Marlin Fan Rant

It doesn't surprise me that the Florida Marlins stadium is always empty. It won't surprise me if next year turns out the same results, new stadium and all. 

As fans, we are considered to know less about the moves and how they affect the roster and functionality of the team than the people who run the team, since they are seemingly with the team at all times. I have to disagree. The people in the Marlins organization know not what they're doing.

It has become quite evident to me that the way the Marlins manage their roster moves are more politically driven than baseball related. Today, the Marlins demoted Logan Morrison back to AAA. While I am not necessarily Logan's biggest fan (I do really like him though), I understand that the franchise at all levels does not have anyone nearly as capable as Logan at this very moment. If the mentality that this franchise is preaching to the fans is that it will become competitive next year, then why not leave Morrison at the major league level, where he will continue his development, and possibly become an even larger force in the middle of our lineup next year??

Political you ask? This demotion could not have possibly been over performance. Granted, Morrison slumped for a large part of the last couple months. Nonetheless, his start to the season was promising, and he was starting to pick up his bat again during the month of August. These kind of slumps are essential to a player's development, particularly at this age and with such minor experience. As a general manager, if you see that your player begins to come out of this kind of slump, you leave him in there and let him go full circle. However, this was not about performance.

Logan Morrison is a character. He has and speaks his own mind. I particularly like that. While the franchise feels his twitter actions and conflicting leadership of the club is detrimental, I particularly like the fact that the kid speaks out. It has a domino effect on many essential aspects of building a successful organization.

For one, if Logan calls out a player, he himself has added pressure to perform, because if not he would not have the foundation to call anyone out, and the player has to perform because either a) all eyes are on him, or b) someone finally confronted him about it and matters can only get worse. (Yes, I'm particularly pointing at the Hanley Ramirez comments).

While there are other moments where Logan's actions may not necessarily have been recommended, it brings attention to the franchise. Attention sorely missed, particularly because it never wins, is always on the wrong end of blockbusters, and does not fulfill its promises.

While this franchise is one of the more profitable baseball franchises, it is also one of the weakest baseball franchises. It seems to me that all that the "big guys" that run the Marlins are looking at dollar dollar bills rather than creating a loyal fan base to rally around the team, and let me just say, the Dolphins, the Heat --> they have fan loyalty... and the Dolphins have not been successful for years, but year in and year out, they try to bring the best fits for the team.

I have always been a Marlins fan, but I'm starting to question if my dedication to the team is equivalent to their dedication to supply a competitive team that would keep the diminishing fan base as... well, Marlins fans..