mellicious | (Reply)

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My history with baseball is quite different, although just as heartbreaking in some ways. I was there cheering on the first day of the Marlins existence in 1993. Charlie Hough pitched the first game. We won the Series in '97 against the formidable Cleveland Indians in seven games. My late husband had given me season tickets for Christmas '96 with no way of knowing what a season it would be. The year after we won, the team was decimated, completely gutted. We couldn't really blame Wayne Huyzinga, because, after all, he'd promised us a Series in five years and he delivered on that promise. But we blamed him anyway. Then John Henry bought the team and whaddya know, he gave us a Series, too! 2003, it was. But then he, too, dismantled the team, then decided he'd rather own the Red Sox and decamped, selling what was left of the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria, former owner of the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) and that's been the end of that. Haven't seen a decent season since. We came close in 2016, until Jose Fernandez died. You wanna talk heartbreak! I was devastated. We all were. In 2017 we had a core of hitters that would stand up to anyone. It was remarkable to watch the team come together like a family after losing Jose. Amazing talent. Can you say Giancarlo Stanton? And about six others. Just no pitching. Derek Jeter and associates bought the team and we're all on tenterhooks, waiting to see which direction he goes. Obviously, Stanton is available to trade, but he has that pesky no-trade clause, meaning he has to agree to be traded. So far, the only team he'd be amenable to join is the Dodgers, but they don't seem to have the money this year. Stanton's gigantic remaining contract is a definite deterrent to other teams. We are hoping he stays here, and he would, if Jeter could get us some pitching. That's a daunting task. I hope he can do it without sacrificing several of those core players. It's an interesting and also terrifying off-season, here in sunny South Florida. I don't suppose you'd wanna part with Verlander, would ya? You could keep Altuve, that little sweetie. Pleeease?