Good to see the Marlins make commitments, but all they’ve done this off-season is keep players and add Aaron Crow – need to add more to win
I am a shameless Marlins homer
(in response to @jcrasnick article)
As I was saying… #EdLucasFail
David Samson’s speech to the Beacon Council, as reported by Miami Today should not be a surprise to Marlins fans. When given a chance to combine Samson with truth, you know it’s going to come out harsh, blunt and pompous but still the truth. Timing is also bad – there’s goodwill for the Marlins right now, something that Loria, Samson, and the Marlins have, undeservedly in our opinion, never really enjoyed. Save this speech for your memoirs or after you’ve left baseball.
Now, if you actually take a look at his words, they merely reflections of truths we already know. Let’s take a look: More
Jesus – I don’t think it’s excuses, it’s just the truth of what he said. I mentioned twice that he shouldn’t have said this stuff.
I don’t find a “Greed is Good” speech to be something positive.
could you make more excuses?
Miguel Cabrera is 28. We could have just kept him.
If Cameron Maybin doesn’t drop that ball, does this game end up in extra innings?
Looking beyond Halladay’s perfect game, another strong performance for Josh Johnson as we count down to next weekend, when we have a new 20-year old outfielder to provide some spark.
Seems like everyone has something to day about the Hanley Ramirez situation. Majority of views so far are critical of Hanley, probably because the video evidence doesn’t look good (appears as if he ran to the ball, kicked it, then jogged). Even Hanley essentially admitted it in his public rant:
Did you give less than 100 percent effort?
Ramirez: I don’t know. It looked like it. The example starts with me. If you don’t hustle, hopefully, he does it with everybody. That’s OK. He doesn’t understand that. He never played in the big leagues. That’s OK. That’s fine. That’s an example and it starts with me and let’s see how far it can go.
Even some grown ups who have played the game – Al Leiter, Barry Larkin and Wes Helms – have criticized Hanley for his behavior. Dan Uggla expressed his frustrations last year.
So where do we go from here? It’s going to take two things: diplomacy and maturity. Loria/Beinfest/Hill have to get involved and resolve this behind the scenes. Fredi cannot back off, he’s the Manager and cannot lose his team (managers are replaceable). In fact, he’s already presenting this as something Hanley has to resolve with his teammates, not the coaches. But none of this will work unless Hanley steps up and addresses the situation, even if it means that he has to swallow his pride. The sooner he gets there, the sooner we can get back to covering baseball and turning this season into something special.
Note: Fredi could have done a better job keeping a lid on this situation. He’s already said too much to the Media and in many ways, it’s forcing Hanley to say the things he is as a way to protect his ego.
In its Spring Training baseball preview, Deadspin has decided to take shots at every team and of course the Marlins were fish in a barrel. Will Leitch looks at some of the best players in team history and suggests that he doesn’t remember them as Marlins.
Here are the five humans who have started the most games on the mound for the Marlins, in order: Willis, A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny, Ryan Dempster, Pat Rapp.
When you conjure up images of those players, not a single one of them is wearing a Marlins uniform. (With the possible exception of Pat Rapp, whom I’m impressed you remember at all.) The only Florida Marlin historical figure — as historical as anything that started in 1993 can be — who comes to my mind is Jeff Conine, for some reason. Maybe that weird mascot. Actually, it’s just the Manatees. In case you forgot what state the Marlins play in.
papa don’t preach haha!
Cant wait till we shut that asshole up this year!
F*ck Deadspin.
Go Fish!
PREACH ON BROTHA!
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.
=It is clear that the SI team just phoned this one in. After all why do any research and thinking when you have this urban legend about Mr. Loria. While he didn’t make the best moves in Montreal, he was, in the end, nothing more than a caretaker for a dying franchise. His time with the Marlins has been a mix — a couple of fire sales on one hand, but a championship and a new ballpark on the other. We can debate his decision to keep a low payroll for most of his tenure but it is the results on the field and talent today that matter. Despite not being a serious contender since winning it all in 2003, the team still outperforms many MLB teams over this period.
Today, the Fish are looking at a new ballpark which secures their existence in South Florida for the long run. Hanley Ramirez is locked up for the next 6-years of his potential Hall of Fame career. Larry Beinfest and Mike Hill continue to run and excellent front office which has built a nice core of young players that allows the Fish to compete. Yes, we will miss Josh Beckett, Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera but no team (other than the Yankees, perhaps) could have kept all these guys. In fact, in baseball, you can be good one day and terrible the other. See Dontrelle Willis. And SI, since you liked ripping Dan Uggla for his All-Star errors, but now elevate him to a star, I will point out his sub .200 average today.
I’m not elevating Mr. Loria on a pedestal. He, like every MLB owner, has made mistakes and clearly he hasn’t spent as much money as everyone would like him to spend. But his performance as the owner of the Marlins has been a successful one. He has a championship, a great front office, a new ballpark and talent for the future. It’s something very few teams have today.
