Winter Meetings Madness: Where did This Money Come From???

Jeffrey Loria what is your secret? How did you manage to save that much money? Like most people I'm shocked at the results of this year's MLB Winter Meetings, not really at what transpired (overpaying great players) but the who. The Florida, I mean Miami Marlins, terrible uniforms and all committed $191 million to 3 players...read that last sentence again. The MIAMI MARLINS, spent more than every other team not the Anaheim Angels (props to Jerry Dipoto on grabbing the two biggest free agents this year).

Getting back on track, I live in South Florida so I know first hand just how terrible the Marlins have been financially. They always have had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, which is kind of weird because they are in Miami. Only once in the twenty years of existence have they had a payroll over $60 million. With the money they committed to their three signings, Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle respectively, the money owed to those three yearly is $40.7 million...that would be the ninth highest payroll in the teams history. I'm not exagerating, look it up.

So where did this plethora of cash come from? I sure know they didn't get this money from attendence. They've been equally low in attendence as they have been in payroll, always being in the lower third of the MLB...even in the years they won the World Series. Did Loria save all this money, which he split with the Dolphins anyway for sharing that god awful stadium. Is he banking on the new stadium, which is practically in Cuba, to sellout on a daily basis to pay these salaries? Or did he have outside help, like from a Nevin Shapiro type? I'm not buying that they actually have this cash for the next six years, but I'll leave that up to the opinion of my readers.

Last point, you know why Pujols signed with the Angels? He got a "No Trade Clause". If you don't know what that means...look it up with the payroll nuget I fed you earlier. The Marlins offered him ten years, and $275 million...yea he would've gotten A-Rod status, but he chose the DH role in a winnable division (they are getting the Astros in 2013). But no one received a No Trade Clause. This means that at any time anyone of these players can be shipped off, no questions asked excpet will it be raining when I land. This shows me that, not only are the Marlins limited in the cash, but this is just a two or three year thing. This is just a big show to open this stadium, and then it will be back to the crappy payroll and low attendence...or so I think.

Well that's all I got for today, after the shock of the winter meetings is over I will be back to usual posting, but I enjoy this so much it might take a while!

Until next time...Jonny V