Firings Galore

The job insecurity percentage for baseball managers is rapidly approaching 50-50.

The Milwaukee Brewers' axing of Tom Trebelhorn on Wednesday was the 11th this year for a major league manager. Two more firings would represent half of the 26 jobs.

There have been three firings since Monday, the day after the season ended.

First, the New York Yankees dumped Stump Merrill, who said the team's 71-91 finish wasn't all his fault.

"It's unfair that the manager gets the brunt of the blame, but that's just the nature of the game," Merrill said. "With the talent we had and the problems we had with injuries to the veterans the club did well to finish where they did.

"If they think a manager change will make a difference, more power to them."

On Tuesday, Boston fired the popular Joe Morgan, who led the Red Sox to division titles in 1988 and '90. He had them in contention again this year before they finished tied with Detroit for second in the AL East with an 84-78 record. The Red Sox replaced him with Butch Hobson.

Last season, not a single manager was fired in the immediate post-season. Now, not only managers are falling, but vice presidents and general managers are hitting the road, too.

"Obviously, change is part of the game," Los Angeles Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire said.

"It all comes down to impatience," San Diego Padres executive vice president Joe McIlyaine said. "You want to win, and people look for reasons why you didn't. It usually falls on the manager, but not always."

Besides Trebelhorn, who led the Brewers to an 83-79 record, the Brewers bumped general manager Harry Dalton.

"You've always had managerial changes," Claire said, "but now there's more movement in baseball overall because of free agency."

There are great investments being made in players, in salaries, in the hopes of winning, and when you have expectations and large investments, you also have high risks.

"When teams don't succeed, they're always subject to change. I think that part of it is greater than ever before: Never before have the investments in the teams themselves been so high," said the Dodger Executive.