semi-annual Marlins fire sale has begun.

[MrSaigon]

I wonder when this would have happened had they been good, if they made the NLCS or something. Another year or two? The losing year probably served management well.

[Fan_In_NY]

Toronto lucked into some extremely talented players without having to give up any significant MLB talent.

I question if they really "lucked" into this. Toronto and every other team in baseball had the opportunity to pay Buerhle to $58/4 years, Reyes $106/6, John Buck $18/3 and they chose not to. And now these players being a year older and the contracts backloaded their "value" is even less. Johnson and Bonifacio are the only 2 that never hit the open market where all you had to do was pay some cash for their services. And while there was no MLB talent given up there was certainly a decent amount of prospects that the Blue Jays had to give up. With just cash last winter the Blue Jays could have nearly all of these players.

[heyzeus]

Toronto lucked into some extremely talented players without having to give up any significant MLB talent.

I question if they really "lucked" into this. Toronto and every other team in baseball had the opportunity to pay Buerhle to $58/4 years, Reyes $106/6, John Buck $18/3 and they chose not to. And now these players being a year older and the contracts backloaded their "value" is even less. Johnson and Bonifacio are the only 2 that never hit the open market where all you had to do was pay some cash for their services. And while there was no MLB talent given up there was certainly a decent amount of prospects that the Blue Jays had to give up. With just cash last winter the Blue Jays could have nearly all of these players.

That's an interesting point.

[Socnorb11]

Toronto lucked into some extremely talented players without having to give up any significant MLB talent.

I question if they really "lucked" into this. Toronto and every other team in baseball had the opportunity to pay Buerhle to $58/4 years, Reyes $106/6, John Buck $18/3 and they chose not to. And now these players being a year older and the contracts backloaded their "value" is even less. Johnson and Bonifacio are the only 2 that never hit the open market where all you had to do was pay some cash for their services. And while there was no MLB talent given up there was certainly a decent amount of prospects that the Blue Jays had to give up. With just cash last winter the Blue Jays could have nearly all of these players.

That's an interesting point.

I think so too. They could have had most of those players without giving up prospects.

[Jmodene]

I see where Selig has upheld the trade.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

I see where Selig has upheld the trade.

I don't know what else he could do. You can make the business case for the trade. "Changing direction" and all that.

If I was Selig I'd uphold the trade and then start working on getting Loria out of the league as soon as I could.

[pioneer98]

Passan: Giancarlo Stanton should be on trading block-now-if Marlins are serious about rebuilding

[heyzeus]

Passan: Giancarlo Stanton should be on trading block-now-if Marlins are serious about rebuilding

The haul they could get for him would be much bigger than what they just got.

[BW23]

I see where Selig has upheld the trade.

I don't know what else he could do. You can make the business case for the trade. "Changing direction" and all that.

If I was Selig I'd uphold the trade and then start working on getting Loria out of the league as soon as I could.

Exactly. There's no reason not to uphold the trade. I don't even like it from Toronto's standpoint really. It could pay off, but that's a lot of money on some question marks. And it's not like this team was that close to being put over the top.

[fanforever]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/25/3 ... rlins.html

A majority of the season-ticket holders surveyed said they would favor a boycott if it led to Loria selling the team.

The poll, conducted Nov. 18-20 by Bendixen and Amandi International for The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald, found:

• 87 percent of Marlins fans feel “furious and betrayed’’ by the team ownership.

83 percent of Marlins fans have an “unfavorable’’ opinion of Loria.

• 61 percent of respondents identifying themselves as season ticket holders would support a boycott next season if that would force Loria to sell the team.

• 85 percent of Marlins fans feel the trade will benefit the Toronto Blue Jays more than the Marlins

• 95 percent think the trade was a “fire sale,’’ while only 4 percent think the trade intended to make the team better.

• 89 percent feel Loria has a moral obligation to field a good team because the new $515 million stadium was built largely with public funds.

The fans unload

“I don’t trust him,’’ one poll participant said of Loria. “Basically I think he is here to make money. He and his little Napoleon (an apparent reference to team President David Samson) are just here to make a buck.”

Another fan surveyed said: “He got us to build him a stadium with taxpayer money. He lied to us and is not living up to his promises and he should sell the Marlins. He is a lousy owner. He traded the players worth watching.’’

“I don’t think he has the best interests of the community or the team as a priority,’’ said a poll participant. “I don’t think he understands the responsibility that comes with the public trust and the ownership of a professional sports team. It’s a different type of business, not only one you can make a profit but with the public trust.”

Other fans were more blunt:

“He’s a leech and is sucking the money from Miami and baseball.”

“I hate him. All he cares about is lining his pockets. He just cares about money and not his team or fans. I wouldn’t spend a dime on him!”

“He is a greedy crook, got what he wanted and now is not giving back to us. He should repay the city for the entire cost of the stadium plus interest.”

Selig went on: “Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities and I fully understand that the Miami community has done its part to put the Marlins into a position to succeed with beautiful new Marlins Park.’’

Palmetto Bay resident Emily Demar and her family are diehard baseball fans. Her cousin is major leaguer Kevin Youkilis, the Gold Glove winner and longtime Boston Red Sox star who was traded to the Chicago White Sox last season. Her son, Scott, played baseball at Palmetto High and walked onto the team for a season at Indiana University.

The Demars have been loyal Marlins fans since the team’s inception. They share a season-ticket package with a few friends and sit in the third row behind the visitors’ dugout.

Despite her love for baseball, Demar, one of the poll participants, is very unhappy with the Marlins.

“We were never fans of the new ballpark, the use of public money or the location,’’ she said by phone. “So, we went into last season slanted, with doubts. And now, this trade, it’s deflating to everybody. It stinks. We know Loria doesn’t want to lose a lot of money, but to get rid of Ozzie and all these players in the same year is too much. Why not see if the new manager can turn things around before getting rid of all those players?’’

Would Demar’s view of the team change if the lower-budget Marlins went on a win streak next season? Does she think even fans who are very bitter now will sweeten to the home team if the W’s start piling up?

“Winning would certainly help,’’ she said, “but if they lose, the place will be empty.’’