Jeter under fire in Miami

MIAMI » Reacting to the Giancarlo Stanton trade, a Miami Marlins supporter who is a priest suggested in church that fans boycott the team’s games in protest.

Does Derek Jeter have a prayer?

Always a winner as captain of the New York Yankees, Jeter is now trying to revive the downtrodden Marlins, and so far he appears out of his league as a CEO.Barely two months into the job, he has been faulted for his handling of the Stanton deal, and that’s not all. Critics contend Jeter is to blame for clumsy firings, delegating too much and hanging in the background rather than accepting his role as the face and voice of the franchise.

Long-suffering Marlins fans wonder: If Jeter’s ownership group didn’t have enough money to pay Stanton, why did they buy the team?

Jeter thrived in New York, somehow retaining an impeccable image amid the scrutiny of the world’s media capital. The theme at his retirement celebration was respect — the logo was “re2pect,” with Jeter’s jersey number replacing the S.

Now that he’s a novice baseball executive in Miami, the glare’s not as bright but the glow is gone, and re2pect must be earned anew.

“It’s definitely different,” former New York Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. “We never saw Derek Jeter beat up like this in New York.”

Even before Jeter’s group formally took over, the Marlins fired Jack McKeon, Jeff Conine, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez, all longtime executives and team ambassadors. More negative headlines reported the Marlins fired a scout while he was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery.

“It has been a learning experience,” Jeter said.