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Okay, who had Eric Wedge in the "first manager to be fired in the off-season" pool? Sure, it's not technically the off-season yet -- though it has been in Cleveland for a while! -- but soon-to-be-former Indians skipper Eric Wedge will complete the season, then look elsewhere for employment.

Former Indian hurler John Farrell, now the Red Sox pitching coach, is rumored to be a replacement candidate, though he may not be allowed to take the job per a contractual clause in Boston. So who will/should manage the Indians? And who's next on the MLB skipper chopping block?

Posted by Mick Doherty on Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 12:14 PM EDT.

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brent - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 01:09 PM EDT (#206628) #

I guess the kiss of death is true. I thought Shapiro was publicly backing Wedge all season? If your GM gives you his vote of confidence, you might as well just resign right on the spot as it beats being fired.

Gerry - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 01:13 PM EDT (#206629) #

I am suprised Wedge has lasted this long. He has had a solid track record of underachievement and each year it seems as though he was about to be fired but survived. Wedge, like Houdini, has a finite number of lives.

AWeb - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 01:44 PM EDT (#206630) #

Who should manage Cleveland? No idea. Whoever gets the job is the early favourite for manager of the year, though, since Cleveland plays in a terrible division with no juggernaut teams. AL manager of the year this year is boring, since top payroll teams winning doesn't make for a good managerial story.

Next skipper on the block - I think Tremblay in Baltimore. I made a note in another thread, but Baltimore has made a habit of tanking in September in oft-spectacular fashion, and like the Jays have underperformed their Pythagorean record for several years. Unlike the Jays, this hasn't cost them a shot at the playoffs, just a chance to be less terrible. But a manager with a bad record on a team which might (?) be ready to vastly improve with the infusion of youth says "let's get a new manager" to me.

Mick Doherty - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 01:50 PM EDT (#206631) #

Yeah, AWeb, but from my admittedly distant view, Baltimor is D-U-M. So if they fire Trembly, their next manager is probably ... drumroll ... Eric Wedge?

Mike Green - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 02:17 PM EDT (#206633) #

Baltimore, dumb? No way. Like Tampa in 2007, they're biding their time. For 2010, they have $30 million in payroll obligations (which buys them Roberts, Markakis, Uehara, Wigginton, Matusz and Izturis), plus Wieters, Reimold, Pie, Jones, Tillman at very little cost, and other valuable pieces in the high minors. I would be surprised if they're not above .500 in 2010.

Magpie - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 02:54 PM EDT (#206634) #

These people that you mention
Yes I know them, they're quite lame

I don't know about the Orioles. Ty Wigginton looks to me quite a bit like Edwin Encarnacion, except he's five years older. And the main difference between Cezar Izturis and John McDonald is the Orioles will end sending Izturis up to the plate more than 400 times this year, with the quite predictable and disastrous consequences for their offence. Uehara has been decent this year, but he's 34 years old and had started 20 games in a season exactly once in his career and that was five years ago. Matusz and Tillman (and Bergesen) are promising young arms. They all have a chance to be good, they all have a chance to be mediocre, they all have a chance to hurt themselves. Young pitchers... your heart... the usual caveats.

Obviously the three young outfielders (not to mention Wieters) all have a chance to be outstanding. and Pie may yet make something of himself (but on this team, he's a fourth outfielder, no?) But none of them are quite there yet, and there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.

Mike Green - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 03:45 PM EDT (#206635) #

Right now, the O's of 2010 stack up like this:

Scott, Pie, Jones and Markakis OF, Josh Bell 3B, Izturis SS, Roberts 2B, Somebody 1B, Wieters C, Reimold DH
Matusz, Tillman, Arrieta, Hernandez, Guthrie, Bergesen SPs
Nobody in the pen.

And they've got $30 million or so to spend if they want to. I imagine that trading Luke Scott would be high up on the agenda.

Mike Green - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 03:48 PM EDT (#206636) #

Wigginton's role is as backup corner IF and sometime platoon DH with Reimold in left in place of Pie. That's a lot better place than as your everyday third baseman.

brent - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 03:56 PM EDT (#206637) #

The next couple of years could put a serious strain on MLB if all of the AL East is in the top 7 teams of baseball. It could be argued that they are all pretty much top 10.

I guess Shapiro is feeling some heat if the manager is gone. I don't think Shapiro will outlast his next manager.

Matthew E - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 04:00 PM EDT (#206638) #

According to the National Post, the Jays just fired about 30 people who worked in their front office. I wonder just what it is they did, and whether the Jays aren't going to worry about having those things done anymore. The speculation is almost impossible to resist. Ticket sellers? Scouts? Trainers? Ace and Diamond?

Mike Green - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 04:27 PM EDT (#206639) #

It should be noted that "I, Tzuris" is an anagram of Izturis. Perhaps someone has already commented on this. When one is fasting and not working, attention often drifts to such weighty matters.

Mick Doherty - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 05:06 PM EDT (#206641) #

Really, Mike? A Yiddish/Semitic pun? I know this place is fulla smart people, but that really does spell "trouble" (literally in this case) ...

Bid - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 05:13 PM EDT (#206642) #

Generally I drown my tzuris in nachas supreme...

Frank Markotich - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 05:23 PM EDT (#206643) #

I can only hope Ace and Diamond were among the 30.

Ryan Day - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 05:54 PM EDT (#206644) #

Didn't they get rid of Diamond years ago? I can only remember seeing Ace at games for the last year or two.

ramone - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 06:11 PM EDT (#206645) #

According to the canadian press the lay offs were not on the baseball operations side and they cited a decline in attentance as the reason for the layoffs. Really can't see a bump in payroll next season, more likely Doc gone and payroll around 60 to 70 million.

brent - Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 11:12 PM EDT (#206659) #

These last few wins may have cost the Jays a few places in the draft order. Color me unimpressed when the season has already been long lost.

#2JBrumfield - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 12:15 AM EDT (#206661) #

These last few wins may have cost the Jays a few places in the draft order.

Going by this year's draft, does it matter? They won't sign Boras clients anyways and they seemed to blow their wad on later picks like Hobson and Marisnick instead.

Thomas - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 08:57 AM EDT (#206663) #

It was announced that none one of the layoffs were in the baseball operations department.

Thomas - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 08:58 AM EDT (#206664) #

That should read "none of the layoffs..."

Mike Green - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 09:35 AM EDT (#206670) #

"Tribe axes Wedge" and "Tribe wedges axe" both work. Just saying.

On an unrelated note, a little snippet of Wayne and Schuster style dialogue:

Unidentified Roman: I, Claudius
Cesar: I, Tzuris.

Flex - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 09:50 AM EDT (#206672) #

I suspect that Wayne and Schuster reference went over the heads of about 97% of the readers here, but I appreciated it.

FranklyScarlet - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 09:54 AM EDT (#206674) #

As of last night, Cleveland had not called Theo to ask permission to speak to Farrell.

Mike Green - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 10:38 AM EDT (#206677) #

For those under 50, here's the Wayne and Schuster version of Shakespearean baseball.

Jim - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#206679) #

you might as well just resign right on the spot as it beats being fired.

When you have a 1.3 million dollar contract for 2011 getting fired is much better then resigning.....

Mick Doherty - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 12:05 PM EDT (#206682) #

Hmm. All this talk of "layoffs" leads me to wonder ... is it all because that is as close as the team can get right now to "playoffs"???

Apologies ...

Helpmates - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 02:07 PM EDT (#206688) #

Baseball America just posted its top twenty for the Midwest League. Slightly crest-fallen that Henderson Alvarez isn't on the list.

LouisvilleJayFan - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 02:17 PM EDT (#206690) #

Yea, Alvarez was the ONE guy I would've said was a lock for that list given all the coverage and good things we'd read about him this season.

Mike Green - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 02:36 PM EDT (#206691) #

Geez, BA's list is just an opinion. Dee Gordon was rated the #2 overall prospect in the league. He's a 4th round pick who as a 19 year old shortstop has excellent speed, no power, and fair control of the strike zone. He's apparently 5'11", 150 lbs, so he aint gonna be busting down the fences any time soon. Unless he's Ozzie Smith in the field, I'd just as soon have Pastornicky.

Mike Green - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 02:39 PM EDT (#206692) #

Wait. Dee Gordon is now 21. Unless he literally has Ozzie's glove out there, I'd much rather have Pastornicky. There is almost 2 years difference between them.

snider - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#206693) #

Chris Carpenter has 6 RBI today, Alex Rios has 6 RBI since Aug 9.

Helpmates - Thursday, October 01 2009 @ 03:12 PM EDT (#206694) #

I wonder if it'll get to the point where Rios just walks away from the game. He doesn't really seem to care. Who knows what goes on in that guy's head.

JohnL - Friday, October 02 2009 @ 09:00 AM EDT (#206726) #

Back to one of the thread's original questions:
And who's next on the MLB skipper chopping block?

Well, if a new Canadian Press story is to believed, it might just be Cito. Trouble in the clubhouse is the theme...

Sources from all areas of the organization have told The Canadian Press the dysfunction currently crippling the Toronto Blue Jays front office extends all the way down into the clubhouse, where there are major problems in the relationship between the players and Gaston

...

The problems are so deep that when one player was asked how many others felt the same way, he replied: "Just about everyone."

The frustration has boiled over to the point that one group is considering going to Blue Jays president Paul Beeston with their complaints during the team's final road trip this week.

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