September 30, 200719 yr http://www.miamiherald.com/591/v-print/story/255062.html Posted on Sat, Sep. 29, 2007 Marlins owner puts blame on starting pitching BY CLARK SPENCER Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria faulted starting pitching for the last-place club's losing record but said he feels the ingredients are in place to return the team to prominence. ''This year was kind of an aberration,'' Loria said Saturday at Shea Stadium as the Marlins prepared for their season-ending series with the Mets. ``We know why. It's because of pitching. We just have to fix the pitching. We didn't have much of it this year.'' The Marlins' injury-riddled starting staff ranked last in the majors with a 5.54 earned-run average and failed to deliver a complete game, something no team in history had ever done before over the course of a full season. Loria refused to indicate whether he would authorize an increase in payroll or whether the club would keep two of its most recognizable yet most expensive players in Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. ''We haven't made any of those decisions,'' said Loria, who plans to meet with front office executives early next week to review the past season and discuss what needs to be done for next season. ``We'll talk about all that.'' The Marlins' payroll was the lowest in the majors. Combined, Cabrera and Willis -- two of the team's eight players who are eligible for salary arbitration -- could make as much as $20 million next season. Three others players -- Aaron Boone, Armando Benitez and Byung-Hyun Kim -- can become free agents. Without going into specifics, though, Loria said he thinks many of the primary parts are in place to rebuild the Marlins into a playoff contender. The team won the 2003 World Series under his ownership and followed that with two more winning seasons. The rebuilding process will start with pitching, he said. ''We need first to get our pitching so that we have a rotation,'' Loria said. ``Starting last year we lost [reliever] Carlos Martinez. That was the beginning of the debacle of the pitching last year, the destruction of the pitching.'' Asked if he was assigning blame, with former manager Joe Girardi being the likely culprit, Loria replied: ``I'm not assigning blame to anybody. It's part of the game.'' Injuries derailed the seasons of starters Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez and Ricky Nolasco, each of whom won at least 10 games in 2006. The Marlins received only three wins total from that trio this year. ''Those were guys we counted on and, hopefully, they'll be back next year -- a couple of them, anyway,'' he said. ``And we will find a way to add to it.'' Loria said he was pleased with the performance of the hitters, who established club records for runs scored and home runs, and the bullpen, which was one of the few pleasant surprises this season. ''It's just that the horses were not there to gallop out to the mound,'' Loria said. ``They came in from the bullpen all right to do a nice job, a really good job.'' Loria also praised first-year manager Fredi Gonzalez. ''Fredi did an excellent job given the pitching,'' Loria said. ``For a first-year manager, he was right there. He's learning. But he's certainly open to discussion. The communication worked beautifully this year with everybody.'' Loria is obviously pleased with his front-office staff. On Saturday, he announced that the top four members of the front office -- Admin Beinfest, Michael Hill, Dan Jennings and Jim Fleming -- had agreed to contract extensions through 2015. ''It shows the confidence I have in wanting to keep this organization together,'' he said. ``They're spectacular executives. We've had great success with them.'' All four had been under contract through 2010. Beinfest acknowledged that the length of the extensions is ''definitely unusual'' and ''really unheard of'' but that the group of four executives all enjoy working for the owner. ''I think loyalty runs both ways,'' Beinfest said. ``As a group, we all really enjoy working for Jeffrey. It was not a tough decision for any of us.'' Official titles changed for all four executives, with Beinfest being named president of baseball operations while Hill becomes vice president/general manager. But Loria said the chain of command would remain the same.
September 30, 200719 yr The Marlins' injury-riddled starting staff [...] failed to deliver a complete game, something no team in history had ever done before over the course of a full season. WOW.
September 30, 200719 yr The Marlins' injury-riddled starting staff [...] failed to deliver a complete game, something no team in history had ever done before over the course of a full season. WOW. I'm surprise that I may be the only one wodering that. Willis has been garbage this year to survive 7 inning without a run score. Olsen is very unconsistance from inning to inning. And the rest of the pitching staff are just too young to be left on the field for too long. The closet we got to a complete game was Mitre with a 8th innning no decision.
September 30, 200719 yr You want to win? Open up that checkbook and fortify this team. Fill in the little spots that we're missing.
September 30, 200719 yr I do not believe there has been a complete game since Anibal's no-hitter. That is certainly an MLB record. Huh? I can think of 2-3
September 30, 200719 yr You want to win? Open up that checkbook and fortify this team. Fill in the little spots that we're missing. :thumbup
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