Gambling on baseball is a bad idea 100 out of 100 times. Gambling on a baseball-related thing that involves otherwise good men getting fired because their team gave them crappy players to manage, well, you’re taking it next-level and are likely accumulating a lot of karma in the process.
Still, I know some of you are degenerates and you have to occupy yourselves with these things. If that describes you, here are the odds, via Bovada.lv, on which manager will be fired first in the 2016 season:
Fredi Gonzalez: 1/1
Walt Weiss: 7/2
Paul Molitor: 4/1
Terry Collins: 8/1
Joe Girardi: 10/1
Mike Scioscia: 12/1
Don Mattingly: 25/1
I get it with Fredi. I don’t gamble, but I’d almost bet my kids on him taking the fall for this mess by midseason and Eddie Perez getting a chance to test-drive the job for a few months with no pressure. I’ve never been a big fan of Fredi, but this sure as hell ain’t his fault. Hopefully he gets kicked upstairs to an advisor position or something rather than tossed to the curb.
Collins and Girardi seem like jokes here. Collins did just win a pennant and Girardi has (a) consistently done better than people expected; while (b) remaining in good graces with a GM who himself has perfect job security. Still, I suppose oddsmakers realize that there is a certain sort of fan who will go crazy and put money down on such a thing because they’re mad that a given game didn’t go well. A fool and his money, I guess.
I’d say Mike Scioscia is a good choice to be fired on merit, but it’s well established that he has compromising photos of anyone within a 40 mile radius of Anaheim who could even suggest firing him. He’s gonna outlast us all.
Oh well. Happy wagering.