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
