Loria Strikes Again!

Not all thieves wear a mask!

Some come in the form of a baseball owner, who is much more a taker than a giver.

Last night, the newly minted Miami Marlins, turned their back on a city, a county, and a fan base that gave them the pristine ballpark they so passionately desired. Little did we know this would amount to nothing more than negotiating a hostage situation, in which the ownership would threaten to move the team, and the city would weaken at the knees.  Fast forward to last night, when in the comfort of his publicly funded ballpark, Jeffery Loria, not so quietly laughed in our collective faces, all while eliminating $186 million in future salaries.

In the wake of a season that saw this underwhelming, underperforming team play to a disastrous 69-93 record, the fire sale began. Omar Infante, and Anibal Sanchez would be traded midseason, ultimately for their own betterment, as they would wind up with the AL Champion Detroit Tigers. Hanley Ramirez would later be sent the L.A. Dodgers, eliminating an issue in the clubhouse while still making the fan base uneasy. Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen, after offending his fan base, and creating unnecessary controversy would be given $2.5 million a year for 3 years just to disappear. Now comes November, and a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that sees  Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck, leaving Miami in return for Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jeff Mathis, and a group of minor league players. This ultimately will be and should be viewed as a salary dump by a team that under produced, and an owner who went all in and then panicked when it failed.

The hurt feelings, and betrayal in eyes of Marlins fans, come as a result of 15 years of ups and downs as a result of owners that cared more about the bottom line than the product on the field. In 1997 Wayne Huizenga would invest $53.5 million in the payroll in order to lead the team to a World Series Championship. This would then lead to a fire-sale of players and slashing of payroll. In 2003 after 6 years of being mired in mediocrity Jeffrey Loria, would once again bring a $45 million payroll to the World Series and beat the New York Yankees, only to be blown up once again.  

Fifteen years after the original fire-sale, after rebranding the team, a new name, new uniforms, and a new ballpark, it is business as usual in Little Havana.  The duplicity of a franchise that got exactly what they wanted in a $634 million stadium is creating a community that has unified against a millionaire whose playground we built. It seems as though this time the Marlins have gone too far.

Fans not only of the team but of the sport in general are calling for this ownership to be removed, for Loria to sell the team, for anything to save them from having to go through another year with this ownership. Baseball owners should be contacting the commissioner requesting not only a block of the trade, but for no revenue sharing money to be given to a team that is clearly not spending the money for the purpose it was intended. In short, Jeffery Loria has no place in the game of baseball as an owner, GM, Manager, or even as a hot dog salesman.

The City of Miami is officially tired of buying the Snake Oil being sold by the greasiest of said oil salesmen.