Wiley Returns to Marlins

In a long anticipated move, the Marlins re-signed Mark Wiley, their pitching coach they let get away after they relieved Jack McKeon of managing duties.

When the Marlins hired Joe Girardi, Girardi brought on board Rick Kranitz - the Cubs minor league pitching coordinator. Things looked good last season - while the talent of Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, Scott Olsen and Ricky Nolasco blossomed. Even though Girardi was fired, the Marlins managed to retain Kranitz despite suspicions of his real value.

This season, despite the injuries, seemed to show Kranitz's weaknesses as a coach and instructor and the Marlins, although they couldn't outright fire him, esteemed his value at a bit less than Kranitz did. So he walked. And now, the Marlins welcome back an old friend who is not only coming from a championship caliber organization, but also a mentor to Dontrelle Willis.

Now, the immediate challenge for Wiley is getting this pitching staff pieced back together and getting Dontrelle Willis' confidence back again. Welcome back, Wiles.