Diamondbacks Bullpen

[Dan]

MIAMI - The Florida Marlins fired manager Joe Girardi on Tuesday, and five hours later announced that he'll be replaced by Fredi Gonzalez, third-base coach for the Atlanta Braves the past four years. Girardi's departure after only one season had been expected after his rift with owner Jeffrey Loria boiled over in an on-field confrontation two months ago.
Gonzalez, 42, interviewed with the Marlins a year ago after Jack McKeon resigned. Instead they hired Girardi, but his relationship with Loria and general manager Larry Beinfest soon became strained.

Gonzalez was born in Cuba and raised in Miami, becoming the first manager in the Marlins' organization when they hired him to run their first minor-league team in Erie, Pa., in 1992. Beginning in 1999, he coached third base for 2 1/2 years under Marlins manager John Boles.

The cost-conscious Marlins wanted Girardi out so badly they were willing to let him go with two years left on a guaranteed three-year contract. They fired him even though he's considered a strong candidate for NL manager of the year.

The Marlins had baseball's youngest team and lowest payroll at $15 million, but Girardi led them to a 78-84 record, and they were in contention for a playoff berth until a late-September fade.

Girardi said he was fired during a short, unemotional meeting in his office with Beinfest, team president David Samson and assistant general manager Mike Hill. Loria did not attend.

"They came in and said, `We're going to make a change,'" Girardi said. He said no reason was given, and he didn't ask for one.

Girardi, an Illinois native, Northwestern graduate and former Chicago Cubs catcher, becomes a potential candidate to replace Dusty Baker, whose four-year tenure with the Cubs ended Monday. Two other teams are also looking for managers — Washington parted with Frank Robinson, and San Francisco cut ties with Felipe Alou.

Girardi said he has no idea what he'll do next season, and plans to discuss options with his wife. His voice broke when he began discussing his dismissal with reporters in his office, but he was soon smiling and cracking jokes.

"I'll land on my feet," he said. "I talked to one of my mentors last night and I said, `I've never been fired before.' And he said, `Welcome to the club.'"

The rift between Girardi and Loria erupted at a game Aug. 6, when the owner berated an umpire while sitting behind the plate. From the dugout, Girardi asked Loria to stop.

"The gist of the conversation to Jeffrey was, `I preach to my players about not arguing with umpires, and this is not going to help us,'" Girardi said.

Loria angrily left his seat and confronted Girardi after the game during a 90-minute clubhouse meeting.

The owner has refused to comment on the episode or respond to published reports that he fired Girardi that day, then changed his mind.

Girardi declined to elaborate on what happened, or discuss his differences with Loria and Beinfest.

"Obviously, the things I did, whether they were perfect or not, the players responded. We won," Girardi said.

Beginning in spring training, Beinfest clashed with Girardi over personnel decisions, and during the second half of the season the general manager was rarely seen in the clubhouse or manager's office.

The decision to fire Girardi was not based on the incident with Loria, but rather a "breakdown in the way the organization was operating," Beinfest said.

"Joe is not returning because it was not a good fit," Beinfest said. "That's it ... We felt that Joe was not able to integrate himself into the inner workings of this organization."

Beinfest declined to detail any of the specifics of the problems between Girardi and the front office, adding that the organization wanted the relationship to work.

"We're ready to move on," Beinfest said.

The power struggle had no apparent affect on the team. The Marlins were widely projected to lose more than 100 games, but instead they rallied from an 11-31 start and trailed in the NL wild-card race by only two games on Sept. 12 before fading.

The Marlins became the first team to climb above .500 from 20 games under. They also became the first team to have four rookie pitchers win 10 games, and they set a record for most home runs by rookies with 112.

"People thought we were going to lose more games than any team in baseball, and we didn't," Girardi said. "And that's because of the players."

As a player, Girardi was a member of three World Series championship teams with the New York Yankees. He spent seven seasons with the Cubs and also played for the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals before retiring as a player in 2003.

The Marlins' managerial hiring was their fourth since Loria bought the team in 2002

[matt]

Moved to MLB section.

I wasn't surprised that Girardi was fired but that was a quick replacement.

[McCray]

wow. loria is really a dickwad.
_________________
Hank, you're dead to me.

[shoewizard]

When I worked for privately owned companies...I always remembered one important thing:

No matter how good I was at my job, if I didn't get along with the boss, I would have ZERO job security, because people that rich can afford to get people they don't like or want to be around out of their lives, no matter the cost to their business or reputation.

It's called FUCK YOU MONEY

Fuck You Money is when you have so much money, nobody can touch you for any decision you make...(except the IRS!)

[TAP]

[Dan]

[McCray]

girardi was totally, 100% in the right, though. it helps NO ONE to have your owner bitching at the umps. AND it's a bad example.

allright, death threats are out, but can i just say that loria deserves a swift kick to the nuts for this?
_________________
Hank, you're dead to me.

[matt]

[shoewizard]

No matter how much money you have, you always hate the idea of giving it to the tax man.

[McCray]

haha! screw all you rich bastards on this board! i have never, ever owed money to the IRS. i've always gotten a huge refund.

ahh, it does pay to be poor and in bad health!
_________________
Hank, you're dead to me.

[EvilJuan]

[matt]

Without going too far off-topic, life was much different back then. We didn't spend hundreds of billions on the military, we didn't need freeway systems, and we sure didn't need/care about environmental protection.