Opinions on Yesterday's Firing-Hiring

Greg Cote: 'It was interesting Tuesday how the new man, Gonzalez, answered when asked what he thought of the 2006 Marlins. His perspective is sharp; he saw Florida 19 times as Atlanta Braves third base coach.

'"Outstanding. Impressive," he said. "They played happy."

'Give Girardi credit for creating that atmosphere. It's far too easy to trot out the tired notion that managers aren't important simply because they aren't pitching and hitting. Even Beinfest admitted, ``Good managers can make a bad team good. Good managers can make a good team great.''

'The Marlins hired themselves a good one, just the right one to guide this young team, and then fired him in a pique because he proved a bit too strong-willed for the masters of the organization. Presumably Gonzalez -- whom the Marlins passed over in favor of Girardi a year earlier -- will be more pliant to management's power needs and whims.

'It is not incongruous to bemoan Girardi's unfair departure and also to note that Gonzalez, 42, looks like a good hire in every way. The latter has a deep background with the club, has spent four years in Atlanta learning from wise Bobby Cox and -- being Cuban-born, Miami-raised and bilingual -- enters his new market as comfortably as fingers slide into old baseball mitts.

'It's just that he happens to be taking a job that ought not have been available.' (MiamiHerald)



Dave Hyde: 'The Marlins' front office isn't perfect. Its public relations can be shaky. Its stadium thinking remains unclear. Its profit level has become staggering in light of the payroll. Its relations with the commissioner's office remains contentious.

'But when it comes to making baseball decisions the Marlins typically are an honor-roll student and up for smartest-kid-in-the-class discussion. That's where you start in any reasonable discussion of how it sounds unseemly but understandable that Girardi could be named Manager of the Year and fired in the same season.

'If the front office and manager have treated each other like sparring partners all year, as Beinfest says, the Marlins have blown only one big baseball decision of late and it's not firing Girardi.

'It's hiring him in the first place.' (SunSentinel)