The last two managerial vacancies in the National League East have reportedly been filled. The Washington Nationals are reportedly expected to hire Bud Black and the Miami Marlins are about to hire Don Mattingly. The Phillies, of course, previously decided to stick with Pete Mackanin for the 2016 season.
In Washington, the Nationals will replace the abysmal Matt Williams with Black, the former manager of the San Diego Padres. In nine seasons in San Diego, Black put together a record of 649-713. The 2010 National League Manager of the Year, Black was fired by San Diego in the middle of the 2015 season with a record of 32-33. Black never had great talent to work with on a consistent basis, which is part of the reason why he never guided the Padres to the playoffs. His big selling point as a Nationals candidate though appears to be his track record of handling a pitching staff, which Williams always seemed to fumble.
In five years as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mattingly was 446-363 as a manager with three straight NL West Division championships. Despite the success in the division, the expectations for the Dodgers were higher and Mattingly saw his Dodgers make an early exit in the National League Division Series each of the past two seasons. Mattingly was reportedly the top choice fo Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, which seems like it is already a move destined to fail. Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa was also a candidate for the job in Miami, with previous reports saying Bowa went as far as getting a second interview for the job. I still think the Marlins would have been better off giving Juan Samuel a shot at the job.
With the Atlanta Braves sticking with Fredi Gonzalez, perhaps surprisingly after a 67-95 season, and the Mets settled with Terry Collins, the managers for 2016 in the NL East are all in place.
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