Inter-Miami Press Tribune

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When you look at the title of this story, what goes through your mind?

Is it an internal publication for Inter-Miami?

One would think that but the reality is that it’s the overflow area for the media when the press box is full largely in part because of Lionel Messi’s presence. Inter-Miami’s Communication Staff does an exceptional job trying to accommodate all credential requests.

This season, I’ve sat in both places. I always know what I get accomplished in the air conditioning confines of the press box.

When Inter-Miami hosted the New York Red Bulls on May 4, I sat in the Press Tribune area. It was a totally different experience. There were two rows for us, but no tables. 

This game had a much different feeling as we sat amongst the crowd. All I could do in this particular situation was take notes from my clipboard and just soak in the atmosphere.

If there was ever a game to do this, it was against New York.

Inter-Miami whipped New York 6-2 and Messi broke an MLS record for most assists (5) recorded in a single match. Inter-Miami dominated Possession at 58% and outshot New York 16-15, (7-5 on goal).

But when you see the enthusiasm for Messi, it’s understandable as to why they’re excited to be moving next season to their new Miami Freedom Park Stadium next year. 

Miami Freedom Park will provide 58 acres of public parks and green space, a tech hub, restaurants and shops, soccer fields for the community, a 25,000 seat stadium for Inter-Miami and many more features.

You can rest assure the press box will be much bigger to ensure the media can do their job efficiently.

But on this night, Messi put on a show and the Red Bulls paid for it with the lopsided loss at Chase Field in Fort Lauderdale.

After the contest, Gerardo Martino was pleased with the teams’ effort led by his superstar Messi.

But for myself, I felt like I was a fan, but at least I didn’t have to spend the money to get into the game as well as parking.

Inter-Miami’s record is 12-3-5 and are in first place in the Eastern Conference.

Messi has 12 goals and nine assists and has taken 43 shots.

Luis Suarez has 12 goals and five assists to go along with 32 shots.

Leonardo Campana has five goals with one assist and has taken 18 shots.

In their last match on Wednesday, defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 at Chase Stadium.

They return to action on Saturday as they travel to Nashville at 8:30 PM.

They’ll remain on the road for July 3 match at Charlotte, July 6 at Cincinnati then play a July 17th tilt at home vs Toronto.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, subscribe at no charge to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Also, Scott wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon-Kindle along with Barnes & Noble.

Marlins Recent Series Struggles

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

As we approach the dog days of summer, the 2024 season has been a difficult one for the Marlins as their record currently stands at 22-42 leading into the final game of their series vs the Cleveland Guardians (41-22).

To summarize the recent challenges for the fish, all you have to do is look at the last three series. 

From May 27-29, Miami lost 2-3 games on the road to the San Diego Padres and they faced former teammate Luis Arraez. The Padres took the first two games of the series by successive 2-1 and 4-0 scores. Miami won the finale 9-1.

Would returning home change the fortunes of the Marlins?

Absolutely not.

From May 31-June 2, The World Champions Texas Rangers came to loanDepot Park and took 2-3 from Miami.

For the second straight night, the conclusion of the Padres series and beginning of the Rangers, Marlins bats came alive taking the opener 8-2. 

But things went down hill from there as the Marlins never scored another run in the Rangers series by dropping successive 7-0 and 6-0 decisions.

In the game we saw on June 2, Texas left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney entered the contest with a 1-6 record and a 4.47 ERA. Six innings later, he didn’t give up any runs and amassed seven strikeouts and yielded no walks. The Rangers bullpen shut down the Marlins with three clean innings and Heaney watched his record improve to 2-6.

Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien reached base all five times. He had one hit, a fielders choice and walked three times as Texas cruised to the easy win. 

Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers hurled six innings and gave up four runs on six hits as his record dropped to 1-7. The Marlins amassed only five hits in this contest.

The Tampa Bay Rays came to town from June 4-5 in the Sunshine Series but things looked gloomy for the Marlins as Rays won the series 2-0 with successive 9-5 and 5-3 outcomes.

As a result, Miami has lost three straight series.

Making a rare appearance to South Florida, the Cleveland Guardians came to town for a weekend three-game series vs the Fish from June 7-9.

Miami took the opener 3-2 in Friday Night, but lost the second contest 8-0 on Saturday.

This set the stage for the rubber game of the series which was Dontrelle Willis Bobblehead day. 

Sunday’s pitching match-up was Carlos Carrasco (2-5, 5.66 ERA) for Cleveland facing Trevor Rogers (1-7, 5.68 ERA for Miami.

Nobody will be able to blame Rogers’ for what occurred as he went five innings and yielding just one run and struck out four. 

Tough luck Trevor’s only run came off the bat of Guardians DH Gabriel Arias in the third inning that gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

The Marlins scored a run in the fourth and fifth innings and took a 2-1 lead. 

But in the sixth inning, the Marlins bullpen imploded by giving up three runs thanks to the bat of Cleveland center-fielder Tyler Freeman’s blast that the Guardians a 5-2 lead. AJ Puk gave up these runs and was the losing pitcher. He dropped to 0-7 in 2024.

Miami committed two errors in the game.

In the ninth inning, both teams scored runs as the final score was 6-3. Freeman also scored a run in the ninth inning. In the bottom of the frame, Jake Burger belted a round tripper that went approximately 383 feet to left field, his fifth homer of the season.

The Marlins have now lost four consecutive series and saw their record drop to 22-43. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s record improved to 42-22.

Earlier in the week, the Marlins moved on from a free agent during the Derek Jeter regime. They decided to eat the $23 million left on Avisail Garcia. The 32-year old has been plagued by injuries and below average play.

Meanwhile, the Marlins have Monday off and then travel to New York and play the Mets for a three-game series. They’ll also face the Washington Nationals in the Nations Capital for three more contests. We’ll see if they can finally win a series.

The Guardians, who rarely travel to South Florida, drew crowds of 10,718, 15,669 and 12,850.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcast, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Finally, his book “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble. The auto book is on the way.

Return To Maple Leaf Gardens

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If there was ever a time that I needed a camera phone, it was on my 20th birthday that occurred on December 29, 1982.

I went with a friend to Toronto and we toured the city, but the sporting event that topped off the trip was watching the Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens. This game occurred at Maple Leaf Gardens and we bought the tickets from a fan that had a pair. I told him to give us a break and it was my birthday. That fan was great and we bought those for $20.00 apiece.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Maple Leafs vs the Canadiens is the biggest rivalry in hockey and ranks among the best in Professional Sports.

For those of you that haven’t been to Toronto, it’s a must see. On our recent trip, I drove through China and Italy town. We covered the Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals, went to the CN Tower and ate at the Spaghetti Factory.

Before she met me, my wife’s hockey team was the Milwaukee Admirals. Since we’ve been together, her NHL alliance is the Detroit Red Wings. We watch a lot of hockey together at home and she’s taken pictures covering the Florida Panthers and the Red Wings.

What she would experience in Toronto going to Maple Leaf Gardens was a hockey lesson that would give her insights about the NHL for over 100 years. Maple Leaf Gardens was built in 1912 and renovated in 2009.

Nowadays, when new stadiums are built, it’s automatic that the old ones get imploded or the wrecking ball. Maple Leaf Gardens is registered as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is a historic building located on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street.

It’s been also called “MLG,” “The Carlton Street Cashbox,” “The Church of Hockey” and “The Shrine.”

When the Maple Leafs moved downtown, I talked to a person and he said the building was renovated for $80 Million. There is a grocery store on the ground floor and it’s marked with signs of what was on that level.

There is also an athletic complex that was named “Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens” and the ice rink is located on the sixth level, was named “Mattamy Home Ice.”

During the course of our visit, Candy was very busy taking picture of me at Maple Leaf Gardens and I enjoyed showing her all the history in that building. She was truly impressed with what she saw. I’ve been to the Hockey Hall of Fame which has now been moved to a different location. But I told her that the road to the Hall of Fame for many of these players came through Maple Leaf Gardens.

The photos in this story will give you a great feel for this venue and all the history connected with it.

The parking structure is below ground, level one is the grocery store and centre ice is in aisle 25, level two is a basketball court for the college, levels, three, four and five. 

At times in life, there aren’t any do overs. 

But that wasn’t the case here.

When we covered the NFL Draft from April 25-27 in Detroit, I had already made the decision to take Candy to Niagara Falls and Toronto. The two places are about an hour away from each other so it was a no-Brainer to hit them both on the same trip.

But I knew going back to Maple Leaf Gardens was my top priority! Thankfully, now I have the photos of what the use of the venue is, plus going to the Blue Jays vs the Royals enabled me to catch up with My friend Don Mattingly!

It doesn’t get any better than this!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, subscribe at no cost to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Finally, Scott’s book, “Lessons From The Microphone” is available on Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble.