Marlin Maniac Authors React to Jeffery Loria’s Media Session

Last night, Miami Marlins owner Jeffery Loria met with the teams local beat writers, to discuss everything about the Marlins, from the fire sale to Giancarlo Stanton‘s future with the team. My former leader here, and now the editor of Fishstripes was amongst the media members invited to listen into Loria’s media session. Take a read on Fishstripes to see exactly what Loria had to say. The media session came on the heels of Loria writing a letter to the fans in a full-page ad in the three major newspapers in South Florida.

As part of our ongoing coverage of the on-going mess with the Marlins front office, the authors of Marlin Maniac have also reacted to the deal, and their reactions are shown below.

Geoff Parkins:

Here is my take, both on the Jeff Passan article at Yahoo! Sports, and the quickie presser digest thrown up by Capozzi:

1) Loria either lives in a vacuum, and has zero exposure to any of the tens of thousands of comments and opinions floating around about the trade, or he is dissembling in an effort to put on a happy face.  His vague comment about “some silly phone calls” leads me to suspect that part of the reason for his silence has been due to a credible threat against his person.

Jose Reyes is confused as to why his name is still being mentioned in drama about the Miami Marlins and their owner Jeffery Loria, months after he was traded. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2) His extensive, detailed recollection of the circumstances surrounding Jose Reyes‘ real estate issues stink like a carefully crafted story designed to put spin on an unspinnable event.  Furthermore, he sure sounds like he’s hiding behind semantics, Clinton-style:  ” ‘Has your wife been down to Miami?’…I didn’t say anything after that.”

3) Passan’s article seems to be a well-researched announcement that in fact, the Emperor is as naked as a jaybird. Point-by-point, he tears down the delicately stacked house of cards that Loria splashed across three major papers.  It’s clear that the new PR firm has its work cut out, and the full-page mea culpa followed by thinly veiled irritability in front of the friendliest press he’ll see this season isn’t a promising opening salvo from the front office.

4) The biggest problem facing the front office right now is one of perceptions.  Through his actions, Loria has created an image of a ruthless, greedy, elitist indifferent to the cares of the fans and residents of Miami.  In this era of “One Percenter” demonization, that indifference could prove to be his undoing.  The anger out there is real and nearly unanimous amongst those that comment on articles. I understand trolls, but negative comments outnumber the positives by about 25:1. That’s a little more than idle trollery at work.

5) I think that one under-covered aspect of the trade is that it cleared out an awful lot of negative attitude from the clubhouse.  Everything I’ve been reading out of camp is that there is a tremendous amount of positive energy on the team, and a pervasive “we’ll show ’em” attitude, from Redmond on down.  Stanton is a proven beast, and Ruggiano, Brantly, Turner, Eovaldi, Solano, and Hernandez all looked pretty good towards the tag end of last season. Even Cogs is reportedly fit, hale, and hearty, and is coming off of a good winter season down south. The return of Juan Pierre, in my mind, is a great thing for the club.  He brings steadiness, enthusiasm, and one of the best work ethics in baseball. He doesn’t hit home runs, and needs two cutoff men, but he still has wheels, and hit over .300 in Philly last year. I really think that there is some potential for this team of one star, two has-beens, three journeymen, and a bunch of nobodies to do better than last year’s team of high-payroll prima donnas.

6) Bottom Line:  If the Marlins play well this year, and a statistically unlikely number of prospects prove themselves ready for big-league level ball, it will go a long way toward assuaging the legitimate hurt that Miami fans are feeling this spring. Otherwise, Loria’s most expensive object d’art may very well prove to be a white elephant.

Placido Estevez:

It is difficult to understand how a guy who is obviously smart and successful can be so oblivious when it comes to speaking to customers and the media. I guess in the art business the bigger an ass you appear to be the more they like you or something. The answers to many of the questions are easy:

Of course I have heard the negative feedback.  We knew from the beginning that the reaction would be negative, but we also know it is just the first step in building a winner.

Of course I understand the fans anger towards me.  I am the owner and the buck stops with me.  I am angry at myself as well for the failure of last season, but I also expect to win the fans back by making a commitment to building a winning team.

Giancarlo Stanton is a once in a lifetime talent I hope that we can keep him here with the Marlins for many years.

Marlins fans are hoping that some kind of resolution between the Marlins front office and star Giancarlo Stanton can happen, leading to a contract extension. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Just make it sound like you are telling the truth for once and that you care what your customers think.  Even if they are actually all lies as usual.

Andy Salgado:

I’ve tried to stay positive with the Marlins front office, but reading the interview Mr. Loria gave to reports,  I am done with the front office. I will never mention them again in a tweet or any of my blogs. I am a Marlins fan. A fan of the team and that is were my loyalty is going to stay with the team.

It has not been an easy offseason for Marlins fans, the staff of Marlin Maniac included. The blockbuster trades in themselves were quite annoying, but Loria could not leave it at that. Instead of answering questions to why he made the decisions that he did over the previous calendar year, he has decided to side step the questions and give only the answers that are convenient to him.

We will have more ongoing coverage of this Marlins-Loria soap opera as the day goes on. I will post my thoughts later on in the day, as well as an interview with a fan that takes an opposing view as most Marlins fans on the owner.