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Miami Marlins Morning Catch: Mike Redmond in the news for the wrong reasons

By Travis Honeycutt |

Good morning, Marlin Maniac readers and welcome to Morning Catch, the daily morning news and notes column from MarlinManiac.com.

For the past few days, the sky has been falling for the Miami Marlins. Following this weekend’s four game sweep at the hands of the New York Mets, it seems that panic has officially set in. Start off the season being swept in three games by the Atlanta Braves? Eh, it’s just three games. Drop two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays the next weekend? Hey, it’s a 162 game season. We’ll be OK. Win two of three in Atlanta to exact some revenge? There we go, things are starting to look like they should. Swept in four winnable games at Citi Field? Off with Mike Redmond‘s head!

Such is the existence of a Marlins fan, at least when the team is expected to win but underperforms for any length of time. In 2011, they fired Fred Gonzalez after starting the year 33-36. That record isn’t that bad! In 2012, they showed Ozzie Guillen the door after a 69-93 season that was plagued with injuries and a mini in-season fire sale which preempted the massive Toronto dump.

Please, Marlins, don’t make the same mistake with Mike Redmond.

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Yes, the Marlins are 3-10 and in last place in the National League East with the second-worst record in baseball (the Milwaukee Brewers have our backs, here.) Giancarlo Stanton doesn’t seem happy (but he makes all that money now!) and the supposed best outfield in baseball has looked anything but.

But you can’t pin that all on Redmond. Over the course of a 162 game season, nearly every team experiences 3-7 stretches and multi-game losing streaks. Some last nearly a full week or more. And in mid-July, it’s not nearly as noticeable as when it’s mid-April and you’ve got double-digit losses to just three wins in the standings table.

Yesterday, after the Redmond hot seat rumors invaded the Twitterverse, someone for some reason mentioned current Mets Triple-A skipper Wally Backman as a candidate to replace Red. But as you’ll read below from Michael Hurcomb of CBS Sports, the team hasn’t reached out to Backman at all. Hopefully this news bodes well for Redmond’s tenure as Marlins manager, because this team wasn’t going to win a World Series anyway. At this point–and yes, it’s still a bit too early to call the 2015 Marlins a failure–you might as well let the season play out and see if this team can be as good as advertised.

A constantly revolving managerial door is not a recipe for winning. The Marlins got lucky in 2003–and struck out in ’11 and ’12–but it’s not time to go down that road again. Not yet.

Marlins News from Around the Web:

Report: Marlins have not reached out to Wally Backman

Michael Hurcomb, CBS Sports

With reports the Marlins could be looking to fire manager Mike Redmond after a 3-10 start, the team is reportedly interested in Wally Backman — who is the manager for the Mets’ Triple-A team — as a potential replacement, per The Miami Herald.

Well, for now, there has been no contact between Backman and Marlins, sources close to Backman told the New York Daily News. A Mets source also said the Marlins have not reached out to them to ask if they can talk to Backman, who is under contract through this season. A source close to Blackman said he was surprised to hear his name mentioned as a possible candidate to manage the Marlins.

A Marlins official told the Pioneer Press there is “no truth” to the rumor Redmond could be fired after a slow start. Click here for full article.

Dee Gordon’s offense the lone bright spot for reeling Marlins

Clark Spencer, Miami Herald

NEW YORK — The Marlins are off to a crawling start.

Not the team’s fastest player.

Dee Gordon is the lone bright spot on a Marlins roster that hasn’t shined much anywhere else in the season’s early going.

With a .389 average that ranks fourth in the National League and an on-base percentage of .404 that ranks fifth in the majors among leadoff hitters, Gordon has given the Marlins everything they hoped for when they acquired the swift second baseman in an offseason trade with the Dodgers. Click here for full article.

Scouting the Minors: Greensboro Grasshoppers

Mark Laming, Fish Stripes

It was a big series for the Greensboro Grasshoppers this weekend against the Delmarva Shorebirds. Between the Single-A premiere of second overall pick Tyler Kolek and the welcoming of the four-millionth fan to New Bridge Bank Park, the Grasshoppers opened the 2015 season with a bang. Here are some of the top performers through the first three games:

John Norwood is a relatively unknown outfield prospect. But Saturday night Norwood made sure his presence was felt. Norwood featured a leaping catch at the wall and threw out Shorebirds catcher Jonah Heim at the plate. Norwood is quick in the outfield and has great reaction to fly balls. He has showcased some athletic ability and a good arm in the outfield. How much Norwood remains in the future plans of the Fish is unclear. He was signed as a free agent out of Vanderbilt University and is currently playing in his first full season of Single-A ball. Click here for full article.

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