Marlins Manager Fredi Gonzalez's job reportedly went on the chopping block after
team owner Jeffrey Loria and upper management voiced their disappointment with the team's failure
to play October ball. Ultimately, Loria and company decided to give Gonzalez a stay of execution.
"For me, with any job in any organization, baseball or Wall Street or anywhere, everybody but the owner should be concerned every year,'' Marlins President David Samson told the Herald of Gonzalez's iffy future. "You have to guard against complacency in any business you run."
Now, there's a ringing endorsement for Gonzalez in 2010! Yes, the Marlins ended the season with their tails between their, um, legs (fins?), with yet another playoff miss, but considering how low their payroll is compared to the Dodgers' and Phillies', the Marlins' 87-75 record was better than anyone had reason to expect.
Or maybe that's a matter of perception. After the jump, let's see how millions of Marlins fans responded to the question.
First, the silver lining: This season, Hanley Ramirez snagged the Marlins' first batting title with a .342 season average. The team finished 12 games over .500. And Gonzalez became the winningest manager in franchise history with their 242nd victory against the Philadelphia Phillies in their season ender -- all this with the smallest payroll in the Majors.
I think Gonzalez is doing something right. What about you? Does Gonzalez sink or swim in your book?
::Crickets::
OK, so Marlins fan forums aren't exactly buzzing. Did you all jump ship?
Through my quest for fan reaction, I took to the virtual streets, AKA Twitter, and got a whopping one response.
"Jesus could be the Marlins' manager and they would still suck," said the lone Twitter user.