Will Andersen's goodwill be enough for Marlins fans
Aug 7, 2023 15:21:48 GMT -5
stooolfan, Reddington, and 1 more like this
Post by fish on Aug 7, 2023 15:21:48 GMT -5
When Matt Andersen was brought in to take over as president of baseball operations of the Florida Marlins in 1998, the Marlins were struggling to gain traction in S. Florida.
In their previous 5 years they had never had a winning season, having lost more than 100 games in 4 of their 5 previous seasons and garnering next to zero interest amongst
S. Florida sports fans. Andersen left little doubt that he could turn around a franchise, immediately stopping the losing and guiding the Fish to 7 straight winning seasons, winning
more than 100 games twice, yet, there was something missing, and that something was playoff wins. Hell, playoff appearances. While the Braves were continuing to dominate the
East, the Marlins were piling up wins with nothing to show for it...........so, after 7 seasons the Fish decided to go a different direction and begin rebuilding the foundation from the
core in an effort to try to build something more sustainable and something that could do more than win a lot of games and zero championships. Last year was rough, with the Marlins
losing 99 games, but fans were understanding, but one has to ask, how long will the patience last. It's one thing to do a rebuild, it's a totally different thing to put a product on the
field that is utterly unwatchable, and that's how things look this year. With zero free agents of any impact signed this offseason, the Marlins are off to a 2-12 start, the only team to score
less runs are the lowly Cardinals, and they have the worst ERA in all of baseball. While Pat Hentgen was really the last remaining veteran from those winning clubs kept around, mostly
in an effort to provide leadership, his age is starting to show. Andersen has been very clear that he sees 1B Kevin Youkilis as one of the core building blocks to this rebuild, but after a
promising sophomore campaign, Youk is off to a terrible start. One wonders if all of the losing starts to wear on a youngster. The Marlins loaded up with draft picks coming in to this
season, but in yet another draft lacking of impact players, the Marlins only got a few pieces that look to be building blocks. The other problem that the Marlins are facing that is kind of
the unspoken secret, is attracting impact free agents to Miami. While the weather and the offseason is great, they quickly found out this offseasont that many players have zero interest
in being a part of a rebuild, no matter how nice the weather and the scenery. So the rebuild will continue, the old fashioned way. Through the draft. The Marlins really have very little to
trade that has any meaningful value, and so they wait. The question is, will the fans still be here when or if the wait comes to an end. Before Andersen arrived there were rumors of the
Marlins looking to relocate. The winning seemed to quell the rumors, but if the turnaround isn't relatively quick, will the rumors kick up again? More importantly, just exactly how much rope will the Marlins ownership give Andersen? Yes he won, but at the end of the day there's just as many pennants flying at Joe Robbie as there were when he got here. Zero. Only time will tell. The question is how much time Andersen has.
PEEK AT THE PROSPECTS
As the season progresses we'll try to take a peek at one of the prospects in the Marlins organization, in an effort to give fans, hopefully, a glimmer of hope. This week we're spotlighting:
SS Johnny Peralta. Peralta was the key piece to the Tim Hudson/Jack Wilson trade with the Pirates, along with a whole bunch of draft picks. The Marlins have high hopes for Peralta, who they see as a better bat long term than Wilson at short, with similar defensive ability. After a so-so rookie season in Pittsburgh in 2004, the Marlins chose to start Peralta in Destin last year for more seasoning. Peralta dominated, hitting .293/.369/.891 with 36 doubles and 27 home runs to go along with 109 batted in, earning him a September call up last year. This time, Peralta didn't look overmatched at all, batting .292/.358/.848 with 7 doubles and 4 home runs in only 96 at bats. Peralta enters the 2006 campaign as the starting shortstop for the fish, a position they hope he'll man for a long time. The tall, lanky Dominican will be 24 in May and projects to have a plus hit tool, a plus power tool, a good eye and gold glove defense at shortstop. With 4 doubles and a couple of home runs already in the first couple of weeks of the season, the Marlins are optimistic that they've at least solved one part of their middle infield defense.
In their previous 5 years they had never had a winning season, having lost more than 100 games in 4 of their 5 previous seasons and garnering next to zero interest amongst
S. Florida sports fans. Andersen left little doubt that he could turn around a franchise, immediately stopping the losing and guiding the Fish to 7 straight winning seasons, winning
more than 100 games twice, yet, there was something missing, and that something was playoff wins. Hell, playoff appearances. While the Braves were continuing to dominate the
East, the Marlins were piling up wins with nothing to show for it...........so, after 7 seasons the Fish decided to go a different direction and begin rebuilding the foundation from the
core in an effort to try to build something more sustainable and something that could do more than win a lot of games and zero championships. Last year was rough, with the Marlins
losing 99 games, but fans were understanding, but one has to ask, how long will the patience last. It's one thing to do a rebuild, it's a totally different thing to put a product on the
field that is utterly unwatchable, and that's how things look this year. With zero free agents of any impact signed this offseason, the Marlins are off to a 2-12 start, the only team to score
less runs are the lowly Cardinals, and they have the worst ERA in all of baseball. While Pat Hentgen was really the last remaining veteran from those winning clubs kept around, mostly
in an effort to provide leadership, his age is starting to show. Andersen has been very clear that he sees 1B Kevin Youkilis as one of the core building blocks to this rebuild, but after a
promising sophomore campaign, Youk is off to a terrible start. One wonders if all of the losing starts to wear on a youngster. The Marlins loaded up with draft picks coming in to this
season, but in yet another draft lacking of impact players, the Marlins only got a few pieces that look to be building blocks. The other problem that the Marlins are facing that is kind of
the unspoken secret, is attracting impact free agents to Miami. While the weather and the offseason is great, they quickly found out this offseasont that many players have zero interest
in being a part of a rebuild, no matter how nice the weather and the scenery. So the rebuild will continue, the old fashioned way. Through the draft. The Marlins really have very little to
trade that has any meaningful value, and so they wait. The question is, will the fans still be here when or if the wait comes to an end. Before Andersen arrived there were rumors of the
Marlins looking to relocate. The winning seemed to quell the rumors, but if the turnaround isn't relatively quick, will the rumors kick up again? More importantly, just exactly how much rope will the Marlins ownership give Andersen? Yes he won, but at the end of the day there's just as many pennants flying at Joe Robbie as there were when he got here. Zero. Only time will tell. The question is how much time Andersen has.
PEEK AT THE PROSPECTS
As the season progresses we'll try to take a peek at one of the prospects in the Marlins organization, in an effort to give fans, hopefully, a glimmer of hope. This week we're spotlighting:
SS Johnny Peralta. Peralta was the key piece to the Tim Hudson/Jack Wilson trade with the Pirates, along with a whole bunch of draft picks. The Marlins have high hopes for Peralta, who they see as a better bat long term than Wilson at short, with similar defensive ability. After a so-so rookie season in Pittsburgh in 2004, the Marlins chose to start Peralta in Destin last year for more seasoning. Peralta dominated, hitting .293/.369/.891 with 36 doubles and 27 home runs to go along with 109 batted in, earning him a September call up last year. This time, Peralta didn't look overmatched at all, batting .292/.358/.848 with 7 doubles and 4 home runs in only 96 at bats. Peralta enters the 2006 campaign as the starting shortstop for the fish, a position they hope he'll man for a long time. The tall, lanky Dominican will be 24 in May and projects to have a plus hit tool, a plus power tool, a good eye and gold glove defense at shortstop. With 4 doubles and a couple of home runs already in the first couple of weeks of the season, the Marlins are optimistic that they've at least solved one part of their middle infield defense.
