Jeffrey Loria = George Steinbrenner; without the money

It seems Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is more of a hands on owner than we have been led to believe.

From Barry Jackson.

But for fans who must assign credit or blame, know this: It was Loria who told his front office to sign catcher John Buck and reliever Randy Choate and ordered that other bullpen upgrades be made. It was Loria who wanted to trade Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller because he ran out of patience with both. It was Loria who initiated the re-hiring of infield coach Perry Hill and signed off on an extension to Ricky Nolasco.

It was Loria who called for trading Dan Uggla because he didn’t want to give him a fifth year on a contract and didn’t want to lose him for nothing next winter. It was Loria who recommended Mike Dunn to his front office more than a year ago; Larry Beinfest requested and got Dunn when he made the Uggla/ Omar Infante deal in November. It was Loria who wanted Javier Vazquez so much that he gave him $7 million for one year.

Very interesting. There have been a number of times when the Marlins have stuck with a very un-preforming player, who was traded for, and I just wrote it off as ego by Beinfest and/or Hill. While I still think that may happen on occasions, it is now known it isn't always their fault. And who knows, maybe they are rarely to blame.

I think it would be better if Loria stuck to collecting art. Not that all of the above were bad decisions, they weren't. But I would be happier if the baseball people were left in change of the baseball operations.

Your opinion may vary.