Oakland Athletics Part Ways with Manager Bob Geren, Hire Bob Melvin for Interim

In a move that doesn’t come as much of a surprise, the Oakland A’s have fired manager Bob Geren. The A’s were 27-36 at the time of Geren’s firing and were 0-7 in the month of June, riding a nine-game losing streak.

Unfortunately for Geren, he was a victim of two things: poor communication with his players and unrealistic expectations.

Though we covered Geren’s issues with closer Brian Fuentes and his former closer Huston Street two weeks ago, Geren has also had problems with his coaches in the past as well.

Of course, winning cures communication problems and most other ails, but Geren wasn’t winning. With their young and talented pitching staff and with some of their acquisitions this winter, the A’s were a trendy pick to win the AL West in 2011.

Those expectations for this A’s team were unrealistic. I never saw how a team that was looking to have David DeJesus bat third and have Josh Willingham be their best offensive player could make a playoff run.

Geren finishes his managerial career in Oakland with a 334-376 record over 4.5 seasons and will be replaced by former Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin.