SI: Alex Sanabia : I didn’t know spitter was against rules

We have an early leader for “least plausible excuse of 2013.”

Miami Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia says he didn’t know it was illegal to spit on the ball, the way he did Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Living up to expectorations: The Alex Sanabia spitball clip

Alex Sanabia is on the Marlins. The odds are at least decent that you’ve never heard of Alex Sanabia before. What’s he all about? Let’s see ... leads the league in losses ... kind of a control pitcher in the minors ... 24 years old ... drafted in the 32nd round, just a round after William Mays ... but pretty nondescript, mostly.

...Spitter. He’s the spit guy. The guy with the spit. Yeah, I remember him. Ol’ Spitface with the spit coming out of his face. Good spitter, that guy. Loves to spit. Wish Alex would spit less, but god love him, he just can’t stop spitting.

Thanks to Drew.

Powerball odds? Juan Pierre’s homers are long shots, too

Odds of being attacked by a shark marlin: 1 in 11.5 million.

Pierre’s clout came leading off the bottom of the first for the Miami Marlins against the Cincinnati Reds.

Pierre’s homer was his first since June 23. He whooped when the ball went over the fence down the right-field line.

“I don’t know how to react to those things, so it’s just a spur-of-the-moment deal,” Pierre told reporters of his homer reaction. “That’s about the only time you’ll see me smiling on the baseball field.”

Pierre’s four-bagger came against Cincinnati starter Mat Latos,.

“Juan Pierre hit a home run off me—just my luck,” Latos said after the game. “I looked at him when he was running the bases and said, ‘What the heck happened?’”

...While Pierre’s power numbers are among the puniest in baseball history since the end of the deadball era, the 35-year-old Mobile native has stolen 603 bases to rank 18th on the all-time list.

CBS Miami: Marlins Close Upper Deck For Weekday Games

The higher deck seats will be off limits starting with the Marlins next home games series which starts Tuesday. That will reduce the attendance capacity by about 10,000 . . . The team may consider closing the upper bowl for remaining weeknight games this season, but has yet to determine if it will do so. Fewer than 500 people own season tickets in the upper bowl, and those fans are being moved — with no additional charge — to seats in the lower bowl for all Monday-through-Thursday games.

Sad.

Brown: Why the Miami Marlins Could See a Historic Attendance Plunge

Maury adds…“And when I’m talking “plunge” I’m not talking Loria’s neckline.”

As of today, the decline would be 31 percent below what the club ended with last season. But, they are currently averaging 18,864. As of May 5 of last season, they were averaging 30,681, down 11,817 from the previous year, or a decline of 39 percent.

So, it’s very possible the Marlins could end worse than the Rays. It’s early, and anything could happen, but odds are good the Marlins aren’t going to get any better in the standings and Loria certainly didn’t make any extra friends in the offseason.

Below shows every new ballpark built under the Selig tenure. It shows the average attendance prior to the new ballpark opening in the old ballpark; average attendance in the first year of the new ballpark; the winning percentage in the first year of the ballpark; average attendance in the second year of the new ballpark, and finally; the percentage of increase or decrease from the opening year in the new ballpark. As of now, the Marlins are averaging just 92 more per game than their last year in Sun Life Stadium that they shared with the Miami Dolphins, was never designed for baseball, and had no roof.

Juan Pierre steals 600, celebrates with Hawaiian Punch, Honey Buns

Be cool Honey Buns!

The plunder of 600 stolen bases was laid out around Juan Pierre’s locker late Thursday night.

The lineup card from the Miami Marlins’ 7-2 loss to the Phillies was displayed with the uprooted base where Pierre attained the milestone.

The head-scratcher was the pyramid of Hawaiian Punch cans surrounded by Honey Buns. That was the result of the Marlins posing the question to Pierre’s wife Liz: What do you get a man who has stolen 600 bases?

“I love Honey Buns and Hawaiian Punch. That’s the thing. I don’t drink, so champagne or none of that, that doesn’t do me any good. Hawaiian Punch and Honey Buns is a very good surprise,” Pierre said.

So that is what has fueled the Marlins left fielder into elite company. Now 14th on the all-time steals list, he needed the ninth-fewest games to reach 600, in his 1,907th.

...“That’s JP. He’s a team player. His 600th stolen base wasn’t going to be a two-out free steal of third base. It was going to be a big one, and it was. He got himself in scoring position,” said Mike Redmond, his manager and former teammate. “That’s the kind of guy he is. Great teammate. He goes out and plays the game the right way. He’s a hard worker and he deserves everything he gets in this game.”

Megdal: A grim battle between the Mets and Marlins that neither is equipped for

The Marlins eventually won, 4-3.

Here you had what ought to have been a taut, exciting affair, but the alarming thinness of both rosters meant, really, that neither team was up for it.

It started back in the sixth inning. Matt Harvey, the Mets’ ace, entered the inning having thrown 99 pitches. Harvey did not locate his fastball with his usual precision, but thanks to a slider that more than made up for it, he had his team ahead, 2-1. Typically, a young pitcher who’d struggled through five innings with a pitch count that high would be lifted, since higher-stress pitching is particularly prone to causing injuries.

Still, after a six-pitch at-bat to Placido Polanco, Mets manager Terry Collins kept Harvey in the game. Then came an eight-pitch walk to Greg Dobbs, Harvey’s sweat soaking his uniform despite playing in air-conditioned Miami. Still, Harvey remained in the game. Only after another eight pitches, leading to a single by Justin Ruggiano, did Collins go out and get Harvey.

Harvey threw 121 pitches, a day after Niese threw 117 against the Phillies. This augurs poorly for the Mets; Collins has one set of priorities, with no contract for next year and a bullpen that is again among the worst in the majors. But the Mets have two reliable starting pitchers, both of whom they are hoping to rely on for years to come.

NY Mets monitoring Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton

In other news, I am monitoring Kate Upton. Up in a tree. With binoculars.

When the Marlins traded Jose Reyes and Josh Johnson to Toronto last November, Mets officials began asking one another questions that remain in their minds today: Can we get Giancarlo Stanton?  Would we trade Zack Wheeler to do it?

According to three team sources, the Mets then spent time at the winter meetings debating whether to make Wheeler available in a variety of trades, including for Arizona’s Justin Upton and Kansas City’s Wil Myers.  Neither of those outfielders seemed worth the organization’s top pitching prospect, but Stanton is in a different category.

Although they do not know if the Marlins will move him (Miami declined to shop Stanton even after the outfielder Tweeted about being “pissed off” after the Reyes trade), the Mets continue to monitor the situation, fully realizing that any deal would almost certainly have to include Wheeler and top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud.

Would you trade those blue chippers for a guy who might become the premier slugger of his generation?  I say, hell yes, duh, no brainer, but let’s hear from people whose opinions actually matter.

“In a heartbeat,” said one Mets official, who is not in Alderson’s inner-circle of decision-makers, but has a voice in discussions. The guy then snapped his fingers.  “Nothing against those kids, but it’s Giancarlo.”

George: Get used to plenty of good seats being available at Miami Marlins home games

Of course, baseball at its intimate best, with the stripped-down Marlins puttering along at 1-7, simply does not appeal to everyone. There’s always something to do at the ballpark, though. Stargazing through the open roof on a comfortable April night, now there’s a romantic notion for you. And for the kids, there’s the latest variation on “Where’s Waldo,” that kooky search for a favorite character in the crowd.

We call it “Find Jeffrey Loria,” and in 2013 it’s apparently not going to be as easy as usual.

On Monday, he must have been in a suite because nobody saw him. On Tuesday, perhaps feeling a bit friskier, Loria came walking unnoticed through the seats in the second inning of a 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He settled inconspicuously in the seventh row near the Miami dugout, not at his customary second-row location, and soon was seen wearing a baseball cap, another deviation from the norm.

Incognito? Not exactly. Eager to announce his presence? Well, no, that’s not exactly it either.

More than anything, Loria and his low-budget club are just trying to find ways to feel comfortable in their own home again. These two nights at Marlins Park have been stinkers, with a two-hit shutout loss to Atlanta before the big crowd Monday and a meager four-hit output Tuesday.

Thanks to Butch.

Protesting fans ejected from Marlins Park for ‘creating disturbance’

Flesh Tantrum!

One fan identified himself as Dan Barton, 25, of Fort Lauderdale. He wore a shirt that read: “Marlins baseball – helping other teams get better since 1998” – a reference to the franchise’s first roster purge.

Barton and four or five of his friends showed up on the main concourse above the first base line in the second inning and were approached by two reporters, from The Palm Beach Post and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

They posed for photos and talked about their anger over Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. One fan, who did not give his name, would periodically say out loud to fans passing by, “Free the Marlins,’’ which was also written on a sign.

“We’re Marlins fans. We’ve been there since 1993. We’ve been through only two winning seasons,’’ Barton said.

“We’re tired of it. I’m just over it. Free the Marlins,’’ the man with the sign said.

“It’s just sheer selfishness,’’ Barton said.

“Now you have this guy coming in. False promises, false hopes. I’m tired of it.

“We’re tired of the ownership. We’re tired of Jeffrey Loria.’’

...After the game, team president David Samson addressed the incident.

“We got information from the police that they’d run into a couple of fans who were walking around holding signs that were fine. That was not the issue. They were drawing some attention to themselves. Making some noise later in the game, which is not uncommon,’’ Samson said.

“As per standard operating procedure, the police go up, try to tell them to calm down and they did not. Then the police said, ‘Show me ID’ and they did not. And that was it. You have to show ID when asked. So they were ejected.

“We go through games during the course of a season, it is not uncommon to have ejections of people who drink too much, do too much. Overall it is hard to, even for certain people, it is hard to put a negative spin on tonight’s game other than the fact that we did not win and got two hits.’’

Samson said he was told that two fans were ejected from the ballpark. None were arrested.

“They were walking around just trying to create a, there’s a police term for it that I am not familiar with. It has to do with disturbance, creating a disturbance. I don’t exactly know what it means but it is their job to make sure everything is safe for everyone.

“Our security people are consulted. But it’s a pretty simple thing: When police ask for ID and you don’t show it, that’s it. No other questions are asked. You are escorted.’’

Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals - April 1, 2013

Placido Polanco batted 4th today for the Marlins.

This isn’t an April Fools Day post.

Robertson: Mike Redmond a perfect fit as Marlins manager

Okay, so maybe it’s not Tim Johnson doing the Frug with Ann-Margret in Danang…but Mike Redmond is in need of a tracer.

For Redmond, a former Marlin catcher, that means Miami is at the bottom of a well of opportunity.

“We have guys with a lot to prove,” he said while the Marlins held a workout to prepare for Monday’s 1:05 p.m. game against the Washington Nationals. “Nobody gives us a chance. So, we can’t lose.”

It’s the only attitude he can take, and it comes to him naturally. Through sheer resourcefulness, Redmond, 41, created a 13-year major-league career for himself and won a World Series in the process.

“I was always an underdog,” said Redmond, who is known as “Red” by his friends in baseball. “I heard, ‘This guy is a career backup; he won’t be around long.’ I hit .320. They said, ‘He can’t hit righties.’ Eventually I hit righties. They said I was done in 2005. I played five more years.

“I think it’s a perfect fit. I can relate to these guys.”

...Juan Pierre, who was Redmond’s teammate in 2003 under manager Jack McKeon and is back on the team as an outfielder, said he always figured the analytical, personable catcher would one day become a manager.

“He was a funny cat, and it’s still in him, but he has to be in charge now,” Pierre said. “I’ve had all kinds — Jack, Ozzie, Joe Torre, Dusty Baker — and I think Red is a younger guy who can help the younger players so they won’t feel overwhelmed. He’s not that far removed from playing. A guy like Jack — he’s old school. He doesn’t understand iPads or iPods. Red is part of our generation.”

Injuries prompt Miami Marlins to add pitching prospect Jose Fernandez, 20, to opening day roster

Kevin Slowey? Donovan Solano? John Maine? Alex Sanabia? I’ve never heard of half these guys, and the ones I have heard of are way past their primes!

The Miami Marlins knew their young pitching staff would be a work in progress this season. But no one expected major changes a day before the season opener.

The Marlins this morning announced that 20-year-old super-prospect Jose Fernandez, a right-hander, will be on the opening day roster because of shoulder injuries to starters Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez.

Fernandez, who finished last season with Class A Jupiter, will start next Sunday’s game against the Mets in New York.

The pitching matchup for Monday’s opener at Washington (1:05 p.m., FSN) is Ricky Nolasco — the only veteran in Miami’s rotation — against Stephen Strasburg.

Eovaldi and Alvarez are on the disabled list. The other pitcher joining the staff is minor leaguer Alex Sanabia, who was 5-3 with the Marlins in 2010.

Polanco’s new lineup role: Protecting Stanton?

Could you please pass the Stanton…and pitch to Polanco.

The Marlins don’t have a prototypical cleanup hitter to slot behind Giancarlo Stanton. Manager Mike Redmond is considering more of a tidy-up hitter.

Placido Polanco hit fourth behind Stanton in Monday’s 6-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Tigers, a team that during the regular season will have the ultimate three-four duo in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.

“It’s one of those things where we’re going to have a lot of different guys hitting probably in a lot of different spots,” Redmond said. “I like Polanco hitting there. He gives you a veteran bat, a guy who puts the ball in play. He can hit behind runners. He can hit and run. He handles the bat well and might be a nice fit behind Stanton.”

Absolutely – if Stanton was a leadoff man. Polanco was born to hit second. Major league managers have written Polanco’s name in 1,656 starting lineups. In all but 436 of those he’s been slotted in the two¬ spot. The only other place Polanco has logged triple-digits is as a leadoff hitter (126).

...He does have eight plate appearances spanning nine games in that spot, including one each season from 2000-‘02. His lifetime numbers in the four hole: 0-for-7 with two RBI and a strikeout.

“I don’t think they expect me to be hitting home runs now because I’m hitting fourth,” Polanco said. “It’s something they have in mind and they’re trying now. That’s what spring training is for, to try different things.”

Added Redmond: “If they’re going to pitch around [Stanton] at least it gives us a guy we know is going to put the ball in play and can drive in runs. Sure, it’s not going to be via home run, but it’s going to be a professional at-bat and a guy that can kind of keep the line moving.”

Marlins Threaten To Sue Longtime Season-Ticket Holders Who Complained About View-Obscuring Sign

“Pooped on Fans’ Feelings” grab it fast or I’m naming my next spychedelic band!

First, the Marlins alienated every taxpayer in Miami with their stadium deal. Then they pissed off every casual fan with a mass offseason firesale. Now, the team is burning bridges with the only true-blue Fish fanatics left—their longtime seasons-ticket holders.

That’s how Jan and Bill Leon are feeling, at least. The couple has paid tens of thousands for front-row season tickets since 1998. But last year, after the team installed an obtrusive billboard that blocks their view and dangerously obscures ground balls, the Leons asked to move into a different section. Their reward? A lawsuit threat.

“They’ve pooped on fans’ feelings for years,” Jan Leon says. “These seats are not what we paid for.”

Jan and Bill Leon may well have seen more Miami baseball in person than Billy the Marlin. The couple are baseball fanatics—Bill used to coach elite teenage club teams—passionate enough about the game to sit through dozens of rain delays a summer at Sun Life Stadium. They attended every World Series game during the good years and plenty of sweaty 95-degree blowouts in the bad years.

“I’d go to 81 games a year if I could,” says Jan Leon, who estimates she actually makes at least 40.

So when the Marlins moved to their new home in Little Havana last year, the Leons—who own a real estate company—made what they thought was a verbal agreement with a sale rep: They’d buy a two-season package (for $25,000 a year) with the option of changing seats after the first year if they didn’t like them.

John David: Not Calling the Marlins Disingenuous

Abracadrastic! The Incredible Oren Wunderman!

Aside from all the rich material here, I was struck by the word choices and tone taken by Marlins President David Samson in a recent story in The Miami Herald: “I’m not going to say Miami is not a sports town,’’ he said. “Or that there is something wrong with the fans? I would never say that.”

Oh you wouldn’t, would you? I think you just did.

I find this type of language fascinating. A former client once said to me: “I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but I think…” Guess what? He was telling me how to do my job, just as Samson is saying there’s something wrong with the fans in Miami.

Given my fascination for this “saying it but not saying it” tactic, I decided to seek an expert opinion. I called my friend Dr. Oren Wunderman, a psychologist who also serves as CEO of Miami’s Family Resource Center, a wonderful non-profit group that helps foster kids get adopted. Oren has forgotten more about psychology than I will ever know.

He called Samson’s language a “paradoxical assertion,” where a person asserts a point in one part of a statement and then negates it in another.

“State it and withdraw it,” said Wunderman. “Very sneaky.”

For some of his adolescent patients, Wunderman says such language is unconscious, and he doesn’t hold them accountable for it. With adults, he sees it as a form of manipulation.

Stop being so disingenuous. Right now, all fans hear is whining and double-talk. Saying that the team is better off now because it has improved its farm system doesn’t play at all in “win-centric” South Florida. My suggestion would be for the team’s executives to sit down with fans and season ticket holders and get their feedback. Listen to your base of support and hear them out. Take your medicine, then explain your decisions and be honest that you believe this strategy gives you the best chance to get back to the World Series. Next, develop a long-haul position that focuses on what fans will see on the field this year. Lastly, get your promotions team working on plans to put some butts in seats, so you can start genuinely re-earning faith.

The Marlins face a long rough road to improve their on- and off-field performance. If they back down from the negative messaging, and take a long-term and genuine approach, then they can win back South Florida fans. If not, expect the chilly relationship to continue.

AP: Chone Figgins trying to extend career with Marlins

For Figgins, life begins again at 35, if .000/.154/.000 in 14 spring training PAs is “life.”

Until this year, he spent his entire career in the American League.

“In the AL you’re limited,” he says. “They don’t pinch-hit much, and if they do, it’s usually somebody who might hit a homer.”

Figgins never had much power, but in his prime the switch-hitter contributed in many other ways during eight seasons with the Angels.

His production began to decline after he signed a $36 million, four-year contract with the Mariners before the 2010 season. He batted .188 in 81 games in 2011, then hit .181 in 66 games last year.

Playing part time made it tough to shake the slump, he says.

“I’d go three weeks to a month not playing, going from getting 700 at-bats every year,” he says. “It’s tough. You sign a four-year deal, and the second year of the deal you’re sitting on the bench. That’s hard to swallow. But I stayed positive as much as I could. This is where it has taken me.”

Neyer: All Mike Piazza wants is your love

Behold!

Mike Piazza’s got a new autobiography in the bookstores, and I spent a week sort of semi-obsessed with it.  I can’t figure out precisely why this particular ex-ballplayer’s memoir got inside my head. But I have a couple of ideas.

One, the book is exceptionally well-written, which isn’t all that surprising, considering Piazza’s co-author was Lonnie Wheeler, who’s written or co-written a number of fine books over the years… And two, Mike Piazza—and I should be very clear that when I write “Mike Piazza,” I’m referring to the character we meet in the book—comes across as something of a case study in narcissism…

Mike Piazza really, really, really gives a damn what everybody thinks about him.

He really wants you to think he was a great hitter. Piazza hit 427 home runs in his career, and he mentions something like a hundred of them. He’s got the record for the most home runs by a catcher. And right after the section where he talks about breaking the old record, he launches into an extended discourse about what a great player he was. Like he’s trying to convince us, yes ... but also as if maybe he’s trying to convince himself.

He really wants us to think he’s not gay, and that beautiful women—Playboy models mostly, and Baywatch actresses—find him incredibly appealing. I wish the otherwise-estimable index listed mentions of “Playmate”, “Baywatch”, and “actress”. But there are a lot of them in there…

I really can’t recommend this book to readers. Again, it’s well-written. But there just isn’t enough material that isn’t Mike Piazza begging for validation…

here’s the one paragraph that best encapsulates Piazza in all his pleading, narcissistic glory:

I’d be less than truthful if I didn’t admit my legacy is something I ponder quite a bit. Mostly, it bewilders me. I honestly don’t know why it is, exactly, that, from start to finish, I’ve been the object of so much controversy, resentment, skepticism, scrutiny, criticism, rumor, and doubt. I’ve thought about it quite a bit. Maybe it’s because my dad was rich. Maybe it’s because Tommy Lasorda looked after me. Maybe it’s because, off the field, I didn’t make much news on my own account and the press figured it had to latch on to something that resembled it. Maybe it’s because I was a jerk from time to time. Whatever the reason, I suppose I might be a little oversensitive about it all, except that I feel I’m defending more than just my reputation. I’m standing up for what I consider to be—deeply wish to be—a fundamentally and triumphantly American story.

That’s some speech. I doubt if those words came straight from Mike Piazza’s lips. Which is one reason I’m reluctant to engage in psychoanalysis (the other is that I’m incredibly unqualified). But the “Mike Piazza” within the pages of this book is a sad, lonely man who seems little closer to adulthood than the brat who blew off Roy Campanella’s funeral 20 years ago.

The Biz of Baseball: Jeffrey Loria and Hoof in Mouth Disease

Maury adds…“Would you like some tripe, monsieur? It’s wafer thin.”

The worst thing about this behavior is that it’s poisoning the market. The Marlins don’t have much history to lean upon. This is still the first generation of baseball for the Marlins. This isn’t the Yankees or Red Sox, or even the Brewers. What Loria and Co. are offering is a sports fan’s version of battered-spouse syndrome. You get a few glimpses of happiness and a lot of abuse. Along the way, he’s saying it will all be better. Just stick with him and in a few years, it will all be sunshine. And, each year, it’s something new. Each year, it’s a new excuse. Each year you don’t really see any actions that speak louder than words. No developed talent is given extensions (unless they are forced to, as was the case in 2010 when the MLBPA nearly filed a grievance with the league over them, and with it, they decided then would be a good time to give Josh Johnson an extension. Where exactly is he now?), no-trade clauses are about being able to jerk the wheel of the Titanic called the Marlins this way and that rather than about long-terms flexibility that makes sense. It’s all making it up as they go.

None of this gets into bamboozling the public out of the stadium that will be mostly empty in its second season in the league. I believe that not only will the Marlins not sellout a single game this season, but they will see the largest drop in second year attendance for a new ballpark since Bud Selig’s tenure began.

Speaking of Bud, he’s grabbing the antacid today. You see, Loria isn’t Frank McCourt. He’s sneakier than that. The former Dodger owner ran the club into bankruptcy, and that was the ammo he and the owners needed to leverage him out of the game. For Loria, his actions are enough to make everyone’s blood boil, but he stands at the very edge of the dogs on their leashes, snubbing his nose as they bark just out of reach. As one high-revenue club said, “We don’t like them (the Marlins) very much.”

So, the blight on the league continues. At some point, Loria will no longer own the club, and as was the case with Tom Hicks, and Frank McCourt, fans will rejoice. The question will be, has he so derailed the market as to have it rebound in his wake? In some senses, you wonder whether he would relish in that. “Look at all I’ve done,” he might say… as he snubs his nose, yet again.

Jeffrey Loria’s “Letter to our Fans”

The first comment from “ex season ticket holder” is quite telling…“PURE UNADULTERATED BULLLLSHITTTTT”

LETTER TO OUR FANS

      It’s no secret that last season was not our best—actually it was one of our worst. In large part, our performance on the field stunk and something needed to be done. As a result of some bold moves, many grabbed hold of our tough yet necessary decision only to unleash a vicious cycle of negativity. As the owner of the ballclub, the buck stops with me and I take my share of the blame where it’s due. However, many of the things being said about us are simply not true. I’ve sat by quietly and allowed this to continue. Now it’s time for me to resond to our most important constituents, the fans who love the game of baseball.

THE ROSTER

      Losing is unacceptable to me. It’s incumbant upon us to take swift action and make bold moves when there are glaring problems. The controversial trade we made with the Toronto Blue Jays was approved by Commissioner Bud Selig and has been almost universally celebrated by baseball experts outside of Miami for its value. We hope, with an open mind, our community can reflect on the fact that we had one of the worst records in baseball. Acquiring high-profile players just didn’t work, and nearly everyone on our team underperformed as compared to their career numbers. Our plan for the year ahead is to leverage our young talent and create a homegrown roster of long-term players who can win. In fact, objective experts have credited us with going from the 28th ranked Minor League system in baseball to the 5th best during this period. Of the Top 100 Minor Leagues rated by MLB Network, we have six—tied for the most of any team in the league. We’ll evaluate this roster and possibly bring in additional talent based on our assessment of what we need. The very same naysayers who are currently skeptical once attacked us for bringing Pudge Rodriguez to the Marlins in 2003. More than any other, that move contributed to our World Series Championship.

    THE BALLPARK

    The ballpark issue has been repeatedly reported incorrectly and there are some very negative accustations being thrown around. It ain’t true, folks. Those who have attacked us are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. The majority of public funding came from hotel taxes, the burden of which is incurred by tourists who are visiting our city, NOT the resident taxpayers. The Marlins organization also agreed to contribute $161.2 million toward the ballpark, plus the cost of the garage complex. In addition, the Marlins receive no operating subsidy from local government funding. The ballpark required that all debt service is paid by existing revenue. Furthermore, many are attacking the County’s method of financing for its contribution, but the Marlins had nothing at all to do with that. The fact is, with your help, we built Marlins Park, a crown jewel in our beautiful Miami skyline, which has won over twenty design and architecture awards and will help make us a premiere ballclub moving forward.

    OUR FINANCES

    The simple fact is that we don’t have unlimited funds, nor does any baseball team or business. Fans didn’t turn out last season as much as we’d like, even with the high-profile players the columnists decry us having traded. The main ingredient to a successful ball club is putting together a winning team, including a ncecessary core of young talent. Are we fiscally capable and responsible enough to fill the roster with talented players, invest in the daily demands of running a world-class organization and bring a World Series back to Miami? Absolutely! It is sound business sense to witness an expensive roster with a terrible record and sit idly by doing nothing? No. I can and will invest in building a winner, but last season wasn’t sustainable and we needed to start from scratch qjuickly to build this team from the ground up.

    COMMUNICATION

    An organization is only as good as its connection with the community. We know we can do a better job communicating with our fans. That starts now. From this point forward we can ensure fans and the entire community that we will keep you abreast of our plan, rationale and motivations.

    Amidst the current news coverage, it an be easy to forget how far we went together not so long ago. In 2003, I helped bring a second World Series Title to South Florida. We know how to build a winning team, and have every intention of doing so again. I know you share my passion for great Marlins baseball, my love of MIami and my desire to win again. We’re in this together and I humbly ask that we start fresh, watch us mature qjuickly as a ball club, and root for the home team in 2013.

    Sincerely,

    Jeffrey Loria

Jose Reyes: Marlins owner told me to buy house two days before Blue Jays trade

Jose Reyes arrived at Blue Jays camp Friday with a bad taste in his mouth.

Reyes said that two days before he was traded from the Marlins to the Blue Jays, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria assured him he was not going to be traded by the flush-it-down the drain Marlins.

“Two days before the trade, I was having dinner with him in New York,’’ Reyes explained.

At that mid-November dinner, the Marlins owner went so far as to tell Reyes to buy a house in Miami.

“He was talking still about getting a nice house in Miami,’’ the former Mets shortstop said. “That was kind of crazy, how do you want me to spend my money in Miami when I have my house in New York and you are going to trade me in two days?

“Then I went on vacation with my wife and I found out I was trade. I thought people were joking but when I called my agent he said yes I was traded … I was shocked.’’

Thanks to Carlos.

Marlins prospect on Mike Redmond: ‘Who?’ (video)

From the all Redmond look alike file…

One of the Miami Marlins’ highly rated prospects was caught off guard Tuesday by a simple question about his manager.

When Local 10’s Aiyana Cristal asked Jose Fernandez about Mike Redmond, Fernandez replied, “Who?”

“Mike Redmond, Coach Redmond?” repeated Cristal.

“Oh, okay. I don’t know his name, I just met him. I just met him a bit ago,” answered Fernandez.

This is the line for Marlins tickets

This looks like the line I was once on to see the Yankees! (okay, okay…so it was Jon Tiven’s The Yankees)

The line for single-game tickets outside #Marlins Park, less than 30 min before they go on sale

I was certain every possible joke about baseball attendance in Florida had been exhausted over the past 20 years. Then I saw the tweet by Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that included the photo above from the Miami Marlins Winter Warm Up event Saturday and realized we haven’t even scratched the surface.

Marlins Fans Cool to Winter Warm-Up Event

custom-made matching protest shirts.

Said Cooper: “We love our Marlins. We just hate Loria.”

Cooper said he was hoping to get players to sign the shirt. He said his shirt was a hit with fans, adding “Even the employees liked it.”

Don Chase, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, wore a Toronto Blue Jays cap — his way of protesting November trade.

“I’m supporting the Marlins North,” Chase said. “We need to trade the owner.”

Gary Cooper (left) and Jorge Hidalgo of Miami wore custom-made matching protest shirts.

Said Cooper: “We love our Marlins. We just hate Loria.”

Cooper said he was hoping to get players to sign the shirt. He said his shirt was a hit with fans, adding “Even the employees liked it.”

Don Chase, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, wore a Toronto Blue Jays cap — his way of protesting November trade.

“I’m supporting the Marlins North,” Chase said. “We need to trade the owner.”

Miami Herald: former FL governor Jeb Bush tried to buy Marlins from Jeff Loria this offseason

Owner Jeffrey Loria, in recent months, has rejected overtures from a half dozen people who expressed interest in buying the Marlins, including one of South Florida’s most famous residents: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

According to a source, Bush made a “large offer” to buy the team this offseason, but Loria told him he’s not selling. A second source said Bush had put together a group of wealthy investors, with Venezuelan media mogul Gustavo Cisneros among possibilities mentioned. Cisneros declined to discuss the Marlins in an e-mail. [...]

Loria, 72, theoretically would have more incentive to sell after 2014, when he no longer would need to share profits with Miami-Dade County. But a friend of Loria insists that barring a health problem or change of heart, he does not want to sell because he loves owning a team.

Well sure—I’d love owning a cash cow I can shamelessly milk for profit too.