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Miami Marlins President David Samson believes the Marlins have the ability to be the Boston Red Sox of 2013. Coming off of a 69-93 finish, the Red Sox just a year later are playing for a World Series title. Having lost 100 games with a young roster, Samson is confident the Marlins can compete next season.
Since the trade with Toronto last offseason, Miami, as an organization, beginning with a Jeffrey Loria newspaper apology, have made a list of promises to their fans. On Thursday afternoon, Samson made one more, promising the team will not have another 100 loss season.
"I promise you this: We're not going to lose 100 games next year. Not close," Samson said in an interview with the Miami Herald. "Look what the Red Sox did. They had the same record we did in '12. They turned it around to be in the World Series in '13. Well, it's time for us to do the same."
Samson also claimed that the organization didn't book a concert for October 2014 because "why would we book something when we should be and will be playing playoff games?"
After appearing on South Florida radio stations weekly, Loria's son-in-law was instructed not to continue making appearances after last November. Samson consistently appeared on the Dan LeBatard show and only spoke to the media Thursday because of a press conference that was held to discuss the bowl game that will be played at Marlins Park beginning in 2014.
Samson confirmed that the organization is aware of fan beliefs that the team does not keep their young talented players around long enough, and was persistent in saying that is false.
"I hear that, but it's just not true," he responded. "We had a great core together from '06 to '12 and we just couldn't make the playoffs. It wasn't great enough. Now, we've rebooted, started again and we've got this core and we're going to be together for a lot of years."
Manager Mike Redmond, in conjunction with new President of Baseball Operations Mike Hill and General Manager Dan Jennings, have high expectations for a youthful roster. With a rotation built around Jose Fernandez, on Wednesday voted the Sporting News Rookie of The Year, and a lineup featuring Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, the Marlins believe they have the talent necessary to win.
"We start spring training in the middle of February," Samson said. "We're starting the minute we can get on the field. I think you're going to see us on the field February 16th because we want to get out there and get going. We have some very cool things for spring training, some very cool things we're going to have. But what's better is we're getting ready for a new season and we're going to win more."