Those amazin' Marlins

What happened after the 1997 championship was disgraceful, no doubt about it, but ownership kept most of the 2003 team intact. Pudge Rodriguez left as a free agent, signing a big deal with the Tigers (who after a 119-loss season, desperately needed some credibility) and Derrek Lee was traded. Most of the core players remained, but the fans didn't show up. Sure, attendance increased some, but the 2004 and 2005 Marlins were near the bottom of the NL in attendance both seasons - and the 2005 team had actually taken on more payroll, adding Delgado and Lo Duca.

This is why I think the fans' apathy doesn't fall entirely on the owners. For the most part, the fans don't seem to care. Most cities would be elated with 2 titles in a decade, plus two (now three) more seasons in which the team was in the hunt in September.

 

Exactly, and like I said before, the Marlins aren't the first franchise where ownership has made their cold intentions so well known, yet unlike most of those franchises, the Marlins are still able to field a mostly competitive ball club season-to-season.

 

I don't blame Marlins fans at all for not wanting to put a single dime in that scumbag Loria's pocket.

As much of a douchebag as he is, his son-in-law is about 100x slimier.

And somehow, they've turned Joe Girardi, one of the most insufferably arrogant people in baseball, into a sympathetic character. Tough work, that.

That said, it'd be a fucking lark to see them make the playoffs and advance to the World Series one year after nuking the team. That would be a very, how shall I say it, NFL thing, wouldn't it?

 

Finally figured out who Girardi reminds me of.... the arrogant erstwhile U.S. men's soccer coach

 

Heck, the whole NL resembles the NFL crapshoot.

As for the Marlins, if I'm a GM and want to rebuild my franchise, I would assemble a list of the Marlins' scouts and attempt to hire them away. It seems like they're never wrong on evaluating talent.

 

If the Marlins actually fire Girardi, I bet the Yankees hire him as manager in waiting to succeed Torre.
I heard Loria is POed at Girardi for not attending a team function. Too bad.

 

The Pirates and Royals, before Moore became GM, had incompetent front offices that couldn't evaluate young talent.

The Marlins can identify which prospects will become productive big leaguers better than anyone.

 

Exactly.... there are plenty of rookies who come up and don't stick during the season.

You just can't say "voila" and you have productive rookies.

 

how many people ripping the fans have actually been to a marlins game at dolphins stadium? it's a shitty atmosphere. i don't blame fans for staying away.

starman, i strongly disagree that they're trying to kill baseball in miami. first of all, there's nowhere for them to move to. second, this market - although a crappy sports town - has such potential. although miami has surprisingly few major corporate headquarters for a large metro area, the population is increasing and people are becoming more affluent. unfortunately for MLB the marlins have no clue how to take advantage of the enormous untapped market here - the latino population.

 

Another thing to consider is that Miami, unlike most major metropolitan areas, has a linear population distribution. South Florida is essentially a 100-mile strip from northern Palm Beach County all the way down to Kendall and Homestead.

No matter where you put the stadium, it's going to be a long drive for most fans.

The only people who say the fans are to blame for not showing up are the ones who have never lived in South Florida or attended a Marlins game.

Would YOU drive an hour each way on a Tuesday night to see the Braves?

 

the SportsJournalists.com community will suffer a collective conniption in about november when the cubs hire hometown boy girardi as manager.

 

In true Cub fashion, they'll give Baker a two-year extension and Girardi will replace Tony LaRussa in 2008.