I found an article that does an accurate comparison between the Marlins organization and the American automobile industry. It sounds odd, but it kind of makes sense. See the link below.

 

Hot Stove Daily: Florida Marlins

 

The Marlins really should move to a location where the general population will support the organization. I used to be strongly opposed to this because I just couldn't stand the thought of my team changing its name, but now I support it because then maybe they can earn enough revenue to keep my favorite players around. The departure of Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen really struck a nerve with me this year and the possible departure of Dan Uggla is also upsetting. It just gets to be a little old when you see these great young players come up out of nowhere and leave before they really achieve superstar status. That has been the pattern for this team and I can't stand it anymore. As much as I love the concept of building a good team around talented young players versus purchasing superstars like the Yankees organization, I would still like to watch the team develop over a few years and make a run for the playoffs. It seems like just as the team starts to really come together, it gets split up.

 

Being an out of market fan, my enjoyment really wouldn't change if the Marlins move... unless of course they move to Grand Rapids, Michigan which is where I live. Then my enjoyment would increase a lot! Of course, GR couldn't support a pro team though they would definitely get more fans in the stadium than the Marlins do right now. The evidence for this is the fact that we strongly support our single-A team here. And no, I am not seriously trying to make the case for the Marlins to move here, in case someone thinks that is what I am doing. It is simply wishful thinking.

2008 record: 84-77

 

Finish: Third place in the National League East.

 

 

2008 Opening-day payroll: $21.8 million

 

2009 estimated Opening-day payroll: $23.5 million

 

OFFSEASON ACTION

 

For a team with yearly salary expenditures equivalent to, oh, an average Yankees free-agent signing or so, the Florida Marlins manage to pack plenty of action into their offseasons. While this year?s hasn?t matched the 2007-08 version in terms of heft ? that?s to speak of Miguel Cabrera?s weight as a player, not a person ? it has outdone last season by volume.

 

The Marlins? winter purge has become an annual event for owner Jeffrey Loria, and jettisoned via trade so far are Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen to Washington, Mike Jacobs to Kansas City and Kevin Gregg to the Chicago Cubs. Next could be Jorge Cantu or Dan Uggla. And even Hanley Ramirez?s name was bandied about, according to SI.com.

 

All, except Ramirez, are eligible for arbitration next season, and that means they?re in line for big raises. In Miami, that is unacceptable. So in come the latest pre-arbitration acquisitions ? Emilio Bonifacio, Leo Nunez and three prospects ? who hope to be just like the men for whom they were traded: good enough to eventually get spun to a team that actually cares.

 

Holes do remain after the trades, particularly in the bullpen and at catcher. The Marlins can plug the pitching staff from within. Admin Beinfest and Mike Hill, the team?s brain trust, possess a knack for finding good pitching. The catcher spot, on the other hand, could use a veteran to handle the Marlins? young rotation. Like, say, Ivan Rodriguez. Who, of course, the Marlins won?t pay much more than the minimum salary. Which, naturally, takes them out of the race.

 

Perhaps the Marlins could pluck a bargain free agent or two so they don?t enter the season with more than two-thirds of their roster making near the league minimum. Because, hey, this is a franchise with an excellent young rotation, one of the best players in baseball in Ramirez, a power-hitting force in Uggla, the exciting Cameron Maybin primed to take over in center field, Jeremy Hermida poised for a breakout year, Matt Lindstrom throwing 100 mph as closer, and with the right piece here and the right part there, they could contend.

 

Yeah, right.

 

Like Loria would actually go out and try to improve.

 

REALITY CHECK

 

 

 

 

Loria

 

The Florida Marlins really should move to Detroit, because they are baseball?s version of the American auto industry.

 

The product is decent. It would improve if money were diverted toward it. Instead, the business suffers because of greed. And worst of all, it gets huge sums of bailout money to continue propping up a poor model.

 

How Loria, professional sports? preeminent miser, continues to propagate this farce without any backlash from his fellow owners or the players? association is a mystery. He receives more than $60 million in shared money every season. Yes, the Marlins? stadium is a sinkhole, and the Florida fans show no desire to support this team. Though the chicken needs to come before the egg? Right?

 

That an executive of Beinfest?s talent puts up with the constant juggling ? it?s like Marlins players are college football stars, three years and gone ? highlights just how talented he is and makes him something of a masochist. Imagine what he could do with even Oakland?s payroll seeing as he has stocked the Marlins with not just their bevy of pre-arbitration talent but a minor-league system teeming with prospects.

 

That?s the frustrating thing about the Marlins: They could be great. They have been, winning two championships in their first decade. Loria has lowered the bar so much that a no-brainer deal like the one Ramirez got last season ? $70 million over six years, the only Marlins deal longer than two seasons ? was huzzahed as a sign that the Marlins intend to compete.

 

Not anytime soon, barring a dandy confluence where those minimum-salary kids turn into stars and the leftovers continue to succeed and the rest of the division regresses to the point where it?s for the taking.

 

That?s not just the hope. It?s the plan. What a joke.

If you were a real Marlins fan, you wouldnt want us to move

Whoever wrote that crap is delusional, there is no comparison between the Marlins and 70+ years of union hacks slowly but surely driving Detroit underwater.

 

But, if Miami-Dade has trouble floating debt to build the stadium, there is exactly zero chance of anyone else coming up with anything to attract anyone anywhere. If the stadium debt issue fails, people should start thinking in terms of who will be contracted.

1. The Marlins are one of the newest franchises in the MLB and already have two WS.

 

2. We are getting a new stadium.

 

3. There are no available markets that are better than South Florida.

Whoever wrote that crap is delusional...

 

LMAO... I should have known by the overall rudeness of the piece and how it focuses all that venom on Jeffrey Loria that it is Marlins #1 hater Jeff Passan who has never let the truth get in the way of one of his anti-Marlins rants. This has been going on since Expos days and he feels he has no obligation to facts or honesty as long as someone will publish one of his ugly tirades.

Whoever wrote that crap is delusional...

 

LMAO... I should have known by the overall rudeness of the piece and how it focuses all that venom on Jeffrey Loria that it is Marlins #1 hater Jeff Passan who has never let the truth get in the way of one of his anti-Marlins rants. This has been going on since Expos days and he feels he has no obligation to facts or honesty as long as someone will publish one of his ugly tirades.

 

I didn't know about his past, but the makes it all the more ridiculous. If you're going to write a scathing article, at least have the courtesy of doing the research. $23.5 million expected payroll? What a terrible attempt to sully ownership. He spoke nothing about how at least 2 out of the 3 trades were a wash or better for MLB-roster talent, let alone overall organizational talent.

 

Also, the idea the the "product" of the automakers would be improved if more money were diverted toward it shows a lack of understanding. Sure, they could make a more expensive car with better parts that would be better. If anything, though, too much money is spent in the process of making each car. This guy has no clue about either situation, based on what he writes.

 

He says more money would improve both, yet implies that neither should be getting its "bailout" money due to a flawed model. Huh????

 

Notice how he uses "purge" and "jettison." Just irresponsible writing with a clear bias.

 

You just know he was sitting their with this article waiting to post it, and when the Marlins "listened" to the Red Sox about Hanley, this goon thought he finally had the key barb to top off this piece. "Even Hanley Ramirez's name was bandied about"? What a ridiculous sentence [fragment].

 

He thinks the Marlins are a joke? This "article" is a joke.

I used to feel the same way about his work but after a while you understand he has a vendetta when it comes Loria (this has been going on for years, many many years) and all you can do is smile and ignore it.

Me personally i dont think the Marlins are a joke because the players bust there a** every year and prove people wrong repeatedly even when they know the owner will always let them down by trading stars away and not getting help when they needed it....

 

As for J.Loria he is a fu*king cheapass penny pitching tighta** fu*king clown....

Whoever wrote that crap is delusional...

 

LMAO... I should have known by the overall rudeness of the piece and how it focuses all that venom on Jeffrey Loria that it is Marlins #1 hater Jeff Passan who has never let the truth get in the way of one of his anti-Marlins rants. This has been going on since Expos days and he feels he has no obligation to facts or honesty as long as someone will publish one of his ugly tirades.

 

I didn't know about his past, but the makes it all the more ridiculous. If you're going to write a scathing article, at least have the courtesy of doing the research. $23.5 million expected payroll? What a terrible attempt to sully ownership. He spoke nothing about how at least 2 out of the 3 trades were a wash or better for MLB-roster talent, let alone overall organizational talent.

 

Also, the idea the the "product" of the automakers would be improved if more money were diverted toward it shows a lack of understanding. Sure, they could make a more expensive car with better parts that would be better. If anything, though, too much money is spent in the process of making each car. This guy has no clue about either situation, based on what he writes.

 

He says more money would improve both, yet implies that neither should be getting its "bailout" money due to a flawed model. Huh????

 

Notice how he uses "purge" and "jettison." Just irresponsible writing with a clear bias.

 

You just know he was sitting their with this article waiting to post it, and when the Marlins "listened" to the Red Sox about Hanley, this goon thought he finally had the key barb to top off this piece. "Even Hanley Ramirez's name was bandied about"? What a ridiculous sentence [fragment].

 

He thinks the Marlins are a joke? This "article" is a joke.

 

 

LOL! That was a perfect description of this ridiculous article. How anyone lets this man write his clearly biased anti-Marlins propaganda is mind boggling.

Ha! What a farce. He actually hides his contempt in an article titled "Hot Stove Daily". Funny, this has little to no Hot Stove information in it. It is basically a rant. I can't believe this was actually published. I got nothing new about the Marlins in this article. Shame. Someone actually approved this garbage to be published.

I couln't keep shut. I wrote Fassan and told him how his article came out as a rant rather than one providing any insightfulness into the organization. I wonder if he'll respond.

Whoever wrote that crap is delusional...

 

LMAO... I should have known by the overall rudeness of the piece and how it focuses all that venom on Jeffrey Loria that it is Marlins #1 hater Jeff Passan who has never let the truth get in the way of one of his anti-Marlins rants. This has been going on since Expos days and he feels he has no obligation to facts or honesty as long as someone will publish one of his ugly tirades.

 

I didn't know about his past, but the makes it all the more ridiculous. If you're going to write a scathing article, at least have the courtesy of doing the research. $23.5 million expected payroll? What a terrible attempt to sully ownership. He spoke nothing about how at least 2 out of the 3 trades were a wash or better for MLB-roster talent, let alone overall organizational talent.

 

Also, the idea the the "product" of the automakers would be improved if more money were diverted toward it shows a lack of understanding. Sure, they could make a more expensive car with better parts that would be better. If anything, though, too much money is spent in the process of making each car. This guy has no clue about either situation, based on what he writes.

 

He says more money would improve both, yet implies that neither should be getting its "bailout" money due to a flawed model. Huh????

 

Notice how he uses "purge" and "jettison." Just irresponsible writing with a clear bias.

 

You just know he was sitting their with this article waiting to post it, and when the Marlins "listened" to the Red Sox about Hanley, this goon thought he finally had the key barb to top off this piece. "Even Hanley Ramirez's name was bandied about"? What a ridiculous sentence [fragment].

 

He thinks the Marlins are a joke? This "article" is a joke.

 

 

LOL! That was a perfect description of this ridiculous article. How anyone lets this man write his clearly biased anti-Marlins propaganda is mind boggling.

 

 

 

:thumbup

 

Btw, what's the link to this?

Whoever wrote that crap is delusional...

 

LMAO... I should have known by the overall rudeness of the piece and how it focuses all that venom on Jeffrey Loria that it is Marlins #1 hater Jeff Passan who has never let the truth get in the way of one of his anti-Marlins rants. This has been going on since Expos days and he feels he has no obligation to facts or honesty as long as someone will publish one of his ugly tirades.

 

I didn't know about his past, but the makes it all the more ridiculous. If you're going to write a scathing article, at least have the courtesy of doing the research. $23.5 million expected payroll? What a terrible attempt to sully ownership. He spoke nothing about how at least 2 out of the 3 trades were a wash or better for MLB-roster talent, let alone overall organizational talent.

 

Also, the idea the the "product" of the automakers would be improved if more money were diverted toward it shows a lack of understanding. Sure, they could make a more expensive car with better parts that would be better. If anything, though, too much money is spent in the process of making each car. This guy has no clue about either situation, based on what he writes.

 

He says more money would improve both, yet implies that neither should be getting its "bailout" money due to a flawed model. Huh????

 

Notice how he uses "purge" and "jettison." Just irresponsible writing with a clear bias.

 

You just know he was sitting their with this article waiting to post it, and when the Marlins "listened" to the Red Sox about Hanley, this goon thought he finally had the key barb to top off this piece. "Even Hanley Ramirez's name was bandied about"? What a ridiculous sentence [fragment].

 

He thinks the Marlins are a joke? This "article" is a joke.

 

 

LOL! That was a perfect description of this ridiculous article. How anyone lets this man write his clearly biased anti-Marlins propaganda is mind boggling.

 

 

 

:thumbup

 

Btw, what's the link to this?

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-h...o&type=lgns

Sent over a message myself to the guy. Although I agree that the owner should spend more money on the team, its unfair of him to say that we don't have a fan base, since we had one of the highest tv ratings in the MLB, the stadium is the issue, and once we enter the new stadium, we should begin to see the payroll and attendence increase.

 

The dude mentioned the prospects we got in the trade and how they will soon be traded to a team that cares, which is extremely uncalled for. The article is an extremely bias' article with absolutely no facts, just opinions. He doesn't give any insight on how the free agent signing we could possibly get to improve our team, just states how we can't get Pudge because we're cheap. He's supposed to be analysing our offseason thus far, yet he fails to mention how we just got rid of the MLB leader in blown saves to get the #4 prospect in the Cubs system who is near MLB ready, and how Willingham and Olsen were not going to be long term solutions for this team, and how Willingham had back issues and suffered from inconsistency as well as how Olsen was an average pitcher who had attitude issues, and also fails to mention how we already had a guy to take over for Jacobs when we traded him to IMPROVE OUR BULLPEN, yet the writer consistently tries to say how the Marlins are doing nothing to try and improve the team. This guy wrote a terrible article about the team, and hope he responds to my message, or should at least apologize for failing to recognize the good that we have done this offseason.

Who did we really lose this year? Aside from Hammer, who I will get to, we didn't "purge" anything. We got great value for Jacobs, and Gregg in Nunez and Ceda. Treanor was never really a starting catcher talent. Mitre may never become the pitcher he was before injury, which wasn't much to begin with. Rabelo was a bust. Rhodes was a mercenary signing. Olsen had one "ok" season with us. Yeah, he's a lefty. Yeah, he could develop. However, the fact of the matter is that we have 5 better pitchers in our rotation than him. The only sour note I see is Hammer. But, as much as I liked him, you have to admit that his body is taking a toll on him, and that we might come out of that deal smelling like roses if his physical limitations further burden him. So, in conclusion, relax guy.

Ha! What a farce. He actually hides his contempt in an article titled "Hot Stove Daily". Funny, this has little to no Hot Stove information in it. It is basically a rant. I can't believe this was actually published. I got nothing new about the Marlins in this article. Shame. Someone actually approved this garbage to be published.

 

Ha I didn't notice that.

Ha! What a farce. He actually hides his contempt in an article titled "Hot Stove Daily". Funny, this has little to no Hot Stove information in it. It is basically a rant. I can't believe this was actually published. I got nothing new about the Marlins in this article. Shame. Someone actually approved this garbage to be published.

 

Ha I didn't notice that.

 

 

exactly

 

Editor?s note: Yahoo! Sports will examine the offseason of every MLB team before spring training begins in mid-February. Our series continues with the Florida Marlins.

 

that's what he wrote at the top of the article, yet he barely analyzes the team, he just rants about Loria being cheap, and although the players we got were good, Nunez/Ceda etc... can't wait to leave Florida. Seriously, the guy was just a complete a** hole with no facts in the article

As a Marlins fan in TX, I must say that I grew up loving this team from afar and that I would trade this team with the Astros any day of the week! I mean our park is a joke and the owner spends money but on silly players like Tejada and Clemens. He's all about making money. No I don't know much about Lorie but what I read, but I think the way this organization drafts pitching and impact hitters is a model for good baseball. I do wish that somehow we could have kept Miggy and built around him, however trading him for Maybin may make that a mute point. I hope you Florida boys get to keep this team and the stadium is up and running.

If you were a real Marlins fan, you wouldnt want us to move

I don't think the location of the organization should determine how much of a fan I am. I've been a fan since the beginning and I am sure that I can spend the next 70 years of my life getting excited about recycling the team every few years for some young and upcoming stars, but I'd really like to see some team development and a packed stadium when I watch the games online. It just gets sad when the fans get really excited about a player and just as soon as he has proven his worth, he is sent elsewhere because the Marlins can't afford to pay his relatively small salary. Even sadder is the fact that most of the games have tiny crowds. Our single-A team in Grand Rapids attracts more fans than the Marlins on many nights. That just shouldn't be happening.

 

Everyone keeps looking to a new stadium to solve all the problems, but that just won't do it. I think a new stadium is just a bad investment. It just isn't easy being a Marlins fan.

We are rapidly approaching the 20th anniversary of this team's existence. If the situation doesn't improve in the coming years with a new stadium, it may never. Miami only seems to care about the Dolphins, sadly.

If you were a real Marlins fan, you wouldnt want us to move

:notworthy I live in NY and I would die if the Marlins move anywhere else but South Florida.

Can we just end the move the Marlins out of Miami agruements. The Marlins were dealt a diificult hand and are finally overcoming a tough situation with the new stadium. Miami will have no problem sustaining this team. This is one of the best cities to live in and it would be horrible to take a MLB franchise away from us. If cities like Milwaulkee and Pittsburgh can have an MLB team then we sure as hell deserve one.

If you were a real Marlins fan, you wouldnt want us to move

I don't think the location of the organization should determine how much of a fan I am. I've been a fan since the beginning and I am sure that I can spend the next 70 years of my life getting excited about recycling the team every few years for some young and upcoming stars, but I'd really like to see some team development and a packed stadium when I watch the games online. It just gets sad when the fans get really excited about a player and just as soon as he has proven his worth, he is sent elsewhere because the Marlins can't afford to pay his relatively small salary. Even sadder is the fact that most of the games have tiny crowds. Our single-A team in Grand Rapids attracts more fans than the Marlins on many nights. That just shouldn't be happening.

 

Everyone keeps looking to a new stadium to solve all the problems, but that just won't do it. I think a new stadium is just a bad investment. It just isn't easy being a Marlins fan.

 

Of course it should. Otherwise what is your allegiance to...the owner, the front office? It can't be the players, they change every few years. I don't live in SoFl but if the Marlins moved to another location I would stop cheering for them and I've been a fan since the beginning.

Of course it should. Otherwise what is your allegiance to...the owner, the front office? It can't be the players, they change every few years.

You think some guy living in Grand Rapids should have allegiance to some city he has never even been to just because his favorite team happens to play there?

 

When I was a kid I was a Yankees & Lakers fan ... and I couldn't give a rip about either city.