Marlins Picking Up Wins but Not Fans

MIAMI — There was no reason to think Kazuhisa Ishii would help fill that orange bowl of empty seats at Pro Player Stadium on Friday night considering the young and exciting local team hasn’t revived or generated any perceptible mania despite leading the National League East and featuring ...

* A rotation that includes four young starters--Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Ryan Dempster and Brad Penny--who light up speed guns and fill scouts’ notebooks.

* An infield defense, anchored by Gold Glove-in-waiting Mike Lowell at third base, that Manager Jeff Torborg calls the league’s best and maybe the best he’s ever seen.

* A versatile offense that can create runs or simply let such hammers as Lowell, who leads the league in hitting, and Cliff Floyd, who is among the leaders in home runs and runs batted in, drive the table setters home.

“If we stay healthy, stay consistent, our potential is unlimited,” the valuable Lowell was saying about his Florida Marlins. “I mean, we gave away four or five games early, and we’ve had three of our starting pitchers on the disabled list, so to be where we are now, there’s no reason we can’t play at this level or better. We’re young, we have talent at more than one or two positions, and you never know when everything is going to click. The hope is now, of course.”

The Marlins may have more going for them than hope.

Amid the heat of south Florida, the standings could prove to be more than a mirage.

In the wasteland that is Florida baseball, however, there is no guarantee that the turnstiles will start clicking like the team has.

There is no guarantee that Jeffrey Loria, the former Montreal and new Marlin owner, won’t ultimately prove that he is operating under the cloud cover of contraction or relocation.

Skepticism comes with the territory.

Didn’t then owner Wayne Huizenga dismantle his 1997 World Series winner?

Didn’t successor John Henry commit to the future here only to defect when the Boston Red Sox became available and he plunged a reported $400 million into that deal when $300 million might have produced a new stadium for the Marlins?

What happens to Loria’s commitment when Gov. Jeb Bush continues to oppose a stadium subsidy?

Give Loria credit on that issue.

He understands, said stepson and club President David Samson, that Huizenga and Henry left the area suffering from “stadium exhaustion,” which is why they haven’t immediately picked up where the previous owners left off with their public campaign.

At some point, however, it has to begin. The search for revenue is relentless.

“The biggest difference between this market and Montreal is that even if we had found a way to fill the stadium there,” Samson said, “we would not have been in position to compete because there was no way to build the revenue. The business and broadcast dollars didn’t exist. South Florida is the most underperforming market in the entire country. There is nothing more exciting than taking on a project where, when you succeed, you’re in position to reap the benefits--on and off the field in this case.”

When you succeed?

Well, Samson insisted that success is possible, underscoring that goal “with a promise to persevere.”

Loria bought the Marlins for $155 million after selling the Expos to baseball for $120 million. Baseball loaned him the $35-million difference, of which $15 million will be excused if he hangs in here for five years.

Amid the shadow of contraction and Henry’s eventual purchase of the Red Sox, Loria’s acquisition of the Marlins wasn’t consummated until Feb. 15.

The Marlins, who drew 1.2 million last year, had sold only 350 season tickets. They’ve now sold 4,000, a franchise low, so “we’re neither surprised nor discouraged” by the attendance, Samson said.

“I mean, you can’t take five years of frustration and anger [among fans] and turn it into satisfaction and loyalty in two months of management,” he added.

The Marlins drew 23,877 for their season opener and have subsequently drawn 11 crowds of less than 7,000. They beat the Dodgers, 4-3, before an announced crowd of 12,953 Friday night and now have an attendance average of 9,797. If it doesn’t look like it on most nights, isn’t this the state with a questionable reputation for accurate counts?

It’s a complex and uncertain situation in what is considered a Dolphins’ town, and the Marlins’ ultimate future may hinge on what happens to the Expos, Minnesota Twins and, perhaps, even the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as far as contraction and relocation are concerned. It may even hinge on the owners’ attempt to restructure the economic system.

The players, of course, can do little more than go about their jobs, hoping the speculation that management may trade Floyd, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, to the New York Yankees is nothing more than speculation.

A Floyd trade, coming this far ahead of the July 31 deadline, would certainly be viewed as a capitulation by Loria on his team, season and future here.

It would certainly compound the fans’ already rampant skepticism.

For now, as the Marlins, with their $41-million payroll, try to upset the division-rival New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, there are many nights when they look in the stands and have to wonder if the entire market is out cruising the intracoastal waterway.

“It stinks,” said Floyd, referring to the attendance, “but if we win the World Series with 5,000 people in the stands, so be it. We’ll have won the World Series. They can’t take it away.”

Lowell agreed.

“Would we like to be playing before 35,000?” he said. “Of course. But as players I think we’ve basically tuned out the crowd. As players, if we need the crowd to determine success, we’re in trouble. We’ve got to come to play, whether there’s 10,000 or 100,000 in the stands, and the thing here is that it’s still early. The fans were hurt by what happened after ’97 and it’s going to take a while to get their trust back.”

A 20-15 start, their best ever, might help accelerate the process.

The Marlins are doing what they need to do to create believers, winning six games in their last at-bat and going 7-1 at home in one-run decisions.

“If we keep proving to the community that we’re a playoff type team, I think people will get interested again,” Lowell said.

“And selfishly, I’d much rather be playing good ball in front of small crowds than bad ball in front of good crowds.”