Joe DiMaggio

[ Q ] When a Major League Baseball team has a bad season, does firing the manager really make the team better?

I know being the manager of a MLB team must be the most stressful job on the planet. When the team is doing good, it's the players who get the respect. When the team is doing bad, the manager gets all the flack. This leads into my question to you "When a Major League Baseball team has a bad season, does firing the manager really make the team better for the next season?" Let me know your thoughts.

Public Comments

1. No.
2. Sparky Anderson has said that any mgr. controls only 5 wins per year, maximum. Take talent any day.
3. Sometimes, but usually it's a way for the general manager to deflect criticism from the lousy job he did.
4. No, I don't think so. Baseball is a team sport, and if the pitching isn't pitching well, or getting run support, not much a manager can do. Often the loss of the game isn't due to a poor mangerial decision sometimes they make late boneheaded decisions but oh well . Example: I think to the Mets unfair firing of Willie Randolph proves that. The Mets certainly didn't pick it up, in fact, they got worse Or the Pirates! Who'd want to manage them?
5. Not always. Though there are situations where the manager has clearly lost the respect of his players, usually it isnt his fault, or at least its not the biggest reason they lost. But like the cliche says, "you cant fire 25 players"(though there are teams that have tried!)
6. Yes and no. It can possibly boost the team's overall morale, but I also have to put out the question, "What the HECK does firing the manager have to do with upping your team's performance?!"
7. Kind of, it just fires them up.
8. Sometimes, sometimes not. The "sometimes" is the Rockies. They fired Clint Hurdle, and followed it up with a ten game winning streak. Now they're leading the WC race. Other times it doesn't help. I don't see Cecil Cooper's replacement doing much
9. No, not really. Especially if you continue to be a bad team like the Pirates, Royals, Orioles etc whoever they bring in probably won't help. Look at when Lou Pinella was managing Tampa Bay, that didn't fair too well. But sometimes teams do need to fire their manager. Maybe the manager they bring in will change up the line-up or the rotation...do things the way he wants them to be done. Like when earlier in the year Clint Hurdle was fired and Jim Tracy stepped in and that has turned out to be very well for the Rockies. And it can change the players mind sets, if they don't like their manager, but they the new manager and they look forward to play for him. Firing and hiring managers play a lot of factors.
10. Once in awhile it does some good. Most of the time it's just a requisite bloodletting. Someone's head has to roll, and it makes more sense to fire one manager than to trade or release 40 players. Of course sometimes, such a move is simply as unjust as it can be. case in point: Alan Trammell, one of the truly good guys in the game, getting fired after three lackluster seasons with the Tigers. It wasn't Trammell who was hitting .100 and dropping fly balls, but as I said, what are you gonna do at that point?
11. On occasion,yes.Sometimes a team needs a different point of view in the dugout.Somebody sees something that the previous guy didn't.And sometimes the team needs a different personality to motivate them.Personalities play into this because whether they will admit to it or not,players will lay down and quit on a manager. But at the end of the day,it is always easier to fire one guy than it is to fire 25.
12. I think it does, because the new coach has a different strategy than the other coach, so if the Pirates or Nationals get a different coach they might get better.
13. It can. It happened this year with Colorado. It happened last year with Milwaukee. The culture in the clubhouse and attitude of the players changed in both cases. Colorado was way out of contention and canned Clint Hurdle, now they look to be the wild card, and actually the hottest team in baseball since the break.
14. Last year in the beginning of the Mariners 08 season we started off horrible and did fire our Manager. But the whole year even with the new one was a bust. This year for 09 we got Don Wak. and he has been great and has turned out team into a team who plays above .500 ball.
15. Very true. I can't say I like the Brewers manager Ken Macha a whole lot, he seems bored most of the time. But it isn't all his fault, GM Doug Melvin should have pursued the immediate needs of the Brewers before the season began. Maybe that has to do with the owner Mark Anastasio too and money. But a manager can only work so far with the members of his team. I still want to see more fire from a manager though. A manager that appears to be in the game 100%,
16. Yes, it does. Sometimes players need a new voice and new routines. A manager can only say the same thing so many times. Players will eventually start to take for granted what that manager says or get tired of his methods. A new manager can shake things up and, maybe, cause just enough discomfort to knock their team out of a slump. every manager brings new input and information. It is, obviously, not productive to churn managers (I believe a team needs some stability), but sometimes changes need to be made. You can't fire the whole team.
17. When a manager has AAA talent playing in the majors what is he suppose to do. They can only do the best they can with he is given. I understand firing a manager when you have a roster full of proven talent and it is under performing. I don't understand firing the manager when he has AAA talent mixed in with a few guys that have been around for awhile. I think sometimes the manager is the escape goat for problems that run deeper than what meets the eye.
18. No & yes but a good manager that will make the right move when is needed to be done will always help too look at the rockies.
19. well usually the manager is the one to blame for a bad season. but i don't think firing him is the best solution. i mean he's just managing the team, the players should be playing much better than they are