Any thoughts as to what the Marlins are doing?
 

I haven't followed it close enough to know if they are doing anything more than cutting payroll.

I mean, they won the WS not long ago, were fairly competitive last year. Had a good young roster with solid pitching. What are they thinking?

Is this their stragety for the long term? Buy low, sell high? Build up a team for success, sell them off and start over every couple of years.

Maybe thats why they average league-low in attendance. I don't think I would have much patience for this if I were a fan in Miami. The beaches and the wildlife are way too nice there in the summer. :wink:

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they are fire selling for a couple of reasons.

mostly because they didnt get a baseball only facility like they wanted from the city. if they would have gotten a stadium approved, paid for by the tax payers you would have seen a solid nucleous stay in miami for a very long time.

its a shame really that such a franchise has won 2 world series. they obviously have some great baseball minds running the farm systems, etc, but dont have the owner support to continue forward.

the first owner fire sold after they won the world series because dude was a cheapskate. if im not mistaken i think he owned another professional franchise. hyzinga (sp) was his name.

Wayne Huizinga is the name, and yes, he owned the Panthers and Dolphins. He also headed up Blockbuster and Waste Management, if I am not mistaken....The thing about south florida is that there are too many other options as fans. High school football is arguably the best in the nation there and they do not get the fans that texas hs football gets. Also, look at the Hurricanes. They rarely sell out or are even close to selling out, except for FSU or Va Tech. When you have south beach, ft lauderdale, and everything that goes with the area within close proximity, then it is a tough thing to compete against. Then compare that to Nebraska with there record sell-outs and with nothing else better to do.

The Marlins did the same thing..
 

after they won their first World Series. They got rid of some high salaries, decided to not spend as much money and worked their way back to the top after not too many years.

Look at Steinbrenner spending more money than a few 3rd world countries GNP and he has nothing to show for it but an incrediblely high payroll.

If it worked once, why not do it again? It sounds like the Malrins are doing something right.

This is like their third fire sale, isn't it? They had one even after winning the world series.

I'm not too familiar with the current minor league system, but I am guessing that the Marlins have a phenomenal farm program for their young players. With the pitching staff they had a couple of years ago, they didn't need many high priced free agents to solidify the offense.

It's really an intriguing philosophy, mostly for the fact that it is somehow working for them.

As an owner of a team, which would you rather have? A mediocre team with a Barry Bonds who puts fans in the seats and presumably, money in your pocket, or the Marlins with their "no-name" team with low salaries, which wins, with no fans in the stands?

I would love to compare a profit and loss statement on two teams like these to see if they wash out in the end.