I believe that it should be noted that it is the Players Association behind this so they are not exactly giving an unbiased opinion.

IMO baseball salaries have been driven way too high by the Yankees and this has driven several small to medium sized clubs to the brink of bankruptcy.

I admire the Marlins for standing up to the outrageous salary demands out there. An economically strong club is to everyone’s benefit in the long run.

Perhaps they would have a legitimate complaint against clubs like Pittsburgh who have consistently put an inferior product on the field. But they chose to target the Marlins. And why would that be? Because the Marlins have shown you can field a competitive team without breaking the bank. The Players Association feels very threatened by the Marlins way of doing business.

IMO ticket prices are way too high around the country. It costs a fortune to take a family of four to a ball game. And why are ticket prices so high? Because of these ridiculous multiyear multimillion dollar contracts.

Jorge Costales here provides a good explanation and defense for the way the Marlins have been conducting their business. It’s all about the stadium, folks.

http://www.2thinkgood.com/2009/04/marlins-finances-another-year-another.html

That being said I wouldn’t mind seeing the Marlins spend a few bucks on a lights out closer and a few lights out middle relievers.

Other than that I am happy with my team and with the prospects they have in the minors. am happy with their extreme reluctance to hand out long term contracts Remember the Pavano debacle of the Yankees. Pavano’s contract would have ruined the Marlins

This is truly unbelievable news. I love these tidbits that come out of left field that brighten up my day. I never expected baseball to do something like this. But this is also why I love the Marlins. They will be forced to spend the money they should be spending. They will keep their overriding philosophy of financial prudence but actually have the requirement of signing some more expensive players. I just hope they dont have to sign Uggla.

I’d rather see them pressured into signing Josh Johnson. Not that I have any beef with Uggla, but pitching is a priority, and Chris Coghlan would be an upgrade to 2B.

that refused to allow steroid testing for years. These player union goons are far from saints.

And why did they not go after the other ultra low payroll teams like the Padres, Pirates and As? That’s simple, they feel very threatened by the Marlins.

from Dave Hyde: “It probably only made them madder that the smart Marlins won more games and spent $600 million less during the last six years than a big-money team like the New York Mets. So not only were they far cheaper. They were lots smarter.”

As long as the rich big market teams win and the poor small market teams lose, they are happy. But when a small market team like the Marlins has the temerity to field a winning product despite the lowest payroll in MLB, something must be done.

IMO the Marlins have put out a superior product precisely because they have practiced payroll discipline.

Imagine if they had thrown away big bucks on long term contracts for the likes of Dontrelle, Willis, Carl Pavano, or even Kevin Gregg? We would be in last place permanently that’s what would have happened.

The dirty secret is that there are scores of players in the minors who are about a year away from being excellent major leaguers. Many of them of course never get their chance. But with rare exceptions it makes no sense to commit to long term megabuck contracts when most of these players could be easily replaced in a year or two.

Personally I would much rather give the guys in the minors a chance than commit to big bucks on popular losers like Uggla.

Incidentally this whole nonsense is just for show and publicity. The Marlins were going to gradually increase their payroll anyway. Those goons from the players union are just flexing their muscles.

The Marlins game plan is a good one and we will be one of the elite teams in the majors over the next decade not because they are going to spend a lot of money but because they don’t throw money away.

Also I see lots of empty seats in places like Cincinnati, San Diego, Houston, Pittsburgh. Players salaries and ticket prices are just too damn high. That’s a fact, Jack

There weren’t any free agents out there this year that I really thought the Marlins should go after. I think the trading off of Hermida and Lindstrom were positives for the club because neither player really lived up to their potential salaries.

I think the championship team we all want to see is already there. Our infield looks very good, and I think our outfield will be there this season too (as long as we don’t insist on playing Bonifacio). The pitching is the only place we really need some help and the arms are already in the system, we just need to be patient in bringing them around.

I agree the organization should loosen the purse strings a little and lock in guys like Johnson and Nolasco and maybe Uggla. I do not think however, that we should follow suit and give outrageous contracts because, “Hey AJ Burnett got paid and he’s not really that good.” I don’t know the ins and outs of the Marlins’ financials, but I imagine they are probably bringing in a little more than they are spending each year. In reality though, as long as we compete every year, I don’t care how much we spend.