Marlins Raging Against Red Sox
 |
| (Steve Mitchell / USA Today Sports / March 6, 2014) |
Contributing Writer
The Florida Marlins are outraged.
Thursday they were kicking the dugout walls.
They were throwing their gloves on the ground.
They are spitting mad.
In the Sun Sentinel, they reported that the Marlins added a super premium charge for the one and only time this Spring Training due to the World Series Champions Boston Red Sox visiting.
The article went on, "Thursday, fans per ticket paid $12 more for field box seats, $11 more for loge and $10 more for bleachers than they would for a weekday game.
The reason? The Boston Red Sox."
MLB requires teams to field spring training lineups with "a minimum of four players who were regulars on the previous year’s major league team or who were platooned on the previous year’s major league team on a regular basis, or who have a reasonable chance to be regulars on the major league club’s squad during the upcoming season."
Each of those regulars, excluding pitchers, must play a minimum of three complete innings.
The Red Sox lineup included only one player — center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. — who fits that description.
Well to be honest, Jarrod Saltalamacchia fits the bill, but wait... he is on the Florida Marlins now.
Whoops.
Did someone check if it was April 1st?
The Sun Sentinel article goes on to complain that the fans hoped to see World Series caliber Red Sox, but instead got "...mostly organizational filler in Red Sox batting practice jerseys with numbers befitting an offensive line."
You have to think that the Marlins have a case and will be bringing this up with the league office. If MLB deems the club violated the rule, the Red Sox would be subject to a fine.
The only ones that took it seriously Thursday seemed to be the Marlins who, "...were considerate enough to wear their full regular season home whites to give the game a semi-major league feel."
Post a comment or via twitter @ericschabell with your thoughts.
More by Eric D. Schabell
