Comments on: Loria a disgrace to the Game

By: Todd Boss

Todd Boss — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:27:38 +0000

Agree; we all should have looked at the structure of those deals (backloaded) and the distinct lack of no-trade clauses and seen this coming. I’m just shocked it happened so soon. Talk about a repuditation of your baseball activities of 2011; a last place team and the shipping out of every free agent. How does the GM still have a job? Oh, yeah that’s right, the GM is a puppet to Loria/Samson, and blood is thicker than water.

By: Roberto

Roberto — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:44:01 +0000

I agree with everything you wrote, Todd. I would only add that it’s surprising that anyone is surprised. Given Loria’s history, the way that the contracts were back-loaded and did not contain no-trade clauses, his intentions could not have been clearer. His off-season signings had “pump and dump” written all over them.

Will Selig veto the deal? I doubt it given his complicity in the whole Loria sham. Loria wouldn’t own the Marlins if it wasn’t for the beyond-sweetheart deal Selig arranged.

By: Todd Boss

Todd Boss — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:04:29 +0000

Here’s the one remaining pundit whose opinion I was waiting to hear: Dan Le Batard. http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/15/3097779/miami-marlins-and-fans-a-history.html

By: Todd Boss

Todd Boss — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:39:39 +0000

I would LOVE to see the SEC/fraud investigations surrounding the financing of the Miami stadium come to fruition. Not sure they will, but the disclosure of the profiteering they were taking while telling a different story to the politicians seems like it may indicate some criminal intent.

By: PDowdy

PDowdy — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:00:08 +0000

Todd, you are right. Jonah Kerri’s piece on it is fantastic.

By: Wally

Wally — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:51:16 +0000

PDowdy – seems unlikely. They voluntarily agreed to sign without no trade protection, so I think they’ll be held to the strict benefit of their bargain. They had lawyers and agents helping them, so they knew the risk even if they didn’t believe it would happen.

This could possibly aid the SEC fraud investigation (if it is still ongoing). They caused a lot of money to be raised and if they promised that they would spend more if a stadium was built, there may be some recourse there. Also, MLBPA might have a complaint that not enough $$ are being spent on players (I think that is in the CBA) and perhaps other owners can refuse to allow them to receive revenue sharing. Still seems like a stretch.

By: PDowdy

PDowdy — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:43:47 +0000

Wally, your last sentence about reapplying the money to new players is the huge difference between Boston and Miami. Boston WILL spend and Loria will profit instead. He is scum. Obviously the order came from him to cut the payroll back again.

Is there any possibility of Reyes or Buerhle trying to draft a civil suit against the Marlins for “damages”. Both players stand to lose a ton of money because of this trade with the major differences in the tax rates in the 2 areas.

By: clark17

clark17 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:30:33 +0000

On the contrary, I don’t think you guys are letting Loria’s involvement color your opinions at all. You’re just leaving out the most damning detail: Loria utterly fleeced the taxpayers of Miami with that terrible stadium deal, then he completely violated the public trust by selling the entire team less than one year after promising it was a new day for the Marlins and assuring people the team would compete for years. The fact that Loria was the culprit doesn’t make the action any worse, it just makes the action predictable because he’s done it before.

By: Todd Boss

Todd Boss — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 19:22:07 +0000

Passan’s piece is great, as is Jonah Keri’s on grantland.com.

I perhaps am letting Loria’s involvement color my viewpoint of the move. How different is this trade really from the Red Sox-Dodgers trade. As you said, in both cases one team dumping a huge amount of payroll and some questionable contracts on another and receiving basically prospects and decent but not comparable players back.

By: Wally

Wally — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:43:17 +0000

PDowdy – that is what I meant about not hating it from a baseball view. None of the traded players came without some kind of age or injury baggage, all seem fairly priced contract wise (no great bargains) and they aren’t likely to be still be good when the Marlins are contenders again, so trading them isn’t crazy. I am not a big prospects guy, so don’t know them too well, but if this was done by a quality ownership group, the reaction would probably be similar to how people lauded Boston. Clear the decks, get some young guys and reapply the money saved for new talent.

But enter Loria: he’s keeping the money, and laughing at everyone around him. Total scum. Passan at Yahoo wrote a nice piece on him.