Miami Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria Writes "Letter to Our Fans" In Local Newspapers

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has long been considered weak in the public relations front, and that may be a grand understatement on my part. In the wake of the Marlins' fire sale trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, confidence in the Fish cratered. and the team has not done much to alleviate the problem at hand. Sure, the Marlins hired a new public relations firm to handle the team's interaction with the general public. It has had a happy face on as it opened spring training in an attempt to move on from one of the least popular and darkest times in Marlins history.

But through it all, it seemed Loria remained silent in the background despite being clearly the loudest voice in the decision-making process for the Marlins. He has mostly kept quiet regarding the moves that were made in the offseason. Now, it seems he has finally decided to speak, as he took out a full-page advertisement in the three major south Florida newspapers and wrote a "letter to our fans" regarding the happenings of the 2012-2013 offseason.

THE ROSTER

Losing is unacceptable to me. It's incumbant upon us to take swift action and make bold moves when there are glaring problems. The controversial trade we made with the Toronto Blue Jays was approved by Commissioner Bud Selig and has been almost universally celebrated by baseball experts outside of Miami for its value. We hope, with an open mind, our community can reflect on the fact that we had one of the worst records in baseball.

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THE BALLPARK

The ballpark issue has been repeatedly reported incorrectly and there are some very negative accustations being thrown around. It ain't true, folks. Those who have attacked us are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.

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OUR FINANCES

The simple fact is that we don't have unlimited funds, nor does any baseball team or business. Fans didn't turn out last season as much as we'd like, even with the high-profile players the columnists decry us having traded.

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Amidst the current news coverage, it an be easy to forget how far we went together not so long ago. In 2003, I helped bring a second World Series Title to South Florida. We know how to build a winning team, and have every intention of doing so again. I know you share my passion for great Marlins baseball, my love of MIami and my desire to win again. We're in this together and I humbly ask that we start fresh, watch us mature qjuickly(sic) as a ball club, and root for the home team in 2013.

Loria makes many claims in the letter that the media has portrayed him and the organization in a poor light and that the Marlins are innocent in their attempt to improve the long-term status of the team. However, many of the arguments in the letter do not address the primary concerns that Marlins fans have and do not change anything with regards to how the club is perceived not only by fans but by other organizations. The truth is that Loria's letter is a defense of the actions of the team in 2013 from all the right angles without truly addressing any of the myriad of wrong angles that are also plaguing the moves. Until those angles are also addressed, this is merely window dressing that is not helping a bad situation in south Florida.