I’m pretty addicted to Instagram and Twitter and stumbled upon some pretty neat pictures of Opening Night at Marlins Park.

I have no words. So many memories of Niner and Mike Lowell.

Niner with Jose Fernandez.

So, Yahoo! Sports tweeted the picture above. However, this happened.

Uh, yea. Nice going, guys. They couldn’t have tweeted that picture either. This wouldn’t be the first time (nor the last) that they give the  Marlins a hard time about their attendance issues.

As I type this, the Marlins are down 2-0 against the Atlanta Braves. It is the bottom of the 9th with two one base. I am hoping they pull this game, and the season, off.

It was just about exactly a year ago when this city was booming with excitement over the Marlins and their new look and players. It was the beginning of a new era. That is what team owner, Jeffrey Loria, said back then. The unveiling of the new team uniforms and logo was a major event. (No season ticket holders were invited, but at least Pitbull was there!) Loria tossed an old Marlins hat as if it was a piece of trash right before showing off the new look of the team. He said something like, “Out with the old, in with the new”.

After the big party, fans were invited to go to the new ballpark to buy new merchandise. I remember standing there, watching the crowd of people lining up to get first dibs on t-shirts and hats. Loria was standing in front of me, watching, with a huge smile on his face. I immediately thought of Mr. Burns of The Simpsons putting his hands together while saying, “Excellent.” No lie. We even joked about it afterwards.

Opening Night came and went with all of its fanfare. Instead of being on the bottom of the list, attendance was pretty average. There were times we saw about 28,000 people in the stands on a random Tuesday when at Sun Life Stadium, you would see maybe 18,000 people. Even with that, I knew something was fishy. The whole thing just didn’t seem right to me. Something felt off and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

All the excitement is gone now. Our star players, with the exception of Giancarlo Stanton, are all gone from the team. Even with MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, reviewing the trade, I don’t see anything changing.

Now, here we are. Our team is in shambles once again. Fans are jumping ship and calling for boycotts as long as this ownership is still around. Honestly, who can blame them? Why would you invest your hard earned money on these guys when they don’t care about the team and the fans?

Team President, David Samson, was interviewed by Dan LeBatard on his radio show this past Wednesday. It is pretty telling how out of touch they are with the fans. He keeps going on and on about losing 93 games. Is that reason for a fire sale? No.  LeBatard is right when he says that this only makes them look like greedy jerks since Loria is the one pocketing the extra cash.

I don’t know what will happen if by some miracle the Marlins start winning more and more games next season. Will fans start showing up? I don’t know. I do know that come opening day at Marlins Park, don’t expect a sell out or anything close.

This video is amazing, by the way.

It has been reported that the Marlins have traded away Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, Josh Johnson, and John Buck to the Toronto Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Hendersen Alvarez, Justin Nicolino, and Jake Marisnick. So, the Marlins trade away all the fan favorites (except for John Buck. I mean, come on) for a homophobic Cuban (Escobar) and some other guys I don’t know much about right now. Sigh…

Marlins fans are calling for boycotts of the team until the ownership changes. Honestly, who can blame them?

I actually met Mike once. It was right after the Marlins won the 2003 World Series. He was smoking a cigar with other players at a cigar shop on Calle 8. He’s a really cool guy and a hoot to have around. I mean, this is the guy who used to take batting practice indoors naked. (I promise that link has no pictures.)

I don’t know what to tell you about how I think Redmond would be as the Marlins’ manager. At least he has some experience managing, however it is in the single-A level. So….. yea. We shall see.

Some of you may have forgotten about good ole Mike. So, let’s get reacquainted with him, shall we?

• Mike’s full name is Michael Patrick Redmond.
• Mike has a twin brother named Patrick Michael. (Heh… I see what his parents did there.)
• Mike played college baseball with his brother at Gonzaga University.
• In 1998, Mike started playing in the MLB with the Marlins. He stayed a Marlin until 2004.
• Before retiring in 2010, Mike played with the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians.
• He caught for R.A. Dickey, so maybe he can help the Marlins know how to hit against the dang guy.

Sometimes this Marlins team makes certain decisions that make you scratch your head. Today, Manager Ozzie Guillen, along with bench coach Joey Cora, have been fired from the team. They are not done either.

A possible replacement being rumored is former Marlin, Mike Lowell. Honestly, I think Lowell is great, but I am afraid the Marlins would just fire him like they did everyone else.

CBS Miami put out a great article about Ozzie.

I guess the Marlins can dedicate this song to Ozzie, then.

I think it’s a pretty known fact that Heath Bell and Ozzie Guillen do not see eye to eye after the comments the former closer said about his manager. Heath was quoted as saying that “it is hard to respect a guy that doesn’t tell you the truth or doesn’t tell you face to face”. Heath went on to say that the team needs a manager who is a good leader, who is well respected, and “everyone looks up to”.

He said all this on WQAM to Dan Sileo on his weekly radio show.

Apparently, Heath and his teammates do not share the same sentiments towards Ozzie.

Honestly, Heath needs to realize that Ozzie gave him so many chances to continue being our closer. I agree with the players that if we would’ve had a much better season, this subject wouldn’t have even been brought up. I think they were trying to say the following: Heath, if you wouldn’t have sucked at closing out games, you wouldn’t have this problem with Ozzie in the first place.

Obviously, I am not in the clubhouse and there could be more to the story. Judging from what we have seen on the field and off, Heath has many chances to close games and he failed at doing so. I do agree with him that he has done a much better job as of late. Maybe the problem is not just his pitching, but his poor attitude.

Oh, Heath. Quit complaining. You were way cool when you were the funny guy. Now, you are just being a Debbie Downer. You are being disrespectful to Steve Cishek, your teammates, your manager, and yes, your fans. I am so over you.

Rumors are swirling around that Ozzie Guillen may not be asked to return as Marlins manager next season. Honestly, I think we should give him another chance. I am kind of tired of firing good managers left and right while nothing really changes (See: Fredi Gonzalez and Joe Girardi).

Mike Lowell’s name is being thrown around as a possible replacement if Ozzie does not return.

Thoughts?

Keep Ozzie. If he goes, I am gonna be a sad Christopher Palu. (Project Runway reference #10000002 and I am not ashamed.)

Can we just get rid of the ownership, though? Seriously.

Nate Eovaldi pitched a gem for 8 innings, but Steve Cishek blew the save. But it’s okay because the Marlins still beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 with a walk off hit by Jose Reyes.

This calls for a party, Gangnam Style.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the coolest part of the Marlins game today. The game was quite uneventful with the Fish losing to the Mets 5-1. Even Jason Bay hit a grand slam for the Mets. Fail.

Here’s a picture that Billy the Marlin tweeted of himself with the turtles. (@BillytheMarlin)

I am a 80′s/90′s kid, and I loved the TMNT movies. It was totally awesome to see them at the game. Speaking of the old 90′s movies, remember this gem?

I has a sad. This was the last episode of this season’s The Franchise. It was way cool to have a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes with the Marlins. Not only did they show what happens with the team in general, but I liked seeing their relationship as teammates and buddies. Of course, I also enjoyed watching Ozzie Guillen rant away, whether it was about coconut water or crappy performance on the field.

High Expectations

We basically saw a recap of the Marlins’ 2012 season and what came to be. It was lots of high expectations and low results. When the season began, you can feel the excitement in the air just walking around Miami. Cars had Marlins car flags flying around and people wearing hats with the new logo left and right. Sure, the fans still show off the new colors and logo. The excitement that was once there isn’t the same.

Ozzie: Love Him Or Hate Him

We also had a look back at Ozzie this season, from telling off reporters to the Fidel Castro comment controversy. Ozzie’s son, Oney, said the following, “Controversy sells. That’s why he has the biggest circle.” Of course, Oney is referring to the large amount of reporters asking Ozzie questions in the dugout pregame. If someone asks Ozzie a question he finds stupid, they get a snarky reply from him. Ozzie says, “I am who I am.” And if you don’t like it, too bad.

The Most Interesting Man In Baseball

Who would’ve thought that Greg Dobbs is Peruvian, speaks perfect Spanish, plays guitar, and is a wine connoisseur (unless, that was a joke)? Definitely not me!

My reaction:

His teammates call him “the most interesting man in baseball” because he is just a badass in the way he does things “methodically”.  John Buck says he “seeps perfection”.

I’ve always loved “Dobby”, but now I see him as truly, the most interesting man in baseball. Oh, and on top of it all, he killed our shutout streak. I was there and loved every minute of it.

The Jose Reyes Laugh

Either the people of The Franchise read my last recap, or just read my mind, because they did feature Jose Reyes’ awesome laugh. (They didn’t mention Ricky Ricardo. Poop.) Other players like LoMo were asked to recreate it, but I think Steve Cishek was able to nail it. Reyes’ laugh comes in many different variations, each one hilarious.

Who Is Steve Cishek?

Cishek was going around Lincoln Road asking random people if they know who Steve Cishek was without giving away his identity. Not one person knew who Cishek was. After being asked, “Do you know the Marlins pitcher, Steve Cishek?”, one guy said, “What position does he play?” Facepalm. I know they were most likely tourists, but, really? He just told you what position he plays! Fail.