Post by Ashes on Feb 9, 2014 15:52:37 GMT -5
With great expectations, come great renovations
Miami (AP) – There is a certain buzz around Miami baseball again. The city has historically been behind their Florida Marlins, and they were rewarded with a championship. Back in 1997. The team, the general manager, and most importantly the fans, are hungry for another.
The Florida Marlins have the third-highest season win average over the past six years. Their average finish in their division? Third.
In the hotly contested National League East, the Marlins last finished in first place back in 2000. Six years later, the franchise is starved for a Division crown. Let's not forget, it has also been five seasons since their last playoff appearance. For a franchise widely considered top five in BBSBL, it's been far too long.
The city of Miami has supported their Marlins through it all, despite what analysts had predicted for the young franchise back in 1996. With an average attendance just over forty thousand since inception, which is roughly 94% of the stadium's capacity, the Marlins fans are one of the most devoted in the league. It's time to reward them.
General Manager Dr. Ashes D. Ryan III had this to say when asked about the Marlins fortunes, “It has been tough the past year. We expect more as a franchise, and we want our fans to expect more as fans. We've had winning seasons but we haven't been able to take that next step in awhile. Hopefully, all that is going to change starting this season.”
With that, the Marlins' front office went on to announce big renovations for the upcoming 2006 season. The first change on deck was to make more of Joe Robbie Stadium's seats available for fans. The current seating of 42,531 is being expanded to an even 60,000 seats. For a franchise that nearly sells out each game, this could be big for both the city of Miami and for the front office. More available seating for the fans means more revenue for a team that's been historically limited to lower payrolls, which could translate to more flexibility financially for the team. A big win-win for the city.
Perhaps the bigger change coming up is the field of play itself. Given the hitting talent of the squad, management has decided to change the park from a pitcher's paradise to a hitter's dream.
“We've decided to make some big changes to our park. We're going to play to our strengths and give guys like Miguel and Ryan a chance to really make some noise out there. We are very excited moving forward. We have a young squad with a lot of talented hitters. It's going to be a fun season,” GM Ashes on revealing the new ballpark's dimensions.
Leftfield line: 310ft
Leftfield: 360ft
Left-Centerfield: 380ft
Centerfield: 400ft
Right-Centerfield: 380ft
Rightfield: 360ft
Rightfield line: 310ft
With these changes, expect to see some serious numbers from Marlins' hitters. Naturally, this change will make it easier on opposing teams as well, but the organization is confident their pitching can adjust to the changes.
“I really feel like we have the best group of hitters in the league,” Ashes continued, “With these changes it's going to be tough for other teams to keep up. We've got a great pitching staff as well, I'm very confident this is going to translate into a lot of wins for us.”
The Marlins have made a lot of moves this offseason as well, acquiring young shortstop Luis Rivas from San Diego to replace veteran Chipper Jones who bolted for San Francisco in free agency. They also bolstered their bullpen, acquiring fringe starter Michael Wuertz from San Francisco and veteran reliever Troy Percival in free agency. Also acquiring veteran starter Will Cunnane in free agency, the Marlins feel they have the arms they need to compete for a title this year.
Rounding out their free agency, the Marlins brought back veteran Mike Piazza and Brian Stephenson to add depth to their offense and bullpen. Spending more money this offseason than they have the last few, the Marlins still have a payroll under eighty million, and expect to be well in the black this year.
With all the talent, the money spent on renovations, and the added payroll, expectations haven't been this high in years. It's still going to be tough road for the Marlins, considering division rivals Montreal and New York are returning very strong squads this year. Should the Marlins fall short of the division crown, they will likely be watching the Pittsburgh Pirates for the wild card race.
All in all, it's going to be a wild season this year in the National League. Here in Miami, fans are hoping their Marlins rise back to the top this season. They have laid the groundwork, now it's time to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Miami (AP) – There is a certain buzz around Miami baseball again. The city has historically been behind their Florida Marlins, and they were rewarded with a championship. Back in 1997. The team, the general manager, and most importantly the fans, are hungry for another.
The Florida Marlins have the third-highest season win average over the past six years. Their average finish in their division? Third.
In the hotly contested National League East, the Marlins last finished in first place back in 2000. Six years later, the franchise is starved for a Division crown. Let's not forget, it has also been five seasons since their last playoff appearance. For a franchise widely considered top five in BBSBL, it's been far too long.
The city of Miami has supported their Marlins through it all, despite what analysts had predicted for the young franchise back in 1996. With an average attendance just over forty thousand since inception, which is roughly 94% of the stadium's capacity, the Marlins fans are one of the most devoted in the league. It's time to reward them.
General Manager Dr. Ashes D. Ryan III had this to say when asked about the Marlins fortunes, “It has been tough the past year. We expect more as a franchise, and we want our fans to expect more as fans. We've had winning seasons but we haven't been able to take that next step in awhile. Hopefully, all that is going to change starting this season.”
With that, the Marlins' front office went on to announce big renovations for the upcoming 2006 season. The first change on deck was to make more of Joe Robbie Stadium's seats available for fans. The current seating of 42,531 is being expanded to an even 60,000 seats. For a franchise that nearly sells out each game, this could be big for both the city of Miami and for the front office. More available seating for the fans means more revenue for a team that's been historically limited to lower payrolls, which could translate to more flexibility financially for the team. A big win-win for the city.
Perhaps the bigger change coming up is the field of play itself. Given the hitting talent of the squad, management has decided to change the park from a pitcher's paradise to a hitter's dream.
“We've decided to make some big changes to our park. We're going to play to our strengths and give guys like Miguel and Ryan a chance to really make some noise out there. We are very excited moving forward. We have a young squad with a lot of talented hitters. It's going to be a fun season,” GM Ashes on revealing the new ballpark's dimensions.
Leftfield line: 310ft
Leftfield: 360ft
Left-Centerfield: 380ft
Centerfield: 400ft
Right-Centerfield: 380ft
Rightfield: 360ft
Rightfield line: 310ft
With these changes, expect to see some serious numbers from Marlins' hitters. Naturally, this change will make it easier on opposing teams as well, but the organization is confident their pitching can adjust to the changes.
“I really feel like we have the best group of hitters in the league,” Ashes continued, “With these changes it's going to be tough for other teams to keep up. We've got a great pitching staff as well, I'm very confident this is going to translate into a lot of wins for us.”
The Marlins have made a lot of moves this offseason as well, acquiring young shortstop Luis Rivas from San Diego to replace veteran Chipper Jones who bolted for San Francisco in free agency. They also bolstered their bullpen, acquiring fringe starter Michael Wuertz from San Francisco and veteran reliever Troy Percival in free agency. Also acquiring veteran starter Will Cunnane in free agency, the Marlins feel they have the arms they need to compete for a title this year.
Rounding out their free agency, the Marlins brought back veteran Mike Piazza and Brian Stephenson to add depth to their offense and bullpen. Spending more money this offseason than they have the last few, the Marlins still have a payroll under eighty million, and expect to be well in the black this year.
With all the talent, the money spent on renovations, and the added payroll, expectations haven't been this high in years. It's still going to be tough road for the Marlins, considering division rivals Montreal and New York are returning very strong squads this year. Should the Marlins fall short of the division crown, they will likely be watching the Pittsburgh Pirates for the wild card race.
All in all, it's going to be a wild season this year in the National League. Here in Miami, fans are hoping their Marlins rise back to the top this season. They have laid the groundwork, now it's time to sit back and enjoy the ride.
