A-Rod in Teal? Don’t Bank On It
October 19, 2007
Lately there have been rumors floating around about the possibility of Alex Rodriguez being a Florida Marlin in 2008 and beyond. These rumors all started with reports from Buster Olney of ESPN. On the surface, Marlins fans can’t help but be excited about the prospects of this however they should be just as skeptical. Let’s be realistic here, Alex Rodriguez is going to command just about the same amount of money the entire Marlins payroll earned in 2007. There’s about as much of a chance of Alex Rodriguez donning the teal and black as there is of former skipper Jack McKeon giving up cigars.
For the purposes of discussion, let’s consider the ramifications of A-Rod becoming a Marlin. If he was to sign with the team, it would almost certainly mean the exit of Miguel Cabrera. While a signing of Rodriguez would signal the Marlins spending more dough, it’d cause them to have too many guys at the same spot. Rodriguez would not go back to being a shortstop because the Marlins have that spot locked up for awhile not to mention the fact it’s been a long time since A-Rod played SS on a regular basis. Rodriguez would play the hot corner leaving Cabrera without a spot. Now, many of you might be saying how about putting Cabrera at 1st and sending Jacobs out of town? This is a possible move seeing as Cabrera would be less of a defensive liability at first. However, with the signing of A-Rod to replace Cabrera’s bat, it might be prudent of the Marlins to move Cabs and get back a few pieces the team needs like pitching, catching and maybe a center fielder as well.
Besides the on-the-field effects of a Rodriguez signing would be the stadium situation and how it would be factored in. Many will tell you that the Marlins need to make a big splash and sign or trade for someone who is marquee in order to sway the votes in their favor. I disagree with this, based on history this will not do a thing. The Marlins signed Ivan Rodriguez, a marquee name. They signed Carlos Delgado, another marquee name. They signed fan favorites Luis Castillo and Mike Lowell to new deals instead of letting them leave town when their contracts were expiring and this didn’t help. Oh and let’s not forget they won two world championships in 6 years. The fact of the matter is signing Alex Rodriguez would fall in line with those other situations, while it might generate buzz at first — it would not lead to a new stadium for the Marlins. Attendance is a related subject brought up when a marquee name is considered like this, people will say that the attendance will skyrocket. I don’t agree. The attendance may be boosted a little but it won’t be anything substantial. Comparisons to Shaquille O’Neal’s effect on Heat attendance that I read all too often are irrelevant. The Miami Heat play 41 home games, less supply and therefore more demand than the Marlins.
The bottom line is Alex Rodriguez will not be playing in a Florida Marlins uniform. No matter what rumors there are, it’s just something that no Marlin fan should get excited about. A-Rod is not going to save the franchise and rectify the stadium and attendance issues and the Marlins front office has to know this. In my opinion there’s only one way to turn attendance around and get the stadium funding needed — keep the players the Marlins already have and sign them long term. Give the fans a core group of players to root for year in and year out and create a dynasty. A-Rod is just one guy, no matter how talented of a player he is. He won’t be a Marlin and maybe that’s for the best.
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