This trade for the Miami Marlins, from a baseball standpoint, looks great on paper. Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck, and Josh Johnson for several top prospects from the Toronto Blue Jays. It is not the trade that has been bothering Marlins fans for the past several days. It's the principle.
Miami fans, once Marlins Park was built, were promised wins by owner Jeffery Loria and the rest of the front office. They were promised that a winning culture was going to be established, and that the payroll would significantly increase once the franchise relocated. They payroll did increase. But nobody ever said that without success, it would then significantly decrease.
Luring free agents to Miami will now present a challenge. How could this organization be trusted? They signed Jose Reyes to a six year deal and he is already wearing a different uniform after one. Josh Johnson and John Buck could have both been traded at the deadline and weren't. The rest, though, seemed safe.
Miami is losing arguably one of the fastest players in the league in Emilio Bonifacio, and don't have a proven leadoff hitter after trading Reyes. Mark Buehrle is one of baseball's most consistent pitchers, as he has pitched 200 or more innings and won 10 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons. Buehrle also won a gold glove, not something common for Florida fielders in recent years.
Baseball is a business, and Loria is taking advantage. It doesn't matter what team he puts on the field. With a payroll that as it sits right now is at $16 million , Marlins Park doesn't have to be sold out every night for Loria and company to make a profit.
Commissioner Bud Selig could indirectly force Loria to sell the team, but he most likely won't. What he could do, though, is reject the Marlins' wish of hosting an All-Star game as soon as 2015.
-In an interview with Peter Gammons of MLB.com, Giancarlo Stanton expressed his frustration with the trade. "Jose, Bonifacio, Hanley ... all three are gone now. I had people warn me that something like this could happen, but it runs against the competitive nature every athlete has, that nature that everything is about winning. This kind of thing is what gets talked about all the time around this team. Former Marlins come back and they warn us. It gets talked about during the stretch, in the clubhouse, after games, on the road. Again, I do not like this at all."
-If the season began tomorrow, four of the seven players Miami received from Toronto would be on the 25-man roster. Many names that long time Marlins fans are familiar with will not be on roster as a result of the recent trade with the Blue Jays. "What we're trying to do is get better," President David Samson said Thursday, during his weekly radio spot on 790 The Ticket. "It's hard sometimes to rip a Band-Aid off. We feel as though over time, the players that may come back, you may not know them but people in baseball do and it's not like I'm having my daughter play second base next year.
-The trade that the Marlins made on Tuesday could affect another South Florida franchise with hopes of building a new stadium, the Miami Dolphins. The Tampa Bay Rays are also hoping for a new stadium, however after this series of events, getting one approved may be challenging. "If [Rays' owner Stu Sternberg] had any hopes left after the disastrously low crowds for the free ballpark the good burghers of Florida gave [Marlins owner] Jeffrey Loria, they have to be gone now and he has to be looking elsewhere," wrote Commentator Keith Olbermann.
-Logan Morrison, who is notorious for his use of Twitter, was not critical of the organization after being asked his opinion on the trade. Morrison just said that he "isn't going to get upset about it because it's something that [he] can't control."
-Though it will be overlooked because of the blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays, the Marlins finalized their coaching staff on Friday, as they hired Rob Leary as bench coach and Chuck Hernandez as pitching coach. Leary is a former minor league coordinator, and Hernandez last served as a pitching coach with the Detriot Tigers.
-President David Samson has recently said that Ricky Nolasco will remain a Marlin in 2013. Despite these comments, Nolasco is convinced that he will be the next to go. "I'm next anyways," Nolasco said.
-Cuban defector Adeiny Hechavarria, sources say, will start at shortstop for the Marlins in 2013. Yunel Escobar, if he remains with the Marlins, is expected to play third base.
-Despite the controversy and conflict it has caused and will continue to cause, the Marlins' trade with Toronto is viewed by Miami executives as successful. Miami feels they have filled several holes by trading several key players. "We got a No. 3 starter to go behind Ricky and Jacob Turner," Samson said. "You might not know the name Jacob Turner. Or you might not know the name Henderson Alvarez. Or you might not know the name Nathan Eovaldi, but the fact of the matter is, we think we're in better position to win more games."
-Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post compares what next season's lineup to the 1993 lineup. Stoda says that the Marlins are again looking like an expansion team.
Around The League
-The Phillies have made it a priority to try and sign center fielder B.J. Upton, however they will have to make an offer that Upton can't refuse, as Atlanta is seeking a center fielder as well.
-As if the blockbuster deal with the Marlins wasn't enough, Toronto signed Melky Cabrera to a two year contract last week. "We're willing to give anybody a second chance," general manager Alex Anthopoulos told the Fan590 in September when asked about possibly signing a player who had been suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs. "Don't know if we're willing to give a third or fourth chance."
-Lance Berkman wants to play in 2013, but hasn't received any offers yet. Berkman said that he wouldn't mind playing for Houston again.
-Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were voted ROY, while Miguel Cabrera was voted the American League MVP.
At Fish Stripes
-Check out the Fish Stripes stream of articles on the blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays here.
-Should fans boycott the Miami Marlins?
-Here is a breakdown of Cuban prospect Adeiny Hechavarria.
-Is owner Jeffery Loria the problem with the Marlins' organization?
-After this "fire sale", how can the Miami Marlins compete in 2013?