The Cubs won three out of four games from the Marlins. The Marlins fielded what could be best described as a Class AA 1/2 squad. Even if you bought a scorecard, you would not know most of the players.
The new Marlins Park was basically empty. It looked like a closed tourist beach after a toxic waste spill. There was little excitement, little noise, little fan activity . . . it was like playing baseball inside an airplane hanger.
The series does not bode well for the Marlins, as a team and as a franchise. The taxpayers of Dade County are fuming about the more than sweetheart deal the Marlins owner extracted from the public treasury. The fans are fuming about the fire sale trade of most of the roster over the winter. The slash in payroll for prospects plus all the revenue streams from the new stadium deal is a huge windfall for one of the worst owners in professional sports.
But that is what happens when you give a sports owner everything he wants under the vague threat of relocation. Miami, as a sports city, does not support its teams in sell-out attendance. Only when the Dolphins are good and playoff caliber do local sports fans jump on a bandwagon to go to games.
So the taxpayers got stuck with a $2.4 billion debt burden and the fans got a 100 plus loss team on the field.
There is an echo of Miami in the tone of Tom Ricketts recent statements. He said he needed his renovation deal for Wrigley to go through otherwise the team could not win. Most people believe that was self-centered pandering to fans to get politicians or community groups off their opposition to the project. But just because a city gives a team everything it wants or needs, it does not mean that the team will deliver on its promises.
