Two months into Derek Jeter's tenure with the Marlins, he "appears out of his league as a CEO," and the media and fans "have turned on" the future HOFer, according to Ben Walker of the AP. Critics "contend Jeter is to blame for clumsy firings, delegating too much and hanging in the background rather than accepting his role as the face and voice of the franchise." Jeter after trading reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees over the weekend sat in a skybox at Monday night’s Patriots-Dolphins game, "raising the question: Why wasn’t he at this week’s winter meetings?" Jeter said he was "never planning on attending." However, Walker wrote Jeter's absence "reinforces the notion he’s trying to distance himself from the decisions he’s making." Jeter: "The one thing everyone needs to realize is this is an organization that had not been successful. ... If you haven’t been winning, it’s time to make a change. To make a change, there have to be some moves. There may be some unpopular decisions at times. But we are trying to fix something that is broken" (AP, 12/12). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde wrote, "You can’t sit in the odd orbit of a Dolphins luxury box Monday night ... while the baseball world wonders why the new face of the Marlins franchise was too busy to come to Orlando and answer up to questions at the winter meetings." Hyde: "What a disappointment this guy’s opening innings are." While blame for the Stanton trade should fall on former Owner Jeffrey Loria, Jeter "owed it to the disappearing Marlins fan to say so on a national stage." More Hyde: "That’s what baseball fans needed to see as the developed rage at Jeter became a public stoning over the trade" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 12/12).
CRITICISM IS WARRANTED: CBS Sports Network's Adam Schein said Jeter "deserves big-time criticism for how he has handled everything with the Marlins since he took over the team." Being at Patriots-Dolphins instead of the winter meetings "is awful optics." Schein: "The way that he handled the Stanton trade, and even messing around with the Giants and Cardinals when Stanton had a no-trade clause -- that was awful. ... He walked in the door and fired all the legends. He fired the broadcast crew. You don't show up to explain yourself. You’re an owner, Derek." More Schein: "This is garbage, and if I’m a Marlins fan, I’m demanding better and I’m demanding answers. Everything that Derek Jeter has done since taking over the Miami Marlins has been an abject failure” (“Time to Schein,” CBSSN, 12/12). The L.A. Times' Bill Plaschke said, "He has to be accountable. ... You see him at the football game, he has no clue that he's supposed to be accountable." Plaschke added, "He doesn't deserve his job." The Colorado Springs Gazette's Woody Paige said Jeter "seems to be trying to ruin his reputation" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 12/12).
ATTACK AND DEFEND: USA Today's Bob Nightengale and other MLB reporters on Twitter noted agent Scott Boras today "calls the #Marlins an #MLB jewelry store that's become a pawn shop." Bleacher Report's Scott Miller noted Boras "says MLB blew it on vetting process on sale of club." Bergen Record's Pete Caldera: "Marlins manager Don Mattingly feels criticism of new CEO Derek Jeter has been generally unfair. 'I kind of look back to Derek's first year in pro ball. He makes 50-something errors at shortstop and we know what happened after.'" N.Y. Post's Joel Sherman: "Mattingly defended Jeter's early ownership. he was talking big picture that Jeter has the ability to withstand negativity and ultimately thrive." South Florida-based WPLG-ABC's Will Manso: "You can consider Marlins an expansion team. That’s how this will work when all torn down."
