball he's not.

After dumping Jack McKeon last winter and assembling the lowest paid squad in baseball, he turned to managerial reins over to Joe Girardi. Joe was highly regarded, but that's not what appealed to Loria - Joe was cheap. Just one year removed from his playing days, Girardi was selected over better qualified candidates. To Marlins fans, this was just one more Loria cheap-ass manuever.

Imagine our surprise when the $15 million Marlins - paid as a team less than three different members of the Yankees - performed as they did, all the while led by Joe Girardi. The team was in the playoff hunt with less than a week to go, set numerous records and will doubtless have the Rookie of the Year on their squad.

Apparently, though, that's not enough for Loria. While he may value money, he apparently values something even more - his ego. Girardi has been at odds with Loria and his GM, Larry Beinfest, most of the year, and his style as a hard-headed introvert has done him no favors. Loria was talked out of firing him earlier in the year after a confrontation, and everyone who is in a position to know says there is a "zero percent" chance he will not be fired shortly after the end of Sunday's final game. Somehow, Loria has convinced himself he won't look like the biggest jackass on the block for firing a finalist for Manager of the Year who did more with $15 million than many others have done with ten times as much.

What a pathetic joke. The guy comes in and does everything he could possibly be expected to do and more - except kiss the ass of the owner. And for that, he'll be fired. The cost to the Marlins to separate themselves from Girardi will be high. They have to pay him $1.5 to get out of the contract, and will likely lose pitching coach Rick Kranitz - a friend of Girardi who coaxed 10-win seasons out of three different rookie pitchers for the first time in MLB history. Joe will no doubt show up next season as the manager of the Cubs, and we'll get some tired retred.

Here's a thought ... baseball was willing to own the Expos/Nationals until a proper owner was found. They still have the cash from that sale hanging around - use it to cash Loria out of the Marlins. Kick his sorry ass to the curb, and start a search for local ownership who will respect the team and respect the fans ... and keep Joe Girardi right where he belongs.