Larry Brown Sports

Ever since the Miami Marlins decided to basically start from scratch and throw most of what they did this past offseason out the window, no one has been more unhappy than Giancarlo Stanton. The 23-year-old outfielder is one of the brightest young stars in the game, and he is not thrilled about having to be part of a rebuilding project.

When Miami traded Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes to the Blue Jays, Stanton immediately took to Twitter to rip his team for the move. He offered no apologies several days later, reiterating the fact that he is unhappy with the team’s approach and feels sorry for the fans. Many believe Stanton wants to be traded, but the Marlins are unlikely to deal him. That doesn’t mean the phone lines aren’t open.

“We’ve never not listened to a deal on any player,” assistant GM Dan Jennings told Jim Bowden on SiriusXM radio, via the Palm Beach Post. “We’ve always been willing to listen… But what we are not going to do is move a player for less than what we value their ability. And Giancarlo Stanton, you’ve got a 22-year-old guy we think going forward has got a chance to be a .300 hitter and (hit) 50 home runs and be a guy who is a big-time run producer.

“While we are not shopping him, certainly not looking to move him, yeah, if someone knocked on our door and said, ‘Hey, will you guys consider this and this and this,’ you have to listen.”

Stanton belted 37 homers and drove in 86 runs last season to go along with his .290 batting average. He’s under team control for several seasons, so any team that wanted him would have to offer — at minimum — a boatload of top prospects. That being said, players generally get their way. If Stanton puts up enough of a stink, there’s always a way he can force himself out of town.

Photo credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Over a week has passed since the Miami Marlins agreed to a massive trade that sent most of their top players to the Toronto Blue Jays, and the team’s fans are still fuming.

The Miami Herald spoke to 400 Major League Baseball fans — 90 percent of whom were self-described Marlins fans — for a poll, and they learned that the majority of the fans are really upset with the team and owner.

83 percent of those polled by the Herald had an unfavorable opinion of team owner Jeffrey Loria. Of the six percent who had a favorable opinion of him, six say they know him personally.

95 percent of those polled viewed the Blue Jays trade as a fire sale, while only four percent believed the trade was made to make the team better.

10 percent of fans say they are no longer fans of the team following the trade.

Fans described Loria as a “greedy crook,” a “leech,” and “lousy.”

That sounds about right. We somewhat mocked Marlins fans for only having five fans show up at a protest, but we acknowledged they had the right idea in mind.

There were so many questionable aspects of the Marlins’ trade.

While the deal could make them a better team in the future, it’s impossible to get past how unethical and deceitful it was. The team backloaded the contracts for the players they signed so they wouldn’t have to pay them the big annual salaries. They also shed the payroll as soon as their agreement to be reviewed by MLB expired, ostensibly so they can pocket their revenue sharing money rather than spend it on the on-field product. Lastly, and perhaps most egregiously, they had the city fund the stadium based on a promise that they would be competitive. It’s impossible to get around that point.

Forearm bash to Hardball Talk

A group of Miami Marlins fans decided to stage a protest of the franchise on Tuesday, but in typical Marlins fashion, the crowd was sparse.

Brendan Tobin, a producer at 790 The Ticket in Miami, decided to head down to the protest, which was publicized and organized on Facebook. He snapped the two photos you see of the five fans in attendance.

The fans have the complete right idea by protesting the team, but unfortunately they didn’t put together a very compelling crowd. We support their mission.

The Marlins deceived MLB and its fan base by re-branding last year with a new name, stadium, and uniforms, and by signing a slew of new players, and then blowing it all up after one unsuccessful season. That happened despite the team’s promise to the city, whose funds were used to finance the new Marlins Park stadium, that they would field a competitive team.

As if dismantling the team wasn’t deceitful enough, the fact that the Marlins backloaded their contracts to the players they signed last season made it seem like this was all part of a carefully planned backup option. Additionally, the Marlins come out looking extra slimy now that we’ve learned their agreement with MLB to spend their revenue sharing money expired right before they made the blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays in a massive salary dump.

It’s sad that only five fans showed up to protest the team on Tuesday, but what the Marlins have done to the fans is even sadder. Jeffrey Loria should be forced to sell the team. He is corporate evil personified.

Another photo via Tobin is below:

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If you thought Giancarlo Stanton was thinking irrationally when he ripped the Miami Marlins on Twitter earlier this week and would later apologize, think again. The 23-year-old outfielder is still upset, and he was not shy about making his feelings known when speaking with MLB.com’s Peter Gammons on Thursday night.

“I do not like this at all,” Stanton said. “This is the ‘winning philosophy?’ Then to say it’s not about money? What is the motivation? There comes a breaking point. I know how I feel. I can’t imagine how the city and the fans feel.”

“Jose, Bonifacio, Hanley … all three are gone now. I had people warn me that something like this could happen, but it runs against the competitive nature every athlete has, that nature that everything is about winning. This kind of thing is what gets talked about all the time around this team. Former Marlins come back and they warn us. It gets talked about during the stretch, in the clubhouse, after games, on the road. Again, I do not like this at all.”

Last offseason, the Marlins made a high-profile managerial hiring in Ozzie Guillen and spent a ton of money bringing in guys like Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and Heath Bell. Stanton is one of the best young players in the game, so you can understand why he was excited to receive some veteran assistance that should have made his team a contender. Instead they flopped, and Miami has traded away Buehrle and Reyes in addition to young superstars Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson. They also fired Guillen.

The Marlins had a plan and they completely blew it up after one disappointing season. Stanton, who belted 37 homers and drove in 86 runs last season, is under team control for three more seasons. Why shouldn’t he be pissed?

Fist pound to Hardball Talk
Photo credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Less than a year after making a huge splash in free agency, the Miami Marlins reportedly are dismantling their team and sending some of their best — and most expensive — players to the Toronto Blue Jays.

FOXSports.com reporters Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal say that pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle are being traded from the Marlins to the Blue Jays as part of a blockbuster deal. They say shortstop Jose Reyes, who signed a six-year, $106 million deal last offseason, is also part of the trade. Catcher John Buck and utility man Emilio Bonifacio reportedly are also being sent to Toronto. The five players mentioned in the trade are owed nearly $165 million.

The Marlins reportedly are getting back shortstop Yunel Escobar, pitcher Henderson Alvarez, and catcher Jeff Mathis, who all have major league experience. They’re also reportedly receiving infielder Adeiny Hechevarria, left-handed pitcher Justin Nicolino, and outfielder Jacob Marisnik, who are all prospects. Alvarez went 9-14 with a 4.85 ERA last season for Toronto. Escobar is coming off the worst season of his career — he had a .644 OPS and career-low 1.8 WAR.

The Marlins began the process of dismantling their new-look team — which included a new stadium, new uniforms, and new team name — after the season ended. They fired manager Ozzie Guillen, and traded high-priced relief pitcher Heath Bell to the Diamondbacks. It looks like they’re in full-on rebuilding mode after going a disappointing 69-93 last season, which has left stud outfielder Giancarlo Stanton “pissed” in his words. The Blue Jays are hoping the additions will help them compete in the challenging AL East.

The Marlins already did not include no-trade clauses in contracts for players, which made them less attractive as a destination for free agents. After seeing the team give up on high-priced players after one year, who would be willing to sign with them in the future?

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Marlins announced the firing of manager Ozzie Guillen on Tuesday, and perhaps nobody was more upset over the news than pitcher Ricky Nolasco.

Nolasco, who has been with the franchise since 2006 and went 12-13 during the season, tweeted in protest as soon as the move was announced:

By about 30 minutes later, Nolasco had thought better of the tweet and pulled it down. We all know teams don’t like it when players question the front office moves, so he was probably told to take it down, or did it on his own once he calmed down.

Nolasco’s shock aside, this move was inevitable. Guillen was lucky he wasn’t canned in April after publicly expressing his support of Fidel Castro. He was given a chance to turn around what started off as a disappointing season, and he didn’t. The team finished 69-93 — last in the NL East — after spending millions to bring in free agents in anticipation of a move into their new stadium.

Between his bouts with Heath Bell, Bryce Harper, and the team’s owner, Guillen became more of a distraction than anything else.

It’s not a surprise that the Marlins fired him, but it is a surprise they cut him loose despite owing him over $7 million over the next three years. That shows how badly the notoriously cheap owner wanted him gone.

Alex Rodriguez continues to be a non-factor for the Yankees, and now reports have emerged indicating that the Yankees and Marlins have discussed a potential trade that would send the third baseman/DH to Miami.

Keith Olbermann, writing on his “Baseball Nerd” blog on MLB.com, first reported that the teams have engaged in discussions about the possible trade.

Sources close to both organizations confirm the Yankees would pay all – or virtually all – of the $114,000,000 Rodriguez is owed in a contract that runs through the rest of this season and the next five. One alternative scenario has also been discussed in which the Yankees would pay less of Rodriguez’s salary, but would obtain the troubled Marlins’ reliever Heath Bell and pay what remains of the three-year, $27,000,000 deal Bell signed last winter.

Olbermann did not know how serious the discussions were, but he says a source close to the Marlins believes the trade makes sense for both sides and that a deal would eventually be made.

ESPN New York followed up on Olbermann’s report and noted that Yankees president Randy Levine and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria have casually joked about A-Rod being traded to the Marlins. Here’s how they characterized the conversation:

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