Editor's note: Michael Lawson is one of the many Marlins fans who are saying "enough is enough" after the franchise embarked on the third fire sale of its relatively short history on Tuesday. Here's a letter he sent to Big League Stew resigning his position as one of the team's most dedicated fans.
Dear Florida/Miami Marlins,
I am officially done with you. I am sick and tired of watching you be a farm team for the rest of Major League Baseball. I was there the day the first pitch was thrown and traveled 1,000+ miles this year to see the new stadium only to get let down once again. The continuous trades make me sick with all the money I have spent on merchandise and tickets.
Over the years, I have said goodbye to Josh Beckett, Kevin Brown, Jeff Conine, Bobby Bonilla, Edgar Renteria, Moises Alou, Gary Sheffield, Al Leiter, Robb Nen, Mike Piazza, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Dempster, Cliff Floyd, Charles Johnson, Mike Hampton, Kevin Milar, Adrian Gonzalez, Derrick Lee, Brad Penny, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo, Juan Pierre, Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Anibal Sanchez, Hanley Ramirez, Omar Infante, and now Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. With opening day just four months away, I doubt I will recognize the lineup come first pitch.
Thank you for the two World Series victories. I was in the stadium at Game 7 of the 1997 World Series cheering as Craig Counsell crossed home plate and then back for opening day in 1998. I cheered after you decimated the team as everyone booed Wayne Huizenga while he was driven around the field in a golf cart during the pregame ceremonies. I travel every year back to south Florida to see the team in spring training and during the regular season only to constantly have this happen. I'm now done for good. You are like a bad relationship that you keep telling yourself will only get better. You are the definition of insanity ("doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results").
It is now my time to make a trade. Your entire organization is being traded for a new club, which houses many of your former players — the Detroit Tigers. I have been following them for many years as I took up residence in Michigan, but I had always retained my loyalty to you. Not any longer. 100 percent of my loyalty has been shifted. It will no longer be "Let's Go Fish," but "Let's Go Tigers" — a team with an owner who actually cares about winning instead of his bottom line.
Goodbye, Billy the Marlin. Hello, Paws.
Thanks for the memories, though. The good ones were mostly erased by all of the moves you made over the years, but I will always be grateful for you bringing a professional sports team to south Florida. Even though Joe Robbie, Pro Player, Dolphins, and Sun Life Stadium were empty on most nights, I paid my hard earned money to see live professional baseball for many years and create everlasting memories that I will carry with me forever with the last one being now.
It's been real,
Michael Lawson
Are you ready for hot stove season?
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