Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi was fired Tuesday, a move that had been expected after his rift with owner Jeffrey Loria boiled over in an on-field confrontation two months ago.
Girardi lost his job even though he's considered a strong candidate for NL manager of the year.
The Marlins had baseball's youngest team and lowest payroll at US$15 million, but Girardi led them to a 78-84 record, and they were in contention for a playoff berth until a late-September fade.
The cost-conscious Marlins wanted Girardi out so badly they were willing to let him go with two years left on a guaranteed three-year contract he signed in October 2005, when he became a manager for the first time. At 41, he was the second-youngest manager in the major leagues after spending 15 years as a big-league catcher.
Atlanta third-base coach Fredi Gonzalez is considered the front-runner to replace Girardi. Gonzalez was runner-up in the Marlins' search a year ago after Jack McKeon resigned.
Girardi's strained relationship with Loria and general manager Larry Beinfest became public in August. Loria subsequently declined to endorse the job Girardi did in his first year as a manager, even though the Marlins far exceeded expectations while playing 22 rookies.
The rift erupted at a game Aug. 6 when Loria berated an umpire while sitting behind the plate. From the dugout, Girardi asked the owner to stop, witnesses said. Loria angrily left his seat and confronted Girardi after the game during a 90-minute clubhouse meeting.
Loria declined to comment on the episode or respond to published reports that he fired Girardi, then changed his mind.
Beginning in spring training, Beinfest clashed with Girardi over personnel decisions, and during the second half of the season the general manager was rarely seen in the clubhouse or manager's office.
The power struggle had no apparent affect on the team. The Marlins were widely projected to lose more than 100 games, but instead they rallied from an 11-31 start and trailed in the NL wild-card race by only two games on Sept. 12 before fading.
The Marlins became the first team to climb above .500 from 20 games under. They also became the first team to have four rookies win 10 games and they set a record for most home runs by rookies with 112.
As a player, Girardi was a member of three World Series championship teams with the New York Yankees. He spent seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs and also played for the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals before retiring as a player in 2003.
The Illinois native and Northwestern graduate becomes a potential candidate to replace Dusty Baker, who was fired as manager of the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Two other teams are also looking for managers _ Washington parted with Frank Robinson, and San Francisco cut ties with Felipe Alou.
The Marlins' managerial change will be the eighth since their first game in 1993.
