When the Baltimore Orioles fired beleaguered manager Dave Trembley on Friday they hoped to have Juan Samuel turn this underachieving team around.
Simple, isn't it?
Hardly. Firing a manager in the middle of the season isn't necessarily the answer to the team's problems.
In fact, since 2001, only two teams made the postseason after changing skippers during the season.
Last year, the Colorado Rockies fired Clint Hurdle after an 18-28 start and replaced him with then-bench coach Jim Tracy. The Rockies ended up making the postseason by going 74-42 the rest of the season before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series in four games. Still, Tracy became the NL Manager of the Year that very same season.
Back in 2003, the Florida Marlins coaxed Jack McKeon out of retirement by having him take over for Jeff Torborg. This uncanny personality resulted in a World Series title, when his team defeated the New York Yankees in six games.
With the likes of Jerry Manuel (New York Mets), John Russell (Pittsburgh Pirates), Ken Macha (Milwaukee Brewers), Lou Piniella (Chicago Cubs), and other select managers walking on pins and needles, maybe their teams could try to recreate the fortunes of those two ballclubs.
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