Report: Marlins have interviewed Lloyd McClendon for managerial opening

Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon has emerged as a candidate to become the Marlins' manager according to CBSSports.com senior baseball writer Danny Knobler.

McClendon, who managed the Pirates from 2001-05, interviewed with Marlins officials on Tuesday, according to Knobler's sources. The Marlins have yet to confirm or deny the report.

The Pirates were 336-446 under McClendon. After winning 75 games under McClendon in 2003 and 72 games in 2004, the Pirates went six years without getting to 70 wins. This season Pittsburgh won 79 games.

McClendon joined Jim Leyland's Tiger staff in 2006 and has played a big part in helping the Tigers to two World Series and three ALCS appearances including coaching triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera. Tigers fans, however, weren't happy with the lack of offense in the World Series.

McClendon, a native of Gary, Indiana, played eight years in the big leagues for the Reds, Cubs and Pirates and finished his career as a .244 hitter with 35 home runs and 154 RBI in 570 games. He played five different positions: catcher, first base, third base, left field and right field in his career and didn't break into the big leagues until he was 28 years old.

Mike Redmond, Larry Bowa and Luis Gonzalez have also been mentioned as candidates for the Marlins job. Redmond is considered the favorite.

Bryan Price pulls out of manager's race

      Cincinnati Reds pitching coach Bryan Price has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Marlins' managing job only a few days after interviewing, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer

       With Price out of the picture, that leaves only two known candidates -- Mike Redmond and Larry Bowa -- that have formally interviewed for the job. That doesn't mean the job will come down to those two, necessarily.

       Sources said the Marlins intended to bring in more candidates, though that would seem problematic for the time being given the weather issues in New York, where owner Jeffrey Loria resides and where he has spoken to each managing prospect individually.

       At the moment, Redmond is believed to be the favorite for the job, but that could always change.        

Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle going for gold

      Mark Buehrle could add to his collection of Gold Glove awards while Jose Reyes will be looking for his first when Rawlings recognizes the top fielders at each position in both leagues. Buehrle and Reyes are the Marlins' only two finalists for the awards, which will be presented tonight on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m.

      Buehrle won the Gold Glove award as the American League's top fielding pitcher each of the three previous years when he was with the Chicago White Sox. He remained a steady defensive force in his first season in the N.L., going the entire season without being charged with an error in 60 chances. The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (0 errors in 51 chances) and the Reds' Bronson Arroyo (0 errors in 47 chances) are the other two pitching finalists in the N.L. Kershaw won the N.L. Gold Glove for pitchers last season while Arroyo won it in 2010.

       Reyes is one of four finalists for N.L. shortstop, along with the Nationals' Ian Desmond, Reds' Zack Cozart and Phillies' Jimmy Rollins. Of the four, only Rollins has won a Gold Glove previously, capturing the honor in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

       The Marlins have not had a Gold Glove winner since 2005 when third baseman Mike Lowell and second baseman Luis Castillo each won.

        Gold Glove awards are voted on by managers and coaches.

        Buehrle has already been recognized by the "Fielding Bible" as the top fielding pitcher in either league for the fourth straight year. Here's what was said about Buehrle:

        "His 12 Defensive Runs Saved was the highest total among pitchers. As a player who only plays once every five games compared to those in other positions, it is Buehrle's consistency defensively that really stands out. In the last nine years, he has ranked no worse than number 11 in Defensive Runs Saved among the 175 pitches we rank each year. In seven of those nine years he was no worse than fifth. In that time span, only 42 runners have stolen a base on him, while 48 have been thrown out and another 31 have been picked off by Buehrle. That comes out to 32 runs saved for Buehrle preventing stolen bases when we do our calculations. On top of that, he has saved another 36 runs with the way he has fielded his position in those nine years. Buehrle joins Alex Gordon and Yadier Molina as the third player in 2012 to receive a perfect total of 100 points in the balloting. The Fielding Bible Awards have never had more than one unanimous selection in any other year."

Larry Bowa discusses his interview with Marlins

      Former major league manager Larry Bowa was a guest on Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo's show on Sirius/XM radio on Monday and answered questions about last week's interview for the Marlins' managing job:

      Here's a partial transcript:

      Larry Bowa: "I had a nice interview with Jeffrey Loria and the general manager, (Larry) Beinfest, and (Dan) Jennings. It was a good interview."

      Host/Chris Russo: "Were you surprised they called you?"

      Bowa: "No, not really. I've known Jeff Loria for a while. It was a good interview. I had a good time exhanging ideas and everything and we'll see where that goes."

      Russo: "Are you optimistic that something could happen there?"

      Bowa: "You know what, Chris, you know how that goes. When you get interviewed, you don't know. You know, you think you did good, maybe you don't do good. I thought it was a good interview. We made some good points with each other."

      Russo: "That team could use a little feistiness from you."

      Bowa (laughs): "Yeah, that was one of the issues that was brought up."

      Russo: "They asked you how you are going to approach this team that underachieved, is that what they basically said?"

      Bowa: "Well, no, they didn't say underachieved. They said, are you gonna be, we need some intensity out there and we need some guys to play better than they played."

      Russo: "I can tell, Larry, you've still got a young heart. You want to manage. If the right opportunity comes you're going to take a job."

      Bowa: "That ballclub woud be good. That ballclub would be good, Chris."

World Series champion Giants were no match for Marlins

        It's not easy unearthing positives for the Marlins from their train wreck of a 2012 season, but here's one: they dominated the San Francisco Giants. Yep, the Marlins went to town on the Giants, who swept the Detroit Tigers in four games to capture their second World Series title in three years.

        The Marins went 5-2 against San Fran, sweeping a three-game series in northern California and splitting a four-game set at Marlins Park. All seven games were played in May, the one month in which the Marlins fooled everyone by making it look as though they might be legitimate, and four of the Marlins' wins were one-run decisions.

        The only opponent the Marlins did better against: the Padres. The Marlins went 5-1 vs. San Diego.

        The only opponent that gave the Giants more trouble was the Nationals, who won five of six from San Francisco.

         All of which goes to show, May doesn't mean diddly.

         _____________

         With the World Series over in quick fashion, the Marlins are now at liberty to name a new manager. However, word is they intend to interview more candidates beyond the three (Mike Redmond, Bryan Price and Larry Bowa) they spoke with last week.

Bryan Price interviews for Marlins job. And Larry Bowa, too?

     Cincinnati Reds pitching coach Bryan Price on Friday became the second candidate to interview with the Marlins for their managing job, and Ken Rosenthal of Foxsports.com is reporting that manager Larry Bowa also intervewed for the job.

      Price's interview came two days after Mike Redmond spoke to the team about the vacancy.

     Price, 50, interviewed for the Marlins' managerial opening in 2006 and talked to the team in '09 when it was looking for a new pitching coach.

     Price and Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest once worked together in the Seattle Mariners organization.

     Price also served as pitching coach for Seattle and Arizona before joining the Reds coaching staff in 2009. He recently re-upped with the Reds.

    Bowa also interviewed on Friday, according to a Tweet by Rosenthal. Bowa last managed in 2004 and since January of 2011 has been a studio analyst for MLB Network.

     Bowa, 56, is the only one of three candidates so far who has managed previously in the majors. Bowa skippered the Padres in 1987-88 and Philadelphia from 2001-04.

Brad Ausmus not interested in Marlins job

    Brad Ausmus? Forget it. While the Marlins asked permission of the San Diego Padres to speak with Ausmus about their managerial opening, the former major league catcher -- and one of the hottest up-and-coming names on the list of prospective managers -- is not interested.

    According to a high-ranking Padres official, Ausmus told the club he will not pursue the Marlins job. Ausmus is presently a special assistant to Padres general manager Josh Byrnes.

    Ausmus interviewed recently with the Boston Red Sox for their managerial opening. But the Red Sox decided to hire John Farrell. Ausmus was also interviewed by the Houston Astros during their search but -- citing personal reasons -- withdrew his name. The Astros ended up hiring Bo Porter.

    Mike Redmond interviewed Wednesday for the Marlins job. Cincinnati Reds pitching coach Bryan Price is also considered a candidate. The Marlins held their organizational meetings on Thursday to lay out a game plan in advance of the upcoming G.M. meetings in November and winter meetings in December.

The curious case of the Marlins fan at the World Series is solved

     If you've been watching the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS and Game 1 of the World Series last night, you might have noticed a guy sitting behind the backstop wearing a Miami Marlins jacket.

     Yes, a Miami Marlins jacket. It's almost like a UFO sighting.

      Amy K. Nelson of SB Nation got to wondering who in the world would be wearing Marlins gear at a Giants game, did some snooping around, and came to discover that the dude isn't just some guy who found a deal on Marlins stuff.

     Turns out the man is Laurence Leavy, an honest-to-goodness Marlins season-ticket holder.

     Leavy told Nelson he thought Ozzie Guillen deserved to be fired, wishes the Marlins would replace him with someone like Bobby Valentine, doesn't care for the Home Run Sculpture, and prefers the old teal unis.

     Anyway, check out what Leavy had to say by reading here.

Ozzie: "Not much to say"

     One day after being fired by the Marlins, ousted manager Ozzie Guillen said he didn't have time for a lengthy interview. For one thing, Guillen said he was in a huge rush to get to Chicago, where he keeps his permanent residence.

      For another, Guillen said, "I don't have much to say."

      "No matter what I say, people are going to believe what they want to believe," Guillen wrote in a text message. "That's why I'm going to stay away."

       Guillen echoed earlier comments in which he accepted blame for his role in the Marlins' last-place finish.

       "Once again, manager's fault," he wrote.

       But Guillen said he disagreed with the decision to fire him after one season.

       "I know some people are on my side," Guillen said. "They should (be) because I don't think it was the right decision. But they (management) have the right to do whatever they have to do."

       As for any future plans, it's anyone's guess. Guillen is guaranteed the remainder of his original contract, which will pay him $7.5 million over the next three years.

       "We'll see what is going to happen," Guillen said. "Now going to Chicago."

       __________________

       The Marlins aren't wasting any time in trying to locate a replacement for Guillen. Former Marlins catcher Mike Redmond is interviewing tonight with the team, and is considered by many to be the favorite to win the job. Redmond has managed the past two seasons in the low minors for the Toronto Blue Jays and spent this past season running the show at Single A Dunedin.

       Sources said the Marlins also hope to interview Reds pitching coach Bryan Price for their managing vacancy.

Guillen sends out thanks in Tweets

      Ozzie Guillen, who abstained from Twitter throughout much of the season, used it on Tuesday to offer his thanks in the aftermath of his firing as Marlins manager.

      Translated from Spanish, here's what Guillen said:

      "Thank you to my family and my great friends for the wonderful support, to my sons and my wife, and my countrymen for their support."

      "To the fans that support me and to those who are happy as well, my respect and affection."

      "In life there are worse things and I've lived bad moments in my life. This is one more of that. I will overcome with the suppot of my own."

      "Better things or worse things may come, but thanks again for your support in this bad moment, but not the worst."

      "I am calm with my own, with my head held high, real high."

      Guillen, who was informed of his dismissal in a phone call moments after his plane touched down in Miami this afternoon after a trip to Europe, did not return phone calls or text messages.