Comments on: Thursday: Hoos-Heels take midweek spotlight

By: Aaron McFarling

Aaron McFarling — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:58:47 +0000

That’s my point. They didn’t win 95 games (or 85, or even 75) which is why they’re overpaid Moes. From a pure baseball standpoint, I’m arguing that the Marlins are better off long-term without them. Just because a guy has a huge salary next to his name doesn’t mean he’s going to help you win. Credibility is Loria’s problem, and he can enhance it by what he does over the next two years to improve the club. Or he can reel in his profits for two years and watch attendance drop to zero. His choice.

Heath Bell made $6 million last year and had a 5.37 ERA in the National League. He’s 35 years old and a total gascan, out of shape and a mental wreck. I’m asking you: Would keeping that guy on the roster have shown Marlins fans the proper “commitment to winning”?

Kevin Gregg made $5.8 million last year, making him the sixth-highest-paid player on the Orioles and their wealthiest reliever. What did the Orioles do? Released him midseason and brought up guys making the league minimum or close to it (Machado, McClouth, etc.) who helped get them to the playoffs.

That’s something the old Orioles would not have done. They would have kept trotting Gregg out there and saying, “Hey, we pay him big money, he’s got to produce.” They showed more of a commitment to winning but cutting him loose.

People are ignoring the fact that this Marlins situation is totally different than 1997. You disband a World Series champ to dump salary, that’s a joke. You disband a 69-win team to dump salary, that’s called cleaning house and starting over.

I really don’t care if the Marlins win another game in my lifetime. I’m just saying I like the move more than most from purely a baseball standpoint. We can disagree on this; that’s OK.

By: crooked road

crooked road — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:06:10 +0000

If the Marlins had won 95 games, then why would they be ‘overpaid Moes’? Isn’t that the intent? To win games and compete for playoff spots & WS wins? Then you’re not throwing money away, you’re providing the fans quality.

By: Aaron McFarling

Aaron McFarling — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:21:20 +0000

If the Marlins had won 95 games — shoot, even 85 — that collection of overpaid Moes would still be together. Don’t throw good money after bad is all I’m saying.

By: crooked road

crooked road — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:54:53 +0000

OR… the question could be asked – did the Marlins management deliberately sign a handful of quasi-stars WITHOUT no-trade contacts, and WITH back-loaded contracts in order to convince the faithful to buy season tickets and offset the investment in decent players? Final tally? Public – $500+ million investment in a stadium, Marlins owners – $120 million in cash, $35 million in zero interest loan, $155 million total investment, compared to over three times that much by the public.

Now the baseball public gets to watch Triple A players learn their way in the big leagues. Sure, AMc, you can give it a Dan LeBatard apologist spin, but I’d suggest you look at this for how your Baltimore Orioles will operate in twelve months. And how they’ve already operated. Be sure to bow to Peter Angelos on you way out of Camden…

By: Aaron McFarling

Aaron McFarling — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:17:55 +0000

I understand the motives and they are slimy. However, another way to look at this is to ask this: Are the Blue Jays significantly better long term after attaining these players at these ages with these salaries?

I submit that they are not. Neither would the Marlins be.

By: RP

RP — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:56:31 +0000

The problem with Loria’s comments is that the Marlins are doing *nothing* to improve the team. I can completely see his point that this team was a failure and nothing suggested that a turnaround was coming anytime soon.

But with that said, this trade killed any chance that they will land other free agents any time soon because they just dealt Buerhle & Reyes to a team that they showed ZERO interest in when they were free agents just last winter. The Marlins refused to grant no-trade clauses, then traded them to a team that they roundly rejected as free agents. If I’m a free agent, there’s no way that I’m signing in Miami—I might be shipped to Kansas City by August if the team gets off to a slow start.

Further, the Marlins didn’t attempt to get anything of consequence in return for this trade. Even the Red Sox tried to get a few ‘assets’ in their salary dump trade with the Dodgers last summer. The Marlins’ “haul” in this trade might as well have been a case of sunflower seeds.

No matter how Luria tries to spin this (and based on the outcry, he should definitely be in “spin” mode), this was a salary dump, plain and simple.

By: crooked road

crooked road — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:36:30 +0000

You basically have to pretend to live in a vacuum to not admit what Jeff Loria is doing. i don’t know how ‘naive’ – i.e. stupid you have to be to think he’s just being ‘prudent’. Extorted a new stadium from South Florida, signed a bunch of stars to backloaded contracts, insisted on not allowing no-trade clauses, began dumping contracts in July, purposely tanked the remainder of the season, blamed the poor W-L record for the ensuing trades of almost every single talented player on the team. Pretended it was done to ‘build for the future’.

Look at the contracts involved, and how much money was dumped in those contracts. you’d hve to be the biggest Playstation Fantasy Baseball geek ever to not understand what occurred. That it is even a phonily proposed question of intent is pathetic. Seriously, how dumb do you want to pretend to be to question the motive? Third time is a charm, and if you want to ignore the first two times, then you’ve pretty much raised the Playstation geek flag to full staff.

By: Original Greg

Original Greg — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:35:55 +0000

Looks like AM didn’t get his picks in and defaulted to the home teams.

Speaking of Mr. McFarling, I have 20 bucks and all you can drink beer if you stay out of Charlottesville tonight Aaron.

By: Huntersdad

Huntersdad — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:18:29 +0000

UVa wins, after all AMac the lucky charm this season will be in attendance. They’re now what, 5-0 with him there?
I’ll be pulling for the Hoos myself, just so the butt kicking they are gonna take next week will be that much sweeter.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:53:38 +0000

How come I can’t see the staff picks, but it seems everyone else can?

Says “hidden” instead.