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06/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps when the Florida Marlins solidified plans for their new ballpark recently, they should have gone with a circus tent to cover the field rather then a retractable roof. It would fit with the overriding theme surrounding the team, because Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is quickly becoming the biggest clown in the game.
Despite the Marlins being just two games under .500, Loria on Wednesday fired the winningest manager in club history, Fredi Gonzalez.
"We believe we can do better and be better," Loria said. "We owe it to our fans to put this team in the best possible position to win. Everyone knows how I feel about winning. That's the reason we're making this change."
Let's be honest here. Despite Loria's proclamation this spring that his club was a playoff team, the Marlins were not expected to do anything this season. They certainly were not going to be better than Philadelphia, and most people thought the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets were better than the Fish.
Are they underachieving? Maybe a little, but they are not exactly the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Doesn't Gonzalez deserve the benefit of the doubt? The Marlins have been better in each of the last three seasons and his 276 wins were the most in team history. At the very least, he earned the right to finish the season.
Not to mention that he has won at a steady clip while being handicapped with one of the lowest payrolls in the game. On Opening Day the Marlins ranked 26th of 30 teams with a $57 million payroll, last in an NL East that also includes the Washington Nationals, a franchise that was owned by Loria when it was in Montreal.
The Washington Nationals have a higher payroll than the Marlins, and Loria thinks his club was a playoff team?
I gave Loria a pass when he fired Joe Girardi after one season, a year in which he won the National League Manager of the Year. I didn't agree with it, but there was obviously a personality conflict that could not be overcome even for the sake of the team.
But upon reflection, with decisions like that and the Gonzalez firing, it almost makes sense that the Expos went belly-up on Loria's watch.
Perhaps Loria should let star shortstop Hanley Ramirez run the team, since you could argue that he's running it now. It was Ramirez who publicly ripped Gonzalez after the manager had the gall to bench him for not hustling in a game against Arizona on May 17, then sitting him out the next day. Ramirez stated that he had lost respect for Gonzalez, making it a point to mention that he had never played in the big leagues.
Maybe Ramirez didn't get Gonzalez fired with that indictment, but do you think Gonzalez would be gone if Ramirez was in his corner?
Reports circulated last May that Loria was talking to Bobby Valentine, and those same rumors started again this past winter. My guess is that he will be the guy down there at some point. And an even better guess is that the immense egos of Loria and Valentine will clash at some point.
As for the future of Gonzalez, I like to judge moves like this on just what kind of demand there is for the fired party. In Girardi's case, he instantly went to the top of the list for just about every team that was looking for a manager in 2007.
In Gonzalez's case, I expect the same thing to happen.
I wouldn't feel so bad for Gonzalez, who should end up with plenty of options that will look much better than the job he is exiting. Bobby Cox is retiring at the end of the year. Gonzalez was his third base coach for years, and most thought he was being groomed to one day succeed Cox anyway. I would be shocked if he is not named some sort of advisor, or placed directly on Atlanta's staff, in the coming weeks. Such a move would put Gonzalez in position to take over the team at the end of the year.
Remember that Girardi sat out a year, took the job he always wanted, and won a World Series. Hopefully the same happens for Gonzalez. And if it happens in Atlanta, think how much sweeter the champagne will taste, knowing that Gonzalez had to step on Loria and the Marlins to get there.
<< Mets sign Ramon Ortiz to minor league contract
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have signed right-hander
Ramon Ortiz to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo.
Ortiz, 37, went 1-2 with a 6.30 earned run average in 16 games (two starts)
with t
<< Venus, Clijsters, Henin move on at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1s Venus Williams,
Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday
at Wimbledon 2010.
The second-seeded Williams handled Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-0
<< Group E bookends to meet at Green Point Stadium
Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of Group
E will get together at Green Point Stadium on Thursday as disappointing
Cameroon faces the Netherlands.
The Indomitable Lions entered the competition with
<< In the FCS Huddle: Playoff chase energizes Walton
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the Northeast Conference champion set
to appear in the FCS playoffs for the first time this season, 74-year-old
Robert Morris football coach Joe Walton has too enticing a goal to consider
retiring.
"
Hornets owner: "We will continue to build around Chris Paul" >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn
released a statement Wednesday, saying star point guard Chris Paul is the
franchise's "cornerstone" and the player the team will continue to build
around.
Phil Jackson leaning toward retirement >>
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson says he's leaning toward retirement, but will wait until next week to make his final decision.The 11-time NBA champion said Wednesday he'll get the results of another battery of medical
Oak Tree at Santa Anita set for 2010 >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The annual Oak Tree at Santa Anita racing meet
has been confirmed for this year. The announcement came at Tuesday's meeting
of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB).
The announcement put an end to spec
Grizzlies hold 3 1st-round picks, many options >>
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -The Memphis Grizzlies have three first-round draft picks and many options Thursday night.They can package picks and trade for a current NBA player, combine picks and one of their players to move up or simply use all three to bol
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Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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