Marlins fire manager Fredi Gonzalez

BALTIMORE (AP) — Fredi Gonzalez was fired as manager of the Florida Marlins today, with the team owner saying "we can do better and be better."

The Marlins are 34-36 following a win over Baltimore on Tuesday night. Florida began the day in fourth place in the NL East, 7 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta.

Edwin Rodriguez, who has spent the past 1 1/2 seasons as manager of Triple-A New Orleans, takes over as manager on an interim basis.

Also fired were bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley. They were replaced on an interim basis by Brandon Hyde and John Mallee.

"We owe it to our fans to put this team in the best possible position to win," owner Jeffrey Loria said in a statement. "Everyone knows how I feel about winning. That's the reason we're making this change."