Will New Managers Make Difference?

In the past seven days three different managers have been fired. First it was Willie Randolph of the NY Mets, then John McLaren of the Seattle Mariners, and finally John Gibbons of the Toronto Blue Jays. These three were all managing teams with big expectations for this season but were struggling mightily so far. Only 13 teams who have made in-season switches have advanced to the postseason, and only two have won the World Series. (That'd be the '03 Marlins, who switched from Jeff Torborg to Jack McKeon, and the 1978 Yankees, from Billy Martin to Bob Lemon.) With that in mind is there anyway that these three teams could join that prestigious club and turn it around to make the post season?

To really understand the chances of these teams turning it around we will examine them on a team-by-team basis starting with the woeful Mariners.

The Seattle Mariners were expected to battle with the Angels in the AL West but as of today currently sit 19.5 games back with a 27-49 record good enough for worst in the majors. This however is not necessarily the fault of the manager though as almost every single player on the team is under performing right now. Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro look like they belong in little league and free agent pitchers Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva have turned out to be a huge busts. Only the ace of the staff Felix Hernandez and slugger Raul Ibanez can hold their heads high as they have been performing at a major league level. The rest of the team might as well be pylons and with a gaping chasm between the Mariners and the Angels in the standings don't expect to see the M's in the post season this year.

The New York Mets may have the most talented team in baseball as they boast players such as David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran. To add to these impressive bats they went out in the off-season and signed the best pitcher in the game in Johan Santana. But alas it was not enough as the Mets continue to struggle like they did in September of last year and can't seem to get back their old swagger. Even more unfortunate for the Mets is the fact that they are in the same division as the Philies who look unbelievable and will more than likely not have a collapse like the Mets did last year. One bright spot for the Mets however is that they are only 6 games back of the wildcard and with a team so loaded with talent you have to like the Mets chances of getting into the post season.

Lastly there are the Toronto Blue Jays. After having the best record in May in all of baseball the Jays followed up this feat by losing 14 of their next 19 games including losing series' to the Cubs, Mariners, Angels, Brewers, and most recently the Pirates. The Jays pitching has been great this season but the bats have been lacking as players like Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and Lyle Overbay have not been playing to their full potential. Add in the fact that BJ Ryan can't go two appearances without blowing a save and their 36-41 record starts to make sense. Unfortunately for the Jays they play in the AL East aka the best division in baseball and would require some divine intervention to make the playoffs. But they did hire Cito Gaston who is the best manager in Jays history so that should give them some sort of a boost (or at least I hope).

So the future doesn't look too bright for these three teams this season as only the Mets have a realistic shot of making the post season, if they can get their confidence back that is. Either way when things are going wrong it is better to make changes than sit back and hope everything will fix itself.