All indications are the Marlins are about to be looking for their third manager this calendar year, but perhaps things would have been different if they had gone down a different path in May.
The Marlins contacted former manager Ozzie Guillen about replacing the fired Mike Redmond in May, USA Today Sports reports, but ultimately got skittish and moved general manager Dan Jennings from the front office to the dugout instead.
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The Marlins were 16-22 (.421) when they dropped the ax on Redmond and have improved slightly under Jennings (50-65, .435), but it has become clear the longtime personnel man is not a long-term solution on the field. Jennings might not even remain in the organization at all following the season, according to recent reports.
It's impossible to know what might have transpired with the ever-unpredictable Guillen back at the helm in Miami, but it surely would have made for a more entertaining season for the NL East stragglers.
Part of the reason the Marlins considered bringing back Guillen three years after firing him is that they're still paying him — this is the final season of his original four-year, $10 million deal from 2012, his only season in Miami. But they ultimately decided to take the safer, if less conventional, route with Jennings.
Perhaps owner Jeffrey Loria will reconsider a reunion with Guillen this winter. Either way, the former AL manager of the year desperately wants to return to the dugout after three seasons relegated to television duty.
“I just want to be back so bad,’’ Guillen told USA Today. “When you grow up in the game, it’s hard to have it taken away from you. It’s very hard. Sometimes I wake up in the morning, and think, ‘(Expletive), what am I doing here?’ … “I miss this game so damn much.’’
Though Guillen can sometimes cause higher-ups headaches with his lack of a filter when it comes to speaking his mind, his record is better than many other potential retread managers out there. The 51-year-old is 747-710 (.513) in nine seasons as a big-league manager, a number dragged down by the career-worst 69-93 record he posted in his lone season in Miami.
Now 10 years removed from leading the White Sox to 99 regular-season wins and a World Series title, it might be time for him to get another shot.
