Jeter said the ownership group is not focused on near-term cash returns to put in their pocketsGETTY IMAGES
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter on Thursday said many of the reported financial projections in his "Project Wolverine" are from prior to his ownership group getting control of the team, and are now out of date. But amid the club’s offseason fire sale and ongoing rebuilding effort, Jeter said he remains firm in his belief that South Florida is a baseball market. “The model has changed over time,” he said of the financial projections. “A lot of the models that have become public are from a long time ago. It was outdated information. But the bottom line is we believe in the market. And we believe we’re going to be able to turn this around. I think having optimistic projections, whatever people think of it, is a positive.” Jeter also dismissed a recent report that the MLBPA has raised concerns regarding the Marlins and their compliance with revenue-sharing protocols in the CBA. “This is a situation where we need to fix something that was broken,” Jeter said. “We have an ownership group that is very well capitalized and they’re not focused on near-term cash returns to put in their pockets. We’re investing back into the organization. And there are ways to do that, whether it’s player development, scouting, analytics, which we have to improve. ... When it’s appropriate, we’ll be investing in (major league) players, the free agent market. As I said, we have a plan and we’re going to stick to it. There are many ways to improve an organization" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
PREACHING PATIENCE: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes Marlins fans have let Jeter and Owner Bruce Sherman "know what they think" of the team's fire sale, "giving up their season tickets." But Jeter "understands the anger and frustration from fans, and asks for patience." He said, "We’re coming into a situation that wasn’t working, right? I think people have been pretty vocal about wanting a team on the field that has an opportunity to win. The team that was on the field wasn’t doing that. I understand the frustrations. These fans have been through quite a bit. So we plan to listen as much as we possibly can, but the ultimate goal is to be successful over time." Nightengale writes Jeter "deserves patience as he tries to build a floundering franchise into a contender." The Marlins "drew just 1.6 million fans last year, but only 820,000 actually went through the turnstiles," leaving the team with a "woeful" $30M in ticket revenue. Something dramatic "had to be done" (USA TODAY, 2/2).
