DUGOUT: Florida Marlins a model small-market franchise

At a time when the money is tight, smart spending is a necessity.

Few spend smarter than the Florida Marlins. When you get past their lack of a fanbase, the Marlins should be considered a model franchise for all teams with budget restraints.

There are two kinds of teams in the league: those with relative financial freedom, and those without. While one would obviously prefer the former option, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

The Yankees and Red Sox of the world win World Series titles by throwing money around. The Marlins (and teams like them) do so by scouting and developing their players. Both methods have had their successes.

Since Marlins came into existence in 1993, the Yankees have won four World Series championships. The Red Sox and Marlins each have two. In fact, 12 percent of all World Championships since 1993 have been won by the Florida Marlins.

For a team with a payroll of just $36.8 million, the Marlins are the poster franchise for how to stretch the dollar.

The Marlins have hired one of the best scouting departments in the league and have become experts at trading away players at their peak, just before their production starts to decrease, in order to get as much in return as possible.

Jorge Cantu is one example of the excellent Florida scouting department. When both Tampa Bay and Cincinnati had given up on Cantu because of his decreasing power numbers, the Marlins took on the project and currently have an excellent first baseman with tons of power.

Another example would be Dan Uggla, who was left unprotected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. The Marlins claimed Uggla through the rule-5 draft, and since then Uggla has finished third in Rookie-of-the-Year voting in 2006 and is a two-time All-Star.

In between the drafting and trading, though, the Marlins have been able to enjoy some super seasons from great young players.

The Marlins drafted Josh Beckett in 1999 and enjoyed his services at the major-league level for five seasons — including a World Championship — before he became too big a fish for the waters of Florida. In 2005, Beckett avoided arbitration with the Marlins, who then realized they couldn’t afford the budding superstar any longer.

Instead of simply watching Beckett walk out the front door, though, Florida spent some time scouting other organizations and eventually traded Beckett to the Red Sox for a package that included the young Hanley Ramirez, who is currently one of the best and brightest players in baseball.

The modus operandi for teams like the Marlins is quite simple. They build up young, cheap talent and develop them until they win the World Series, like they did in 2003. Once their best players have performed well on the national stage, though, they start demanding larger contracts, something Florida simply can’t offer.

So instead they make ingenious trades. After the 1997 Championship season, the Marlins acquired Carl Pavano, Juan Pierre, Dontrelle Willis, Mike Piazza, and even Ivan Rodriguez.

In between the 1997 and 2003 World Series seasons the Marlins hardly even sniffed the playoffs. This inconsistency is one of the main reasons why they average fewer than 20,000 fans per game. When it all boils down, though, the Marlins would rather have an awful team that can bring home a World Series once every six or seven years than an average team that is mediocre every year.

It isn’t the most consistent method, but for the Florida Marlins, it works just fine.

For a tall, skinny rookie from New Jersey, Rick Porcello certainly knows how to defend himself.

In a game earlier this week between the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, tensions were heated when four batters from both teams had been plunked with pitches. Porcello didn’t feel he was at fault for hitting Kevin Youkilis in the second inning of last Tuesday’s game, but Youkilis thought differently and threw his bat aside and charged the mound.

If you’ve ever seen the passionate Youkilis (who could probably be an NFL linebacker) in action, you know that having him run after you would be a scary sight. Porcello at first threw his arms up as if to question what this 220-pound, bald-headed man wanted. When Youkilis threw his helmet at Porcello, though, both benches knew there would be a brawl and rushed the field to get in on the action.

After order was restored Youkilis marched into the clubhouse, assuming he would be ejected. Porcello, after a brief discussion among umpires, was booted soon after.

Both Youkilis and Porcello received five-game suspensions, and Youkilis took his in stride. Porcello doubted his fault, though, and appealed to the Commissioners office. The debate on who is at fault has raged over the baseball world: some believing Youkilis was simply defending himself against an aggressive pitcher, while others blame Youkilis for being “hot-headed.”

Whatever the case may be, neither player will likely be taking the field for a while.

Andrew Kneeland will be a junior at the Arizona Virtual Academy. He is an intern at the Green Valley News.