If I were a Chicago Cubs fan, and now that I'm married and somewhat domesticated my blood alcohol level isn't high enough to root for the Cubbies, I would despise the Florida Marlins.
It's difficult to despise the Marlins – indifference comes to mind much before hate – but if there's one faction of fans who should groan at every Marlins victory, it's the rowdy bunch from the North Side.
Financial documents leaked Monday by Deadspin.com (and dissected by the Palm Beach Post) reveal that in 2008, the perennially cash-strapped Fish netted $29.5 million while spending a major-league low $29.7 million.
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| Loria and Samson: Genius businessmen or thieves? |
Team president David Samson covered face as well as a burglar caught red-handed possibly could, telling the media that the team needed to conserve money in order to obtain financing for the new stadium in 2012. Lenders don't want to invest in a team that's in the red.
Samson's argument might be correct, but it's awfully sickening to the 15 fans who live and die by a .500 club. Imagine what the Marlins could have accomplished if they spent $55 million on payroll and netted $5 million.
What should make Cubs fans hate South Florida even more after the Miami Heat wound up with Bulls target LeBron James and re-upped with Chicago native Dwyane Wade, is that the Marlins have been playing this game for years – putting young, talented cheap teams on the field in an empty stadium, and winning two World Series in the process while not a single living coherent person ever witnessed a Cubs championship.
Give the Marlins some credit, especially if you graduated with a MBA. While the Yankees load up with Harvard grads, the Marlins hire undocumented aliens for pennies on the dollar. Of course, no group in America outworks illegal immigrants, and Florida has won big twice despite a history of stinginess that would make Larry David look like the world's greatest tipper.
It doesn't help Samson's cause that the documents were leaked the day after Florida gave away Cody Ross to the Giants for a Jerry Garcia bobble head from a Haight Ashbury head shop.
At least the league and players union warned the Marlins in January to increase their payroll and not siphon the revenue sharing profits from New York to team owner Jeffrey Loria's champagne flute that he confiscated from an unnamed player in the locker room while celebrating the 2003 championship.
But the league should do much more, and certainly shouldn't allow a team that spends nothing to earn so much.
If that means the Marlins couldn't finance a new stadium, the league should have force Loria out and allowed someone to purchase the team who can either put more of his personal fortune toward a stadium or move the Marlins to a city where the team could make money the old-fashioned way – selling overpriced tickets and jerseys.
Too bad Chicago already has two teams of its own.
Geeez so many falsehoods in your fairy tale - too many to number. But to completely rewrite history is astonishing. The Marlins have spent twice, in 1997 the Marlins had the 5th highest payroll in baseball, and again in 2003 they spent enough (Pudge alone cost $ 10 million) and had a great core of club controlled players. Did you want them to send off the less costly players in 2003 so they could have a bloated payroll and not win the WS ? What a bunch of malarky your blog is dude.
ReplyDeleteAside from '97, Marlins hardly ever spent big... '03 payroll was just under $50 million, which your right is huge money for the Marlins but really not high roller MLB money. So Pudge took up 1/5 of the payroll. Yes, they spent for him
ReplyDeleteI give the Fish credit, they've done extremely well considering their payroll. But maybe, under a different business model, they could have stars and some profit and financing for a stadium. You have to question the way they go about it, that's all.