Post by marlinsgm on Mar 20, 2022 13:25:11 GMT -5
Miami, Fla-When the Florida Marlins hired GM Matt Andersen prior to the 1998 season, baseball rolled it's eyes and what few Marlins fans are still willing to admit being Marlins fans were less than thrilled. After all, it was just one more case of a baseball old-timer getting yet another opportunity after really being less than average and closer to mediocre over some 40+ years in the sport. Andersen spent nearly 40 seasons running the hapless Chicago Cubs, finding the playoffs only twice and never even sniffing a World Series appearance. When he took over the expansion Rockies it was somewhat of a surprise, and despite building a promising farm system, never once lost less than 100 games. However, the Marlins were adament that they wanted veteran leadership, and well, they got it, although one has to wonder if Andersen isn't closer to the nursing home than he is to building a winner. Yet, something seems different this year in Miami. Andersen, always quick to throw in the towel on a season if he even remotely senses the playoffs are out of reach has clearly decided to go a different direction in Miami, and not only has it produced a suprising season thus far, the Marlins are on pace to win 87 games after never losing less than 98 in their brief history, and while it seems a longshot, are still within shouting distance of a playoff appearance, and the fans have noticed, with the Marlins nearly doubling attendance since last year, despite raising ticket prices for some reason beyond me.
We first got whiff that maybe Andersen was going to try a different tact when he immediately started adding quality players who other teams were looking to dump, typically because of salary. Andersen's first move was to add 2B/OF Greg Jefferies from St. Louis. While Jefferies has gotten off to less than the start the Marlins were hoping for, he's had a sizzling July and the fish are hoping for a strong finish. Then OF Ellis Burks, a steadying influence in the lineup, and LH reliever Gary Wayne were added through free agency. Wayne has since moved on after posting good numbers, helping the Marlins move up from mid third to late 2nd with a draft pick, while Burks has been what the Marlins had hoped for, while playing 3B in an acceptable manner. Finally, there was a stroke of luck that came calling in the form of the Minnesota Twins. The Twins GM Chris Cosenza reached out to Andersen on a swap of bad contracts. The only difference being, the contracts the Marlins were taking on would end up being as responsible for the Marlins start as any players, and the players heading to Minnesota, would not. Andersen did move a mid level starting pitcher prospect and last years closer Gabe White, but the return was a lefty that has been far better than White in Bill Wilkinson and Scott Garrelts, the latter in contention for a Cy Young. The other focus of Andersen was building a solid bullpen by adding pieces with moderate salary that other teams were looking to move. Mike Timlin, M. Perez and John Wetteland were all added and had controllable contracts past this season, allowing the Marlins to make their last set of moves before the deadline, which raised some eyebrows................
Marlins move 5 prospects in order to dump Eric Davis and Fred Manrique's salaries. The move will get the Marlins back to operating in the black, albeit barely, moving into 99, but more importantly, it will keep them off of financial probation and allow them to add pieces if necessary next year. It was met with skepticism amongst other GM's, one saying off the record "That's the Andersen we know. Really got taken to the woodshed there, didn't he?" Will it work? None of the pieces had an immediate future in Miami, and they were all in positions that the Marlins should be relatively set at for the next handful of years, but they stlll gutted some of the secondary prospects from their system. They kept their top prospects in Tike Redman, Randy Winn, Mark Buehrle, Jack Wilson and Will Ohlman, but there sure isn't much in the system past that. If nothing else, it will allow Andersen to rebuild his system how he likes while hopefully opening a competitive window here.
Will it work? Hard to say. There's excitement for baseball in Miami right now, and that seems like a good thing. It's what baseball was hoping for when awarding the Marlins an expansion franchise. Has Andersen found the fountain of youth? Is he just a slow learner? Did it take him 40+ seasons to figure things out? Who knows. But one thing we do know, he's certainly not interested in doing things how he always had in the past, and the older he gets, he seems to care less what other GM's or anyone else in baseball think about his tactics. If nothing else, it will give this old scribe something to write about besides the always disappointing Dolphins.
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We first got whiff that maybe Andersen was going to try a different tact when he immediately started adding quality players who other teams were looking to dump, typically because of salary. Andersen's first move was to add 2B/OF Greg Jefferies from St. Louis. While Jefferies has gotten off to less than the start the Marlins were hoping for, he's had a sizzling July and the fish are hoping for a strong finish. Then OF Ellis Burks, a steadying influence in the lineup, and LH reliever Gary Wayne were added through free agency. Wayne has since moved on after posting good numbers, helping the Marlins move up from mid third to late 2nd with a draft pick, while Burks has been what the Marlins had hoped for, while playing 3B in an acceptable manner. Finally, there was a stroke of luck that came calling in the form of the Minnesota Twins. The Twins GM Chris Cosenza reached out to Andersen on a swap of bad contracts. The only difference being, the contracts the Marlins were taking on would end up being as responsible for the Marlins start as any players, and the players heading to Minnesota, would not. Andersen did move a mid level starting pitcher prospect and last years closer Gabe White, but the return was a lefty that has been far better than White in Bill Wilkinson and Scott Garrelts, the latter in contention for a Cy Young. The other focus of Andersen was building a solid bullpen by adding pieces with moderate salary that other teams were looking to move. Mike Timlin, M. Perez and John Wetteland were all added and had controllable contracts past this season, allowing the Marlins to make their last set of moves before the deadline, which raised some eyebrows................
Marlins move 5 prospects in order to dump Eric Davis and Fred Manrique's salaries. The move will get the Marlins back to operating in the black, albeit barely, moving into 99, but more importantly, it will keep them off of financial probation and allow them to add pieces if necessary next year. It was met with skepticism amongst other GM's, one saying off the record "That's the Andersen we know. Really got taken to the woodshed there, didn't he?" Will it work? None of the pieces had an immediate future in Miami, and they were all in positions that the Marlins should be relatively set at for the next handful of years, but they stlll gutted some of the secondary prospects from their system. They kept their top prospects in Tike Redman, Randy Winn, Mark Buehrle, Jack Wilson and Will Ohlman, but there sure isn't much in the system past that. If nothing else, it will allow Andersen to rebuild his system how he likes while hopefully opening a competitive window here.
Will it work? Hard to say. There's excitement for baseball in Miami right now, and that seems like a good thing. It's what baseball was hoping for when awarding the Marlins an expansion franchise. Has Andersen found the fountain of youth? Is he just a slow learner? Did it take him 40+ seasons to figure things out? Who knows. But one thing we do know, he's certainly not interested in doing things how he always had in the past, and the older he gets, he seems to care less what other GM's or anyone else in baseball think about his tactics. If nothing else, it will give this old scribe something to write about besides the always disappointing Dolphins.
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