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Item: Marlins trade Reyes, Johnson, Buerhle, Bonifacio, Buck to Toronto

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria says the trade is not a fire sale.

Many South Florida fans are angry they’ve been lied to.

A couple of things …

Loria was not the owner when the ’97 World Championship team was dismantled. Not exonerating him, just stating fact.

The Marlins-Jays trade ultimately could be a wash or even a Miami positive when it's examined a few years down the road.

But …

Loria and team president David Samson found a group of politicians who agreed to publicly fund a new stadium in Miami.

The Marlins also have benefitted financially from MLB’s revenue sharing.

So, when Loria & Co. threw around money last winter, optimistic Marlins fans believed the small-market mentality was gone for good. Ha.

Skeptics – even those, like me, who hoped things had changed – knew the team’s dysfunctional track record (owner involvement, management obsession with controlling every message) remained prevalent.

The big spending lasted one year. Sure, the season produced an embarrassing last-place finish, but it didn't warrant a 180.

At worst, Loria and Samson are greedy liars. At best, they are arrogant, ignorant and clueless.

Either way, the Marlins fan base has a right to be livid.

Item: Oregon, Kansas State, Notre Dame all undefeated 

Just a few weeks remain in the 2012 season, but as the saying goes, there’s still a lot of football yet to be played.

All three unbeaten teams have at least one game in which it wouldn’t be a total shock they lost.

Notre Dame losing at Southern Cal would be the least-surprising "upset." I think Oregon and Kansas State will sail through to the BCS game.  

I’ve said for years, any major college team that goes unbeaten has a right to claim a share of the national championship. I buy into the notion a team only can beat the opponents on its schedule.

No system is perfect. The BCS game is better than we had previously, and future changes should limit the griping by title also-rans even more.

I also understand that in some years, the national champion isn’t always the best team.

Just like the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which decides a winner. That’s different than determining the country’s best.

Today's Topics: Hanley and the Marlins

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With Hanley Ramirez having been dealt to the Dodgers, Marlins fans should be grateful another team took him and his contract.

Ramirez's offensive production has dropped considerably in recent years -- partly due to injuries -- and, to put it nicely, he has struggled at third base. Also, he never has been a positive off-field presence.

What is being describe as a Marlins' fire sale -- starter Anibal Sanchez and 2B Omar Infante dealt to Detroit; trade rumors involve ace Josh Johnson and reliever Heath Bell -- was totally unexpected when you consider how the team began the season.

With a brand new stadium and a new brand (Florida exchanged for Miami), combined with several high-priced free-agent acquisitions, the Marlins had hopes of playing in the World Series. Instead, the team is looking to 2013 and beyond.

Marlins fans should understand this is the way things are and the way things will be. 

Under owner Jeffrey Loria, the organization has, and will, make moves to try and contend. But if they don't succeed, those plans will be scrapped and they'll start over.

Following the Marlins will be like watching the movie Groundhog Day -- they'll be back ... then start over ... then be back ... then start over ...