Marlins Hand Lachemann Walking Papers

Rene Lachemann, the only manager the expansion Florida Marlins have ever had, was fired Sunday.

Lachemann, 51, became the first major league manager to be fired this season. Third-base coach Cookie Rojas, manager of the Angels in 1988, was chosen by General Manager Dave Dombrowski as the interim skipper.

“When you don’t win and you don’t execute, the manager goes. It’s as simple as that,” Lachemann said. “That’s part of the territory, and that’s exactly what’s happened here.”

Rojas, 57, managed the Marlins in a 7-4 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday that broke a seven-game losing streak. He has said he has no interest in being the manager.

“We haven’t played well on a consistent basis really for all year,” Dombrowski said. “We haven’t executed well and we haven’t performed offensively on a consistent basis all year.”

The Marlins, whose .249 batting average is the third-worst in the league, also fired batting coach Jose Morales.

“A week ago today, we were one game under .500, and I got a note from the All-Star manager, Bobby Cox, saying, ‘Way to go, you guys are playing hard,’ ” Lachemann said. “Seven games later, we’re eight games under .500.”

Lachemann was hired on Oct. 23, 1992. His contract was extended in 1994 to run through 1997. He had a 221-285 record with Florida.

“I leave here knowing I gave this organization my best. I gave everything I possibly could,” he said. “I tried to do the things that I knew were right. We worked hard, we prepared this club the best we possibly could.”

Lachemann’s brother, Marcel, is manager of the Angels. They were the only brothers who managed in the big leagues in the modern era.

“I talked to him this morning. He said he had no regrets and no hard feelings. He’s a very good manager, he really is,” Marcel said. “The club wasn’t playing well and things they were trying weren’t working.”