Miami Marlins RTD: Thoughts on Don Mattingly Hiring and Dan Jennings Firing

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Nov 2, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins president baseball operations Michael Hill (left) help manager Don Mattingly (center) with his jersey as he is introduced as manager as Marlins president David Samson (right) looks on at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to another Miami Marlins Round Table Discussion. On today’s agenda, we’ll be discussing how long Don Mattingly will ve managing the Miami Marlins, Dee Gordon being reunited with his former manager, and a few other items.

1. Don Mattingly has been introduced as the next Miami Marlins manager. Over/under him lasting 2.5 seasons before getting fired?

Ehsan Kassim: I’ll say push. David Samson made it clear the Marlins don’t want to be holding another press conference for a new manager again, but Loria has little to no patience when it comes to losing. He also refuses to spend money on the team, so the recipe for a disaster will always be in place for Miami.

Daniel Zylberkan: Over, just because I feel like Loria actually likes Donnie and he’ll actually let him do what he needs to do to succeed. Ultimately it really doesn’t matter though because if Loria doesn’t give management the resources, he won’t have a team that will be competitive anyway.

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Michael Sonbeek: Over. Loria loves Don more than Loria loves himself and Loria really loves himself. If the Marlins stay in the 80-89 wins area, Don will live out his contract and more.

Sean Millerick: Push. He’ll get two years to win a championship, and will be fired mid-season in year three if that team struggles out of the gate.

Mark Laming: Under, for sure. The team won’t be in competing form within the next 2.5 years and Loria has proven impatient in the past.

Christian La Fontaine: I have to say over. He fits all the qualifications Loria seems to look for in a manager, if there was ever a guy who could hold down this job it ‘s Donnie Baseball. It might actually go the other way, where all signs point to it being time for Mattingly to be fired, yet Loria stubbornly sticking by him.

Next: Mattingly and Dee

June 14, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon (9) is congratulated by manager Don Mattingly (8) after hitting a two run home run in the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

2. Do you think Mattingly will help or hurt Dee Gordon in 2016? He managed Gordon when both were with the Dodgers.

Ehsan Kassim: Mattingly is known as a players manager and there is no reported feud between him and Mattingly during their time in L.A. I don’t think Mattingly will have much, if any, of an effect on Dee Gordon’s game. In fact, if he and Mattingly have a good relationship, it may even help the team’s chances of re-signing him this off-season.

Daniel Zylberkan: It honestly it doesn’t really matter. Dee Gordon at this point has found the way he can be most successful as a hitter which is hitting the ball on the ground and being highly BABIP dependent. So he’s due for a regression, no matter who his manager is.

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Micheal Sonbeek: I’m not sure what it will do. I don’t think Don has had impact on the way he played in LA.

Sean Millerick: No effect at the plate, but I do think the stolen bases drop. The Marlins gave him much more of a green light than Mattingly allowed him during their time with the Dodgers. I’d be very surprised if he steals significantly more than 40 bags in 2016.

Mark Laming: I don’t think it will do much either way. I think Dee’s production is going to even out eventually between the mediocre numbers he put up in LA and the ones he put up this year in Miami. I don’t think Mattingly will do anything for him, positive or negative.

Christian La Fontaine: Won’t hurt or help at the plate, Gordon is what he is there, he can’t change no matter how much he probably should. When it comes to stealing the total will drop as Sean said due to a tighter leash, but since Dee was successful on only 74% of his attempts last year a more discerning approach might actually help him.

Next: Gordon 2016

Oct 4, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon (9) stands on second base after hitting a double during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He would score a run on an error. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

3. Beyond the Box Score wrote an excellent article telling us to not write off Dee Gordon. Is there any hope you can take away from that article?

Ehsan Kassim: Dee Gordon became a solid player with the Miami Marlins last season. While the numbers look great, I’ll need to see a repeat performance from him to make me a believer. Gordon’s game is too tied to speed, so one bad ankle sprain and his season could go off the rails, real quick.

Daniel Zylberkan: This rolls into what I said in my earlier answer Dee Gordon has a very defined way that he approaches hitting which is making a lot of contact and not very good contact at that. Sure the article argues that he maybe becoming a different kind of hitter but I don’t buy it. Gordon will always be defined by his primary speed tool and the impact that has on his offensive game as a classic weak hitting spray hitter.

Sean Millerick: Were we writing off Dee Gordon to begin with? While I agree that just behind the lack of peace in the Middle East, the next two greatest tragedies in the world are Dee Gordon’s lack of walks relative to a prototypical lead off man and the fact his name isn’t Andrew Heaney, I find myself still holding out some hope that having a two-time All-Star and defending batting champion at second base might just end up being a positive thing. Even with some regression, have no worries about second base, which is a sensation I haven’t felt since 2010. And if we’re talking defensive concerns, it was 2005.

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Mark Laming: I wouldn’t write him off but I definitely wouldn’t expect his spectacular 2015 production to continue. He was on a record-setting pace at the beginning of the season and his production dropped down a little bit. I expect Gordon to regress a bit from last year but he will eventually even out into consistent numbers.

Christian La Fontaine: No, not really. So much of his value is tied up in his speed, which already began to regress in 2015. Apart from that he never walks, not because he lacks the discipline or the intelligence to know he should, but because pitchers aren’t afraid to throw the ball down the middle, which is worse because it means improvement isn’t going to come. At the end of the day what was supposedly a great season breaks down to ludicrously high, but also high empty, batting average that won’t continue in future years.

Next: Jim Bendict

Oct 7, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) and catcher Francisco Cervelli (29) react after giving up a home run during the third inning in the National League Wild Card playoff baseball game at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

4. What were your initial thoughts on the Marlins landing Jim Benedict as the VP of Pitching Development? On a related note, what did you think about the Trevor Williams–Richard Mitchell prospect swap?

Ehsan Kassim: I don’t know much about Bendict, other than the fact he was with the Pirates during their turnaround. I don’t know what he did in that role and how much power he had helping the pitchers there get better. All reports seem to indicate he did an excellent job, but I’ll wait and see what he does with the Marlins. The Trevor Williams trade doesn’t make much sense, but it’s not a move that should really effect either team down the road, to be honest.

Daniel Zylberkan: I had never actually heard of him before the Marlins were able to hire him, but a lot of media reports all seem to say that he is a very accomplished pitching development “guru.” He helped the Pirates get to where they are today with their pitching. I feel like the Trevor Williams trade is hard to define, but it’s definitely down to the Marlins bringing in a guy that Benedict was invested in and wants to keep working with, even if it’s on a different team

Michael Sonbeek: I love the hiring. Jim is well-respected around the league. For the trade, it seemed like a head scratcher but maybe Jim knows a thing or two.

Sean Millerick: Abundant indifference at this stage? It is a good hire on the surface, but has minimal impact on the current lack of quality prospects in the minors, or ace-level talent beyond Fernandez on the big league roster. That needs to be addressed, as soon as the Winter Meetings. But do I feel a little better about pitching transactions going forward? Yes. The trade will take some time to form any type of opinion on. Clearly something about Mitchell clicked for the scouts; let’s hope it was the same something they saw in Kyle Barraclough and Carter Capps.

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Mark Laming: Benedict could do some good things for the Marlins extremely young pitching staff. Cosart, Fernandez, and Alavarez are all relatively young and impressionable maybe Benedict can make a strong impression on them. As for the Williams trade, it was a horrible decision. While Williams wasn’t projected to be something special he had hit AAA and was close to the majors, instead they turned him into a 20-Year Old hardly out of rookie ball and years until he hits the big leagues. All in all a horrible deal.

Christian La Fontaine: In a vacuum it’s a good hire, Jim Benedict is a smart guy and a good person to have in your camp. But since it’s the Marlins we’re talking about I hate it. This just feels like a cheap move, trying to develop the pitching talent already here instead of going to get new pitcher’s. Again, that’s usually a smart move, except there just isn’t enough pitching talent here to be developed. I don’t care about the trade, Mitchell seem bad but Williams wasn’t anything special so it really doesn’t matter.

Oct 4, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins manager Dan Jennings (26) walks off the field after making a pitching change during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Marlins, 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

5. Thoughts on the Dan Jennings firing and the fact part of it can be pinned on Jennings playing Ozuna over Loria’s wishes?

Ehsan Kassim: Was Dan Jennings good at either of his jobs, GM and manager, last year? I’d say no. Did he deserve to be shown the door? Yes, but only with a complete front office over haul. The Marlins keep changing the chairs on the Titanic, even though it won’t save the ship from sinking. If the Ozuna part is true, this franchise is in a deeper hole with Loria as the owner. We’ll find out how true these reports are when Ozuna is shipped out for peanuts.

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Daniel Zylberkan: Jeffrey Loria is notoriously hard to work with and he really enjoys firing managers. I guess it’s good that Jennings took Ozuna’s side and the path of actually trying to win even in a lost season, instead of agreeing to keep him in purgatory down in NOLA just because Loria wanted him to. Loria is cheap and people in this organization should try to not allow that to happen without challenging him, even if it costs you your job.

Michael Sonbeek: Dan Jennings was a bad GM and the firing was well deserved. Was it handled right? Probably not. But you can’t be upset about the Marlins firing him. I also don’t believe that report for one minute about the Ozuna thing.

Next: Season Review: Rookie Starters

Sean Millerick: There really isn’t a reason for firing Dan Jennings that doesn’t make Jeffrey Loria look foolish, given that whatever the technical language of the story says, Jennings was seemingly offered the chance of return…and then suddenly told not to return. Even if the reason was a criminal act, the team would look bad for not doing their due diligence. And if the reason was Ozuna, then full kudos to the front office for allowing the “Ozuna issue” to get back into the news cycle just before the onset of free agency; it’s like playing poker against someone who is showing all their cards while their wife screams over their shoulder about their finances.

Mark Laming: If this is in fact about Jennings playing Ozuna, than it’s unbelievably silly. I know Loria wants to see Ozuna in the lineup, and has a bad habit of overstepping his bounds but this is too far. Especially if it potentially forced out Jennings.

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