After his club began the season 12-17, Bob Melvin (along with a few members of his staff) became the first coaching casualty of the 2009 season. 34-year old A.J. Hinch has come down from the front office to take the helm as the fifth skipper in club history.

Will Melvin be the only manager fired mid-season? My guess is probably not. Let’s take a look at three other managers who are on the proverbial hot seat:

Eric Wedge, Indians – Wedge’s club was picked my many prognosticators to capture the American League Central crown and, by some, the AL pennant. Wedge’s club is tied with the A’s for the fewest wins in the AL (11). The Tribe has dropped four in a row, including being swept at home by division-rival Detroit over the weekend.

The excuses are there – Travis Hafner is hurt again, Cliff Lee is not the same pitcher that claimed the AL Cy Young a year ago and Carl Pavano leads your rotation with two wins. Sooner or later the excuses run out and someone has to take the fall. A look at the Indians’ schedule reveals that a tough road trip looms. After three at home against the White Sox, Cleveland will embark on a 10-game to Tampa, Kansas City and Cincinnati. After that, they’ll return home for a pair of four-game sets against Tampa and the Yankees, however, I’m not certain that Wedge will make it back with them.

Clint Hurdle, Rockies – In a world where the phrase “What have you done for me lately” rules, Hurdle might become the second NL West manager to be fired this season. Sure, he took the Rockies to their first World Series in franchise history in 2007, but today the Rockies are in the division cellar with a 12-19 record.

Just like the Indians, Colorado has a three-game series at home this week (vs. Houston) before heading out on a 10-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Detroit. It’s as daunting as the trip for Cleveland, but if the Rockies go 3-7 or 2-8, Hurdle may be replaces by Memorial Day when his team gets home to face the Dodgers.

Colorado currently has two able (and presumably willing) candidates to fill in on an interim basis, should management see fit. Bench coach Jim Tracy has seven years of major league managing experience with the Pirates and Dodgers. An even more intriguing possibility is hitting coach Don Baylor. Baylor was the first manager in team history, serving in that capacity from 1993-1998. He also spent three years with the Cubs from 2000-2002.

Toronto brought back Cito Gaston mid-season last year and now he has them sitting atop the AL East at 22-12, tied with the Dodgers for most wins in baseball.

Joe Girardi, Yankees – Giardi’s name is a popular one to throw out there in discussions like these, but it’s not without reason. Management gave him prized pieces in CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, but the team is 15-16, 6.5 games behind the first-place Jays. The Bombers did welcome back slugger Alex Rodriguez to the lineup this weekend in time to take two-of-three from the Orioles, but there are still problems – Chien-Meng Wang’s ineffectiveness, Teixeira’s struggle at the plate and the overall struggle of bullpen, most notably.

I don’t know how patient New York is going to be with Girardi, but I would think if a move was going to be made, it would be done soon before they fall too far behind Toronto, Boston and Tampa.

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Hurdle: http://www.fantasyphenoms.com/userfiles/image/t1_hurdle.jpg