Miami Marlins Rumors: Mike Redmond on the hot seat?

This horse has been beaten to death over the first two weeks of the 2015 season, but the fact remains: The Miami Marlins are playing some truly awful baseball, and are off to a 3-10 start, a far cry from the potential (we thought) this team possessed.

Rumors began circulating on Sunday night that Marlins third-year manager Mike Redmond might already be on the hot seat, following the awful start to the season. Per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald:

"According to sources who have heard rumblings, Redmond is on the hot seat and the the organization is already bouncing around possible replacements. One possibility: Wally Backman, the Mets’ Triple A manager."

Man, the life of a baseball skipper is a rough one. Redmond was brought in during the 2012 offseason, in the waning days before the epic Toronto fire sale. The poor fellow knew exactly what he was getting into: he knew the team was about to destroy the roster, that he would be simply a puppet trudging through an eventual 100-loss season in the grand corrupt reign of the Jeffrey Loria regime, and that there was nothing he could to do save that season. Redmond was then benefited by an overperforming 2014 squad, and he earned a contract extension as a result of many of those guys playing out of their minds last year.

The Marlins retooled, and were supposed to come out of the gates firing on all cylinders this year. Mat Latos, Dee Gordon and Michael Morse were supposed to be major upgrades across the board. Henderson Alvarez was supposed to hold down the fort until Jose Fernandez returned, and in midsummer the Marlins would’ve had one of the most formidable one-two punches in baseball. For the first time in 12 years, the scrappy Marlins were supposed to contend for a spot in the playoffs and if a few balls bounced their way, maybe they’d finally get back to the promised land for a third time.

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Now, by no fault of Redmond’s, the expectations the 2015 Marlins carried into this season rendered perhaps a smoke screen behind which the club looked like a potential contender. It was playoffs or bust; or so the fans thought after the front office sold the farm for a year or two or three of control over big leaguers who represent “upgrades.” The computers and projections tempered the team’s expectations, but a few ESPN pundits included the Marlins in their bold predictions and Wild Card sleepers, and the #MarlinFamily turned a blind eye to the facts.

Yes, we are already 13 games into the season, but give the guy a break. Redmond can’t bring Fernandez and Alvarez back any faster, and he can’t singlehandedly get the starting outfield trio out of its collective slump. He can’t make Adeiny Hechavarria a better hitter, and he can’t get rid of Jarrod Saltalamacchia (I don’t think anyone can.)

Do the Marlins really think Wally Backman could right the ship overnight? If the rumors are true, how likely would a new manager redirect a losing club to the playoffs like in 2003? The Marlins don’t have the next Miguel Cabrera on the verge of coming up. He played a pretty major part in that ’03 turnaround.

It’s crazy how fast things change in baseball. Exactly 14 days ago, Henderson Alvarez threw the first pitch of perhaps the most anticipated season in Marlins history (maybe second-most, behind the 2012 new ballpark/Jose Reyes debacle). They lost that game of course, but hey, it’s just one of 162. Half the league loses their season opener, no big deal, right?

Two weeks later, and the Marlins are on the verge of pushing the big red panic button. It gets to a certain point where you can no longer play the “it’s still too early in the season” card, and you have to take a hard look at the product on the field, or perhaps in the clubhouse, and consider some changes. That’s the sad reality of the sports world, and it just might cause a good guy in Mike Redmond his job.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

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