Why Ozzie Guillen Should Be Let Go by the Miami Marlins

This was supposed to be the season where the Miami Marlins became a big market franchise. Everything that supposedly held them back in the past was taken care of.

They had stars, both homegrown like Giancarlo Stanton, and acquired like Jose Reyes. They finally had a stadium to call their own instead of sharing Sun Life Stadium with the Dolphins. They had an identity that embraced the city by calling themselves the Miami Marlins, no longer the Florida Marlins.

And of course Ozzie Guillen was bringing his brash style and baseball savvy to Miami. The Marlins tried to keep up with the Heat in capturing the sports hearts of South Florida. It seemed like the days of the Marlins being sellers and a doormat were over.

How long would the good times last?

Evidently not even four months. The team is off to a disappointing start and have a losing record in late July. They could not take advantage of the Phillies' struggles and seem to have conceded the division to either the Washington Nationals or the Atlanta Braves.

And now they have begun the time-honored Marlins tradition of throwing the big contracts overboard. Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante and Randy Choate have been sent packing.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Marlins are seeking a large bounty for Josh Johnson but will not deal Jose Reyes nor Mark Buehrle.

As long as they are already dismantling the great promise of 2012, why not go all the way?

Send Ozzie Guillen packing as well.

Guillen has not been the great leader they had envisioned for the team. They got all of the colorful language and controversy that they were expecting from him. He couldn't stay out of hot water more than a few weeks into the season when he made his infamous Fidel Castro comments.

But the results on the field were not there. Guillen was supposed to be the man to make the combination of Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez work.

It did not happen.

Guillen was supposed to be a great strategist. If his strategy was to hand the ball to Heath Bell every night, that did not work out.

Most importantly, he was supposed to bring energy to the team. The only electricity at Marlins Park these days goes through the silly sculpture in left-center field with the dancing Marlins.

The 2012 experiment did not work. To use an appropriate fishing phrase, cut bait. If they are doing so with the players, why not the manager?

This would not be the first time Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had a quick trigger finger with his manager. It worked in 2003 when Jeff Torborg was let go and replaced by Jack McKeon. The result was a World Series title.

Joe Girardi won Manager of the Year for the Marlins in 2006 and was promptly fired for clashing with ownership. Fredi Gonzalez put a winning product on the field in 2008 and 2009 despite pitifully low payrolls and was fired.

Those two produced on the field and got shown the door. Ozzie Guillen has not.

If it is time to close up shop in Miami, why not go all the way?