MISSED MANAGEMENT

Replacing a high-achieving skipper in hopes of greater success is usually a recipe for less

THE YANKEES announced last Thursday that they would not renew the contract of Joe Girardi (far left), making him the third manager in a month to be ousted after taking his team to the postseason. The Red Sox canned John Farrell (near left) on Oct. 11, two days after they lost the AL divisional series, and Dusty Baker (middle) was let go by the Nationals nine days later, despite his second straight 95-plus-win season. If the logic behind these decisions was that anything short of a World Series is a disappointment, those teams should be warned: According to recent history, there's now likely to be even more disappointment in store.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

SEASON	TEAM	MANAGER	POSTSEASON RESULT	NEW MANAGER	FOLLOWING SEASON'S RESULT
2006	PADRES	BRUCE BOCHY	LOST NLDS IN FOUR GAMES	BUD BLACK	MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
2006	ATHLETICS	KEN MACHA	LOST ALCS IN FOUR GAMES	BOB GEREN	MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
2007	YANKEES	JOE TORRE	LOST ALDS IN FOUR GAMES	JOE GIRARDI	MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
2013	REDS	DUSTY BAKER	LOST NL WILD CARD	BRYAN PRICE	MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
2015	DODGERS	DON MATTINGLY	LOST NLDS IN FIVE GAMES	DAVE ROBERTS	LOST NLCS IN SIX GAMES