Bobby Valentine has removed himself from the list of potential candidates for the vacant Florida Marlins managerial position.  WHO CAN BLAME HIM?  Who would want any part of working for an owner like Jeffrey Loria?

Although the Marlins have won a World Series under the ownership of Loria, this team just seems like a nightmare to follow.  Since Loria has taken the reigns, the Fish have gone through five managers.  (Well…four managers and one interim manager.)  This may not seem like a lot in the span of eight years of ownership until you consider the quality of the managers that this team has had.
Jeff Torborg was at the helm when Loria arrived.  He certainly didn’t distinguish himself as one of the greats in Marlin history but he had prior success (even winning an AL Manager of the Year Award at one point.)
Jack McKeon took over and guided the Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003.  This performance was good enough to land him the NL Manager of the Year Award.  At the end of the 2005 season, McKeon hung up his spikes in favor of retirement…and I can understand why.  The following year, Loria dropped $45 million from an already very low payroll, making his team salary a paltry $15 million for the year.
You wouldn’t imagine that a competitive team could be fielded for that kind of money…but under new manager, Joe Girardi, that is exactly what the Marlins did.  They managed to go 78-84 under Girardi’s guidance and (in so doing) Girardi won the NL Manager of the Year Award.  Of course, he was promptly fired at the end of the season stemming from a late season incident where Loria was trying to tell Girardi how to manage from the stands.  Joe ignored him (as well he should have) and Jeffrey fired him.
Enter Fredi Gonzalez.  Gonzalez managed the team for about 3-1/2 seasons before being fired earlier this year in favor of interim manager, Edwin Rodriguez.  Gonzalez had a pretty successful run.  In 2008 and 2009, despite a very low payroll, the Marlins proved themselves contenders.  In 2008 The Sporting News recognized this by honoring Gonzalez with The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award.  (Is there some kind of theme here?)  Then, earlier in the year, Gonzalez benched Hanley Ramirez for dogging it on the field.  Ramirez WAS dogging it and Gonzalez did the right thing in benching him.  Hanley then told the press that Gonzalez didn’t know what he was doing because he had never made the big leagues as a player and that he didn’t respect him.  Now I don’t know if this event played directly into Fredi’s firing (Loria said that Gonzalez had his full support) but it does seem odd that shortly after his clash with the Prima Donna Star Player, Gonzalez found himself unemployed.
So, I ask the question again.  Why would anyone want to manage this team?  Their payroll is consistently (and by far) lower than any other team in the east.  Yet, they are expected to put a playoff caliber product on the field each season.  Most teams like to stick with their successful managers.  (For examples, see Boston, Tampa Bay, New York (AL), Minnesota, Chicago (AL), Anaheim, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and St. Louis.)  It does not seem that Jeffrey Loria wants to follow the model of other successful organizations…so, BIG SURPRISE…he needs a new manager. 

Good for Bobby Valentine.  There is no need for a respected baseball man to put himself through all of that.  AND congratulations to Fredi Gonzalez for becoming the Braves’ new manager.  Apparently, Atlanta thinks so highly of him that they have picked him to lead the Braves into the post (HOF) Bobby Cox era.