Offseason 2015-2016

[HUGG]

Take this shit to SoFlaHeat.com smdh

[fauowls44]

The Heat have drawn well for two decades?

Pre-Lebron, they must have had fans dressed up as empty orange seats in the lower bowl then.

Oh please. They've drawn well since those Zo-Hardaway teams in the late 90s. I didn't say "sell out every game", and there were a few lean years, but they've rarely had what you'd consider "attendance issues". Since Shaq arrived in 04-05, they've pretty consistently been in the top 10 in the league in attendance, currently selling out over 250 games in a row (even post-LeBron).

The point being that blaming the market for the Marlins problems is silly. The South Florida market isn't the issue for the Marlins, Dolphins, or Panthers...it's that the management running those teams have been completely inept for the past 15-20 years and that has actively driven fans away. If they would run their franchises properly (like the Heat do), then more people would go to their games.

[Namaste]

The point being that blaming the market for the Marlins problems is silly. The South Florida market isn't the issue for the Marlins, Dolphins, or Panthers...it's that the management running those teams have been completely inept for the past 15-20 years and that has actively driven fans away. If they would run their franchises properly (like the Heat do), then more people would go to their games.

With all due respect, your point sucks.

Because 1 out of 3 sports fans in the Tri-county area are die hard fans of a team that doesn't call Florida home.

I don't know, man. We won't see eye to eye on this because I feel strongly that the market is 40% to blame for our sports culture.

To many transplants.

[fauowls44]

With all due respect, your point sucks.

Because 1 out of 3 sports fans in the Tri-county area are die hard fans of a team that doesn't call Florida home.

I don't know, man. We won't see eye to eye on this because I feel strongly that the market is 40% to blame for our sports culture.

To many transplants.

1 out of 3? Where'd you come up with that number?

The transplant theory may have been true 15 years ago but at this point, our teams have been around for a few decades now. Kids have grown up with them. Yes, we have a lot of transplants down here, but it's on the team's at this point now.

There used to be a ton of fans of other NBA teams here (Knicks mostly), but consistently making the playoffs and 3 championships later and you see Heat fans everywhere. The Fins used to own this town...2 decades of mediocrity have really hurt the fan base.

If the teams are good, people wouldn't be rooting for other teams. I guarantee that if the Marlins were run properly and winning more consistently, you'd see a lot more Marlins fans around.

[lou]

### The Marlins appear committed to first baseman Justin Bour but say they want him to get in better shape (Bour admits he needs to become more toned at the very least) and will consider cheap right-handed hitting platoon options. Bour hit .221 (15 for 68) with no homers against lefties but .262 with 23 homers and 73 RBI overall.

### One reason that the Marlins want to add two veteran starters to Jose Fernandez, Jarred Cosart and Tom Koehler is they don’t want to go into spring training needing a youngster (Justin Nicolino, Adam Conley or Jose Urena) to absolutely have to be the fifth starter, though those three will be given a chance to compete with a veteran for the fifth slot.

Miami Herald. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sport...-marlins-.html

So basically Mike Pelfrey versus the kids, and they are going to be dumb and not move Koehler. Guess that means Phelps likely will be moved

[emkayseven]

Not-so-fun Fact: Koehler is 17th all-time in wins, 12th all-time in games, 10th all-time in strikeouts, and 15th all-time in ERA.

Basically he's a top-15 Marlins pitcher of all time.

I hate this ballclub.

[HUGG]

He's 29th all-time in fWAR

[Nick]

He's no Pat Rapp.

[HUGG]

Ryan Bowen

[flamarlins93]

What to you guys thing about signing Mark Reynolds as a RH bat to platoon at first with Bour? He can also play some third and outfield.

[Valid]

What to you guys thing about signing Mark Reynolds as a RH bat to platoon at first with Bour? He can also play some third and outfield.

Nah. He has actually been better against righties than lefties for a couple of years now.

- - - - - - - - - -

1 out of 3? Where'd you come up with that number?

The transplant theory may have been true 15 years ago but at this point, our teams have been around for a few decades now. Kids have grown up with them. Yes, we have a lot of transplants down here, but it's on the team's at this point now.

There used to be a ton of fans of other NBA teams here (Knicks mostly), but consistently making the playoffs and 3 championships later and you see Heat fans everywhere. The Fins used to own this town...2 decades of mediocrity have really hurt the fan base.

If the teams are good, people wouldn't be rooting for other teams. I guarantee that if the Marlins were run properly and winning more consistently, you'd see a lot more Marlins fans around.

They couldn't even draw in 2004 and 2005 when it looked like they could win another championship. If the Marlins have to be contending for titles for 10 straight years to draw consistent crowds, that doesn't say much for the fanbase.

[fauowls44]

Nah. He has actually been better against righties than lefties for a couple of years now.

- - - - - - - - - -


They couldn't even draw in 2004 and 2005 when it looked like they could win another championship. If the Marlins have to be contending for titles for 10 straight years to draw consistent crowds, that doesn't say much for the fanbase.

It's not as if people liked or trusted Loria in 2004 either. So long as this ownership group operates as they have since they arrived, people are going to stay away. Right after the World Series, Pudge leaves and everyone just assumed it was more of the same. Until the philosophy of running the team as cheaply as possible changes (and that means when Loria sells), it's going to be difficult to build the fan base. The Heat succeeds because people trust that they are going to do what they need to do to compete every year. They've built trust...the Marlins under Loria will never get that benefit of the doubt.

[Valid]

It's not as if people liked or trusted Loria in 2004 either. So long as this ownership group operates as they have since they arrived, people are going to stay away. Right after the World Series, Pudge leaves and everyone just assumed it was more of the same. Until the philosophy of running the team as cheaply as possible changes (and that means when Loria sells), it's going to be difficult to build the fan base. The Heat succeeds because people trust that they are going to do what they need to do to compete every year. They've built trust...the Marlins under Loria will never get that benefit of the doubt.

They were still expected to be pretty good in 2004, and then before 2005, they signed Delgado. No excuse for the attendance being so poor in those years.

[thatnewguy]

We still have never seen a legitimate championship contender play in a real stadium yet. You can argue against me but I've always given credence to the idea that people didn't want to go to a football stadium to sit in the humidity/rain/and/or scorching sun to watch a shitty baseball team. Even when the team was pretty good, the numbers weren't great because of those factors. It especially hurt on sundays or day games because that's when you saw the crowds of under 10,000 on a regular basis.

The numbers in this stadium are better. Can you say it's a product of it still being a somewhat new ballpark? Maybe. But it's not like this place opened six months ago. This is going to be the fifth season of Marlins Park. Yet if you look at these numbers, you'd be thinking the same thing I am.

In 2006, the Marlins finished 78-84, a surprise considering the fan-base crushing fire sale that had just happened. They hung around the playoff picture for a lot longer than they should have and still only drew 1.1 million. In 2014, the Marlins had the exact same season and drew 600,000 more people. In 2007, the Marlins suffered through injuries and underpeformances from key pieces, fell off a little bit and finished 71-91, drawing 1.3 million people. In 2015, they had the exact same season and again drew a half-million more.

You put a good team on the field and people will show up. The team has been shitty to mediocre all four seasons of Marlins Park, yet people are still coming more than they were at Sun Life. Put a good team on the field, perhaps earlier than later so it's still kinda a honeymoon phase, and you'll have attendance figures closer to 1997 than 2006.

[Party]

I'm with thatnewguy. New stadium has improved attendance. I would be willing to bet a lot of money that Sunday games have seen the greatest improvement. Location is another important factor to consider. Marlins were in a suburban wasteland between the two major downtown areas for 19 years. Little Havana isn't a goodneighborhood, but you are 5 minutes from downtown.

Fans will show up when this team is good again.