Oct 23, 2012 3 min read

MIAMI – Ozzie Guillen was fired Tuesday after one year as manager of the last-place Miami Marlins, whose promising season began to derail in April when his laudatory comments about Fidel Castro caused a backlash.Miami’s next manager will be the fifth for owner Jeffrey Loria since early 2010. Two managers he fired made the playoffs this year. The Marlins still owe Guillen $7.5 million for the three years remaining on his contract.”After careful consideration following the disappointment of the 2012 season, we decided to dismiss Ozzie,” president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said in a statement. “Our managerial search begins immediately and our hope is that a new manager, along with roster improvements, will restore a winning culture.”The franchise was supposedly transformed by an offseason spending spree and the move into a new ballpark, and the Marlins expected to contend for a playoff berth. But a dismal June took the Marlins out of contention for good, and management dismantled the roster in July. The season went sour from the start. Guillen’s comments praising Castro in a magazine interview angered Cuban Americans, who make up a large segment of the Marlins’ fan base. The Venezuelan manager apologized repeatedly at a news conference for his remarks about the former Cuban leader. Guillen then began a five-game suspension only five games into his stay with the team. “That was a very, very hard situation for me and the people around me,” Guillen said in September. “It was maybe the worst thing I ever did.”Red Sox meet new manager: The Boston Red Sox have introduced John Farrell as their new manager.Farrell appeared Tuesday at a news conference with club officials two days after the team announced it had reached an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays to allow him to leave with one year left on his three-year contract as manager. The Red Sox sent infielder Mike Aviles to Toronto and obtained reliever David Carpenter in the deal.Farrell, Boston’s pitching coach from 2007-10 under Terry Francona, takes over for Bobby Valentine, who was fired after one of the worst seasons in team history. The Red Sox finished in last place in the AL East with a 69-93 record, their worst since 1965 and four games behind the Blue Jays.Farrell is the 46th manager in franchise history, and was introduced by Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington.