The Problem With The Marlins

It's been about a week since the 2012-2013 Miami Marlins Not-So-Great Sell Off and I keep hearing all the debate back and forth, locally, nationally and anyone else who wants to give their opinion. I thought I would share mine. The essence of the trade is to dump salary, plain and simple. Don't let ANYONE tell you anything different. Jose Reyes was a horrible signing for this team last year, it was not the right fit for the Marlins or Reyes and I am a little shocked he wasn't moved during the trade deadline last season. John Buck is a solid catcher, despite not putting up great offensive numbers. He seemed to handle the pitching staff well and I honestly had no problem with him as a player, but he was making too much money. Now this is where things get a little shady for me. Josh Johnson had one year left on his deal. He would be worth SOOO much more if he remained a Marlin, at least until the 2013 trade deadline. He has an up side of being a franchise Pitcher, one a team with a lot of top tiered prospects would drool over and over pay for him for a pennant race. Mark Buerhle eats up innings and is good for 10 wins a season. He also is a good veteran presence to have with a very young team. I would have held on to him ala Josh Johnson til mid-season. Emilio Bonafacio is a jack of all trades, worked his way up through the system and proved to be a very valuable asset to this team. You traded these 5 guys for a package of young guys and malcontents and on paper it doesn't seem like it will benefit the Marlins at all. The Marlins used public money for a new ball park, they had ownership "pretend" they cared about putting up a winner, by spending money and worse of all, they came out publicly telling their fan base they will compete (spend money.) They lied. They went all in for 1 year and when they realized they had the wrong guy managing the team and the they didn't have the right pieces, they did what they do best, Sell off. Instead of trading for value, they just dumped salaries so they can start all over again. Over the last 10 years, their track record of developing players leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure not only do they dump salary, they also pinch pennies when it comes to scouting and development. And this is the problem with this ownership and front office. They have lost all credibility in baseball circles because they cannot draft or develop players. They are the laughing stock of baseball because they have a gorgeous new ball park far away from their core fan base (this is why the stadium is always empty) and they are evilest of heels when it comes to their public image. They will never attract quality free agents, because no one will come here, knowing they will be traded away in a year and the Marlins will not give out a no-trade clause. They will have to rely on quality drafting and development, which they don't have.

QB Rankings Week 9

So after Week 8, let's look at how the mighty QB Rankings Change. Next to the name will be where they were 6 weeks ago. 32. Blaine Galbert (31) 31. Kevin Kolb/John Skelton (30) 30. Matt Cassell (29) 29. Mark Sanchez (26) 28. Brandon Weeden (32) 27. Jake Locker/Matt Hasselbeck (28) 26. Cam Newton (13) 25. Michael Vick (25) 24. Sam Bradford (8) 23. Ryan Fitzpatrick (17) 22. Joe Flacco (20) 21. Tony Romo (18) 20. Phillip Rivers (5) 19. Josh Freeman (21) 18. Christian Ponder (27) 17. Carson Palmer (22) 16. Ryan Tannehill (23) 15. Drew Stratford (10) 14. Alex Smith (3) 13. Jay Cutler (24) 12. Andy Dalton (12) 11. Russell Wilson (15) 10. Drew Brees (16) 9. Matt Schaub (9) 8. Robert Griffin III (4) 7. Andrew Luck (19) 6. Ben Rothlieberger (11) 5. Eli Manning (1) 4. Peyton Manning (14) 3. Tom Brady (6) 2. Aaron Rodgers (7) 1. Matt Ryan (2) Matt Ryan has played spectacular and gets the number 1 spot over Rodgers and Brady because his team is undefeated. Peyton Manning looks as good now as he did 5 years ago. Andrew Luck has surpassed RG3, which I thought he would have, little surprised he did it this year. Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannenhill look like they will have long productive careers with their respective teams. Cam Newton has lacked leadership and the ability to stay away from adversity. Mike Vick has been hit too many times and now with this make-shift Offensive Line, I don't see things getting any better. The Blaine Gabbert experiment didn't work in JAX, he will be a backup elsewhere next season.