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Showtime Is Canceling The Franchise

The Marlins have been so bad this season, even Showtime is giving up on them. MLB Productions, Showtime and the team have announced that Wednesday's episode of The Franchise will be the last of the season. The Franchise, which shows the ins-and-outs of a major league baseball team, was originally slated...
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The Marlins have been so bad this season, even Showtime is giving up on them. 

MLB Productions, Showtime and the team have announced that Wednesday's episode of The Franchise will be the last of the season.

The Franchise, which shows the ins-and-outs of a major league baseball team, was originally slated to run for eight episodes. 

But, in what is probably the most Marlins thing ever, the show will end in its seventh week instead.

This season was supposed to be one for the books for the Marlins. New name (Miami!), new uniforms, new stadium, new star player, new manager, and their very own TV show. But after a monumentally shitty season -- one where the team traded away guys like Hanley Ramirez -- it's nothing but surrender and sadness.

To make things even more sad, Showtime is saying that the preview episode of this season's The Franchise will now count, so they can say they technically aired eight episodes.

According to the Palm Beach Post, team President David Samson gave a statement over this news via text message (of course he did):

"Given the state of our season, it was decided that the original 8 would suffice."

Even via text he sounds smarmy.

It's sad to see Ozzie Guillen's incoherent profanity-laced tirades (his "stick our dicks in the dirt" speech and coconut water rant ranks among the best thing Showtime has ever put out) go so early. For whatever it's worth, between that and angry Heath Bell hurling water bottles at walls, The Franchise was the the only thing remotely interesting about the Marlins this year.

That and those pork sandwiches at Taste of Miami.



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