Marlins CEO Derek Jeter last night at a town hall meeting "asked fans for patience" and declined to say "when the team would have a sizable payroll again," according to Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD. Jeter was "pelted with pointed questions from angry fans" and repeatedly "cited failure under the previous regime when asked why the team didn’t keep all its key offensive players and sign pitching instead of dismantling." One fan shouted at Jeter that his group spent $1.2B and then "ran out of money.” Jeter, who answered questions for nearly 90 minutes, said, "I can’t sit here and say trust me. You don’t know me. You earn trust over time. I know how organizations are sustainable over time. I know you have been through a lot. I can’t relate to it. It’s going to be a tough road." Jackson notes the question "asked at least four times, including by one woman who was crying," was why the team did not keep Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon and merely add pitching. Jeter twice "challenged fans to name the pitchers they would add." Jeter: "You can’t throw money at a problem and continue to dig a bigger hole. To not have any depth in the organization, even if you were to win, you would have to build again at some point. ... It’s easy to say, ‘Go get more pitching and you’re going to win.’ There are no guarantees by grabbing pitching you are going to win." Jeter: “We didn’t buy this team to continue losing money or more importantly, losing games. More of the same is not the answer.” He also "made clear the Marlins must figure out a way to increase revenue, citing poor attendance and not enough corporate sponsorships and the 'worst TV deal in baseball'" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/20).
NECESSARY EVILS: The AP's Steven Wine noted Jeter "calmly answered questions until there were no more." He said that he "appreciated the fans’ feedback -- positive and negative." Some 200 ticket-holders "attended the town hall, the first in a series, and the seats arranged in the outfield plaza were nearly full" (AP, 12/19). In Ft. Lauderdale, Craig Davis writes the mood was "respectful, but fans made it clear they are disenchanted" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/20). Also in Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes the event was "better than anything coming to Marlins Park for a while." Hyde: "Awkward but necessary. Entertaining and, yes, informative" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/20). In N.Y., Hannah Withiam writes Jeter’s "coming-out party" with Marlins fans was "more like an intervention." Jeter "attempted to minimize tension before opening the floor to questions." But many of the fans who spoke up "didn’t buy Jeter’s sweet talk" (N.Y. POST, 12/20).
GOING OFF THE RAILS: YAHOO SPORTS' Chris Cwik wrote the town hall was a "complete disaster," and gathered up a handful of tweets from reporters at the event. Among them: Miami-based WPLG-ABC's Will Manso: "First fan says 'burn it down' with agreeing with moves. Jeter says they’re not burning down. Fan says Jeter needs to give free tickets for fans. Oh boy." The Herald's Jackson: "Jeter asks fans to be patient. One older man tells him he doesn't have that many more years." Miami-based WINZ-AM's Andy Slater: "Fan tells Jeter it’s ironic that town hall meeting is being held behind Budweiser Bar in left field, because there won’t be a ball hit in the area by the home team next year" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/19).
