Marlins CEO Derek Jeter yesterday in a Q&A session with local business leaders was "peppered with questions about everything from the organization’s thought process behind recent trades to how the Marlins can keep their next generation of stars to the home-run sculpture in left-center field," according to Tim Healey of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. Jeter "did not take questions from reporters" and he "did not address the firing of the man inside the Billy the Marlin costume." Much of what Jeter said "echoed the themes he has stuck to since his introductory news conference in October: The Marlins were bad, and have been bad, so change needed to happen." Asked how he will keep the Marlins intact when they become successful again, Jeter said that "your money would help." Jeter: "Help from a lot of you in this room, right? Obviously we have to get the fans back into the stadium. We need support from our corporate partners, which we have gotten since we got here" (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 2/8). Jeter said, "What we've been trying to do over the last few months is to listen as much as we can." He added, "Just know that every decision we make is going to be for the betterment of the organization. I understand the frustration. But the bottom line, and the way I looked at it was, it has been a challenge for us to get people to the stadium for years" (MLB.com, 2/7). The AP's Christopher Stock noted Jeter was "non-committal"on whether the Marlins will "remove the home run sculpture in left-center field." Jeter: "That's a topic of passion when it comes to Marlins' fans whether they like it or don't like it. We are always looking to make our fan experience better and we are listening" (AP, 2/7).
FRIENDLY BET? Jeter was also asked yesterday if he would be "willing to make a gentleman’s bet" with David Beckham, who recently announced his new Miami MLS club, about "which team would win a championship first?" Jeter said, "We’re starting from a bigger hole, a deeper hole than he is" (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 2/8).
