Post by Fish Troll on Dec 5, 2007 2:07:13 GMT -5
Marlins' money deal no surprise
Dave Hyde | Sports Columnist December 5, 2007
Here's the worst part: I can't even work up a good anger anymore. I can't type venom, or talk nasty or muster even an ounce of ugliness other than to ask in a weary tone: When does this ever end with the Marlins?
Will they ever act like a major league franchise again?
Can they ever look like an ownership group that cares about winning and isn't simply intent on stuffing money under their cap like the past two years?
Losing Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis or both was expected this offseason. But losing both in the same trade to Detroit should be the kind of thunderclap that brings out titles like "Black Tuesday" or "The Day Baseball Died."
Go ahead, play the drama card if you want. It's played so well and so often in the past the card is soiled by now. Everyone around the Marlins has been here before, no doubt will be again, and owners Jeffrey Loria and David Samson will keep crying baseball poverty made them do it all the way to the bank.
You can debate the trade of Cabrera and Willis, if you know any of the names they got back. I don't. But it's a safe bet, judging by General Manager Larry Beinfest's past deals, that he got some good prospects who in a year or two will be producing so well for the Marlins they'll be rumored in trades.
Look at Detroit now, too. Gary Sheffield. Pudge Rodriguez. Jim Leyland. Dave Dombrowski. Al Avila. Cabrera. Willis.
They have more Marlins you want to watch than the Marlins.
They have a bigger slice of this franchise's championship history than this franchise does.
You know how many Marlins players have a title ring from 2003? Zero. Cabrera and Willis were the last out the door. So they're all gone now, all the champs from four years ago. See ya. Even given the transitory world of pro sports, that's no way to create a bond with fans.
Of course, the Marlins don't give a fig what fans think. They know the one advantage in this disadvantaged market: Attendance won't be affected by even this mega-trade. What, fewer Marlins fans will show up next year because of this trade? What's fewer than the fewest?
The Marlins finished last in attendance in the majors in 2007 with Cabrera and Willis. Think they can finish last again without their combined salaries of more than $20 million next year?
Let's say this, too: These Marlins needed a change. They were last in fielding and struck out more than every team except Tampa Bay last season. That wasn't a surprise, either. In 2006, they led the league in striking out and were the third-worst fielding team.
But if this were about improving it would be one issue. This is about money, only money, though not in the way you think. The Marlins could afford Cabrera and Willis with no problem. Of course they could, no matter what the perception is.
This has been said before but needs to be shouted on days like today. This franchise makes bundles of money. It turns a wonderful profit. Take out the calculator and add up what they got last year:
$30 million. That's in revenue sharing.
$12 million. That's an estimated local TV deal, according to a source.
$18 million. That's from the national TV deal.
That's $60 million right there. That's before they sell a ticket, sign up a corporation or cash one of the increasingly lucrative checks from the merchandising arm of Major League Baseball. That's against a $32 million payroll last year that could dwindle to about half that this year.
Oh, right. There's the cost of running a minor league system. Please. If Loria and Samson wanted to take that saved $20 million this season and put it toward the new stadium fund, fine. Who wouldn't be for it if they followed through with that idea?
You'll see that about the time you hear Cabrera and Willis are upset about this trade. They'll love moving on, the way most ex-Marlins do. They'll get long-term, big-money deals. They go to a team that wants to win.
It makes you a bit wistful for how it all started, in the magic of 2003, when first Willis and then Cabrera were called up to join that carpet ride.
They got called up to the majors again Tuesday. Detroit wants to win. The Marlins want to make money. And, if you can still get angry, good for you. I can only shake my head and wonder when the Marlins will act like a big-league team again.
Dave Hyde | Sports Columnist December 5, 2007
Here's the worst part: I can't even work up a good anger anymore. I can't type venom, or talk nasty or muster even an ounce of ugliness other than to ask in a weary tone: When does this ever end with the Marlins?
Will they ever act like a major league franchise again?
Can they ever look like an ownership group that cares about winning and isn't simply intent on stuffing money under their cap like the past two years?
Losing Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis or both was expected this offseason. But losing both in the same trade to Detroit should be the kind of thunderclap that brings out titles like "Black Tuesday" or "The Day Baseball Died."
Go ahead, play the drama card if you want. It's played so well and so often in the past the card is soiled by now. Everyone around the Marlins has been here before, no doubt will be again, and owners Jeffrey Loria and David Samson will keep crying baseball poverty made them do it all the way to the bank.
You can debate the trade of Cabrera and Willis, if you know any of the names they got back. I don't. But it's a safe bet, judging by General Manager Larry Beinfest's past deals, that he got some good prospects who in a year or two will be producing so well for the Marlins they'll be rumored in trades.
Look at Detroit now, too. Gary Sheffield. Pudge Rodriguez. Jim Leyland. Dave Dombrowski. Al Avila. Cabrera. Willis.
They have more Marlins you want to watch than the Marlins.
They have a bigger slice of this franchise's championship history than this franchise does.
You know how many Marlins players have a title ring from 2003? Zero. Cabrera and Willis were the last out the door. So they're all gone now, all the champs from four years ago. See ya. Even given the transitory world of pro sports, that's no way to create a bond with fans.
Of course, the Marlins don't give a fig what fans think. They know the one advantage in this disadvantaged market: Attendance won't be affected by even this mega-trade. What, fewer Marlins fans will show up next year because of this trade? What's fewer than the fewest?
The Marlins finished last in attendance in the majors in 2007 with Cabrera and Willis. Think they can finish last again without their combined salaries of more than $20 million next year?
Let's say this, too: These Marlins needed a change. They were last in fielding and struck out more than every team except Tampa Bay last season. That wasn't a surprise, either. In 2006, they led the league in striking out and were the third-worst fielding team.
But if this were about improving it would be one issue. This is about money, only money, though not in the way you think. The Marlins could afford Cabrera and Willis with no problem. Of course they could, no matter what the perception is.
This has been said before but needs to be shouted on days like today. This franchise makes bundles of money. It turns a wonderful profit. Take out the calculator and add up what they got last year:
$30 million. That's in revenue sharing.
$12 million. That's an estimated local TV deal, according to a source.
$18 million. That's from the national TV deal.
That's $60 million right there. That's before they sell a ticket, sign up a corporation or cash one of the increasingly lucrative checks from the merchandising arm of Major League Baseball. That's against a $32 million payroll last year that could dwindle to about half that this year.
Oh, right. There's the cost of running a minor league system. Please. If Loria and Samson wanted to take that saved $20 million this season and put it toward the new stadium fund, fine. Who wouldn't be for it if they followed through with that idea?
You'll see that about the time you hear Cabrera and Willis are upset about this trade. They'll love moving on, the way most ex-Marlins do. They'll get long-term, big-money deals. They go to a team that wants to win.
It makes you a bit wistful for how it all started, in the magic of 2003, when first Willis and then Cabrera were called up to join that carpet ride.
They got called up to the majors again Tuesday. Detroit wants to win. The Marlins want to make money. And, if you can still get angry, good for you. I can only shake my head and wonder when the Marlins will act like a big-league team again.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/baseball/marlins/sfl-flsphydespec05sbdec05,0,2222915.column
