Team Preview:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24461694/team-preview-miami-marlins

 

Likes/Dislikes:

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24462213/2014-marlins-preview-likes-dislikes

Pretty good reads that were pretty vague but accurate.

 

Well, besides the part about Pablo Ozuna.

Furcal

Yelich

Stanton

Jones

Baker

Salty

McGehee

Johnson

 

Get on board

 

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I'm not as up on the Marlins current pitching situation. I'm not even sure Alvarez and Turner are more than fifth starters. Wouldn't make them the highlight if a great young staff. Not completely down on them, but after Jose and maybe Eovaldi, it's nothing more than potentially average.

 

We can be great, moreso because of the potential of Heaney, Conley and Nicolino.

I'm not as up on the Marlins current pitching situation. I'm not even sure Alvarez and Turner are more than fifth starters. Wouldn't make them the highlight if a great young staff. Not completely down on them, but after Jose and maybe Eovaldi, it's nothing more than potentially average.

 

We can be great, moreso because of the potential of Heaney, Conley and Nicolino.

Yeah I mean it's Heaney that'll pretty much make or break this. If he's a really good #2, I like their chances to put together at least an average 3/4/5 from the other 6 or 7 competing arms.

Yeah I mean it's Heaney that'll pretty much make or break this. If he's a really good #2, I like their chances to put together at least an average 3/4/5 from the other 6 or 7 competing arms.

 

Pretty much. The hope is that Eovaldi, or possibly Conley or Nicolino or a dark horse can become a good No. 3 too.

Don't forget that we've also got the 2nd overall pick in the next draft. Unless they go with Trea Turner or that high school catcher, they're probably going to pick a pitcher.

Don't forget that we've also got the 2nd overall pick in the next draft. Unless they go with Trea Turner or that high school catcher, they're probably going to pick a pitcher.

.

 

Hoffman and a few others are definitely options. I'd prefer a hitter (Jackson, Davidson) but I'll never be mad about picking more pitching.

From the linked article:

 

"Dislikes: Jeffrey Loria: Worst owner in sports? Worst owner in sports. Loria and his henchmen (president David Sampson, primarily) swindled millions to pay for their new ballpark, signed a bunch of expensive free agents when the place opened, then traded them away one year later. Awful. Awful awful awful. I truly believe baseball can not only work in South Florida, but thrive. Not with Loria though, a new owner is needed."

 

Agree 1000x

From the linked article:

 

"Dislikes: Jeffrey Loria: Worst owner in sports? Worst owner in sports. Loria and his henchmen (president David Sampson, primarily) swindled millions to pay for their new ballpark, signed a bunch of expensive free agents when the place opened, then traded them away one year later. Awful. Awful awful awful. I truly believe baseball can not only work in South Florida, but thrive. Not with Loria though, a new owner is needed."

 

Agree 1000x

With the right owner, the Marlins can become another Miami Heat type story...free agents will try to beat a path down here, particularly Hispanic free agents. Interest and fan attendance will take off. Firmly convinced of that. The ball park is first rate.

 

But of course as long as Loria/Samson hang like a lead weight over this franchise, none of this is even remotely possible. Crying shame.

OK. So I read the "article."

 

By Mike Axisa, an alleged "baseball writer." Guess what? We're all "baseball writers." And all of us know better than to refer to Marcell Ozuna as "Pablo."

 

Swindled? Who was swindled? The hotel bed-tax payers? The tourists? The people who are actually paying for the stadium. Tourists! Imagine that. Oh, the horror!

 

Maybe we can take a poll of random tourists and see if they feel screwed over because they paid the very same Miami-Dade hotel bed-tax that they've been paying for decades. I paid it in the late '70s before I moved down here. Most likely response? "Really? It's paying for the new stadium? I think that's great!"

 

The only locals who are entitled to bitch about the cost of the stadium are the people who don't have jobs because the hotel bed-tax exists at all. You know, because it makes Miami more expensive to hold a meeting or convention, so fewer people come here than otherwise would have. But, they're too stupid and/or ignorant to realize what the effect of a hotel bed-tax is and why they don't have the job they might have had in the absence of the M-D hotel bed-tax. But, see, that sort of thing, or anything other than a glib analysis is too complicated and/or sophisticated for a self-described "baseball writer." Or anyone else, for that matter.

 

To Axisa and anyone else who believes his rubbish I can only say take it up with Miami-Dade county. The M-D county commissioners voted for the stadium. They agreed to it. They financed it. They own it. Not the Marlins.

 

I have no truck with publicly-financed stadiums, they shouldn't happen, but this one happened the same way most of them do -- the owner makes noises about moving -- and then the locality rationalizes and justifies it and makes it happen. At least they structured this one so that the locals don't get jabbed. Well, other than the unemployed potential hotel workers, but nobody else ever talks about them or even realizes that they exist, never mind why.

 

I'm really sick of reading quotes from morons like Axisa who don't have the first clue about what they're talking about, and worse, the blathering of people who agree with the never-ending garbage.

 

As for Loria, he cut and ran in 2012 when he was convinced that he was losing his ass. As in about 60 mill. As well he should have. As would anyone in their right mind. So it goes.

Cutting and running makes sense after 2012, but he should have realized that his influence on the FO was a major reason why the spending spree was a disaster. The aftermath of 2012 would have been more excusable if Loria made an effort to stay out of the way.

I don't think Loria is the worse owner in all of sports...Top 3ish

Cutting and running makes sense after 2012, but he should have realized that his influence on the FO was a major reason why the spending spree was a disaster. The aftermath of 2012 would have been more excusable if Loria made an effort to stay out of the way.

 

Well, if the limited reporting on it this off-season can be believed apparently he has stayed out of the decision-making process. Perhaps he decided to take the approach of most owners of "Here's your budget, now go do your thing." Perhaps he's learned his (expensive) lesson. Then again, maybe it was just that Hill and/or Jennings demanded that he stay out of the process.

Well, if the limited reporting on it this off-season can be believed apparently he has stayed out of the decision-making process. Perhaps he decided to take the approach of most owners of "Here's your budget, now go do your thing." Perhaps he's learned his (expensive) lesson. Then again, maybe it was just that Hill and/or Jennings demanded that he stay out of the process.

 

Perhaps I missed something, but I have seen no real indication that Loria has been less involved this offseason.

Perhaps I missed something, but I have seen no real indication that Loria has been less involved this offseason.

Besides the Dobbs signing, do any of the deals we made scream LORIA to you like in years past?

I don't personally think Loria is as involved right now as he once was actually. He's still involved at some level of course but he should be anyway.

Besides the Dobbs signing, do any of the deals we made scream LORIA to you like in years past?

All of the moves made in the offseason are pretty consistent with what the Marlins have done in previous seasons.

 

The Salty signing, Furcal signing, and Morrison trades all seem like things that Loria would advocate.

 

You have to wonder as well if the Marlins aren't offering Stanton a contract because Loria doesn't want to do so. Stanton's displeasure with the post-2012 firesale seems like it was a pretty big deal.

I don't personally think Loria is as involved right now as he once was actually. He's still involved at some level of course but he should be anyway.

 

I think he is. But because we haven't made any of those big signings like we did for 2012, he is just keeping a lower profile right now.

Well, if the limited reporting on it this off-season can be believed apparently he has stayed out of the decision-making process. Perhaps he decided to take the approach of most owners of "Here's your budget, now go do your thing." Perhaps he's learned his (expensive) lesson. Then again, maybe it was just that Hill and/or Jennings demanded that he stay out of the process.

What reporting on it have you seen?

I don't think Loria is the worse owner in all of sports...Top 3ish

He's right there with the Donald Sterlings of all sports, which is not a good thing.

I don't personally think Loria is as involved right now as he once was actually. He's still involved at some level of course but he should be anyway.

They just fired the GM because he wouldn't play ball with Loria. This is a pattern. Look what happened to Girardi after he got in Loria's way, despite winning manager of the year and making something out of nothing that year.

My opinion is things have changed since Jennings took over. I could be wrong.

I don't think so. Jennings has been Loria's guy. It was a quiet offseason anyway, so it's hard to see Loria's fingerprints on the team regardless.

I don't think so. Jennings has been Loria's guy. It was a quiet offseason anyway, so it's hard to see Loria's fingerprints on the team regardless.

 

One thing that has certainly changed is the FO is much more outspoken without Admin at the helm. Beinfest kept everything tight lipped.

 

And I think this was far from a quiet off season. We have new starters at almost every infield position.