5 MLB Managers on the Hot Seat Entering 2015
With every bit of improvement a team makes during the offseason, its expectations obviously rise.
And with that, the manager’s seat undoubtedly heats up.
This year’s edition of managers on the potential chopping block features skippers with expectations to surpass what they did in 2014, and their teams are all arguably improved from those previous runs. Failure to show progress during the season could lead to a scapegoat and in-season change. Others may get the entire season to prove or disprove that they are the men for the job.
Contracts also play a part in this, where some are in a contract year and others have a couple of seasons to play with. Also, recent declarations of confidence have taken at least two managers—Matt Williams and Ron Roenicke—off this list.
There are also certain American League managers who might be perceived to be on the hot seat because of increased expectations, but the fact is, they have done enough before this coming season to earn some leeway. Ned Yost led the Kansas City Royals to the World Series in 2014. Robin Ventura is coming off a season in which the Chicago White Sox improved by 10 wins. Brad Ausmus should get a pass because if his Detroit Tigers fail to reach the World Series, it is likely their aging and potentially declining roster would shoulder the blame, along with a questionable bullpen.
Of course, none of that is a guarantee. It only allows for some slack.
Most of the managers who did make this list are under pressure to contend or to win their league’s pennant, while another is under the gun to make a now-healthy roster relevant. Failure could result in a pink slip.
Terry Collins, New York Mets
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Terry Collins is entering his fifth season with the Mets, and he has not finished .500 or within fewer than 17 games of first place in any of them. Now that the team has ace Matt Harvey back in the rotation after he missed all of last season, expectations are on the uptick, even with Zack Wheeler missing the year with an elbow injury.
“It's time,” Collins told reporters at the winter meetings in December. “I've done nothing for the last four years but preach to our fan base to be patient, and I've been trying to be patient. Well, I think we've got the pieces. It's time to step up.”
The Mets finished second in the National League East last season despite winning just 79 games. But this season, the Atlanta Braves are in the midst of a rebuild, the Miami Marlins are without their ace for the first half of the season and the Philadelphia Phillies might be lucky to lose fewer than 100 games.
All of that leaves the Mets with expectations to contend for a wild-card berth and finish with a win total in the 80s for the first time under Collins.
The Mets to this point have decided not to exercise Collins’ option for 2016. That is a clear sign that if they start the season relatively healthy (excluding Wheeler) and cannot show drastic improvement, Collins is likely to pay with his job.
Lloyd McClendon, Seattle Mariners
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The Mariners missed the playoffs by a game last season and improved by a ridiculous 16 wins. That should be enough to earn plenty of job security, but the fact is, this franchise can no longer afford to tell its fanbase to be patient.
With the offensive improvements the team made this offseason, Nelson Cruz being the headliner, and an already stellar pitching staff—it had an AL-best 3.17 ERA in 2014—its time to compete in the postseason is now.
General manager Jack Zduriencik took himself off the hot seat with a productive offseason, but if Lloyd McClendon cannot lead an improved roster to the playoffs, he could feel the heat. Any backslide from the improvement showed last season, with the exception of major injuries, will place the blame on McClendon.
The Mariners must improve their home record. They went 41-40 at Safeco Field and 46-35 on the road. This kind of thing can fluctuate from season to season, so it might not be seen as that big a deal. Unless, of course, it happens again.
This is McClendon’s second season, and his first was a success. But a collapse in 2015 could leave the front office, which is now on solid ground, looking for a scapegoat. Unfortunately, he could be the target if things don't go as expected.
Walt Weiss, Colorado Rockies
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No one expects the Rockies to contend this season, except for the Rockies. They have a healthy Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, but that is hardly enough to compete in a good division.
Still, expectations are there. And Walt Weiss, who signed an extension through 2016 two Octobers ago, might be the man to fall if the Rockies fail to live up to them.
There is a bit of writing already on the wall. Last season, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Weiss was frustrated by his philosophical differences with the organization's senior vice president of major league operations, Bill Geivett.
The Rockies had an odd front-office configuration with Geivett and former GM Dan O’Dowd both in the mix, but that was remedied when Jeff Bridich took over as GM after last season. That could help Weiss' cause. Then again, the manager is usually the first to go in when losing happens.
That bodes badly for Weiss because the Rockies have not done enough to be relevant in the NL West, and Weiss has seen his win total drop from his first year to his second. If that happens again in 2015, he could be the first one cut.
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Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Mattingly is not the managerial choice of the current front office, but it will give him the opportunity to mesh and adhere to its philosophies. And it also cleaned some house in getting rid of Matt Kemp and letting Hanley Ramirez walk into free agency, which supposedly could make handling the team’s clubhouse easier for Mattingly.
The club believes it improved after a 94-win season, Mattingly’s fourth at the helm, and anything short of a World Series this year will be met with dissatisfaction. And because he is a leftover hire from the previous front office, he could get the axe if the new group does not agree with how he handles the team.
Mattingly has two seasons remaining on his current contract, but this is the Dodgers. They will not hesitate to eat that salary if it means the front office can choose a new manager.
Mattingly has had the support of the clubhouse throughout his tenure. He is seen as a player’s manager, someone who can relate to the day-to-day grind and understands how to communicate. This maybe had something to do with the front office keeping him for another season.
But regardless of what Mattingly does behind closed doors, this is still a mega-market franchise with a ton of money committed to winning a World Series. If he does not show he is the manager to lead them to it, no one would be surprised if he was shown the door.
Bud Black, San Diego Padres
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Black is a lame-duck skipper, meaning he does not have a contract for 2016 at this point. He's also not the choice of current general manger A.J. Preller, who was hired last August. And there is also the little fact that Black has not led the Padres to the postseason in his eight years and hasn’t won more than 77 games in the previous four.
Add those things to Preller’s overhaul of the roster, one that he and everyone else expects to contend for a playoff spot, and Black had better get this team rolling early.
Black is one of four managers to have at least seven years as the manager of the same team, but the other three—Bruce Bochy, Mike Scioscia and Joe Girardi—have been to the postseason at least three times, they all have an overall winning record and have combined to win five World Series. Simply put, managers with Black’s recent track record do not keep their jobs for long.
Black got some slack because the Padres ownership was a mess for so long during his time and because the franchise skimped on payroll, but that leash is considerably shorter entering this season. Preller, with the approval of controlling owner and executive chairman Ron Fowler, acquired Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers and James Shields, among others, to give the Padres realistic postseason hopes.
If Black does not show he can lead the team’s revamped roster to consistent victories, he could be on his last legs as the Padres manager.
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