As Stuart Sternberg took control of the team on October 3rd, the 2006 season represented the start of a new era.
The new ownership group had been in place earlier, but things weren’t finalized until the years’s end. However, Sternberg & Co. had already made their presence felt. They had pushed for the departure of Lou Pinella as the team’s manager, despite his having another year left on his contract. They fired Chuck LaMar as the team’s General Manager and promoted Matt Silverman from within the organization to be the team’s new President. Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker meanwhile, became the new co-GM’s.