The Miami Marlins continue to prove why they’re one of the most ass-backwards teams in major sports with the mega-trade they pulled off with the Blue Jays today.
The Marlins have pulled off one of the most hastiest fire sales in recent memory. After just one season the Marlins have already cut and dealt off Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, John Buck, Emilio Bonifaco and Mark Buehrle. In return the Marlins will get Yunel Escobar, Henderson Alvarez, Adeiny Hechavarria and prospect Justin Nicolino.
The trade is one of the biggest in recent memory, and one that has left many scratching their heads, and rightly so. The Miami Marlins looked to be doing a total franchise makeover in every sense of the word, from building a new luxury stadium, getting a high-brow manager, changing the team name and logo, and most importantly investing money into the team. Now, it seems the Marlins have gone back to a technique they know all too well–penny pinching.
Admittedly, the Miami Marlins debut season didn’t go as planned, but it was just year one in a massive makeover year. Marlins owner Jeffery Loria promoted the ‘new look Marlins’ facade to the city in order to get the stadium built. He put on a damn good act too, by seeming as if he cared about putting money back into the team by going after big names. The charade worked for a while, but due to an underwhelming season the act ran cold. Instead of showing patience and true confidence in his team’s ability to bounce back he’s essentially slapped the team’s fan base in the face by just choosing to sell off the major pieces and keep the cash tucked away in his pockets. Nice.
This now marks the THIRD time the Marlins have scrapped all their talent in order to save money. No franchise that I can remember has been more disloyal and uninterested in their fan base. So now the city of Miami is left footing the build for the AA team they inadvertently helped designed. Surely, there won’t be a frowning face the day the Marlins attendance record hits rock bottom.