About Fredi

I was preparing to write an indignant post about the Marlins' firing of manager Fredi Gonzalez, but as the day went on, I felt more and more meh about the whole thing. To wit:

• We are talking about baseball, a sport in which a manager contributes maybe one or two wins a year out of 162 games. Firing a manager is kind of like firing the mail clerk at your office. Someone new will deliver the mail/lineup card to everyone/the umpire, but the contents of the mail/lineup card won't change.
• While firing Fredi does not really solve any of the Marlins' problems (namely the atrocious bullpen), I don't expect it will have much of a negative effect either. The team seemed to back him in the Hanley Ramirez dust-up last month, but that seems like ancient history at this point. Besides, I can't think that the team would go into shutdown mode just to spite the owner.
• And if you're feeling too sorry for Fredi, just remember: He is a protege of Bobby Cox, who just happens to be retiring this year. Fredi is already the front-runner for the Atlanta job. So instead of sweating it out with Jeffrey Loria (who I remind you is simply George Steinbrenner with less money), he'll probably get hired to manage a team that believes in things like paying for high-quality free agents. He could do worse.

So instead of giving my condolences, I'm going to go ahead and congratulate in advance the newest manager of the (division rival) Atlanta Braves, Fredi Gonzalez.

On a related note, he's coming:

UPDATE: Rob Neyer cuts through the bs:

... but if he's the reason for the Marlins underperforming their run differential by four wins this year, doesn't it follow that he was the reason for the Marlins outperforming their run differential by five wins last year?

Also

You have to give the Marlins their due; they make a lot of smart moves and play respectably every year despite their payroll. But I can't help wondering if management might need a little work on its people skills.