Marlins Squeak By Phils, 6-4

Jones makes it exciting, Mota makes it back to Miami with stiff arm. (Yahoo)

"We Stink In April", Say The Phillies

"The only time the Phillies ever started a season under .500 after the first 20 games and went on to make the playoffs was in 1977. The Phils started 9-11, but went on to win the NL East before losing to the Dodgers, 3-1, in a best-of-five series for the pennant." (PhillyBurbs.Com)

MORE: Mike from A Citizen's Blog compares Fish and Phillies. (ACitizensBlog)

More Crappy Weather in Philly This Weekend

Oh boy - tripleheader on Sunday! (NWS)
UPDATE: McKeon P.O'ed over unclimatical scheduling. (PalmBeachPost)

Jayson Stark on the Puzzle That is the Phillies

(ESPN)

Doubleheader Postponed, Too Many Penguins on Field

Aug.7, Fish at Cincinatti - Aug.8, Doubleheader at Denver - Aug. 9, Fish Home Against Arizona.(SignOnSanDiego)

Rockies Flip Coin To Decide Game 2 Starter

Either Acevedo or Kim, or some call-up, or maybe that fat guy in the bleachers. (RockyMountainNews)

Little Havana Will Need All Its Seedy Bars To Survive Marlins

Jim DeFede consults with Pepe the bartender. (MiamiHerald)

Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board Likes Stadium State Tax Break

It "is not an exorbitant request. It will not deprive Tallahassee of money for much higher priorities like education." (SunSentinel)

Marlins' Latest Reliever Now Marlins' Latest Starter

Travis Smith is pencilled in to start Game 2 of today's potential doubleheader. (MiamiHerald)
(Weather permitting, of course.) (Weather.Com)

Atlanta, Phillies Win - Nats, Mets Lose

35 degrees and rain, and a late-starting game in Denver.(Yahoo)
And then the snow, and the cancellation, and the coming doubleheader. (MiamiHerald)

Victory For The Poor Who Need Dentures, Defeat For Those With Ravaged Homes

``This is where we get the money for the eyeglasses and the dentures for the poor, all the special projects we want,'' (Rep. Juan-Carlos) Planas said. ``It's by people coming here (to Florida and its entertainment facilities) and spending their money.''...

``I can't stand here and help build stadiums when I still have 30,000 families (in my community) who can't move into their homes (after Hurricane Ivan),'' said Rep. Holly Benson, R-Pensacola.

- (SunSentinel)

Al's Got Something to Prove Tonight

He seems to have trouble pitching in the Leiter air. (MiamiHerald)

FLASH: Most of NL East Managed by Old Farts

Willie's the baby at 50. (NewsJournal)

Oh By The Way, Fish Won Last Night, 9-3

Pierre finally homers at Coors. (Yahoo)
Gonzo homers after getting in an 0-2 count. (CBSSportsline)

Armando Benitez Injured?

MRI to be done this morning. (ESPN)
UPDATE: Yep, he's about 4 months worth of injured. (Tallahassee.com)

Marlins Stadium Subsidy Sneaked In As Amendment, Will Get Final Vote in State House

"When is this going to stop?", "This is bad tax policy, a bad idea." (HeraldTribune)
EXTRA: Senate wants name of team to stay as 'Florida' Marlins as condition of approval,Miami leaders mumble incoherently. (SunSentinel)
MORE: Republican Senator headlocks Democrat, drags him back into room. (MiamiHerald)

Tonight's Preview

Delgado looking to score his 900th run. (RockyMountainNews)

Jeffrey Loria: Maybe He's For Real

"I was in Baltimore close to five years, and I never met (Orioles owner) Peter Angelos one time," Conine said. "I was in the clubhouse 5 minutes in Florida before Jeffrey came up and said, 'Hello. Glad to have you. Have fun. Let's do good things here.'" (RockyMountainNews)

A Pitching Resurgance In MLB This Year?

Evidence points to Sandy Alderson. (MLB)

Looks a Bit Nippy For the Colorado Series

Probably it'll feel like it, too. (WeatherUnderground)

Marlins Lose 2-1

Mohler gives up 1 earned run in 7 innings, Pierre's 2nd strikeout this year ends game. (Yahoo)

"Last Weekend, The Mets' Mike Piazza -- Standing On Second Base, Turned To Gonzalez And Said, 'You Are The Best!'"

Question is, who told this to Barry Jackson? Mike? Alex? Both of them? Jose Reyes? (MiamiHerald)
Note: This had to have been in the bottom of the 8th in the game on Saturday the 16th, when Piazza had that ground-rule double, the only time he reached second that day. It was then because Gonzo sat out Friday's game, and Piazza the game on Sunday.

Jared Buck Joins Andy on 'Marlins Today' Blog

(MarlinsToday)

The PC/IP/CG Brouhaha Deepens...

Science says it's pitch counts, with a bit of innings pitched added. (CNNSI)
EXTRA : More McKeon/Wiley received wisdom (ESPN)

The Great Rich Waltz Competency Poll Continues...

(SunSentinel)

Fish Win Again 4-2

Williis goes 6 innings, striking out 7...Encarnacion drives in winning runs...Griffey whiffs twice, batting .200...Mota gets 2nd save. (Yahoo)

Padres Pine For The Days of Ismael

"Since they traded Valdez to the Florida Marlins at last year's July 31 deadline, the Padres have lost 11 consecutive games in which a No. 5 starter took the mound." (NorthCountyTimes)

Reds Haven't Been Getting Runners Home...

...and lead the majors in strikeouts. (CincinattiPost)

Marlins Beat Reds 4-2 - Fish All Alone on Top in NL East

(Yahoo)

Ryan Dempster Pitching Solidly for Cubs

...but getting little run support. (JournalRegister)

Travis Smith Called up From Albuquerque

(OurSportsCentral)...while Mark Little is having a banner year there. (Intelligencer)

Tonight's Preview

From the (SportsNetwork)

Maverick Recalls When The Reds Last Came to Town

"Brutal..." (MaverickBall)

History Doesn't Look Kindly on the Nationals' Keeping Up Their Early Pace

So look for them to win it all. (BaseballToaster)

Al Leiter Gets Ponchoed by Mets, Fish Lose 10-1

Alfonseca getting MRI on elbow. (Yahoo)

Who Needs Players? Who Needs Attendance? Hell, Who Needs Fans?

D-Rays have 2nd highest operating income in MLB. (TBO.com)
UPDATE: And yet, there are those who are pissed. (Drays Bay)

Tonight's Preview

With an eye to the betting line... (Covers.com)

It Must be Coincidence...

...that Todd Jones' most recent blog post looks somewhat similiar to his most recent Sporting News article.

Heilman's Pan Has Flashed

Also, Fish lineup stays the same...Pierre starts new streak. (MiamiHerald)

Washington and Florida Tied For First - Only 148 Games To Go

Mets come into to town for two-game series, used up their weekly allotment of home runs last night. (SunHerald)

Bowa and Kerrigan Had Pierre on the Brain All Last Year

"Ask everyone on the staff what they talked about, it was Pierre. I said, 'We're only going to play the Marlins 19 times.'" (MorningCall)

Daulton Seems To Have a Wee Bit of Trouble With The Justice System

He's now got some time to himself to figure it out. (PhillyDailyNews)

Fish Win, Beat Nats 6-3

(Yahoo)

Hey, It Seems Dontrelle Really Worked Hard This Past Offseason

And not just by lugging around his CD collection, either. (CNNSI)

Marlins Review Nation's Security Apparatus...

...Working with Secret Service (SunSentinel)...Chairman of Joint Chiefs runs after them with documents. (PalmBeachPost)
UPDATE: Much more thorough discussion of these articles here. (FishStripes)

Brad Penny's "Begging to Pitch in Coors Field"

...for the Dodgers this weekend. (ReviewJournal)

Fish Win 9-4

Nats' streak Screeches to a halt. (Yahoo)

Interesting Thomas Boswell Article

Beyond the stats showing the improvements in the performance of the Nats over the Expos, he shows how "the underlying trends in attendance that have been revealed" makes for sobering comparasions between the Nats and other MLB teams, including the Fish. (WashingtonPost)

EXTRA: Okay, I'm not sober any more, here's Tony Kornheiser.

A New 'Willis' in Toronto?

Brad Arnsberg seems to think so. (TheGlobeAndMail)

Mike Mordecai Managing Jammers

(MobileRegister)

Screech Can't Fight Youppi! Love

Mike Berardino sifts through the depths of emotion. (SunSentinel)
EXTRA: The views of Youppi! (FishStripes, Part2)

Mr. Willis Goes to Washington

Also, Mound problems at RFK...No action for Alfonseca...(PalmBeachPost)
(...Except being ejected) (MiamiHerald)

Another CG For AJ

Fish win, 5-2 (ESPN)

Top 5 Reasons For Saturday's Loss

5. McKeon having Todd Jones pitch in the 8th (MaverickBall)
4. Pedro was the main catalyst (Newsday)
3. The lack of offense in the 3-4-5 positions (PalmBeachPost)
2. The blown call at the plate in the 9th (NYPost)
1. A lax criminal justice system (ESPN, link found here)

Have No Fear, Fish Fans...

Barnacle Bill told Iffy the Dopester the Marlins are going all the way. (DetroitFreePress)

Mets Bloggers Stunned Over Heilman's One-Hitter

(MLC)...(Betty's)...(Chuck'n'Duck)...

ALSO, as of 8 A.M. EDT, only 3 NYC-area media outlets have used the phrase 'One-Hit Wonder' in their headlines...
(NewYorkPost)...(NorthJersey.Com)...(NewarkStarLedger)

Cold Fish

Mets beat Marlins 4-0. (Yahoo)

Check Out Dave Hyde's Article on Jim Mecir

(SunSentinel)

Studes Says Fish are Best Team in NL

And they have a pretty good interleague schedule, too. (HardballTimes)

"I LOVE YOU, WASHINGTON!"

"I have had a lot of highlights, like winning the World Series with the Marlins in 1997, but I'll tell my kids about throwing the first pitch for a strike as baseball returned to Washington," Hernandez said. (TorontoSun)

Mets Win 4th-in-a-Row: All NL East Teams Within a Game and a Half of Each Other

John Franco (surprise!) takes the loss. (Yahoo)

Will Jack Fry his Arms, Or Not?

Discussion continues...(GoogleGroups)
Update: Jack's recipe...(MLB, fixed link)

Senate Panel Backs Subsidies, Not Just For the Fish, But For Almost Anyone That Asked

Brummer thinks proposals' a bummer. (TampaBays10)

Leiter and Shea - a Winning Combination (But for Which Team?)

Al gets in touch with his inner whiner. (NewarkStarLedger)

Phillies Came to Fla. with Potent Offense, Leave With 'Struggling' Offense

Dontrelle makes Charlie Manuel say "[heck]". (MLB)

Marlins Committed "an Affront to Everything This Nation Stands For"

And they're too teal. too. (Ohio.com)

Season Hinges on A.J.'s Pants?

Lo Duca: "If we can score runs, we're gonna win a lot of ball games." (PalmBeachPost)

Fish, Nats, Phils 1 Game Behind Braves

And Mets have a 2-game win streak. (ESPN)

Burnett Wished Rich Dubee Was Around For A While Longer than He Was

(Zwire)

Fans Telepathically Sense Defeat

Lowest crowd since May 24 sees...5 innings, 114 pitches from Leiter...Castillo flail fruitlessly...Burrell essentially wins game in first inning. (Yahoo)

Citizen Fights For Marlins Subsidy

Staffer for Tom Lee denies Super Bowl, World Series helps Florida. (MiamiHerald)

Interesting Paul Hagen Article

He describes the Phillies' confidence coming into Florida, the grumblings of the Cardinals, and puts out this intriguing stat -

"In the 10 years since baseball went to the wild-card system, 80 teams have advanced to the playoffs. Of those, 65 - 81.25 percent - had at least five wins after 10 games.

And 76 - a staggering 95 percent - were at least 4-6 at that oh-so-early juncture." (PhillyDailyNews)

Mike Explores How Marlins Could Be Making Money While Losing Money

(FishStripes)

Pavano 'Fine' After Hit in Head by Mora Liner

(Yahoo)

Marlins Beat Nationals, Mets Defeat Braves

Competitiveness continues. (Yahoo)(Yahoo)

Oh, No - The Braves Can't be Pulling Irretrievably Ahead ALREADY?!?

Can Pedro stop the bleeding? Can the Nats staunch the steamroller? (MLB)
Update: It's probably a little too early to be overreacting. (HardballTimes)

Delgado's Outstanding, Except for 'God Bless America'

Also, Jeff Conine really is a dog. (WashingtonTimes)

Deja Vu All Over Again?

Marlins win the series opener against Atlanta 9-0, then lose the next 2 games. They win the series opener against Washington 9-0, then lose the next game. Will history continue to repeat? (TSN.ca)

Mets Fans Probably Already Know This, But...

...the performance of past 0-4 teams provides some food for thought. (FlushingLocal)

Livan Pitches Tonight, Fans Want A.J. Bobblehead

McKeon pulls out his Moehler. (SunSentinel)

D-Train Flattens Nats

Traditionalist Cabrera pointed his shot towards the REAL name of the stadium. (MiamiHerald)

Book of Mike Becomes Fish Stripes!

Check out the better Marlins blog. (FishStripes)

H. Wayne Says 'Sure, Soon-to-be-Vegas Marlins Can Play in My Stadium (Snicker,...Guffaw)...Or, Maybe (Choke)...Even in the PARKING LOT! (BWAHAHAHA!)

Loria thinks, 'Gee, ain't there a nice unused stadium in Montreal available?' (SunSentinel)

Marlins Blogosphere Ripe For Growth

Translation: There are fewer blogs about the Marlins than for any other MLB team. (AlwaysOnNetwork)

Fish Still in 4-Way Race for First!

Mets continue to suck (click below)

Marlins in Dead Heat With Phils For 1st

Only 161 games to go. (ESPN)

Hey, I Thought We Finished Playing The Grasshoppers On Sunday

Oh, yeah - that's the Braves that lost 9-0.

C'mon, Let's Get This Season Over With Already!

(Local10)

Samson Concerned, Only Predicts 93 Wins

"We put it all through the Dr. Seuss-like belly-off machine, and out came 93." (MLB)

"Marlins Hiked The Average Ticket Price By 30.7 Percent"

Still "well below the league average". (CNN)

As the World Held its Breath, The Marlins Slipped Past The Grasshoppers, 21-2

Lowell recalls cheaper beer. (SunSentinel)

Marlins Save Up a Win For Regular Season

Mets Win 12-4. (MLB)

Roster's Set, Team's Ready,

...almost time to face the brutal Grasshoppers. (MiamiHerald)

Marlins Squeak by Mets, 11 to 9

(MLB)

The pain has left Pierre's leg,...

...and is now wandering up and down Riedling's shoulder. (MercuryNews)

Fish Swat the Nats,....

(BaltimoreSun)....while the Mets get DiFelice... (oh, and some Fish Transactions, too). (ESPN)