Cleveland made a managerial change this morning, relieving Charlie Manuel of his duties and naming third base coach Joel Skinner interim manager. It isn't often a GM describes himself as surprised at the firing of his manager, but that was the adjective Mark Shapiro used several times in the press conference about the termination.

From Shapiro's remarks, apparently Manuel, whose contract would have expired after this season, wanted an extension now. Shapiro wanted Manuel to stay through the rest of this season but wasn't sure if he wanted him to back next season and was therefore unwilling to give Manuel an extension now. It wasn't a matter of further evaluating Manuel as much as determining the direction of the club.

While the Indians could have left Manuel as the manager through the end of the season, they didn't want to force him to perform a job in which he was unhappy. By terminating Manuel, they allowed him to collect his paycheck through the end of the year, which he would not have done had he quit.

I was quite surprised by the timing of the move, but it makes sense in light of the revelations over Manuel's pseudo-ultimatum. They now have an opportunity to evaluate Joel Skinner, one of the top candidates to replace Manuel full-time, in a half season of managing. I don't think Shapiro should have acceded to Manuel's request for a contract extension, as a lot could change between now and the off-season.

In light of the number of interim managers already in place this season and the fact that a few managers still remain on the bubble for the rest of this season and/or next season, Manuel likely won't experience difficulty finding a new position. Jerry Narron's job has been threatened since Spring Training, so there's a possibility that Manuel could follow former Cleveland GM John Hart to Texas if Narron is fired.

Skinner had a nine-season major league career, as (you guessed it) a catcher with the White Sox, Yankees, and Indians. He was not an offensive force during his playing career. While working as the Cleveland Farm Director, Shapiro gave Skinner his first job as a minor league manager in 1995, hiring him to manage the Indians' short-season New York-Pennsylvania League team, the Watertown Indians. The following season he moved to the South Atlantic League where he managed Cleveland's A-ball team, the Columbus RedStixx.

The Indians promoted him to A+ Kinston in the Carolina League in 1997. Skinner was again promoted in 1998 and named Minor League Manager of the Year at AA Akron in the Eastern League. He stayed with Akron in 1999 and then moved up to AAA Buffalo in International League, where he was again named Minor League Manager of the Year. Skinner joined the Indians' major league coaching staff as their third base coach in 2001 and held that position through his appointment as interim manager.

According to an article by MLB.com columnist Justice B. Hill, Skinner's managerial style comes from a variety of sources including Tony LaRussa, who managed him on the White Sox, and his father Bob Skinner, who managed 12 seasons in the majors for the Pirates, Reds, and Cardinals. With Joel's promotion, the Skinners become the second father and son to both manage in Major League Baseball, after George and Dick Sisler. I was pleased to hear Hill quote Skinner as saying "I've played for a lot of different type of managers in the past, and I take away good and bad from those type of guys." Among others, Skinner also played for Lou Piniella as a Yankee.

Skinner seems qualified for the position and as a former player and recent minor league manager, he should be well-suited to deal with both veterans and minor leaguers. The second half of the season should give Shapiro an idea as to whether he can work with Skinner or if there are any obstacles that would prevent Skinner from successfully performing his duties as manager. Among the things Shapiro should look closely at are the way Skinner handles his pitching staff and how he constructs lineups.

There are a number of factors that may make him a better choice to manage this team over the next few seasons than Charlie Manuel. At the outset, he's 17 years younger than Manuel. One doesn't want to discount Manuel for his health problems, but a rebuilding team has enough distractions without concern over the physical condition of its manager. Additionally, though Manuel has some experience with player development, Skinner has obviously been closer to the minor leagues more recently, which may be better for someone who's going to see a lot of young players in the next few seasons.

Players who he managed in the minor leagues describe him as even-tempered, something Manuel was not. Skinner's demeanor may be more appropriate for a team that is going to necessarily suffer some losses before it begins to win again, rather than the hot-temper of Manuel, who takes every loss hard.

Given what we know of Skinner, he has the potential to be a very good fit for Cleveland, but we'll wait to judge until after he's had some time to work with the major league club.