The Miami Marlins have no business insulting the Boston Red Sox about competition etiquette with the level (or lack) of effort they spend on their baseball team every season.
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The Marlins, whose record has decreased every year since 2009, are the last team in Baseball who should complain about competition. This controversy stems from the Marlins complaining that the Boston Red Sox did not produce enough Major League players for a Spring Training road trip. The team increased the ticket price for this game because they were facing the defending World Series champions. The Red Sox brought their “Triple A” lineup to face the Marlins, with the only notable starter being outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley Jr, 23, hit .189 in 37 games for the Red Sox during the 2013 season.
Should the Red Sox have brought more veteran players to their Spring Training game? Technically they're supposed to. However they were under no obligation to play their stars against the Marlins. It is the fault of Marlins ownership for selling high-priced tickets to a Spring Training game.
By any standard, the Red Sox aren't to blame for this “incident.” All blame should fall squarely on the Marlins' ownership for producing horrible baseball teams year after year. The Marlins' owner Jeffery Loria, who was named the most dishonest owner in sports in an ESPN poll after the 2013 season, is to blame for all the hardship in Miami.
Loria doesn't care about the fans of Miami, as proven by his horrific acts as owner. He purged the 2003 World Series champion Marlins, trading big name pieces away from the team for the glorification of his wallet. He allowed the Marlins to exist in obscurity, believing one World Series championship should be enough to quiet fans for an eternity. In 2012, Loria pleaded to the Miami taxpayers, promising a World Series championship team in exchange for a taxpayer bought stadium. To his credit at the time, Loria got some big-name free agents, such as Jose Reyes, to join the franchise. However once the deal was signed for a new stadium, Loria abandoned ship and traded away his talent to increase his dollar amount.
The Marlins run by Loria are a joke and disgrace to Major League Baseball. They ranked 29th in payroll during the 2013 season at just over $36 million. To put that in perspective, Albert Pujols made $16 million himself in 2013. There is no excuse for not paying players. I can understand trying to save money, but Loria is the owner of a Major League Baseball franchise. There is no cap in MLB and as such, owners should be expected to spend money. Loria has done nothing for Marlins fans and should be relieved of his duties as an owner.
In fact, I don't know why Major League Baseball would give Loria a second chance to run a franchise. That's right, this is already his second chance. Do you remember how Loria purged the Montreal Expos during the early 2000's? Many to this day believe he is the reason baseball left Montreal. Fans stopped attending games because Loria refused to put a good product on the field. He has disgraced the fans from two countries. Owners and the Commissioner’s office need to take a stand against Loria and tell him to spend more money on his product.
I believe the famous phrase used in business is “to make money you have to spend money.” To Loria, the phrase seems to go like “you got to keep all the money for yourself and be greedy at every hour of the day.” Does Loria sound like a man who should be criticizing an organization because they wouldn't help him make money? Do the Marlins' deserve our sympathy because the Red Sox wouldn't send veteran players?
No. The only people who deserve sympathy here are the Marlins (and Expos) fans who have had to suffer under the tight grip of Jeffery Loria. The fans deserve better because every year the Marlins produce a Major League team that no independent league manager would want. Loria and the Marlins organization have no right to complain about the Red Sox.
The Red Sox just won the World Series. The Marlins finished in last place for the third straight year. If Loria wants to complain, then he should put his money where his mouth is.
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