Indians fire manager Wedge
9/30/2009CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have fired manager Eric Wedge in the final days of a terrible season.
Wedge guided the Indians to one playoff appearance in seven seasons, and this year the club fell out of contention early and is currently one game out of last place in the AL Central.
The Indians have scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Progressive Field to announce Wedge's dismissal.
Wedge will finish out the season as manager. Cleveland's coaching staff has also been informed it will not be retained, but some of the staff could be rehired by the Indians' next manager.
Two years ago, Cleveland was one win away from a World Series trip. The Indians fell to 81-81 in 2008, but were expected to bounce back and contend this season. However, a slow start snowballed and by midseason the club traded defending Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and All-Star catcher Victor Martinez to begin rebuilding again.