MIAMI -- With the Marlins on a five-game winning streak a week after stories surfaced indicating manager Mike Redmond may be on the hot seat, team owner Jeffrey Loria gave Redmond his first public endorsement Sunday.
Speaking to CBSSports.com after the Marlins defeated the Nationals 6-2, Loria said of Redmond, "He's the manager. Period. All teams go through bad moments. Ours came early."
Loria also offered praise for Redmond, whose team is 8-11 now after starting 3-11. "He did a very nice job last year, and he works hard."
Loria remained mostly silent after the Miami Herald reported Redmond "might be on the hot seat," when the Marlins were 3-10. Loria's lack of comments may have lended credence to the report, and a couple days later, when his team fell to 3-11, he told ESPN.com, "We've got to win games."
Word is, Loria was quite unhappy with the sweep by the Mets in New York a week ago. The Marlins signed Giancarlo Stanton to a record $325 million contract in the winter and surrounded him with new veterans, including Martin Prado, Michael Morse, Dan Haren, Mat Latos, Ichiro Suzuki and Dee Gordon.
When it was suggested Loria was said not to be happy with the start, he responded, "Who could be? Nobody on the team was thrilled."
However, Loria insisted Sunday that there was no serious discussion among team higher-ups about changing managers. Furthermore, Loria disputed the notion of Wally Backman being considered as a potential replacement, as mentioned in the first report, saying he didn't know Backman at all. That jibes with a report by Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com that Backman isn't on the Marlins' radar.
Loria is well-known for not being extremely patient with managers. His best move actually might have been firing Jeff Torborg on Mother's Day in 2003 and replacing him with Jack McKeon, who went on to guide the team to the World Series title. Loria also fired Fredi Gonzalez in June 2010, and replaced him with Edwin Rodriguez, and he fired Joe Girardi and Ozzzie Guillen after one season.
Redmond was given an extension through 2017 on the final day of the 2014 season. Last season, he was able to keep an undermanned Marlins team in contentention until Stanton was beaned in the face on Sept. 11, derailing the team's hopes.
