The Florida Marlins fired their manager last week, which was not much of a surprise. Fredi Gonzalez was the third manager fired this season, and it was no secret the Marlins were looking for an excuse to dismiss him. What really stood out, however, were the remarks of Jeffrey Loria, the owner, who had set an impossibly high standard for the Marlins despite overseeing an embarrassingly low payroll.
Their estimated US$32 million (Dh117m) payroll, one of the lowest in either league, left them woefully ill-prepared to do battle with teams in their division. The New York Mets have an estimated payroll of $126m. The Philadelpha Phillies, the defending National League champions, are at $138m. Even the Atlanta Braves, no longer profligate spenders, have a payroll of $84m, nearly three times that of the Marlins.
Despite that, Loria expected the team to qualify for the post-season. "I think everyone knows how I feel about winning," he said. Of course, that statement was unintentionally ironic. For years, Loria has spent less on his payroll than he has received in revenue-sharing from Major League Baseball. That does not count the revenues his team takes in for ticket sales, media rights and sponsors. Loria has made a nice profit, which is his right as a businessman, but he has put precious little back into the product. That the Marlins were not performing well enough was not Gonzalez's fault, though he paid with his job. sports@thenational.ae