For the Love of Miami, Please Bring Us Wins..

Being a sports fanatic around the team’s in Miami can be frustrating, we all know that. And this year, minus the Miami Heat, is no exception. The Miami Dolphins, who used to be a well respected and highly thought of franchise, is slowly but surely running themselves into the fiery gates of hell. I am making an assumption that most my readers are Dolphin fans, or have some basic knowledge of what is going on around the NFL. With a “win-now” and “ready” defense, as a die hard Phin fan, I am clueless at this point with what the organization is trying to accomplish. It is very clear that the team is a quarterback away from contention. Yet instead of making an effort to improve, we trade our best play maker for 2 3rd round picks while also whiffing on Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn, and the chance for Robert Griffin. Now our only options are Matt Moore for another year, Alex Smith (dear God..), David Garrard (shoot me now), or Vince Young (shaking my head). I will not even discuss Tim Tebow, if Ireland brings him in then I officially quit. Yes, we could explore our options in the draft, but other than Luck and Griffin, I do not see many other options that fit a “franchise quarterback” mold. Matt Moore did a nice job filling in and finishing out the year, but it’s clear that he is a career backup at best.

How does this tie into Miami Marlin baseball? Simple. The city of Miami has been the city of failed expectations. Even with the Heat. Once news of the “Big 3” forming, odds were pretty much automatic that the Heat would capture the crown in their first year. When the Mav’s dominated in the finals, many looked upon the heat as settling for lower expectations. Yes, they are in great position this year, but like D-Wade said last night, “their only human”. Who knows what will happen down the stretch. As said earlier, the Dolphins believe it or not have had great teams in the recent past. Being a fan and watching every game, it’s obvious the pieces are there to succeed. A stout defense, an emerging offensive line, an improving receiving core, lacking a leader. Yet the past 10 years, 15 different quarterbacks have started for the Dolphins because the organization obviously settles for lower expectations.

This is where the Marlins need to stand up and separate themselves from the pack. Going down our lineup from top to bottom, it’s clear that we have enough talent to compete this year. Even though the NL East is stronger, the Philadelphia Phillies have injury problems to deal with while the Atlanta Braves have holes that are not guaranteed to be fixed just yet. With a strong rotation, a dangerous lineup, and improved bullpen, the Marlins can realistically shoot for the playoffs. Now no way in hell am I saying the Marlins will make the playoffs this season, but the talent is there. Still, settling for a losing season after a major off-season of changes, signings, and excitement would be heart breaking in my eyes along with the rest of the true “die-hards.” AT THE VERY LEAST, please show us that we are an improving team with a promising future. Just win ball games! A losing season would not only signify a failed off-season, but it would put us right back on that Miami slogan, settling for lower expectations.