COVERING THE MIAMI MARLINS
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OPINION

SI Hacks Continue to Push Loria Urban Legend

I’ve always thought that Jeffrey Loria‘s bad reputation in the media was highlight exaggerated. Therefore, I’m not surprised to read that Sports Illustrated just named him as one of the 5 worst owners in MLB. Here is what they had to say:

Despite the best efforts of another crop of youngsters, Loria may be running a second franchise into the ground. The art dealer turned a nation of fans against him with his first team, the Expos, before forcing their move from Montreal and selling them back to Major League Baseball. He then took control of the Marlins and watched his exciting team shock the Yankees in the 2003 World Series and then became Miami fans’ worst nightmare: the second coming of Wayne Huizenga. The Marlins slowly have been rebuilding themselves with more young talent, despite the lowest cash outlay provided by any owner, and could be turning a corner soon. That is, until Hanley Ramírez and Dan Uggla are shown the door like Josh Beckett, Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera.

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2008
Wes Helms
NEWS

Veteran Leadership: Marlins Re-Sign Wes Helms

The Florida Marlins are bringing back Wes Helms with a 2-year deal:

Helms reaffirmed his desire to stay with the team on Friday when he agreed to terms on a two-year, $1.9 million contract. The 32-year-old, who batted .243 with five home runs and 31 RBIs in 132 games this past year, will make $950,000 in both 2009 and ’10.

Wes didn’t put up stellar numbers but was a reliable veteran who has been nothing but a positive influence on the club. The 2-year commitment suggests the Loria and Beinfest are starting to think long-term, not just building small and cheap for 1-year at a time.

This move happened a couple of day after the Fish outrighted Alejandro De Aza, Lee Gardner, Henry Owens and Doug Waechter to the Minors.

Photo by Flickr user afagen
Deadspin
NEWS

A Poetic Look at the Miami entrant in the Senior Circuit

Here is what Deadspin’s Purple Prose has to say about the Fish.

For the record, here are some of the nicknames in the write up:

  • The Marlins: Miami entrant in the Senior Circuit, Spearfish, Swinging Swimmers, Briny Ballers, Santiago’s Sluggers, Pelagics
  • Marlins Fans: Ye Fans of the Fishes
  • Marlins Bullpen: Sunshine State Pen Men
  • Wayne Huizenga: Gaseous trashman
  • Jeffrey Loria: Angry art dealer
  • Dan Uggla: Owl, Swedish Surprise, Ugg-Boot
  • Scott Olsen: Shiner
  • Alfredo Amezaga: Double-A
  • Logan Kensing: French Kiss
  • Wes Helms: Daily Show
  • Jeremy Hermida: May-retta Masterstroker
  • Renyel Pinto: Lemon
  • Kevin Gregg: Mild-Mannered Reporter
  • Hanley Ramirez: The Reconstituted Rajah, Double-R, Valiant of VORP

Link:  The Briny Ballers Achieve A Left-Columner

OPINION

Poetic On Opening Day

Today is the best day of they year. America’s pastime and our obsession begins. Today we’re all undefeated and in first place (except for the Red Sox and A’s, but we won’t get into that). Even though all the analysts have decided how we will do (hint: last in the NL East), today we look ahead and wonder. We’ve seen veteran teams achieve (1997) and underachieve (2005) and we’ve seen young teams fail (1998), struggle (2006), and win it all (2003). So today we celebrate the best day of the year More

NEWS

What We Noticed in Recent Articles

We noticed a few interesting quotes in recent articles about the Marlins:

  • We are kindly reminded by The NY Daily News that Jeff Loria really really really hates Joe Girardi:

    Said Loria Saturday in Marlins camp: “With the exception of last year, when we had the chain of injuries primarily hung over from the year before when there were decisions made that were not great decisions, this team has always been formidable.”

    Translation: I put out a great product and Girardi broke it.

  • Staying with Loria, while others focused on his payroll comments we thought the interesting quote was this:

    “There will be a complete change [of uniforms],” Loria said. “Nothing has been designed yet. It will be different. It will be fun. It will be something we can all grab on to and call our own.”

    Are we the only ones worried about “fun” uniforms? This Fish already have traditional looking uniforms. Don’t want to end up looking like an expansion team… again.

  • Hanley tells us something we should all appreciate:

    “I think [the Marlins] treat me good from the bottom all the way to the top. I feel comfortable here.”

    Reminder to all those “fans” who criticize the ownership and management for the way they treat players: Hanley knows what he’s talking about; you don’t.

2007
NEWS

It’s Official — JJ Out Until 2009

Its Official JJ Out Until 2009As we expected, Josh Johnson will undergo reconstructive surgery (AKA Tommy John) and will be out at least 12 months. The Marlins will probably play it safe and hold him back until the 2009 season. If all goes well, both JJ and Anibal Sanchez will be healthy by then (as for us fans, we’ll have to try to stay sane for another year).

A “fun” tidbit is that Jeffrey Loria has publicly blamed Joe Girardi for causing this injury.

“He wasn’t right the day he was put back in the ballgame after a rain delay. And enough said about that,” said Loria, who fired Girardi after the season.

Photo by Flickr user leonorjr
OPINION

Worst-Owner-EVER? No, Maybe One of the Best

A recent Sports Illustrated survey of 464 Major League Baseball players named Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria as the second worst owner in baseball after Royal’s owner David Glass and along side the owners of the Devil Rays and Orioles. I suspect this has more to do with reputation than anything else. More