Ozzie Guillen fired: Is Jeffrey Loria the Marlins' problem?

Ozzie Guillen called himself manager of the Miami Marlins for just more than one year. While it is true he was hired on Sept. 28, 2011 to the position, it could also be considered a trade. The Marlins sent players Jhan Mariñez and Osvaldo Martínez, as well as $10 million to the Chicago White Sox as compensation.

After all that, Guillen was axed after one season, and one writer has all fingers pointed at Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria for his increasing ineptitude. Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel explains:

There are those who think team owner Jeffrey Loria is doing an increasingly shabby job of running the franchise right down to Tuesday's firing of manager Ozzie Guillen.

And there is Jeffrey Loria.

Not only did the Marlins pay up to bring Guillen to Miami, they are paying to send him off. Guillen will be paid $7.5 million as compensation for the three years left on his contract, and similarly, the Marlins gave up $8 million to trade reliever Heath Bell. According to Hyde, Bell's three-year, $27 million contract was all Loria's work, his managers and presidents unaware until it was signed.

Hyde closes with this statement:

Loria will look for a new manager now. But it'd be best for him to look at himself for a bit. He's a smart man. A driven man. He's also the biggest problem right now in a franchise full of them.