Logan Morrison filed a grievance against the Marlins after they demoted him last month, Amy K. Nelson of ESPN.com reports. Though the Marlins have maintained that they demoted the 24-year-old left fielder for baseball reasons, Morrison and agent Fred Wray are arguing that the demotion was a form of discipline without just cause.
"I'm doing this because I'm standing up for what's right," Morrison told Nelson. "If I thought it was because of my performance on the field, then I wouldn't be filing a grievance."
Morrison missed an event with Marlins season ticket holders before his demotion and not long afterwards Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said that the outspoken Morrison needed to learn more about "being a Major Leaguer." Morrison, who spent ten days in the minors, filed the grievance on August 25th, according to Nelson.
Morrison wants big league pay for the time he spent in the minors, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). He can still obtain a full year of service time in 2011, so the demotion didn't affect his path to arbitration or free agency.
#LoMoBlueJays
Could work. Logan Morrison just sounds Canadian, eh?
left field for the Jays, left wing for the Leafs !
Dont the blue jays already have like 3 left fielders who have a ton of hyper and are under performing in thames and snyder?
I was thinking more first base, where they have a disastrous incumbent (Lind)
Me too. I don’t want his horrible defense at LF and I’m fine with Snider and Thames battling it out. Jays need a good 1st baseman though.
This means that ozzie for Lomo might have some possibilities now.aha yes!
An honest question – do you see Morrison as a real fit for the White Sox? Although he’s been playing the outfield, his defense has been awful there, and by all accounts he needs to go back to 1B, where the White Sox are full.
Not killing the idea, but just think it may fit better as a three-way deal, with the White Sox sending LoMo elsewhere for someone that fits better with them.
this is true, but also consider he is very young and might just need time to figure things out. And with the way the whitesox are more than likely going to trade players away to shed payroll 1st might open up with a Dunn trade(some gm would take him at 25% of his contract) or a Konerko Trade(more realistic and could get the sox a good haul)
But a 3 team deal does make sense, any thought of the 3rd team?
What about Ozzie for Coughlin, he seems to have fallen out of favor with the marlins and the sox could slot him back at 3rd, or maybe 2nd and let beckham go back to AAA for a bit.
Could see Coghlan as well. As a Jays fan, I can see the Jays as a logical third team – as Anthopoulos seems to love getting into complex deals. Just not exactly sure if there’s one player in particular the Jays could offer in return, but rather an overall package or a good prospect or two.
How about Rasmus finally gets to the Sox, in a 3-way deal?
Ahahaha no.
Ozzie to the Marlins…Lomo, floyd or Danks, Thornton to the Jays…Rasmus to the whitesox….actually sounds fair…the Jays get a left fielder/ possible 1st basemen, a Solid Starter in floyd or potential front rotation in danks, and a back of the pen very good reliever.
Danks + Thornton already sounds like a bit more value than the Cards got for Rasmus. So the Sox are supposed to throw in Logan Morrison, too (after acquiring him?) Not likely, especially if you consider the deal Williams made FOR Danks. Traded a good young prospect/young vet in McCarthy for Danks and two other pitching prospects. With limited rebuilding possibilities available, if Williams trades Danks, he’ll be getting 1 or more guys who project to be major league starters, not puttting him in a package for an outfielder . . . . unless it was someone like Jacoby Ellsbury.
If you guys trade Konerko, you’ll lose what you made back in dumping the contract.
huh?
#FreeLoMo
What a bad idea Morrison. You are going to piss off this organization (and potentially future organizations) by complaining about a pay reduction over 10 days? Trust me, if the Marlins want to screw with you this is just the tip of the iceberg. You are squabbling over a few thousand dollars when this could cost you millions.
Why would he trust you? ^^^ all you are doing is stating your opinion on a subject that you are no informed on
I trust him.
Well let’s see.
1. Do I really need to recount specific players that get a bad rap from teams and how that impacts their future earnings? Unless you are Barry Bonds teams do care about who you are as a person. Filing grievances doesn’t endear you to any teams.
2. The Marlins have a whole host of things they can do. If he slumps, send him down. Limit his ML days and push back his FA by a year.
3. Push him into a platoon or rotation that would limit his AB’s and decrease his appeal when he hits FA.
While the team would be very unwise to do this if they are contending – what harm is there in doing this if the team puts up a typical year? What would decreasing Morrison’s PA’s by 200 do? Maybe cost them 1 win. Big deal when you are a 75 win team.
As for hurting their reputation with future FA’s … this is also a non-issue. The Marlins don’t attract FA’s. The only ones that sign are those that don’t have anywhere else to go.
Carl Everett, Albert Belle, Milton Bradley, Carlos Zambrano, and their Swiss bank accounts say hello.
Yeah why don’t more teams intentionally devalue their assets?
It’s about more than just the money. It’s about being treated fairly, which he clearly wasn’t this season. To cite his .249 batting average as a reason for demotion when he was in the Top 3 on the team in home runs, OPS, and RBIs is laughable. They could’ve at least cited some aspect of his game that needs work, like his defense, but instead they simply chose to pick an arbitrary statistic and use it as a reason to send a message.
Remember, Wes Helms told Morrison he didn’t have to go to the event and he was released that same day. The Marlins can try to spew a load of BS to the media, but this was shady to the very core, and they can’t treat their players like this over personal gripes.
Morrison has every right to file a grievance, and he’s doing the right thing. He should win, and the Marlins deserve to have their reputation tarnished for such a petty course of action.
You know, it’s kind of funny, but the timing of their release of Helms actually helps make LoMo’s case that they were really steamed about the charity event and seeking to punish him. Not only do they piss off one of their young players, but they may have managed to shoot themselves in the foot while doing so.
He does have every right to file a grievance. Nobody is debating that. I’m also not suggesting that the team was in the right (although I think they were). My point was simply that it is a terrible move from an earnings perspective. And this whole respect thing is silly. Morrison is pissed so instead of taking it like a man he complains. Big deal. You ever get called out at your job for doing something wrong when it really wasn’t your fault? Do you cry and complain about it – show up your management and ownership or do you just deal with it and move on?
As for whether he deserved to be demoted … remember – we have only his side of the story AND that story is truncated since HE walked out of the meeting. Who knows what else was going to be shared.
The fact is that Morrison showed major regression prior to his demotion. His attitude was cited as an issue. His defense was just terrible. His offense was going in the crapper (between 6/1 and his demotion on 8/13 his slash line was 213/285/408 – that was down from the previous few months where he posted an OPS of 1000). There were plenty of reasons to think that sending him down for a few weeks to work on defense/offense/baserunning/attitude might benefit him. Frankly, it looked like it did help. His performance since being called up has been significantly better (271/368/458).
“Morrison is pissed so instead of taking it like a man he complains.”
What exactly is “taking it like am man” in this context? If you get a week long, unpaid furlough from work to penalize you for something you didn’t do, wouldn’t you be a bit peeved?
“Take it like a man” is just a phrase those with power use to get others to do their bidding without complaint.
“Act like a sheep” just doesn’t seem to motivate as well even though they both seem to mean the same thing.
Except he DID do something. He skipped an event that he wasn’t supposed to. If my boss told me to come to an event with customers (which is what it was…season ticket holders) and I disregarded his request…I’d be lucky that I only got demoted for a couple of weeks and not outright FIRED!
“Do you cry and complain about it – show up your management and ownership or do you just deal with it and move on?”
That depends who we’re talking about. If it is somebody with a unique talent, or a unique level of talent–in other words, if they don’t absolutely need the job and risk being unemployed for months or years–then what they do is probably look for a new place to work. Taking blame for something that is not your fault is a pretty retarded thing to do. In an attempt to look like a good employee and team player you instead devalue yourself by “doing a bad job” (which you never did) and make yourself that much more likely to be fired the next time something goes wrong. All of which disregards the mental health aspects of working for an employer who sees you as a whipping boy instead of a valued member of their team.
I think we would both agree that major league baseball players fall into the camp of “unique talent or a unique level of talent,” but unlike most other employees they don’t have the option of quitting. I’m not saying that Morrison’s behavior is to be defended nor that it is great for his future earnings, but I’m also going to be fair and recognize that he is taking the avenues available to him that don’t involve laying on the floor and taking it until they get tired of kicking.
That’s obviously what this is about. For starters, he essentially said so: “I’m standing up for what is right.” But more to the point, the restitution in the grievance is silly and completely unworthy of the trouble it causes. As you said, this probably COSTS him money instead of gets it back for him. I mean really, ten days of pay — come on. So why do it? To bring what he considers bad behavior to light is probably part of it — but the bigger part is because he knows it’s going to piss his team off. The first thing I thought when I read this headline is “well, guess he’ll be on another team next year” and that is probably exactly what he is hoping for. He wants out of that organization (and who can blame him!) but doesn’t have the option of putting in his two weeks notice and looking for a new team to pay him for his abilities. Since I highly doubt one can file a grievance looking for the panel to declare a team naughty, naughty people, Morrisson had to attach a restitution to it; thus, the pay differential between the ten days he spent in the minors versus the majors.
Good idea for his career? I have no idea. I suspect it won’t have a large effect either way in the long run. Good way of getting out of the Marlins organization? Probably.
I’m all for sticking it to the man (I guess), but what’s the end game here? I mean, you’ll MAYBE get a little extra money, but it’s not like he’s going to be released from his contract and magically fulfill his dream of becoming a Phillie. You made your point in the press. This is just unnecessary.
Principle holds a lot of weight with some people. Complaining about it in the press doesn’t hold much weight if he’s not willing to actually do something about it.
What principle is at stake here? That I, Logan Morrison have the right to blow off an event organized by my employer on behalf of our customers (fans) because I don’t want to go? MLB players have obligations off the diamond; apparently, this event was important for the Marlins organization and Mr. Morrison was supposed to be there. I don’t think arguing that “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do” is much of a principle and it sure doesn’t carry any weight.
Marlins have customers? fans?
The seven people that attended that event demand an apology.
I wouldnt go to one of thoes stupid events if I was a player. Id be to busy racing my mini horse around the track in my backyard.
And sending him down to the minors was the right way to punish him?
It’s maybe not so much about money as it is about what’s correct. LoMo is perhaps a little outspoken at times, but the Marlins are dealing with it like a bunch of numpties, and if I were him, I’d want the hell out of that organization.
Boo Hoo
Go get ’em LoMo…..Stand up to the MAN !
Alex Anthopolous, time to show your magic!
Shuttup about Anthopolous. The blue jays suck.
Coming from a guy who got shelled in his first MLB IP. Love it.
Bluebird fans against the Stunk rays, I’m loving this. Let the battle for 3rd place begin!!
Somewhere and somehow, Buck Showalter is offended.
Arrogance from a Yankee fan? Colour me shocked.
Bitter victim of an Anthopolous fleecing?
3 or 4 more “fleeces,” you might battle for 3rd place! Whooo hoo!!
Since when does having a poor attitude not qualify as a reason to be demoted?
If someone had put Manny Ramierez in check I wonder where he would be right now… well to be honest I really don’t care where he would be but maybe you do.
Since forever? Are you new?
Since when does having a poor attitude not qualify as a reason to be demoted?
Assuming the team tried in other ways to communicate their displeasure with him and it had no effect, it would seem that the Marlins were using one of the few options left to them to send a message. He may not like it, but looks like he got the message loud and clear.
I’m reasonably sure that a player can only be demoted, officially speaking, for on field reasons. If someone with more knowledge of the CBA could step in, I’d appreciate it.
That aside, the Marlins claimed that Morrison was demoted for reasons of inadequate play, yet he’s been one of the better offensive players on the team this season.
Well, his offense is impressive, but if his defense was reasonably shoddy that would provide enough “fodder” to make the demotion stick.
Either way, I can’t get too worked up about this. From the looks of it there is more than enough game playing going on here — on both sides.
Good for him. The Marlins’ ownership is such a complete joke it disgusts me. He is absolutely in the right here.
To a certain extent.
Not a major league caliber player anyway. Not that big a deal And CWS, ya got bigger issues than a AA outfielder who had a couple pretty good at bats. Players that could help: ANY FULL TIME MAJOR LEAGUER with some experience and a tolerance for the management. But don’t trust me. Just blindly have faith in my words of wisdom. 🙂
Can’t telll… if sarcasm… or serious…
Scarily, I think he’s serious
Not ML caliber yet he hit just hit his 20th bomb today. SMH.
I understand Morrison being upset at being demoted but he really should be looking at it as a learning experience, not as a reason to take action against his own team. Quite frankly the team is well within it’s rights to send down a guy if they think he’s not playing well or if they don’t think he’s mature enough as a major leaguer. He may be cool and all but that doesn’t mean wake up calls don’t apply to him. Gotta say if I were a GM I’d be a bit gun shy if I were considering bringing him into my organization. The Marlins may not have handled it well but neither has Morrison.
Sigh, he needs to let this go and stop acting like a child. His act is starting to become irritating.
Maybe that’s the point, become a big enough irritant, get traded- worked for Escobar and Rasmus
And for the blue jays!
Indeed! The best 4th place team in baseball history!
He didn’t do his job, and he got punished. What does he expect?
As for all the LoMo to the Blue Jays rumors, I think that makes some sense. This is exactly the kind of guy AA loves going after too.
There are no rumors.
A few months ago, I read somewhere that Peter Gammons stated that Guillen to Florida was a done deal. If true, it’s strange that Gammons hasn’t said more on this topic and just as strange that no one followed up with Gammons.
Obviously, if Gammons didn’t make the comment we’re back at square one. But if Gammons was right, then compensation to the Sox has been determined.
Either way, the Marlins may be taking a preemptive action to soften Morrison’s potential exit so their fans don’t have “We love Logan not Loria” banners appearing in their new park next year. The Marlins (and the baseball public, in general) know that Morrison would not take a demotion quietly and could become his own worst enemy. This would allow the Marlins to spin a “He’s a troublemaker” story to rationalize his leaving.
As far as Morrison’s bad defense in LF, he can’t be any worse that Juan Pierre. Then two years later, he could play 1B when Konerko leaves.
Since I first heard the Guillen-to-Florida rumors, I believed them to be true and the Sox lousy season merely reinforces my conviction (I realize that Kenny Williams also deserves blame but that’s another topic). If you factor in Guillen’s constant money-oriented views on life and the rumored 4-year/$16M contract in Florida, then maybe the smoke leads to a fire.
P.S. Another player who may interest the Sox would be 19 year-old OF/1B Chris Yelich who put up some impressive numbers with the Marlins low A affiliate.
Not loving the attitude from this youngster but, falling in love with the talent. This guy is another legitimate possible superstar. Cash, jump on it in the offseason send Gardner to the fish straight up. Make it work.
I agree that is was a BS demotion, but no way he wins.