Marlins' Morrison Surprised At Being Sent To The Minors

MIAMI (CBS4) - As the news spread about Logan Morrison's demotion, the Florida Marlins' left fielder and top Twitterer received tweets of support.

"You prob have the most followers of anyone in the minors now," wrote one fan.

Small consolation.

Morrison, who has miffed Marlins officials with his tweeting and clubhouse candor, was nonetheless surprised and upset to be sent to Triple-A New Orleans. His agent, Fred Wray, was still trying to determine the reason for the move Sunday, hours after the Marlins announced it.

"It's a little bit curious," Wray said. "My personal hunch is this had something to do with more than baseball."

Morrison, who is in his first full major-league season, has quickly developed into a fan favorite with his outgoing personality and Web wisecracks. He has 60,000 Twitter followers, and team officials believe his play would improve if he focused more on his job.

Morrison ranks second on the Marlins with 17 homers, and his 26 RBIs in July tied for most in the majors. But the former first baseman has struggled defensively in left field, and he's batting only .249 after hitting .283 in 62 games as a rookie.

"I never thought we'd see Logan hitting in the .240s," president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. "He's a much better hitter than he has showed. ... We just thought it was in the best interests of Logan to go down and concentrate on baseball and all aspects of being a major leaguer, and work his way back."

Manager Jack McKeon often talks of how young players should be seen and not heard while they earn the right to remain in the big leagues. He's not a fan of Twitter.

"You've got to leave your distractions at the door," McKeon said.

The Marlins have been telling Morrison that for some time. As far back as May, team president David Samson expressed reservations about Morrison's Twitter material, some of it R-rated.

"I've told Logan," Samson said then, "no one will care about his tweets if they're coming from New Orleans."

But Morrison and Wray said they didn't think Twitter was the reason for the demotion. Beinfest and McKeon wouldn't discuss off-the-field issues, but Morrison did clash in recent days with the team's foundation regarding two events. One was postponed, and he declined to attend the other.

Beinfest and McKeon said they were confident Morrison would earn his way back to the Marlins. That's now the focus for the young outfielder, Wray said.

"He's going to keep his mouth shut and go about his business," Wray said. "The keeping-the-mouth-shut may not be typical, but he's going to accept the demotion."

He hadn't pulled the plug on his laptop yet, though. On Sunday, Morrison tweeted: "A bend in the road isnt the end of the road...unless u fail 2 make the turn."

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)