Entering a world of nonsense

With today marking the opening of Spring Training camps across Arizona and Florida, the timing seemed right for a little baseball talk.

I’d like to talk about the hope that comes with a new season, not only for big spending teams like the Yankees and Mets, but for teams with payrolls hovering around CC Sabathia’s yearly take like the Marlins and Pirates.

I’d like to talk about the World Baseball Classic which will be played again this year and how Cuba will clearly be whooping on all comers.

I’d even like to talk about all the steroids nonsense going on from Bonds to the Rocket to more recent news about A-Rod and Tejada.

But all the pops into my head when thinking about baseball now is my hatred for one Mr. H. Wayne Huizenga.

For those of you who don’t know, Huizenga is basically a real rich guy who likes making more money.

Until a few weeks back, Mr. Huizenga was the majority owner of the Miami Dolphins. Before that he was also responsible for bringing both the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers to South Florida.

While he actually cared about the Dolphins and was always willing to put money into the franchise, he treated the Marlins and Panthers like nothing but businesses.

In 1997, he managed to put together a Marlins team that was good enough to make the playoffs and then win the World Series in seven games against the Cleveland Indians.

And then, before the confetti had been sweeped up from the victory parade, he tore that team to shreds.

Gone were stars like Moises Alou, Edgar Renteria, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter and Robb Nen.

A few months into the next season the Marlins then said goodbye to Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Charles Johnson.

What was the reason for this madness?

One word. Money.

Huizenga said the Marlins weren’t making him any money so he was going to sell the team.

Fair enough. There’s no reason he should have to keep losing money on something he didn’t really care about.

But if you’re going to sell something, why not sell it when it’s in top shape?

He had a world championship team full of young players, and decided to strip it down before making the sale.

The result was a 1998 Marlins team that went 54-108, a mark which is still a franchise-worst to this day.

Even worse for Marlins fans, this was the beginning of a trend that continues to this day.

The Marlins build up a team. It tastes success. It gets gutted and the process starts from scratch.

Now you may be asking why I’m bringing this up now since Huizenga hasn’t been in charge of the Marlins for 10 years now.

It’s simple. He brought it up.

On Tuesday, while talking with reporters, he brought up that 1997 Marlins championship team.

And he said he regretted what he did.

“If I had to do it all over again, I’d say, ‘OK, we’ll go one more year. I’m telling you right now, at the end of this year, I’m out of here,’” Huizenga said. “That’s what I would’ve done, but that’s in hindsight. There’s nothing you could do about it. The decision was made and we made it.”

Now, while this may seem like an innocent enough statement, I see it as a slap to the face of Marlins fans.

Marlins fans have been suffering since that move.

Yes the won the Series again in 2003, but there have also been two more firesales since then.

Everytime something good happens for the team, it is quickly followed by something negative.

And as far as I’m concerned, this all goes back to Huizenga.

While he may think the typical South Florida sports fan loves him for all the money and effort he put into the Dolphins, the sting of what he did to the Marlins has never gone away.

I mean, if someone steals your kidney while you sleep, are you gonna love them cause they gave you an ice cream cone later on?

No!!!

Hells No!!!

So while some might have considered it a sad day when Huizenga sold the Dolphins, I considered it to be a reason to celebrate.

The man who had burned South Florida sports fans more than any other was gone.

Coincidently, this week there is a good chance the Marlins will finally get the final approval to begin building their long-awaited new stadium.

If all goes well, then the team may finally be at the point where it’ll be able to keep its players past puberty.

Then, the final stench from Huizenga’s tenure with the Marlins may finally float away.