It might be time for the A's to fire Bob Melvin

Bob Melvin is CLEARLY not the answer.
They have yet to win a GAME under his leadership.

What are you waiting for, A's?

Get rid of this guy!

(You see, it had nothing to do with Bob Geren. I just want the A's to have a new manager for every game.)

Bob Geren got fired? WHY? WHAT WENT WRONG?

I've been calling for Bob Geren to be axed for more than 2 seasons.
It's amazing that he has lasted longer than a Presidential term, taking a team that was a regular playoff participant and seeing them turn into a sub .500 non entity.

It's not ALL his fault but it clearly wasn't working.
Bob Melvin is the new manager. During Geren's first season (2007), Melvin took an unlikely and seemingly overmatched Diamondbacks team and led them to a 90 win season and homefield advantage in the NLCS.

They got to within 4 games of the World Series with Eric Byrnes as their top offensive threat and Livan Hernandez as their #3 starter.

In that time the D'Backs have been dismantled and rebuilt with 2 other managers.

And Geren stayed put in Oakland... until now.

The A's could use a little overachieving.

Or who knows?
Maybe Geren should have gotten ANOTHER 4 1/3 seasons!

How much longer can this go on for the A's?

Seriously... how badly do the A's have to stumble to have Bob Geren be relieved of his duties?

They keep losing and losing and losing and here we are 1/3 of the way through his FIFTH year as manager and there is no life on this team.

The A's were tied for first on May 17th.
Since then?

They are 5-14, including losing their last 7 games.

THE GEREN AS MANAGER THING IS NOT WORKING!

Do you need another 1/2 decade to figure that out?

Bob Geren has been the A's manager longer than Lincoln was President

Nobody's asking Geren to win a Civil War and free the slaves. Getting above .500 would be HIS Gettysburg Address.

Oh and by the way, Lincoln didn't inherit a very good situation.
Geren got a team that made the ALCS the year before he arrived.

Just saying.

What will it take to get Bob Geren fired?

Bob Geren still is the A's manager. Isn't that incredible?

The A's are playing in a winnable division.
You don't believe me? The MARINERS are competing and I think I could crack their 25 man roster.

And the A's are the only team with a losing record. Yeah I know this team has had some injuries. Do you know what OTHER team has had injuries?

EVERY TEAM IN BASEBALL!!!!

Oakland was the trendy pick for the AL West (I had the Angels) and the team just looks dead from the neck up. Having Bartolo Colon throw a complete game shutout against you is a low point. I don't care how his DNA has been scrambled and how many Gamma Rays he has absorbed.

And they got blown out again tonight by the Yankees. (Thanks for the help!)

The A's always look a little bit off. And I know that Billy Beane thinks managers are disposable... but should he DISPOSE of this one?

I mean isn't there someone who might be able to squeeze a little bit out of this club. ESPECIALLY when it looks like 87 wins might be enough to win the West?

Geren isn't new to the job.
This is Geren's 5TH SEASON!

He's lasted longer than a Presidential term.
Think about it. We gave Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush 4 years and then kicked them off to the curb, and they were running the COUNTRY!

Geren has the A's and the greatest peak he has climbed in 4 1/3 seasons was a .500 season. This was after the A's went to the post season 5 out of 7 seasons!

I've been calling for his head since 2009.

I've seen no reason for him to stick around.

Has he REALLY merited more time than the President of the United States?

I needed photographic evidence to believe it

But yup... Bob Geren is indeed still the manager of the Oakland A's.

How does he still have a job?

Is it really the whole "he's buddies with Billy Beane" excuse?

But he is starting his 4th season... and under his stewardship, the A's, a team that made the ALCS just prior to his arrival and constantly put a contender on the field even with a low budget and free agent defections, have been a consistent sub .500 non contender in his 3 years.

And worse than not contending, they've been flat, boring and irrelevant... even in the Bay Area.

I called for his head last year (as did every A's fan I know.) But then again, I thought Charlie Manuel was dead wood before 2007... so who knows? Maybe the A's, like their former city mates the Phillies, will rattle off three straight division titles, two straight pennants and a World Series title.

The Angels have taken a step back this year and the west is winnable (didn't I say that LAST year?)

But if the A's come out stumbling this year, there is no excuse... even for Billy Beane's best buddy. (say that three times fast.)

They are playing like WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

Josh Outman is living up to his name and is now 4-0.

Jack Cust clocked a game winning homer.

Andrew Bailey (who desperately needs a nickname) gets another save.

And since I said they were turning things around last Wednesday... they haven't lost!

Plus the Rangers lost to Texas and might be without Josh Hamilton for a while.

.500 is within striking distance.
The Division might be in play.

And who knows? Maybe NOT firing Bob Geren was the right thing!

Watch him with Manager of the Year!

Sinking ship

On Thursday May 28th, I said the A's HAD to fire Bob Geren... if for no other reason than to shake the team up.

They are 1-4 since.

Only a 9th inning homer by Adam Kennedy on Sunday (after the A's blew a 4-0 lead) prevented a 4 game sweep in Texas.

Now they are only better than the Nationals.
They are on pace for 99 losses.

Meanwhile the Rangers are in first place with Ron Washington at the helm.

That being former A's third base coach Ron Washington.

That being former A's third base coach Ron Washington who was a candidate for the A's managing job in 2007 that instead went to Bob Geren.

It is now fascinating to think how bad the A's can fall...
And how TERRIBLE my prediction can wind up!

Well that was pathetic, Oakland

A few days ago I called out the A's and demanded they sack Bob Geren.

They had a big 4 game series coming up (I mistakenly called it a 3 game set) and any hope for the A's to crawl back into it was resting on showing up for this set.

They had 8 games to make up... could they cut it down?

They got swept in a Day/Night Doubleheader (which is almost impossible) and today really showed a lot of heart in a 14-1 massacre.

It's not even June and the A's... the team I picked to win the World Series... are done.

Cooked.

They are 11 games out.

They are the worst team in the American League.

Only the Nationals are worse in all of Major League Baseball.

The only question is should they deal Matt Holliday or have him play out the season and pick up the draft picks?

As for Bob Geren... keep him. He's supposedly great buddies with Billy Beane.

It's going to be really lonely in Oakland, especially in September where I am predicting there will be several sub 1,000 crowds at the Coliseum. 

Billy is going to need a friend or two.

The Oakland A's need to fire Bob Geren RIGHT NOW!!!!

Let me get this out of the way first… I have nothing personal against Bob Geren. I have never met the man.

He might be a nice guy. He certainly is a baseball lifer. He played professional baseball from 1979 to 1993 including five years in the big leagues.

He’s been a minor league manager, a bench coach and now a big league skipper. He might be right person for a job somewhere.

But it is becoming more and more obvious that he is not working as the manager of the Oakland A’s.

And the staff at Sully Baseball, who has put him on the firing line and called for his head, all agree that the time to let him go is now.

Not in a month.

Not in a week.

Now. If Billy Beane is reading this, he should fire Bob Geren before he finishes reading this sentence.

Here’s why:

IT’S NOT LIKE HE’S NEW TO THE JOB

He’s been there for 2 ¼ seasons… 

and his second season was worse than the first… 

and his third season looks worse than the second one.

You see a pattern developing?

THE A’S WENT FOR IT THIS YEAR

They brought in Holliday, Cabrera, Nomar and Giambi. This looked like a year that the A’s would make a run at it.

And some people kind of bought into it.

The season in ¼ over and the team is the worst in the American League. If they still are going for it, then they can’t wait as they continue their 66-96 pace.

THE MANAGERIAL SHAKEUP IS THE ONLY OPTION

They aren’t going to make a blockbuster trade.

They aren’t going to bring up a phenom.

The only way to give the team a boost or a kick in the pants is to change the man in the dugout.

THE A'S ARE CHASING THE RANGERS!!!!

Look, the Rangers might turn into the Rays and stun us all the way to the World Series.

Or…. They could be yet another team that had a terrific first quarter and wilt in the summer heat!

They aren’t trying to track down the 1961 Yankees… or the Angels for that matter.

Did you remember the Rangers were in first place at this point in 2006? 

OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T! 

They played losing ball the rest of the way and another team zoomed in to take the division.

Do you remember which team it was? 

THE A’S!!!! And the A’s had a losing record at this point as well!

So it isn’t too late… but you’ve better do something before it is.

THE A’S ARE PLAYING THE RANGERS!

The A’s are 8 games back of the Rangers… and on Friday they head to Arlington for a 3 game set to finish the month.

What better way to start making up those 8 games than some head to head wins?

AND FINALLY… THEY HAVE TODAY OFF

If you are going to have a change, why not have it on a day off? Have a transition of power and give the new guy a chance to get into the new office.

And also have give the players a day to have it sink in that the front office isn’t about to throw this season into the dumpster.


Now who should they put in?

Do you promote bench coach Tye Waller or third base coach Mike Gallego?

Do you give a shot to a solid minor league manager like Ken Oberkfell?
Do you give another shot to Don Baylor? John Gibbons? Ned Yost? Bob Melvin?

Do you go a drastic new direction and bring in Buck Showalter?

I’m always in favor of giving Chris Chambliss a shot…

Heck, give the job to Stomper the Elephant.

But the A’s need to do something and they need to do it now.

And when I say “now” I mean in 3… 2… 1… Now.

I claim the authority to fire Bob Geren

I'm not even an A's fan... but enough is enough.

The A's are making my pre season pick look worse every single day!

And the other day, after going through a humiliating 4 game stretch where they were outscored an average of 11.75 to 3.25, the A's were 3 outs away from winning a 4 game series with the Rays.

He had his closer warm. And he didn't bring him in. Tampa tied the game and later won it.

They responded with a lifeless 2-1 loss tonight.

We are at the 25% mark of the season where the front office pushed their chips to the center of the table and the A's have fewer wins than any team in the American League.

This is the equivalent of a citizen's arrest.

I, Paul F. Sullivan, lifelong Red Sox fan, will relieve Bob Geren of his duties as manager. 

And in his place I am inserting Chris Chambliss.

Seriously, how could Chambliss have the team in a worse place?

At this point, I bet A's fans would rather have the elephant Stomper manage the team.

Managers who should not feel too comfortable in their job

A few weeks ago I was going to write a blog post about which managers I thought were in trouble of getting the axe... but I thought it was too soon.

Then the Diamondbacks fired the 2007 Manager of the Year Bob Melvin in order to bring up A. J. Hinch to the helm after managing zero games at any level.

While that hiring might seem odd, the timing didn't. The Diamondbacks are loaded with young talent but got off to a .414 start.

And with Manny out for a while, the D'Backs felt that now was the time to make a change.

The D'Backs are now 2-6 under Hinch and have sunk 10 games back in the loss column to L.A. I'm sure they were hoping for a little better bump in the standings than that.

There are some managers whose jobs might still be on the line, and others whose jobs might have been saved by recent winning streaks.

There was a sense of abject panic in New York (as I wrote, part of it from a collective amnesia). But the recent 6 game winning streak has brought not only a little joy in the Yankee clubhouse (and made A-Rod suddenly the most popular Yankee without a worry in the world) but also took the heat off of Joe Girardi (at least until the next losing streak.)

And last night's 5 error fiasco not withstanding, the Mets have climbed back into the race and Jerry Manuel's job seems safe (at least until June.)

So whose head will roll next?

The staff at Sully Baseball has some thoughts on the matter.


BOB GEREN, Oakland A's

The A's did extend his contract this spring as a vote of confidence. Billy Beane actually went out and acquired players like Holliday, Giambi and Cabrera and the Angels stumbled out of the gate with injuries and tragedy.

And your pal Sully drank the Kool Aid like nobody's business!

And how did the A's respond? By playing .371 baseball. They are on pace to lose 100 games and have been blown out of the water in this recent road trip.

The scores reflect a team that is overmatched. 14-1, 9-1, 11-7 (remember they were up 6-0 in the second inning in that game) and yesterday's 13-4 disaster to Tampa.

I can't imagine the A's front office is too happy. And after years of being a perrenial contender no matter the budget, Geren finished sub .500 in each of the last two years and seems to be running the team into the ground.


BUD BLACK, San Diego Padres

Frankly, I can't believe he still has a job. Nothing against Harry Ralston Black, who I am sure is an astute baseball man.

But how someone can take a team that always seems to contend, have them miss the playoffs his first year, become a 99 loss team the next and seem destined to have another losing season this year and not be checking Craigslist for a new gig?

The Padres got off to a surprising start and were 6 games over .500 on April 18. They are 7-19 since, and that's including the three game sweep of the Reds this weekend.

They are a losing streak away from a fire sale. And Black should call his old buddy Mike Scioscia to see if his old pitching coach job is available.



CLINT HURDLE, Colorado Rockies

I know, I know... how can Clint Hurdle be in trouble? He led the Rockies to their lone World Series appearance!

Let's take a close look at his managerial career.

Yes, the Rockies went on their amazing run starting midway through September of 2007 and rode it all the way to the National League pennant.

But let's look a little closer at his managerial record, shall we?

He took over the Rockies from Buddy Bell 22 games into the 2002 season. They had a losing record that year. They also had losing records in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. And after winning the pennant in 2007, they had a losing record in 2008 and are on pace to go 63-99 this year.

So in 7 plus seasons, he has delivered 6 lackluster losing seasons and a 530-619 record.

Not counting the last 2 weeks of 2007, he has led the Rockies to a .455 winning percentage and 100 games under .500 over 7 plus seasons.

It might be time to realize that two week run and pennant drive was a fluke.


ERIC WEDGE, Cleveland Indians

2009 has not been kind to managers who had success in 2007.

The NL Manager of the Year Bob Melvin was canned. I am calling for the head of the manager of the 2007 NL Champion Rockies and the manager of the Padres, a team that made it to a one game playoff in 2007.

So why not give the 2007 AL Manager of the Year the Robespierre treatment?

After winning 96 games in 2007 and being one jaw droppingly stupid third base coach decision away from tying Game 7 of the ALCS in the 7th inning, the Indians were supposed to be a World Series contender in 2008.

Instead they scrambled to .500. This year they were supposed to be contenders, only now they can't seem to get out of their own way.

They've had no winning streak longer than 2 and can not put away series.

Perhaps Wedge can take heart that the Cavaliers run to the NBA Finals will take a little heat off of the Indians (and the Browns for that matter) in terms of delivering a title to Cleveland. But this talented group might need some new direction... or start the fire sale.


OZZIE GUILLEN, Chicago White Sox

Now mind you I am not saying Ozzie should be fired. I am a confirmed Ozzie Guillen fan. We need more managers who are actually, you know... fun!

And I think his winning the 2005 World Series so convincingly without a Hall of Famer in his lineup (Frank Thomas was hurt) and without an MVP nor Cy Young winner on the roster is one of the great managing jobs of the last few decades.

Plus he has delivered 4 winning teams in his first 5 seasons plus another trip to the playoffs last year. He has changed the culture in the South Side and turned the White Sox from an after thought to the team that can actually WIN in Chicago.

So why is he in trouble?

Well, there are opera singers who would call him a diva. Plus he threatens to quit every 10 minutes. His crazy act looks inspired when the team is winning, but when they are losing I am sure it gets tiring.

And the Sox are in the middle of a 5 game slide right now and letting a winnable AL Central slip away. One of these days Ozzie might go into Kenny Williams' office and say "I quit!"

And Kenny might say "OK."

I don't want him to, but he might.


MANNY ACTA, Washington Nationals

Earlier this year, I made fun of the notion of Acta being fired, as if this train wreck of a team was his fault.

Now I am not so sure.

Acta's career mark is 143-217. That's a .397 winning percentage over 2 1/4 seasons.

And this team looks like it could be one of those spectacularly bad teams.

It's not just that they are on pace to go 49-113 (10 games WORSE than last year's 59-102 finish).

It's not just they are in their second five game slide of the season and have had three other 3 game skids.

But they just play a horrific brand of baseball. Their bullpen blows games... their bats go dead... they make bonehead plays in the field... and evidently they aren't even taking infield before the game.

Yeah because when you need to have a big finish to win 60 games, you've earned the right to kick your feet up.

Now if the plan is to get the #1 pick over all in back to back seasons, then hang up the Mission Accomplished banner!

But if the Nationals want to start filling those empty red seats in their beautiful new ballpark, maybe a sacrificial lamb is in order.




Now will ALL SIX of these guys be out of a job?
Probably not, but no doubt there will be a job vacancy this year. And as last year's bizarre firing of Ned Yost showed it is never too late to fire a manager.

All I can say is this to the teams thinking about a managerial change... would it KILL you to interview Chris Chambliss????