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SI names Loria 4th-worst owner in baseball

I'm digging this fanpost thing!

Sportsillustrated.com has ranked the 5 best and 5 worst owners in each of the four major sports. Unsurprisingly, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria made the "worst" list, coming in at number 4. Ted Lerner of the Nationals was 5th (boteman could've told you that), while David Glass (Royals), Tom Hicks (Rangers) and Peter Angelos (Orioles) were the top three. 

Here's what it said about Loria:

<blockquote> The art dealer turned a nation of fans against him with his first team, the Expos, before forcing their move from Montreal and selling them back to Major League Baseball. He then took control of the Marlins and watched his exciting team shock the Yankees in the 2003 World Series and then became Miami fans' worst nightmare: the second coming of Wayne Huizenga. The Marlins slowly have been rebuilding themselves with more young talent, despite the lowest cash outlay provided by any owner, and could be turning a corner soon. That is, until Josh Johnson and Dan Uggla are shown the door like Josh Beckett, Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera. </blockquote>

I'm kind of torn about this. I'm not a reflexive Loria hater. It's like Loria is two owners. There's the owner who put us through the 2004/2005 firesale abomination, but also the owner who's willing to add salary and pull the trigger on deals to make playoff runs (Urbina, Lo Duca, Rhodes). He's not a baseball tourist; he's a real fan who attends the games (ask Joe Girardi) and invests heavily on scouting and development. There's the owner who shamelessly destroyed the Montreal Expos and then skipped town, but also the owner who maintained an even keel every time the new Marlins stadium was shot down over the last 5 years.

Having Loria as an owner is like having a dog with a bad temper. Much of the time, the dog is loyal and good to you. But you know it's bitten you in the past and you never fully trust it, even in the best of times. What do you guys think?

 As for the rest of the "woest list," Angelos is an undersandable pick for #1, having infamously meddled in his team's affairs to the point where a team on the rise in the 1990s in a glorious new park is now a completely adrift perennial loser.

I take issue with Hicks, though. Yes, we all know about A-Rod's contract, and there's been other major contract blunders over the years. But overpaying for free agents doesn't make you a "bad" owner. At least he's actually <i>paying</i>. I'd bet half the league would love to have a deep-pocketed owner like Hicks.

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