Loria reminds he’s the problem

It’s a small move, involving a small player, in a lost season that ends thisweekend. But Jeffrey Loria bypassing his baseball people to re- sign a role player likeGreg Dobbs reminds you he’ll never change, no matter howmany games he loses. Thiswas the latest example— the lesson of anotherMarlins’ season againwasn’t learned at all. The team owner still doesn’t get it. Loria still remains the most unaware person in the room about his franchise’s biggest problem.

A season after chapter and versewas cited for howhe squandered a new stadium, there’s a next chapter and another verse.

Want 2013’ s short list? Loria doesn’t think it mattered he personally hired a hitting coach who had never coached and blamed others. TinoMartinez failed with young players.

He doesn’t think it mattered he personally dictated which pitchers should start when, even if a young teamwas “given a lesson of what goes on here,” a source said.

Loria doesn’t think it mattered he said which players could be called up or demoted. Most of all, Loria doesn’t think. That’s what it comes down to with the Marlins this past decade. The issue isn’t that Loria is a meddler. Lots of bosses meddle. And Loria has done so since base-

ball commissioner Bud Selig set him up for business in South Florida.

The issue is Loria keeps trying to do everyone’s job when he’s not doing his own verywell. Set a consistent payroll. Run a firstclass operation. Hire good people and support them. Drawa blueprint to success and followit.

That’s Loria’s job. That’s what good owners do. But in just the last three years, he’s had four different managers, three wildly shifting payrolls and more players coming in and out the door than any other team in baseball.

The only thing he does consistently is lose. This will be the fourth straight year they’ve lost more games than the previous season. So there’s that.

This is when they got the best ballpark public money could buy, too. That’s the shame of it all to baseball fans and the disgust of it all about Loria. Hewas gifted a stadium that should have set up this franchise up for life.

Instead, Loria blew his inheritance and keeps finding someone new to blame. This offseason it isn’t another manager. This time it’s the front office.

Loria threatens to fire GeneralManager Larry Beinfest and other good baseball people. He threatens to promote assistant general managerDan Jennings, who is on Loria’s good side.

Loria threatens to do everything but hold his breath or spend more money in a wiser fashion. Either onewould be a nice start toward making this franchise relevant again, wouldn’t it?

This isn’t to say Beinfest is perfect. He’s made mistakes. But howmany mistakes are his and howmany are because Loria changed the payroll without telling him, or signed someone he didn’t knowabout, are details only they can untangle.

What you wish from Loria is some accountability for his decisions. If he’s

The question turns to a young star like Jose Fernandez or a potential one like Chrisitian Yelich. If this franchise keeps losing, if owner Jeffrey Loria keeps making dumb moves, think they’ll want to say?

going to play general manager, can’t he admit to his blunders rather than sending the baseball people out to do so?

Fanswant to knowhow this figures into re- signing Giancarlo Stanton? Forget that. He’s out the door. He alwayswanted to play in his native California and his time inside this franchise only underlined that.

The question turns to a young star like Jose Fernandez or a potential one like Chrisitian Yelich. If this franchise keeps losing, if Loria keeps making dumb moves, think they’llwant to say?

Signing Dobbs, who is hitting .229, to a $ 1.7 million contract isn’t good news or bad news. But the fact Loria personally negotiated it, as a source said, tells you he isn’t changing hisways. He still plans to do everyone’s job.

Selig announced Thursday he’s retiring after the 2014 season. That means he has one season to clean up the mess he made in South Florida. His three- way deal of owners once helped Boston andWashington.

South Floridawas the third wheel. It got Loria.

He’s George Steinbrenner without awallet. The Yankees succeeded because The Boss threw money at his errors.

Loria just keeps throwing one failed season on top of another and blaming others for it.