MARLINS
Gonzalez to remain manager
Fredi Gonzalez will return as Marlins manager, ending talk that his job might be in jeopardy.
BY CLARK SPENCER
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com
Fredi Gonzalez is staying put as manager of the Marlins. But two of his coaches got the boot.
Thus ended two days of speculation about Gonzalez and his future with the team.
Because Gonzalez is under contract through 2011, the Marlins issued no comment on the decision to keep him as manager.
``We are pleased with a winning season,'' owner Jeffrey Loria said in a prepared statement. ``And we are disappointed that we did not make the playoffs. We always want to exceed expectations.''
Pitching coach Mark Wiley and first base/infield coach Andy Fox were not offered contracts to remain in their current roles but were offered positions elsewhere in the organization.
One-year contracts for the 2010 season were offered to all of the other coaches.
The Marlins finished in second place in the National League East with a record of 87-75, the team's second consecutive winning season under Gonzalez.
But team president David Samson, amid reports that former major-league manager Bobby Valentine had been in contact with the Marlins about a position, refused Sunday to say definitively that Gonzalez would return next season.
And the Marlins did not dispute reports that Gonzalez's job was in jeopardy.
Loria was reportedly upset that the Marlins failed to reach the playoffs, and both Samson and Larry Beinfest, the team's president of baseball operations, termed the club's failure to reach the postseason as ``disappointing'' in season-ending comments to reporters.
Samson said Gonzalez, as well as all other employees, would be evaluated during meetings with Loria in New York on Monday. Gonzalez, whose 242 victories are the most ever by a Marlins manager, was given a two-year contract extension last spring that takes him through the 2011 season.
``Every organization regularly evaluates itself to see how it can improve,'' Loria said in the statement. ``We do this on a constant basis.''
Gonzalez said Tuesday he would comment at a later date.
Said Beinfest of Gonzalez: ``I think Jeffrey's statements speak for themselves. Hopefully some of the things that went on this weekend are behind us and we're ready to move forward.
``I think today was a step in that direction.''
Wiley was in charge of a pitching staff that underachieved, especially within the starting rotation.
The Marlins' starters, widely projected to be one of the team's strengths, struggled over the course of the season. Collectively, the starters ranked 10th in the NL with a 4.67 ERA.
During one 29-game stretch in August and September, no Marlins starter lasted as long as seven innings in an outing.
``What it came down to was the organization decided we are looking to get those young pitchers performing and consistent in the major leagues, and we're just going to try a different approach,'' Beinfest said. ``I don't think it's a knock on Mark at all. I think it was an area we were deficient this year and we're going to try something else to see if we can get those guys and get them consistent as quickly as possible.''
Fox was in charge of infield defense. While shortstop Hanley Ramirez improved defensively, cutting his errors from 22 to 10, the Marlins gave up the second-most unearned runs in the NL.
``We put Andy in a tough situation three years ago when we hired him before the season started,'' Beinfest said. ``He was still relatively inexperienced in terms of coaching, let alone the big leagues. He did a nice job adjusting to the major leagues and the defense did improve this year, but again it's an organization decision where we thought we were going to try another coach and continue to advance the defense and try to make it even better.''
Beinfest said the club would move quickly to fill both positions.
Contracts were offered to bench coach Carlos Tosca, hitting coach Jim Presley, bullpen coach Steve Foster, third base coach Bo Porter, and bullpen coordinator Pierre Arsenault.
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