The firing of Miami Marlins Ozzie Guillen was only a matter of time. The Marlins were by far one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. They spent an astonishing amount of money to buy every free agent possible to go along with their new ballpark. So how did that turn out for them? They finished in last place and now most of those big players are not even on the team anymore.
Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Burhle, and Carlos Lee were all free agents picked up by the Marlins. Heath Bell has now been traded to the Diamondbacks after a dreadful season for him and Hanley Ramirez , the team’s former superstar, was traded to the Dodgers midseason. Marlins’ representatives had this to say after firing their fourth manager since 2010, “After careful consideration following the disappointment of the 2012 season, we decided to dismiss Ozzie,” president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said in a statement. “Our managerial search begins immediately and our hope is that a new manager, along with roster improvements, will restore a winning culture.”
It was always a rocky relationship for Guillen who caused an uproar when he spoke about his love of dictator Fiedel Castro. This might not have been as horrible as it became if he was not in Miami, which has the biggest Cuban-American population. Most thought that Ozzie would be let go right there. However, he was allowed to complete the season and it was quite an epic fail.
Guillen knew that he had failed the Marlins organization and accepted what could be the end of his time in Miami. “With the job I did this year, do you think I deserve to be back here?” Guillen said on the final day of the season. “Of course not. But I’m not the only one. … Let’s start from the top. The front office failed, Ozzie failed, the coaching staff failed, the players failed, everybody failed.” He even joked that he was glad he rented his home instead of purchasing it. I guess that was funnier when he still had a job.
