Florida Marlins Fire Manager Fredi Gonzalez

Well, Hanley must be happy..

The Florida Marlins have fired manager Fredi Gonzalez, bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley. The Marlins are having a bit of a tough season with a 34-36, but I don't know what the Marlins can really expect from a team that has the 6th lowest payroll in the MLB, but I guess that is more then they usually spend. Florida was 87-75 and finished 2nd in the NL East.

The Marlins have a lot of the pieces to be a good team, so maybe this little shakeup will get them going. The team said Edwin Rodriguez had been named interim manager, with Brandon Hyde and John Mallee the interim bench and hitting coaches.

Don't feel too bad for Gonzalez, as he spent 5 seasons as a coach for the Braves, including 4 seasons as third base coach. He is reported to have remained a favorite of the Braves organization and could receive strong consideration as the replacement for Bobby Cox, who is retiring after this season.

Bobby Cox To Retire After 2010 Season

"After 50 years in baseball, Bobby Cox figured the only way he would ever give up managing was to pick a specific time and announce it publicly. So that's what he did Wednesday, revealing his plans to retire as manager of the Atlanta Braves after next season. Now comes the hard part: sticking to it.

"There is a little bit of relief once you come to grips with announcing it," Cox said. "I've never lost the love to manage, period. But you have to make a decision. At my age, you have to make a decision. Somebody a little younger can start up (Sportsline)."

Bobby Cox has had a hell of a career and I always respect a guy who coaches the same team for this long. I really hope somehow the Braves can make the playoffs next year (thought that looks unlikely). Anyways, Cox is a Hall of Famer with his 14 consecutive postseason appearances (1991-2005) and the 1995 World Series title. He should have won more titles, but in the end it is impressive to have your team in the playoffs every year.