Orlando Sentinel

Wake me up when Marlins are good

- Dave Hyde Columnist

You know the drill. “It takes time,” Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said.

And they’re building and growing.

“We continue to build, we continue to grow,” he said.

And there’s no time frame on winning.

“I don’t put a time frame on it, because any time you put a time frame on it, it allows your team to accept mediocrity,’’ he said.

Year 2 of the New Marlins, or Next Marlins, or whatever you want to call whoever they are now is about to start, ready or not. And for lovers of symbols, constructi­on equipment kept beeping and hammering in Marlins Park as Jeter answered questions for a few minutes Monday morning on the edge of spring training.

Loud constructi­on, you see, is the theme of another year. And patience, if you have the kind that allows you to watch them re-construct, brick-by-detailed-brick.

So far the obvious change is to the home run sculpture (gone), the outfield fence (blue,

not green), the team logo, uniform colors and (oh, God, not this) Billy The Marlin being put on a Paleo diet and in a trimmed costume.

The running theme is Jeter & Co. want to distance themselves as far as possible from everything about previous owner, Jeffrey Loria. The only thing left would be to take down the 2003 World Series marker high up in left field. Can we get someone on that?

Of course, by this point, no one cares about Loria’s fingerprin­ts being wiped clean as much as when Jeter’s team wins. If it does.

Losing like Loria is what Jeter really needs to separate himself from, and no one knows when that will happen.

The Marlins have added 38 players in the past year. Maybe a few of the young players take off this season. Maybe not.

The only good part of the Marlins complicate­d history is having painful points of reference. Year 2 of this rebuild means it’s 1999 all over again.

Mark Kotsay was the future. Bruce Aven was a big hope. And everyone was ready to quit on Derrek Lee for hitting .206. Who knew only Lee would become a franchise cornerston­e?

Who knows what any of these 2019 Marlins become, really?

The issue is not many fans will even care until winning makes them care again.

Who do you even follow? Even Jeter admitted to sitting back and observing last year rather than getting to know his players. Who knew who would survive?

“Look, I’d love for everything to be fixed overnight,’’ he said. “But there’s a lot of things we need to improve upon in this organizati­on. Repairing our relationsh­ip with the community is one of the biggest ones we had to work on.

“I think we’ve made progress in that direction, but we have to continue. Ballpark experience, I wish some of these improvemen­ts in place last year. They take time. We’re going to continue to make improvemen­ts to this park, continue to make improvemen­ts for our overall fan base.”

When you can’t talk about the team, talk about Miami’s Best Pizza being served. And I get it. I’m one of those who understood the path Jeter took.

Anyone who bought the team was trading Giancarlo Stanton’s contract. And, once he was gone, there was no way to win with the worst-rated minor leagues in baseball.

In the long run, it might work out. But Year 2 is the short run. We wait to see if they’re the worst team in baseball or, like last year, achieve enough to be the second worst.

“I would take that like as a slap in the face, if I was a player,’’ Jeter said. “That’s the approach we’ve got to have.”

Patience is the only approach this season. And most fans are out of patience. Jeter’s Marlins will only see them when they get a product worth watching. Jeter is smart enough to understand what he inherited and what is needed now.

“Improvemen­t,’’ he said. “We need to see improvemen­t. We need to see improvemen­t from our younger guys who got an opportunit­y to play last year. That’s how you get better. We can sit and talk about minor league systems all you want, but it gets to a point when you’re in Miami you have to develop and have to improve year in and year out.”

Until then, enjoy the newer, slimmer Billy The Marlin.

 ?? JOSE A. IGLESIAS/TNS ?? Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter talks to members of the media Monday at Marlins Park.
JOSE A. IGLESIAS/TNS Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter talks to members of the media Monday at Marlins Park.
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