Miami officials who backed Marlins Park: Loria should “get the hell out of here for the good of the community”

By Craig CalcaterraDec 3, 2012, 10:30 AM EST
18 Comments

In this day and age it is almost impossible to find something that, upon being criticized, doesn’t find itself with at least some defenders.  The urge to be contrarian can be almost overwhelming for some people — Slate has built its entire reputation on it — and thus you can be assured that even the most loathsome figures will inspire some “hey, they’re not as bad as you think” sentiment.

Still waiting for that with Jeffrey Loria and the Marlins ownership group. The knives have been out for them for weeks now, and it shows no sign of stopping. Even the people who once supported them so strongly that they gave them hundreds of millions of dollars are slamming them. For example, here’s former Miami-Dade County commissioner Javier Souto — who voted in favor of funding Marlins Park back in the day, but who now excoriates Loria — speaking to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:

“This ownership group is a disgrace. I regret supporting it … This was a convoluted, complicated deal that [former county manager George] Burgess concocted and only he understood. He promised us it was the best deal…. Now, we’re close to a total boycott of the team. The best thing that could happen is for this ownership group to get the hell out of here for the good of the community.”

That’s nice and all — and, not coincidentally, a quite expedient position for a politician in Miami to have these days,  but would that Souto and his friends have been as critical of Loria and his plans before giving tax dollars to him against the taxpayers’ will as part of a deal he now admits he didn’t even understand.

Something big could be brewing between the Yankees, Mets and Marlins

Getty Images
By Craig CalcaterraDec 11, 2018, 11:26 AM EST
4 Comments

Last night we heard the beginning of rumblings of a possible three-team trade involving the Yankees, Mets and Marlins that could involve J.T. Realmuto and Noah Syndergaard. Those rumblings — while still off in the distance — are getting a bit louder this morning, with reports floating that the Marlins are driving it and that it’s not just wishcasting from New York.

Into that mix comes something interesting: Ken Rosenthal reports that the Yankees are open to moving third baseman Miguel Andujar and that he’s “a name to watch.”

Coming as it does after that Yankees-Mets-Marlins chatter might mean that Andujar could be involved in all of that and, if he is, that could make for a monster deal.  Such a blockbuster would certainly be a good enough reason to part with Andujar despite a strong rookie season in which he hit.297/.328/.527 with 27 homers and 92 RBI. Worth noting that moving him could also open up third base for a big acquisition like Manny Machado, but that’s separate speculation, I suppose.

Not that any of this would be that easy, of course, especially if it involved the Mets. The Mets and Yankees rarely make trades with one another, and if they were to do one, it’d have to be something that the Mets could claim, convincingly, that they won lest they get raked over the tabloid coals. That being said, the Marlins reportedly want an established major leaguer in any deal for Realmuto and the Mets reportedly want more than just Realmuto if they were to give up Syndergaard. As such, Andujar could fit into that in any number of ways.

There’s obviously there’s a long way to go on this sort of thing, but the names floating around talks with the Yankees, Mets and Marlins are quite interesting and could suggest something big is brewing.