On the Heels of a Win, Storm Clouds in the Marlins’ Front Office

May 28, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Miami Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez (10) prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Minutes after eking out a 2-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, beat writers for the Miami Marlins began releasing and tweeting about a story that casts a pall over the recent Miami streak.

Apparently, life in the Marlins camp has not been all sunshine and roses, and it looks like Jeffrey Loria’s must-have hitting coach, Tino Martinez, has been, as a minimum, verbally abusive of players.  In the case of Derek Dietrich, Martinez is alleged to have been physically abusive.

The two stories, by Juan C. Rodriguez (Sun-Sentinel) and Clark Spencer (Miami Herald) quote an inside an anonymous source that Martinez grabbed Dietrich by the neck during a tirade.

Complicating the issue is a 3-year deal between the Marlins and Martinez. The unhappy Martinez appears unwilling to abandon a steady paycheck, and the Marlins appear unwilling to kick him in the direction of the curb (and a fat severance payout). So far, it looks like a standoff.

This is a “told you so” moment for Marlins manager Mike Redmond, and one that he probably won’t take.  Martinez was hired by Loria over the objections of Redmond. Again, the executive suite is making overriding, cramdown decisions about the coaching staff, which is the exclusive purview of the manager.

Shortly (less than 15 mins.) after announcing the publication of the articles, both beat writers tweeted that Martinez has resigned. He blinked first.

No replacement has been named.

I recommend Bobby Bell, the high-A Hammerheads hitting coach. We’ll see what Red thinks, if he gets a chance to pick.

By the way, Jose Fernandez went 8 innings, striking out 13. Stanton vandalized the home run sculpture in left-center for the go-ahead run.