One and Done – Marlins Fire Guillen after Disappointing Inaugural Season

Guillen’s mouth likely got him the boot after comments made about Cuba and Castro earlier in the season and total lack of performance by his ball club.

Ozzie Guillen was shown the door by the Miami Marlins on Tuesday after just one season at the helm of the ball club that started the season promising, and finished in last place in the National League Eastern Division. Guillen, never one to shy away from running his mouth, lost the support of the club’s fans after making remarks in April praising Fidel Castro, a figure that is seen as one of disgust to much of the Marlins’ Cuban-heavy fan-base. Though Guillen apologized repeatedly at a press conference shortly-thereafter, and served a five-game suspension just five-games into the 2012 campaign, the Marlins’ fan base felt resentful towards the Venezuelan-born skipper none-the-less. With fan-support waning, the club went on life support following a disastrous June that saw them fall out of contention and fall off the radar of much of the Miami population.

The 2012 season was supposed to be filled with success and pride for the Marlins who opened a one-of-a-kind new ball park, unveiled a whole new look, and came into the season with a seasoned manager in Guillen who had taken the White Sox all the way to a World Series title in 2005. Guillen had also won a world series with the Marlins as a third base coach for the 2003 ball club that came out of nowhere and took down the mighty Yankees in that season’s fall classic. In addition to Guillen, the Marlins brought in veteran pitcher Mark Buehrle, closer Heath Bell and slugger Jose Reyes, all All-Star players who were supposed to supplement the club’s wealth of young talent and keep the team in contention well through the season.

Instead, the Marlins floundered with Bell being a total bust as a closer and their offense failing to deliver in clutch situations. By June, the club fell below .500 and was never able to claw their way back. Bell was traded last week to Arizona, and now Guillen is gone after serving just one year of his four-year, $10 million deal that he received last September, just 24-hours after he announced he was leaving Chicago after eight seasons.

By: Robert Gonzalez
MLBCenter.com Staff Writer

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