If there wasn’t any more reason for residents of south Florida to hate the Marlins… well here we go again.
According to Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald, zero Marlins players attended a Fish-N-Chips casino style charity event held by the team. A ticket to attend ran fans anywhere from $100-$175 to “rub elbows” with the Marlins who apparently weren’t required to attend although had some fully committed prior to the event.
So why would the players spurn their dwindling fan base? The team say’s they were ‘frustrated’ and ‘tired of losing’…
“I can see why people are making a big deal about it — people pay money, want to be around the players,” said relief pitcher Steve Cishek, who is also the club’s player representative. “But you’ve got to realize we were here all day. Everyone is exhausted. You look at Dee Gordon, he’s stumbling around the locker room after the game, played his heart out. Everyone battled yesterday. It was just not the right timing. It’s tough to explain. It’s just the way things are going for us right now. All of our guys have taken it to heart. Everyone is an adult here. They just didn’t show up. Their decision.”
Newly appointed manager Dan Jennings and his staff were in attendance as well as Marlins president David Samson who said he would address the team about the matter. Meanwhile Steve Cishek said the players’ actions had nothing to do with the managerial situation.
Whether it’s the frustration level or the what’s going on with owner Jeffrey Loria appointing Jennings as team manager the problems in Miami have certainly reached another level both on an off the field. Currently the Marlins are 0-5 since the inexperienced Jennings took over the team from Mike Redmond and now we have an ever growing rift between the team and the fans.
[photo: Big League Stew]
