The Marlins finally came to the realization that it was time to part ways with Ozzie Guillen, firing the poor excuse for a human being yesterday.  Ozzie’s tenure with this team was doomed from the beginning, with every outrageous comment, political or not, and with his admitted drinking issues.  What was the owner waiting for, you may be asking today?

It’s pretty easy to understand.  Ever since the season ended, the Marlins have been AGGRESSIVELY pursuing a manager.  Of course, the “name” candidates they approached all scoffed and laughed at the idea of working for this organization before respectfully turning down the opportunity.  Once those options started to disappear, the Marlins figured out they had no choice but to cut the cord with Guillen and proceeded to fire him via telephone.  Don't you worry about Guillen.  He’s feeling no pain - he’s due $7.5 million for the next three years.    

It now will boil down to someone with no experience that just wants the chance to manage, or a retread that has been fired elsewhere and has no other options.  We will now see the long list of names of the potential victims candidates.  First, all those candidates who are patiently waiting for an opportunity.  Mike Redmond, Brad Ausmus, Eduardo Perez, Mike Maddux, Dave Martinez, Sandy Alomar Jr, Pete Mackanin, Tim Wallach, Ryne Sandberg.  The retreads like Manny Acta, Jim Riggleman, Don Baylor, Alan Trammel.  The guys with no experience, either coaching or managing, like Mike Lowell or Jeff Conine.  I have my own name to add to the list - Luis Gonzalez, the former Arizona Diamondback and Marlin.  A class guy.

The problem here is not the manager.  Let’s get that straight.  The problem here is a meddling owner who wants to behave like George Steinbrenner, but in reality, couldn’t shine Mr. Steinbrenner’s shoes or tie his shoelaces.  Jeffrey Loria hasn’t figured out that you have to let your baseball people run the team and make the baseball decisions.   

I don’t want to sound like I’m totally on board with the so-called baseball people with the Marlins, either.  Larry Beinfest’s honeymoon with this franchise should have ended a long time ago and he, along with Michael Hill, need to be held accountable for the questionable trades and the demise of a once-proud farm system.  These are the guys that traded Miguel Cabrera for nothing more than a pack of gum, signed a free-agent shortstop and didn’t tell the incumbent, the so-called “face of the franchise” that he was moving to third base, and then proceeded to trade Hanley Ramirez at the point where his value was the lowest.  They missed out on trading a bust like Logan Morrison for Gio Gonzalez, they didn’t think that Yoenis Cespedes would be a player, and other bonehead moves while historically having no problem in hanging their managers out to dry.  Mr. Beinfest said yesterday they need to go back to “the Marlins way”.  What the hell is that?  Try and win with the lowest payroll in baseball?  To dismantle your world series championship  teams? To fire your successful managers so they can go elsewhere and lead other teams into the playoffs?

Blaming Ozzie Guillen alone for last year’s fiasco is ludicrous.  A manager can only play the cards he is dealt.  Fill in the blank:  ____________ is the greatest manager in the history of major league baseball.  Trust me . . . all things being the same as they were, whatever name you put in there would not have had a .500 record with the 2012 Marlins.

Mr. Beinfest said yesterday they need to go back to “the Marlins way”.  What the hell is that?  Try and win with the lowest payroll in baseball?  Fire successful managers so they can lead their new teams to the playoffs?  Dismantle your world series championship  teams? 

I hope that Jeffrey Loria makes the right choice for his next manager.  This franchise needs a stable, calming influence in the clubhouse.  A manager that reacts to a difficult loss the same way he reacts to a victory.  This will probably be the most important decision this owner makes until he finally decides to sell the team.

To Ozzie Guillen, all I can say is good riddance and congratulations.  Your .426 winning percentage (69-93) is the worst career record for any Marlins manager in the history of the franchise.  Make sure you TWITTER that little tidbit!  Enjoy the next three years of vacation while still making $2.5 million per year, and feel free to take your freak show to a more deserving city.  

At least, we still have a beautiful baseball park.    

The San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers take the field tonight in San Francisco for game one of the 2012 World Series.  Barry Zito will start on the mound for the Giants, whose storybook comeback this year surprised everyone.  The Tigers will have their ace, Justin Verlander, on the mound tonight.  Game time is 8:00 pm, and all the games will be televised by FOX, Channel 7 in Miami.   

I’ll take the Tigers to win the series in five games, even though the Giants will be enjoying home-field advantage and come in hotter than a firecracker.  Detroit’s lineup is just plain scary and their starting rotation of Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, and Doug Fister should be enough to beat the Giants.  My only question mark with the Tigers is their closer, Jose Valverde, who has struggled mightily this post season.  Detroit manager Jim Leyland will not hesitate in hiding him in the pen and keeping him out of critical situations.  I’ll go with Detroit in five games.

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who is the last Marlins manager to lead the team to a winning record?  Tell you later, alligator. 

The Miami Dolphins go on the road this sunday against the New York Jets.  The Fins find themselves in second place in the AFC East with a 3-3 record, behind the New England Patriots, who lead the division with a 4-3 record.  The Jets and Bills are 3-4.  Game time on Sunday is 1:00 pm, and you can watch the game on Channel 4, CBS in Miami.  In the NFL this week,

THURSDAY

Tampa Bay @ Minnesota Minn - 6.5 8:20 pm  NFL Network

SUNDAY

Miami @ New York Jets NY -1 1:00 pm CBS Ch. 4

Carolina @ Chicago Chi -9 1:00 pm

San Diego @ Cleveland                 Cle +1 1:00 pm

Seattle @ Detroit         Det -1 1:00 pm

Jacsonville @ Green Bay GB -13 1:00 pm

Indianapolis @ Tennessee Ten -3.5 1:00 pm

New England @ St. Louis StL +7 1:00 pm

Atlanta @ Philadelphia         Phi -1 1:00 pm

Washington @ Pittsburgh Pit -5 1:00 pm

Oakland @ Kansas City         KC -1 4:05 pm

New York Giants @ Dallas Dal +1 4:25 pm

New Orleans @ Denver         Den -6 8:20 pm NBC Ch. 6

MONDAY

San Francisco @ Arizona Ari + 6.5 8:30 pm ESPN

Bye Week for Buffalo, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Houston.

In college football, FIU hosts Western Kentucky this saturday at 6:00 pm.  Good time for FIU to turn it around against a very good Hilltopper team.  I invite you to catch game broadcast (in English) on your smartphone or on the computer at www.fiusports.com.  I will be handling the play-by-play, and Pete Pelegrin will be handling the color analysis.

The University of Miami Hurricanes are off until Thursday, November 1st, when the Hokies of Virginia Tech visit the Seven-Names Stadium.  PLENTY of good seats are still available, and you can watch the game on ESPN.  In the BCS ratings, Alabama is #1, followed by Florida at #2, Kansas State #3, Oregon is fourth, and Notre Dame is fifth.  LSU, Oregon State, Oklahoma, USC, and Georgia round out the top ten.  Florida State is #12.  

The Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats last night, 98-92.  Chris Bosh lead the Heat with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.  LeBron had 10 points and 8 assists in limited playing time, and Ray Allen came off the bench to contribute 15 points, and Dwayne Wade did not play.  The Heat face the Washington Wizards tonight in Kansas City, MO and will return home to the AAA to take on the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, as the exhibition season mercifully comes to a close.  The team opens the regular season on Tuesday, October 30th, against the Boston Celtics.  

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who is the last Marlins manager to lead the team to a winning record?  Fredi Gonzalez led the team to a record of 87-75 in 2009.         

Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com.  

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.