The Embarrassment That is the Miami Marlins

Everyone in the Marlins' front office owes the city of Miami an apology. What they are doing with this franchise is a disgrace.

I hope you enjoyed one year of Jose Reyes, Miami.

A few years ago, they convinced the city to fund the building of a new stadium, and Marlins Park opened this year. They went "all in" and spent a lot money last offseason to build a team worthy of filling the seats in their new park. The team was not as good as they hoped, and now they've had a fire sale. That is a AAA team in Miami right now, and the franchise should be ashamed.

The proposed trade that will send basically every notable player on the Marlins' roster except Giancarlo Stanton to Toronto in exchange for Yunel Escobar and prospects blows my mind. It tells me that the Marlins have no intention of competing this year or any year. They want to field the cheapest team possible and just hope the fans show up.

Spoiler alert: they won't.

To the loyal fans of the Marlins (I realize that's about 10 people), I feel bad for you. Fans deserve better than this. Sure, Miami is not the best city for a pro sports franchise. The fans aren't that loyal. Sure, if you put a winner out there, they'll fill the place up. But, if the product stinks, the city of Miami will disappear on you. I suppose you could say that for a lot of cities, but it seems to be especially true there.

But don't blame the fans for this. If baseball wasn't working in Miami, Jeffery Loria and Major League Baseball shouldn't have forced it. They should have moved the franchise. Where? I don't know. I'd give Charlotte, San Antonio, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, Omaha, Oklahoma City, Las Vegas or even a redo in Montreal a shot. It's too late, now, though. The stadium is built and brand-spanking new. You should put a watchable product out there.

Fans are upset. Players are upset, and tax payers are upset. That last one is the biggest issue: people who really don't care that the team is there had to pay to build that fantastic new stadium so Loria could field an unwatchable product. It was once predicted that Miami would be in the World Series by 2015, but I don't know if they'll ever finish above .500 again with the current ownership.

Why would any half decent free agent want to sign with Miami now? Why would any talented young Marlins' prospect like Giancarlo Stanton agree to an extension? Even if they say "we're committed. We're seriously going to build now!" Why would anyone believe them? They said they were "all in" back in December 2011. They were bailing out by July and have hit rock bottom in November. Any free agent who signs in Miami will be going there because nobody else wants to sign him. Any free agents who are in demand will go to a franchise committed to winning, a franchise that they feel confident won't give up after four months of baseball.

I expect attendance in Miami to look something like this
in 2013 and basically every year until the team moves.

It's not like we've never seen this before in Miami, either. After winning the 1997 World Series, the then-Florida Marlins completely dismantled what was a powerhouse. Moises Alou, Bobby Bonilla, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield and Charles Johnson were all dealt within the following seven months.

They did a similar thing after winning it all in 2003. They traded Derrek Lee and let Ugueth Urbina and Ivan Rodriguez walk as free agents that offseason. Brad Penny was traded a few months later. They hung on to Josh Beckett for a few seasons before eventually trading him with Mike Lowell to Boston in 2005.

I can't blame the Miami fans for being apathetic towards this franchise. They keep building up winners then tearing them down. There are no iconic players that stay there for years that the fans can really get used to.

The team will claim it's the opposite: that the fans don't come out, so they have to keep rebuilding.

Whatever the case is, the fact is this: Major League Baseball does not work in Miami. No matter who is to blame, it simply doesn't work. It's just too bad they built that stadium. Now, they have to live with this mistake for decades as they stare at that all those empty seats.