Somehow, it was just a month ago that the Florida Marlins made the curious decision to demote Logan Morrison to triple-A New Orleans. The Marlins explained it as a baseball decision, but the move came shortly after Morrison skipped out on a team season ticket holder event (with his union rep's permission). It all seemed very suspicious at the time, and it didn't help that the Marlins brought Morrison back after the minimum ten days, during which time he didn't exactly tear up the Pacific Coast League.
Logan Morrison Files Grievance Against Florida Marlins For August Demotion
What did Morrison have to say afterwards? Snippets:
When asked if he has talked to anybody in the organization since the demotion, Morrison said, “I haven’t talked to anybody. I didn’t really care.”
When asked why he believes he was sent down, Morrison said, “I have no idea.”
When asked how he will change, Morrison said, “I’ll be the same person.”
When asked what was accomplished by him being in New Orleans for 10 days, Morrison said, “I don’t know.”
When asked to describe his relationship with the organization, Morrison said, “I’m the baseball player and they provide the uniform.”
Morrison clearly didn’t think the Marlins had a good reason for sending him down. And as it turns out, he didn’t just express his opinion - he’s done something about it. From the fantastic Amy K. Nelson:
Florida Marlins left fielder Logan Morrison has filed a grievance against his team for what he believes was a wrongful demotion last month.
...
Morrison and his agent, Fred Wray -- along with the players’ union -- believed the demotion was a form of discipline without just cause, so they filed the grievance Aug. 25, two days after he was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans.
Morrison goes on to explain that he doesn’t believe the Marlins made their decision based on his on-field performance. For that reason, he’s prepared to challenge the organization.
Okay, so we seem to hear about grievances, or the threat of grievances, fairly often. What does a grievance mean? Morrison’s best-case scenario is that the Marlins are forced to pay him his prorated major-league salary. And that’s if the Marlins lose. It could be determined that the Marlins did nothing wrong - I am not familiar with the ins and outs of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
But for Morrison, this isn’t about the money. He says this is about taking a stand for what’s right, and he feels he was wronged. I suspect most of the fans do, too, even if it turns out that the Marlins didn’t break any rules.
So the relationship between Morrison and the Marlins continues to crumble. One can never say when it’s gone beyond salvage - people are complicated things, and the two sides could very well patch things up and move on amicably. But Morrison might also be forcing himself out of the picture. At the very least, the Marlins can expect to field a number of phone calls when the off-season rolls around.
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