Marlins fire Fredi Gonzalez, replace with Triple-A skipper

The Marlins announced today that they have fired manager Fredi Gonzalez along with bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley. The move comes after the team posted a 34-36 record to start the season, in no way out of the race.

"It is never easy to make a change in managers," Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said in a statement. "Fredi has been with our club for four years. We have become close, and I am extremely fond of Fredi. I, along with all our fans, am grateful for Fredi's contributions. At the same time, we can't let personal feelings get in the way of taking steps that we believe are necessary to improve our ballclub."

The team chose Edwin Rodriguez to replace Gonzalez. Rodriguez was the manager at Triple-A New Orleans, but will now take the helm in Miami.

Gonzalez is now a serious candidate to replace Bobby Cox in Atlanta, especially because he worked with Cox before jumping to the Marlins. Now with some managerial experience, he is more than ready to lead another team (with better ownership) to the playoffs.