Will Manso's take on Stanton deal

MIAMI ā€“ Why should anyone trust a word Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria says? That's the question I kept asking myself Wednesday as Giancarlo Stanton talked about his "trust" of Loria's plan moving forward. Yes, $325 million will help most people trust someone, but why should fans believe Loria's latest pitch about building a winner?

My honest answer is simple because maybe we got it all wrong about Loria in 2012?

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Loria slashed the payroll of that team, and I said then, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. But how about a third time? That's the problem. None of us should ever be fooled by Loria again.

Think about it: Who is he really trying to fool?

This isn't about Loria lying or tricking the public. This is about all of us finally understanding who Loria is. He's a businessman. He's an egomaniac. And, as he clearly admitted during the Stanton news conference, he doesn't care what anyone thinks.

He literally doesn't care if fans or media hate him. He may not enjoy the criticism, but that won't change the way he handles his business, and let's break down exactly what he's doing.

Loria is investing that Stanton and the young core can make the Marlins a contender right away. That's why this Stanton deal is backloaded. It leaves the Marlins flexibility to add some other players now. Like 2012, Loria is ready to spend a little more to try and build a winner. Is he really doing this for the city and people of Miami, as he claims?

I think we all know the answer: Absolutely not.

He's doing this for him. And honestly, he should. He owns this team. He's in a win-win situation. He doesn't care what we think, and he already has his ballpark. A ballpark we all know he got with hundreds of millions of public money.

He's doing this to try and build a legacy. Remember, he's 74 years old. He's not thinking long-term. He's thinking now.

His pompous attitude may rub fans and media the wrong way, but I'm starting to believe we're the ones who have been getting it all wrong.

At one point, we all wanted to like and believe in Loria, but here's the thing, he doesn't want us to like or believe in him. He just wants to do what he wants, build a winning team and continue to build the value of his franchise. Eventually, he can sell the team well before the real big money in Stanton's contract kicks in.

Kudos to him. I can't hate him for trying this master plan again.

So, where does that leave the fans? It leaves them where everyone should have been in the first place; hoping for your team to be a winner.

The bottom line is the Marlins have locked down one of the best players in baseball for a long time to come. They will now spend money to build pieces around him. They will likely be a contender in the National League in 2015.

These are all good things.

Does that mean everything is fine and dandy with baseball in South Florida? Of course not. We all know this is a fickle town that wants a winner. If this team fails again, fans won't flock to Marlins Park and the pieces being built around Stanton would likely be stripped again. Just like they did in 2012.

Yet, instead of worrying about that, it's time to start focusing on just watching a winner. You can root for the Marlins and still not like or trust Loria. These two things don't have to go hand and hand.

The person you should like is Giancarlo Stanton. He's the perfect face to build a franchise around. He's a great player and great person. As a fan, that's a fun guy to root for.

As for Loria, we know that's not the case.

If this plan doesn't work, we all know the direction it can head. If it does work, Loria will say "I told you so." I don't know about you, but as a fan, I would take the latter, even if it meant some gloating from Loria.

Because this time around, to echo the owner's sentiments, I don't care about Jeffrey Loria. And neither should you.