5 MLB Managers Who Are on the Hot Seat

Expectations Are a Manager's Worst Friend

Being a MLB manager has to be pretty tough. Considering the sport has the most games and the least playoff spots, the mental grind has to be extremely draining. For most managers, however, that grind can be even more intense because of the expectations that their team may have. This is why expectations are definitely a manager's worst friend.

Baseball can be pretty random at times, which is why it's hard to completely blame a manager for a team's faults. However, they are the easiest to blame when a team struggles -- well, outside of the hitting coach and pitching coach. In actuality, however, I’m willing to bet that a manager has an influence of only five wins or losses during the season. The only ones that get themselves in trouble are the ones who live by the old school rules of baseball — ie. bunting, not playing matchups and not understanding how to use a bullpen. I dream of the day that the baseball world sees a manager that never played the game but can make the proper, most efficient decisions. Unfortunately, that day will probably never happen.< /p>

Charlie Manuel has been the manager for the Phillies for quite a while now. But considering the team is struggling and has a giant payroll, one can probably assume that "Cholly's" job isn't exactly safe. With that being said, there are a handful of managers that I believe are in worse shape than Manuel.

Some of these managers may be on the hot seat because of overall bad play, not meeting expectations, or both. Nevertheless, here are the five MLB managers who are definitely on the hot seat.

Bo Porter

I'm sure we all remember our first jobs in the real world. Judging from my own experience, I'm going to assume your first job wasn't very fun. Well, Bo Porter's first managerial job isn't one that I would wish upon anybody. Everyone knew that the Astros were going to be miserable in 2013, and probably be miserable for a few more years after this one. Ergo, when Porter agreed to be the manager for Houston, he was basically agreeing that he was hired to be fired. The only way Porter will not be fired is if Houston's front office is open-minded about the team's failure, which is possible but unlikely.

Terry Collins

It has been publicly stated that Terry Collins' job is safe with the New York Mets, but one has to wonder if that statement was made to weather the storm. It seems like Collins' job has been in question ever since he trotted out Johan Santana for the first no-hitter in New York Mets' history. As it stands right now, the Mets are seven games under .500, and would be in the cellar if it wasn't for the Marlins. Lastly, if it wasn't for Matt Harvey, David Wright and John Buck's random hot start, this team would be in even worse shape.

John Gibbons

The Blue Jays had a huge roster turnover this season — a turnover that was supposed to dominate the American League East. Oddly enough, however, the Jays went with a manager that they previously fired to lead the new and supposedly improved Blue Jays. Considering that the Jays are in last place once again, one can assume that the figurative leash around John Gibbons' neck is getting tighter.

Mike Scioscia

It is always rare that a manager leaves the game on his own terms. For every Tony La Russa, there are 25 managers that had successful careers who were eventually fired. It appears that Mike Scioscia is going to be one of those 25 guys very soon. Before the season even started, many people thought that the Angels were a lock to win the American League West, especially since the team took away their rival's most prized possession in Josh Hamilton. Unfortunately for Scioscia, however, Hamilton cannot hit, Pujols cannot hit (and is injured) and the pitching staff is terrible. Personally, I don't think Scioscia should be fired over the team's troubles — it should be their general manager.

Don Mattingly

I have a feeling that it's only a matter of weeks before Don Mattingly is going to receive the same news Lloyd Braun got from Frank Costanza: "I got good news and bad news, and they are both the same -- you're fired!"

There aren't a whole lot of reasons why Mattingly should keep his job right now: he had no previous success, he failed to lead the team to the playoffs last season after the big trade and now he is failing with a team that has a $200+ million payroll. Yes, the Dodgers have had to deal with injuries this season, but that team should still be better than the Padres.