There was some noise last week that the Marlins were thinking about firing Mike Redmond and were inquiring into Wally Backman as a possible replacement manager. When team owner Jeff Loria was asked about it, he didn’t exactly deny it as much as he tried to deflect it, which is a classic tactic from owners who are, you know, considering changing managers.
But now Loria says there have been no serious discussions about it. From Jon Heyman’s latest:
Speaking to CBSSports.com after the Marlins defeated the Nationals 6-2 to win, Loria said of Redmond, “He’s the manager. Period. All teams go through bad moments. Ours came early.”
Loria also offered praise for Redmond, whose team is 8-11 now after starting 3-11. “He did a very nice job last year, and he works hard.”
No coincidence, I reckon, that the Marlins have won five in a row. You get the sense, based on what Loria tells Heyman, Loria’s history and the history of this franchise, that the talk will come back if they drop three of four.