JETER'S HARD-ON TO REMOVE THAT MIAMI HOME RUN SCULPTURE

I know what you're thinking... it's ugly.

Well, it is, but it's a major piece of Marlins Park.  And Derek Jeter wanted it gone... and he's gonna find a way.  Why? Because the mayor of Miami hates that Home Run Sculpture too.  And you know how that goes. When you have the support of people with similar opinions, you band together and make things happen.  Enter Mayor Carlos Gimenez...

The Miami Herald has been all over this story since the moment Derek Jeter became part owner of the Marlins.  Here's the latest from them...

Copyright 2018 by WPLG Local10.com

"Derek Jeter may get an assist from Miami-Dade in ridding Marlins Park of its kitschy home run sculpture, which the new owner and the county’s mayor both want removed. “I just don’t think they’re all that crazy about it,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said after meeting with Jeter...

'Homer,' a $2.5 million sculpture commissioned for the stadium’s 2012 opening. The Marlins paid for the sculpture as part of the team’s roughly $155 million contribution to the stadium’s cost... Festooned with a carnival’s color spectrum, the work by pop artist Red Grooms comes to life when the Marlins hit a home run, as marlins emerge from the sculpture’s base and fountains spray skyward....

Photo of Michael Spring

...in August, the county’s cultural chief, Michael Spring, said 'Homer' was 'not moveable' and was 'permanently installed' after being designed 'specifically' for Marlins Park.

Spring had a different message Tuesday when he accompanied Gimenez to Marlins Park with the mayor’s chief of staff, Alex Ferro.

Photo:  Emily Michot / Miami Herald

'Anything is possible,' said Spring, one of Gimenez’s top deputies and an admirer of the sculpture. 'But it is pretty complicated. And I wanted the mayor and the Marlins to understand how complicated it really was. We got a good look at it today, and they saw how big it was. There’s hydraulics, there’s plumbing, there’s electricity....

But anything is possible. We built it,' Spring said. 'We can move it.'" 

Politics makes things happen, huh?

Now none of this is my business.  The only thing I can offer is that I've been to Marlins Park, I really enjoyed it and loved the Marlins fans.  But ever since DJ walked in as part owner, the drastic dismantling of the whole Marlins team has really been a headache.  I feel bad.  I wonder if Mattingly's freaking out about the whole mess?

Look, the bottom line is the Marlins team is in rebuild mode, and you gotta respect that.  But you will definitely lose a fan base the way this is rapidly changing.  It's just the truth!

Hopefully it gets better for the Marlins fan base.  I can only imagine the frustration by the fans...in losing Stanton and Ozuna... and now maybe even "Homer", that symbolic home run sculpture.

Crazy.