Whipped Cream Difficulties

The Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell yesterday

Bell joined the Reds for the 2019 season and posted a 405-456 record over the last six seasons. He guided the Reds through COVID, managed a playoff team in 2020 and received his first of two contract extensions with the Reds in 2021.
In 2022, the Reds lost 100 games and went through a full rebuild. The Reds broke through in 2023 and were in the playoff race until the final weekend of the season. Bell received a contract extension last July as the young core impressed, but that momentum didn’t carry into 2024.

The Reds are currently 76-81, and have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

ESPN.

I am seeing reports that the Seattle Mariners are going to fire general manager Scott Servais.

Right now, this is all just “sources” and nobody’s reporting anything definite yet. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network isn’t even covering the story.

Realistically, it was the culmination of two months of losing and failure following that apex day June 18.
Since that high-water mark above .500, the Mariners have posted a 20-33 record, losing their 10-game division lead in a span of 24 games and now trailing the Astros by five games. Only the hapless Chicago White Sox have had a worse record over that stretch (10-43).
Following Wednesday’s 8-4 loss in which they were swept in a three-game series by the Dodgers in Los Angeles to close out the trip, the Mariners fell to an even 64-64. The previous time the Mariners were at .500 was April 24 when they were 12-12.

When I see something beyond “sources say”, I’ll update here.

(I’m trying to keep the White Sox posts to one per week.)

Edited to add 8/23: official now. The Seattle Times story was updated in place, but here’s the ESPN story.

Blake Anderson was fired as football coach of Utah State yesterday.

Their season starts August 31st. Should be interesting to see who they find to coach.

The reason?

Utah State said an external investigation found Anderson did not comply with the school’s Title IX policies, which require timely reporting of sexual misconduct and domestic violence and bar employees from investigating reports of sexual misconduct themselves. The school also fired deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee and football staff member Austin Albrecht for violating university policies connected to the reporting of domestic and sexual violence. Bovee last week announced his intention to file a grievance, pursuant to university policy, and said he and two other Utah State employees reported an incident that occurred in April 2023 to the university’s Office of Equity.

There’s a second day story that gives more specifics. Apparently, Coach Anderson decided he was going to play Perry Mason (or was it Paul Drake):

Anderson contacted the girlfriend and roommate of a Utah State football player in April 2023 after learning that the player had been arrested due to an alleged domestic abuse incident, according to an investigation commissioned by the university. Anderson said he was on a “fact-finding mission” to determine if the player should be suspended or if they needed to take any further action, according to an investigative report obtained via public records request.

…

“Most egregiously, you engaged in investigative efforts regarding the domestic violence arrest, including meeting with and collecting written statements from the potential victim and another witness,” the letter states. “You undertook these actions following an arrest and while a criminal investigation was ongoing.”

Coach Anderson, of course, says the university was out to get him, the charges are unfounded, and he did nothing wrong or in violation of policy.

I feel like I have to say something about the firing of Gregg Berhalter, since this is SportsFirings.com. Even though I hate soccer.

On a happier note, here’s a fun article from The Society for American Baseball Research: “You’re Out of Here: A History of Umpire Ejections”.

Yes, I don’t like baseball either. But I dislike it less than I do soccer, and a history of baseball ejections is the kind of weird thing that appeals to me. Much like Disco Demolition Night…

Monty Williams out as head coach of the Detroit Pistons after one season.

After starting the season 2-1, the Pistons went on a historic 28-game losing streak…
…The Pistons ultimately finished with a franchise-low 14-68 record, leaving Detroit with the worst record in the league for the second consecutive season.

More from ESPN.

The Pistons are 94-290 (.245) over the past five seasons, easily the worst in the league. Detroit was the third-youngest team in the league.

Tucupita Marcano has been fired.

Okay, that’s not quite the whole story. Tucupita Marcano has been banned for life from Major League Baseball.

Why? He committed baseball’s original sin: he bet on games.

Even worse, he bet on his own team.

MLB said Tuesday that Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 in October 2022 and from last July through November with a legal sportsbook. He became the first active player in a century banned for life because of gambling.
Marcano appears to be the first active major leaguer banned under the sport’s gambling provision since New York Giants outfielder Jimmy O’Connell in 1924. Pete Rose, baseball’s active career hits leader, famously agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation concluded he bet on Cincinnati Reds games while managing the team.

…

Marcano, currently a member of the San Diego Padres, was found to have placed 231 MLB-related bets, including 25 that MLB says included wagers on Pirates games while he was on the team’s major league roster. However, he did not appear in any of those games because he was on the injured list following a season-ending knee injury. He was receiving medical treatment at PNC Park during that time.

…

Marcano bet almost exclusively on the outcomes of games and lost all of his parlay bets involving the Pirates, winning just 4.3% of all of his MLB-related bets, according to the league.
MLB Rule 21, posted in every clubhouse, states betting on any baseball game in which a player, umpire, league official or team employee has no duty to perform results in a one-year suspension. Betting on a game in which the person has a duty to perform results in a lifetime ban.

Four other players have been suspended for one year, also for betting on baseball. They only got one year suspensions because they were minor league players betting on major league games.

Ángel Hernández has retired as a baseball umpire “effective immediately”. ESPN.

This seems more like one of those “retirefirings”:

Major League Baseball and the Hernández were negotiating a financial settlement over the past two weeks and came to an agreement during the holiday weekend, according to USA Today.

I do so love a good classical reference:

“I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family. Needless to say, there have been many positive changes in the game of baseball since I first entered the profession. This includes the expansion and promotion of minorities. I am proud that I was able to be an active participant in that goal while being a Major League umpire.”

…

Hernández has been a lightning rod for controversy and is universally viewed as the worst umpire in the game by players, managers and fans of the sport.
The poor reputation he has dates back almost two decades with player polls by Sports Illustrated in 2006 and 2011 ranking him as the third-worst umpire and an ESPN poll in 2010 putting 22 percent of the respondents as viewing Hernández as the worst in MLB.
Hernández umped just 10 games during the 2023 season because of a back injury, but he got 161 calls wrong, according to Umpire Auditor.

He sued MLB in 2017 alleging racial discrimination, but the case was thrown out of court.

And since I have the song stuck in your head now…

J.B. Bickerstaff out as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

170-159 regular season, 6-11 in the playoffs. Cleveland’s made the playoffs two years in a row and seems to be improving, but they got knocked out by the Celtics in the second round this season.

ESPN.

Frank Vogel out as head coach of the Phoenix Suns.

49-33 in his one and only season with the team.

The Suns will now have a third different head coach in three seasons. This is after Vogel said he had “full support” from Suns team owner Mat Ishbia going into Game 4 against the T-Wolves they lost at home to end the season.

Previously. ESPN.