Yar, Matey

During this past offseason, Jeffrey Loria, David Samson, and the rest of the Miami Marlins ownership staff tried their hardest to ostracize and alienate the fans of the team. They systematically traded away almost every recognizable player in the organization, keeping only the ones who worked for peanuts — specifically, the peanuts they were forced to scrounge up themselves from the floor of Marlins Park (501 Marlins Way, Miami) after home games. Even Ricky Nolasco, the longest tenured Marlins player, was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, all for roughly the equivalent of a burrito and a picture with Spider-Man outside the TCL Chinese Theater. Then again, Jose Fernandez, Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton, and a group of scrappy young Marlins players are managing to grab the attention of Miami’s baseball fans. This Friday is the first game at home for the Miami Marlins since the All-Star game, following Fernandez’s first appearance in the competition. Coming to the park is MLB’s breakout team of the year, perennial NL Central basement dwellers the Pittsburgh Pirates. A scrappy team themselves, they’re now second in the National League, trailing their division rivals the St. Louis Cardinals by just one game. Friday’s contest starts at 7:10 p.m., and fans can stay after the game for a fireworks display. Tickets cost $13 to $370. Visit marlins.com, or call 877-marlins.
Fri., July 26, 7:10 p.m., 2013