Today we begin with some Marlins news.  The Miami Herald and their beat writer, Clark Spencer, finally got around to talking about the specifics of how dysfunctional the Marlins front office is.  In what probably came as a surprise to them, the most dysfunctional owner in sports, Jeffrey Loria, is making all the baseball decisions for the hapless Marlins.  Team President Larry Beinfest and GM Michael Hill have been reduced from their original roles as Loria’s minions to insignificant bystanders.  

How long will MLB allow this ass-wipe to continue to own this ball club and run in deeper into the ground is the question that all the true baseball fans in South Florida should be asking.  It isn’t just about boycotting the team and not going to games.  That doesn’t hurt this poor excuse for a human being one bit. It should be more of a “WE LOVE OUR MARLINS but WE ABSOLUTELY DESPISE JEFFREY LORIA” approach.  A letter writing campaign, e-mails, and phone calls to MLB commissioner Bud “Light” Seelig wouldn’t hurt.  If they receive just 25,000 letters, 25,000 e-mails, and 25,000 phone calls, MLB would have no choice but to, at least, address the issue internally.  

Like I’ve been saying for more than a year:  Loria needs to sell the team immediately, if not sooner.  It’s a shame that MLB has it out for a guy like Mark Cuban, but continues to allow this piece of excrement to own a team.  

I know that it is just wishful thinking, but . . someone needs to contact Jeff Bezos.  The Miami product, who owns Amazon.com and just went out and bought the Washington Post, could take some of his loose change and buy this team.  There is a saying in Spanish that goes “soñar no cuesta nada”. (“dreaming doesn’t cost anything”) 

Let’s go out to the ballparks.

The Fish lost again last night, this time getting pummeled by the Phillies, 12-2.  Cliff Lee took advantage of the Marlins, striking out 14, including Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jeff Mathis three times each.  Sam Dyson gave up 7 runs in his 2-plus innings of work.  With 12 games to go in the regular season, the Fish would need to go 8-4 in order to avoid reaching the century mark in losses.  Tonight at 7:05, Roy Halladay will take the hill for the Phillies, and the Marlins will, yet again, counter with one of their many “Not Ready for Prime Time” players, Brian Flynn.

The Marlins are still the worst offensive team in the majors, and one of the worst in major league history.  After scoring a grand total of 7 runs over the four game series against the Mets this past weekend, the Fish have been held to three runs or less 95 times this season, and their record in those 95 games is 18-77. Taking it one step further,

When scoring three runs in a game - 7-18
When scoring two runs in a game - 9-19
When scoring one run in a game - 2-23

Of course, they lead the majors in getting shutout, having been blanked 17 times so far this season. Ouch.

The Marlins are still at the bottom of the list in runs scored in MLB, scoring only 481 runs in their 150 games, an obscene 3.20 runs per contest.  Here are the rest of the bottom-dwellers:

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 55-95 481
White Sox 59-91 555
Padres 69-80 569
Twins 64-85 574
Phillies 70-80 575
Cubs 63-87 575

In contrast, the Boston Red Sox (92-59) lead MLB with 791 runs scored and the Detroit Tigers (87-63) have plated 752.  The Sox have played one more game than the Tigers. 

In the Major Leagues yesterday, here are the capsules and summaries from all the games. 

National League Results and Summaries - Monday, Sept. 16

American League Results and Summaries - Monday, Sept. 16

Today’s games around the majors, 

Schedule and probable pitchers for Tuesday, September 17

It is now official: Jose Fernandez’ next start will be on Marlins opening day, March 31, home at Marlins Park, against the Colorado Rockies.  

Here is the complete, month-by-month 2014 schedule for the Marlins:

2014 Marlins Schedule

Classy move by the Nationals, Braves, and MLB in postponing yesterday’s game after the Navy Yard shooting in Washington, DC:

Navy Yard shooting postpones Braves-Nats

The Braves can clinch their first division title since 2005 in their doubleheader today.  Once more, congratulations to my good friend, Fredi Gonzalez, on the terrific job he has done with the Braves.  The Braves last posted the National League's best record in 2003, when they shared MLB's top mark at 101-61 along with the New York Yankees. The Braves also have MLB's best record at home (52-22, .718).  I guess Fredi just wasn’t good enough for Jeffrey Loria.  Best thing that could have happened to Fredi.

Braves will try to take magic number from 4 to 0 in 1 day

Who are the players that will most impact the pennant races in MLB?

10 Degrees: Players who will most impact pennant races

Even though the Texas Rangers are in a bit of a tailspin, one guy who is wowing the fans every day is Rangers’ outfielder Leonys Martin:

Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin dazzles with his arm — again

Mariano Rivera’s teammates talk about a side of Mo that we have not seen:

Rivera a clubhouse prankster?

Another one of the class acts in major league baseball decides to retire:

Todd Helton to hang them up after 17 seasons with the Colorado Rockies

Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:

MLB Standings

Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:

Individual MLB league leaders

Let’s go to the NFL, starting with the Dolphins.

Let’s all enjoy the Dolphins’ 2-0 start and bask in their glory:

The Miami Dolphins’ blueprint for success

Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle will try to get Dion Jordan more plays

Here is more from Armando Salguero:

PFF and Salguero look at Colts victory

The Fins will finally be at home this week, in what promises to be a tough battle against the Atlanta Falcons and their All-Pro QB Matt Ryan.  

Final Week 2 NFL Results and game summaries

In last night’s MNF extravaganza, the Bengals beat the Steelers 20-10.

Bernard's 2 TDs lead Bengals past Steelers 

I finished the week 5-2 against the spread so far this week, and a perfect 7-0 straight up.  

vs the Spread Straight Up Season Total

WEEK 1 3-2-1 4-2 ------ -----
WEEK 2 5-2 7-0 8-4-1 11-2

Thanks to Bernard’s two scores, I lost in my fantasy league this week, 231.74 to 221.68.  Congrats to my good friend, Coach Ernie Padron on the win.

Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with more news from all around the league:

NFL Nation Blog »

Of course, we can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.  

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies has decided to retire after 17 seasons.  He is one of only three players in major league history with at least a .315 batting average, 2,500 hits, 550 doubles, and 350 home runs in his career.  Who are the other two? The answer comes later, alligator.   

The Herald’s Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have the latest scoop from the University of Miami, as the Canes return to the practice field in preparation for this week’s encounter with Savannah State at the Seven Names Stadium:

Eye on the U

The UM-USF game in a couple of weeks is now a noon start:

UM-USF game scheduled for noon

It is all in the bloodlines:

For Miami Hurricanes’ AJ Highsmith, smart play is a no-brainer

I told you it was just going to get uglier and uglier at FIU. The web site asking for the firing of FIU’s athletic director Pete Garcia - www.firepetegarcia.com - is getting more hits every day, the social media sites, the blogs, seem to be indicating that the FIU faithful and many people in the university have had more than enough of the present Athletic Department hierarchy and staff.  David Neal of the Miami Herald tells us in his “Panther Prowl” that Garcia, whose exact title is Executive Director of Entertainment and Sports, has a retention bonus due on October 15th of $72,504.  If Garcia is terminated without cause BEFORE October 15th, FIU would have to pay him $362,527.  If these numbers are being thrown around publicly, it tells me that they are being discussed privately inside the university.

The Panthers travel to Louisville on Saturday to take on the University of Louisville.  Kickoff is at 12 noon.  No TV for the game, which is probably done so nobody down here has to bear witness to what should be a massacre.  FIU has the honor of being the biggest underdog in NCAA football this week, as Louisville is favored by 42 points over the Panthers.  Remember, FIU beat this Louisville team two seasons ago, and last year, they played them very tough and had a 14-7 lead before FIU QB Jake Medlock suffered a foot injury.  The Panthers fell behind 28-14, and made it interesting, losing 28-21.  

Please tell me again why Mario Cristobal was fired.

Another dubious honor this week, which is a bad week to be a “Panther” in college football.  There are 125 teams in division 1-A in college football, and the bottom two teams are Panthers - - - FIU is ranked #124, and Georgia State is #125.  Here are the complete rankings, courtesy of USA Today:

NCAA re-rank: Our list from 1-125 after Week 3

Here’s the latest from FIU:

 Louisville Cardinals are not overlooking FIU Panthers, will show ‘respect’

Panthers Prowl

Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:

FSU blog | Seminoles Chant

From Gainesville and the University of Florida:

UF blog | Gator Clause

No change in the top-five in college football this week. Here are this week’s top-25 rankings:

Top 25

Here are the complete results for NCAA football this past week:

NCAA Week 3 Results

In Miami Heat news, LeBron James got married this past weekend in San Diego.  I did not attend, as my invitation probably got lost in the mail:

LeBron James weds longtime love in San Diego

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I’m selling three lots totaling a little over five acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock.  Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions: 

Beautiful North Carolina Property For Sale

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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies has decided to retire after 17 seasons.  He is one of only three players in major league history with at least a .315 batting average, 2,500 hits, 550 doubles, and 350 home runs in his career.  Who are the other two?      

Mr. Helton is in some select company with Stan Musial and Hank Aaron.   

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.