GiveTheseGuysAStadium

Do you believe Loria had to slash payroll to $15 million to keep from losing money? Just curious. No, he's making money off the team this year, yes. But its meant to offset the GIANT losses from the previous years. The man lost a ton of money trying to make this team a winner, who can blame him for trying to recoup some of those losses? And by the way, 7-2 in the fourth! I'm glad those bats finally woke up.

He upgraded at Catcher and Reliever while hurting the Rotation. And just because they all played for us in 2004, doesnt mean they were on the team at the same time. They cancel each other out Ramp, that's a baseball move, not a payroll move. It was a determination that the team's weak spots were catcher and bullpen while the rotation was a strength. We upgraded SIGNIFICANTLY at those two positions and while we did weaken the rotation, don't forget that we still had Pavano, Beckett, Burnett, and Willis...thats not exactly leaving the rotation in shambles. And as far as the list goes, notice there wasn't a total at the bottom. It wasn't meant to show how much money the Marlins spent, it was meant to show that there were players on the team making good money (to contradict an earlier statement that the only players left weren't making good money). There's no need to cancel anyone out. Those four players did play at some point in 04 and did make good money.

I certainly see your point. But we can't really say for certain that his intention was to get rid of Delgado after one year. What if Delgado had been injured or underperformed? That contract would have been very difficult to move. And maybe if the team had played like they were supposed to or if the fans showed up and helped pay for Delgado and the other contracts, they would have kept him here. Fact is, we don't know for sure. You can't deny that the 05 team was built to win. Win the entire thing. It fell way short of that, and didn't draw a significant amount of fans. You can't keep losing money like that. Maybe one or two years down the line, I change my mind on Loria, but up until now I haven't disagreed with anything he's done (in Florida).

They all played in 04. They were paid some money by the team. Also, the LoDuca/Mota acquisition proves that Loria gave the time a serious chance to contend. He upgraded in key positions and took on some payroll. He allowed Beinfest to make the moves necessary.

Marlins 2004 Players Making over $1M (according to Baseball Reference.com) Mike Lowell $ 6,500,000 Luis Castillo $ 4,666,667 Paul Lo Duca $ 4,066,667 Dave Weathers $ 3,933,333 Carl Pavano $ 3,800,000 Brad Penny $ 3,725,000 Juan Encarnacion $ 3,565,000 Armando Benitez $ 3,500,000 Jeff Conine $ 3,000,000 Alex Gonzalez $ 2,800,000 A.J. Burnett $ 2,500,000 Juan Pierre $ 2,400,000 Josh Beckett $ 1,509,375 Guillermo Mota $ 1,475,000 Chad Fox $ 1,200,000 :whistle

Who cares if his contract was backloaded? Carlos Delgado played here in 05. Carl Pavano signed for 4 years, $39 Million with the Yankees. Pavano had a great 03 season, but before that he was mediocre at best. Pavano was the 5th best guy on the rotation talent wise. Not worth that contract. Marlins made the right choice. Pavano pitched for the fish in 04, and was our best pitcher that year winning 18 games. Then he went to the yankees. You're right. My bad. I meant to say Pavano had a great 04 season.

He didn't let Pudge "walk". Pudge was aggressively pursued by the Marlins. They gave him a very fair offer. But, Boras was his agent and he signed with the Tigers for 5 years $50 Million. At the time I didn't think that was a good idea. Carl Pavano signed for 4 years, $39 Million with the Yankees. Pavano had a great 03 season, but before that he was mediocre at best. Pavano was the 5th best guy on the rotation talent wise. Not worth that contract. Marlins made the right choice. Encarnacion? Come on. I don't view him as a key ingredient to the 03 WS. Derrek Lee went on to post numbers that no one was expecting. He was a tough one to see go, but they had to make that decision. When you have a team that has a horrible stadium lease and ranks at the bottom in attendance year after year, you have to be careful about what you do. They kept the core players that weren't going to underperform their contracts. Then the year after he brings Carlos Delgado to a team that should have made the playoffs. I call that giving them a chance to defend.

I'm sitting here scratching my head. I never realized that this many people despise Jeffrey Loria. I think he is a fantastic owner. I am sick of people comparing 97 and 03 and talking about the two "firesales". Please stop comparing the two. The 97 team was given NO CHANCE to defend their title. NONE. The 03 team was given every reasonable opportunity to defend. They were given two years and failed. Loria gave several key figures long term deals. Loria went out and spent money for BIG TIME players: Pudge Rodriguez, Carlos Delgado...and South Florida slept. Then, when the the 05 team disappointed, he got rid of players. But look at the team now. We are competing. The talent around here is exciting. Loria has never been afraid to do what is needed to win. And honestly, Joe Girardi is overrated. I think I'd give Kranitz more credit than Girardi. But ultimately I'd give the players the credit for everything. I hope Girardi leaves. He can take his boneheaded calls and his no facial hair rules elsewhere. :banghead

Gotta love the Dirty Sanchez. Wonderful outing! :notworthy

I wouldn't mind seeing JP back here. I know he's having an off year with the Cubs, but he was great with us. Maybe coming back to DS will get him going.

I blame Ramon Castro. God, how awful was he??? Probably my least favorite Marlin ever.

Dirty Sanchez will likely get the start during the doubleheader against the Mets. If he does to the Mets what he did to the Yanks, I think there's no way you keep him out of the rotation.

For the longest time, Mike Jacobs had Suavemente by Elvis Crespo playing before every at bat which for the life of me I couldn't figure out.

"hold on...someone's calling...hello...oooohhhhh...its a LADY!!!" Good job on the Tim Meadows SNL "Ladies Man" reference. I loved that skit.

I think the Marlins are much more like the 2005 Atheltics than the 2003 Marlins. As much as the 2003 team winning was shocking to many, they had proven players like Lowell, Derek Lee, Castillo, Sea Bass, Pudge, and other guys who had been in the league a while. The 2006 Marlins really don't have that. Yeah, I agree the make up of the team is more similar to the 05 A's, but I think its cool to look back at that magical run in 03 which we're all familiar with and see the similarities. Something must happen at that stadium in late May...maybe something in the water?

Hey everyone...just found the message board, so I'm new here... I saw someone cite last year's Oakland team as an example of a team that turned it on after a bad start to the season...but I've been tracking an example thats nearer and dearer to us. In 2003, the Marlins hit rock bottom after a six game losing streak which ended on May 23...they were 19-29. Then they ran off six straight wins. After 64 games, they were 29-35. That team of course went on to claim the wildcard and the world series. In 2006, the Marlins hit rock bottom after a seven game losing streak which ended on May 22...they were 11-31. Then they ran off four straight wins. After 64 games, they are 27-37. Who knows if this streak will continue. I'm not saying the Marlins will make the playoffs. But I'm saying there's reason to believe. We're two games off the pace of 03. Back then after 64 games, everyone was saying they would cool off. The national media was paying NO attention to them. Lets see if these guys can keep the magic going.