MIAMI – Cliff Floyd called Pudge Rodriguez a Hall of Fame player yesterday afternoon but also ripped his former team for signing the 31- year-old catcher.
Floyd, a Marlin from 1997-2002 who was rebuffed repeatedly in his request for a long-term contract, couldn’t believe the supposedly destitute Marlins anted up $10 million to sign Rodriguez to a one-year contract in late January.
“That doesn’t fit too good,” Floyd told a group of mostly South Florida reporters before last night’s game. “I was more hurt by that than ticked off.”
Floyd, a free agent who signed a four-year, $26-million contract with the Mets that will earn him $6.5 million over each of the next four years, told the local media he was ecstatic to be in New York – despite the ridiculously bad weather.
But Floyd, a dangerous left-handed slugger who was essentially the Marlins’ main man from 1998-2002, didn’t mince words when asked about Florida’s venture into the free-agent pool to sign Rodriguez. Floyd rightfully pointed out that the Marlins traded him last July and then attempted to sell Kevin Millar to a Japanese club in the offseason, purportedly because of finances.
Then they decided to sign Rodriguez for eight figures.
“You could’ve had two guys for that money,” he said. “I think Pudge is unbelievable, he’s a proven Hall of Famer. I’m not taking anything away from him.
“But you’ve got one guy in Boston [Millar] and one guy in New York. You could’ve got both of us for that number.”
After former owner Wayne Huizenga’s fire sale following the 1997 championship season, Floyd was one of the few players who gave the franchise credibility. He still lives in the suburb of Plantation, Florida, and said he misses the beach, the weather and the wide-open spaces.
He doesn’t miss the curious stewardship of the franchise, however.
“They did what they wanted to do,” Floyd said. “If it works out for them, all the best. If it don’t, I could care less, either.
“I feel bad for my [former teammates]. Those guys are important to me, no matter what happens in the organization. I feel what they go through, because I was a part of that.”
In fact, Floyd said he has extra motivation this season to prove to the Marlins they made a mistake. He feels that misinformation that the Marlins had contributed to his exit. His former club apparently felt that he’d be looking for upwards of $10 million in a long-term deal.
“I’m trying to ask them, where the hell did that number come from?” Floyd said. “I wasn’t even in that [financial] ballpark. Whatever they said I said, I wish them the best. I could’ve gone bananas. What are you going to do?
“I just think I have a little bit more to do this year in terms of what they missed, or what they’re missing out on.”
