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I don't expect to see a managerial change unless there's a GM change as well. I think the biggest thing that's happened in the Jack Z. era has been the failure of Dustin Ackley. As the number 2 pick, there was an expectation that he would become a franchise cornerstone, a perennial .300 hitter and on-base machine with moderate power. Instead, they had to go out and pay $250 million for that player, who is now pressing and probably making people wonder if they're stuck with the worst contract in the history of baseball. But more broadly, I don't think Zduriencik understands how to build a competitive roster. I will allow that this could be a case where the GM has been constrained by ownership. 2009 and 2010 were years where there should have been some wheeling and dealing from the Major League roster, with Ichiro as our number one chip. But we all know that Ichiro was untouchable.
I think any GM that has to work under this ownership group has to get some mulligans. Even in the best circumstances, it's tough to build a winner, and these aren't the best circumstances. But this is year 7 of the Zduriencik regime and if the answer at this point is to fire the manager, it just strikes me as grasping at straws.