Logo
  • News
    • Local
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida
    • Trending
    • US & World
    • Politics
    • Help Me Howard
    • Hope and Healing
    • Investigations
    • Special Reports
    • The LoweDown
  • Weather
    • Forecast
    • Interactive Radar
    • Video Forecast
    • Hourly Forecast
    • Watches and Warnings
    • Forecast Models
    • Forecast Cone
    • 7Weather App
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • Miami Hurricanes
    • Florida Gators
    • Florida State Seminoles
  • Entertainment
    • Entertainment
    • Belkys’ Bite Blog
    • Bite with Belkys
    • Deco Drive
    • Shireen’s Favorite Things
    • Keeping Up With Chris
  • …
    • Employment Opportunities
    • TV Listings
    • 7News Team
    • Watch 7News Live
    • Links Mentioned On Air
  • Search
Live News
°
  • News
    • Local
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida
    • Trending
    • US & World
    • Politics
    • Help Me Howard
    • Hope and Healing
    • Investigations
    • Special Reports
    • The LoweDown
  • Weather
    • Forecast
    • Interactive Radar
    • Video Forecast
    • Hourly Forecast
    • Watches and Warnings
    • Forecast Models
    • Forecast Cone
    • 7Weather App
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • Miami Hurricanes
    • Florida Gators
    • Florida State Seminoles
  • Entertainment
    • Entertainment
    • Belkys’ Bite Blog
    • Bite with Belkys
    • Deco Drive
    • Shireen’s Favorite Things
    • Keeping Up With Chris
  • …
    • Employment Opportunities
    • TV Listings
    • 7News Team
    • Watch 7News Live
    • Links Mentioned On Air
Breaking
3 hospitalized after reported drive-by shooting in Opa-locka

3 hospitalized after reported drive-by shooting in Opa-locka

Share:

February 10, 2019
February 10, 2019

‘Give us a chance’: Marlins make plea to fans entering 2019

Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — The outfield grass at Marlins Park was a worn-out mess on Saturday, with those who arrived for the team’s annual FanFest being greeted by signs reminding them that the turf will be replaced soon.

When it comes to the Marlins, many things are a work in progress.

Wearing new uniforms with the rebranded team logo, in a stadium that has gotten spruced-up since last season ended, some of the 2019 Miami Marlins gathered for the first time to greet fans and start hyping the new season. Pitchers and catchers report to the team’s spring training home in Jupiter on Wednesday.

“I would tell our fans to just give us a chance,” Marlins President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill said. “So many people have written off the Marlins and really haven’t taken an opportunity to take a deep look at what we’re building. When you have a lot to do, it’s going to take time and we understand where we’re at. But we’ve been able to add a tremendous amount of talent over the last 18 months.”

By Hill’s count, the Marlins have added 38 prospects and upper-level players since this new regime led by Derek Jeter took over after the 2017 season. That has gone a long way toward restocking a farm system that by Hill’s own description was “barren.”

“We know where we were,” he said. “We know where we’re going.”

The Marlins won 63 games last season, their ninth straight year under the .500 mark and the 15th consecutive time the team missed the postseason — the second-longest drought in baseball, topped only by Seattle’s run of 17 straight seasons without a playoff game. Attendance plummeted to a club record-low 811,104, and the team just traded away its best player, sending catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia.

“Only one team gets to win the championship every year,” said right-handed pitcher Dan Straily, who started 56 games for the Marlins over the last two seasons. “I think every year, with every team in baseball, there’s a little bit of excitement for everybody to get going. There’s always that hope that this could be the year.”

The Marlins aren’t saying if 2019 is their year. Or 2020. Or 2021, for that matter.

They just believe their year is coming.

For Realmuto, the Marlins got catcher Jorge Alfaro and pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart from the Phillies. Alfaro has above-average power and, the Marlins believe, even a better arm than Realmuto — who they considered elite in that capacity. Sanchez has the arm to consistently reach the upper 90s on his fastball, while Stewart doesn’t throw as hard but has off-speed offerings that get him out of trouble.

It’s deals like that why the Marlins truly believe this rebuild — one of many by the franchise in the last 15 years — is the right one.

“They’re doing what they said: building the organization from the bottom up,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You keep acquiring talent. You keep marching down that road that gets you to the point where you are competing for a chance to win a world championship every year. That’s the plan. That’s the goal. I think anything less than that, you don’t accept it.”

There was a reason why the grass looked bad Saturday. Monster Jam — a show where five- or six-ton trucks with 66-inch tires will destroy anything in their path — is coming to Marlins Park next weekend. It’ll chew up the current turf quite nicely. From there, new sod goes down in time for opening day.

“It’ll look nothing like it does right now when we come back in six weeks,” Straily said.

The grass will be exactly what the team wants by then. The Marlins only hope the team is closer to their liking by then as well.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Trending

  • Sen. Bernie Sanders announces 2020 presidential run
  • Mom: Texas boy called ‘little Hitler’ after raising money for Trump border wall
  • Man accused of slapping, threatening 12-year-old boy who bullied his stepdaughter
  • Viral video shows wheelchair-bound boy bouncing on trampoline
  • More Trending Stories

Trending

  • Sen. Bernie Sanders announces 2020 presidential run
  • Mom: Texas boy called ‘little Hitler’ after raising money for Trump border wall
  • Man accused of slapping, threatening 12-year-old boy who bullied his stepdaughter
  • Viral video shows wheelchair-bound boy bouncing on trampoline
  • More Trending Stories

This Week's Circulars

Daily news to your inbox

See a sample newsletter
Logo
Join us:
WSVN-TVSunbeam Television Corp
1401 79th Street Causeway
Miami, FL 33141
Switchboard: (305) 751-6692
Newsroom: (305) 795-2777
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF SERVICES
  • TV LISTINGS
  • CONTACT US
  • INTERNSHIPS
  • EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WSVN FCC PUBLIC FILE
  • EEO PUBLIC FILE REPORT
  • CHILDRENS PROGRAMMING
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2019 WSVN-TV. All Rights Reserved. WSVN broadcast educational and informational programming for children, and file quarterly reports with the FCC detailing the station's outreach to children. The public may view the reports by going to www.WSVN.com and clicking on "FCC Public File," or by visiting the FCC's website at FCC.org. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.
Powered by WordPress.com VIP