It's Promotion Time!

"FLORIDA MARLINS-Named Larry Beinfest executive vice president and general manager, Michel Bussiere executive vice president and chief financial officer, P.J. Loyello senior vice president-communications and broadcasting, Susan Jaison senior vice president-finance, Claude Delorme senior vice president-stadium development, Bill Beck senior director-team travel, Brendan Cunningham senior director-corporate sales and Tony Tome manager-corporate sales." (Gainesville.com)

The Fire Sale Will Continue...

...according to Todd Jones' agent. (GoogleMiamiHerald)

Delgado Goes to Un-American Team

(JournalNews)...a team that has All The Money In The World! (BaseballMusings)....and proves it by also snagging Billy Wagner. (CNN)

Marlins 2003 Season Tainted?

Say it 'taint so! (BaseballMusings)

McKeon On The Beckett-Lowell Trade - Advantage: Boston

And how about this little nugget?..."McKeon said he knew a couple of years ago that the Marlins would be going through their current fire sale." (Zwire.com)

MORE: McKeon, on Boston radio, thinks Beckett's blisters were mostly humidity-related. (GoogleGroups)

John Brattain Exposes Marlins' and Loria's History and Financials...

...and concludes that "this isn't about the viability of the franchise; this is about padding profits (yes, profits) and making Loria a lot more wealthy without him having to actually work for it.

"Loria has two choices: One, rebuild the fan base remembering that the damage has been done over the course of years and it's going to take an investment of money and time (read: years) to reverse it. Or as option two, he can throw a temper tantrum, blame the consumer and try to find a region that's willing to make him a lot more wealthy.

"Guess which choice he has made? He's told South Florida to go to hell and is whoring himself out to any region willing to whip out the public teat and allow him to nurse until he's gorged. He's said this is his intention repeatedly since 2004.

"And he wonders why folks still stay away? He's shown no loyalty to South Florida. He expects fans to come out regardless of the quality of the team and expects local politicians to place a higher priority on fattening his wallet than providing hurricane relief. And if all that happens, then he'll pledge fealty to the region.

"His approach is about as subtle as a double-fisted schoolyard salute." (HardballTimes)

Beckett-Lowell Trade Finalized And - Wait A Minute, How Did Mota's Name Get In There?

Must have been one of those after-Thanksgiving sales. (USAToday)

MORE: Fish get Grant Psomas and Harvey Garcia out of the bargain bins. (FishStripes)

Girardi Can't Stop Saying "I'm Excited"

"Just because you're young doesn't mean you can't play. People shouldn't forget that they won the World Series in 2003 with young kids. There's a lot of coaching to be done with young kids, and I'm excited about it." (NYTimes)

Marlins Go On Spending Spree

...while continuing the colorfully-named-players theme. (SLAM!Sports)

Fill Out Your Own 'Marlins Fire-Sale Press Release'

"_____ _______ is being traded by the _________ Marlins to the ________ ______ for ____ ________ from the minor-leagues and ___ ________ to be named later."

The 'Charlotte Marlins'? More Like 'Charlatans'

"We're not ready for Major League Baseball at this point." (News14Carolina)

Great 'Half Baked Thoughts' From Mike

(FishStripes)

Ha! Just Try and Relocate!

"Sorry, Jeffrey, you're staying a while. MLB can't abandon a city that Loria calls "the gateway to the Americas" at a time when it's starting the World Baseball Classic and entering a new era of internationalization. Contraction? Makes even less sense." (FOXSports)

Somewhere, In The Distance, The Sound of Cub Fans Guffawing

(BleedCubbieBlue)

"Hey, St. Pete! Can You Squeeze Us In For, Oh, About 75 Days A Year, 'Till Someone Buys Us a New Park?"

"Don't worry, It'll be great! 'Course we can't mix-and-match laundry, but think of all the savings we can accrue, with shared lockers and all. Hell, we even came up a new name for the Trop - 'The Florida Contraction Center'. Has a sort of ring to it...like a bell tolling, don't ya think?"

"What? Your roof's not retractable? Never mind." (MLB)

"It's Ridiculous" Thinking Samson's Taken Over the Club...

(MLB)... Why, Jeffrey's working hard on trading Josh and Mike to the Rangers....Eh, what? Jeffrey's all the way over in Europe? Well, no matter, he still has his finger on the pulse of.... What?? Josh and Mike's going to the Red Sox, not the Rangers?? And Jeffrey's been "not easily accessible"? Hello,..Hello, Jeffrey?...

Classy Dontrelle Impresses the People of Plainedge

(Newsday)

BREAKING NEWS: A Team Actually Wants Mike Lowell

Unfortunately they also want the Fish to keep paying a chunk of his salary. (GooglePioneerPress)

CORRECTION: Marlins Aren't Getting Rid Of Beckett - The Fans Are!

Or the lack of fans, says Le Batard. (GoogleMiamiHerald)

Your 2006 Marlins: Just Like the 2005 Marlins...

....except for the manager, most of the coaching staff, and possibly almost all of the players. (PalmBeachPost)

Rangers Sources Say A Deal "Would Likely Be Done By Monday"

...trading Beckett-Lowell for Blalock-Danks. (DallasMorningNews)

Marlins Must Salary-Dump $20 Million in '06, Says Some Guy

...who was able to squeeze out a conversation with Omar Minaya in-between frantic calls from Marlins execs "desperate" to ditch Delgado. (StarLedger)

David Pinto Puzzles Over Delgado-Palmeiro Trade Rumor

(Say what?)...(BaseballMusings)

100% Rumor-Free Post

"Rick Kranitz was hired as pitching coach of the Florida Marlins on Friday after spending the past 22 seasons in the Chicago Cubs' organization.

"Kranitz was pitching coach for the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa affiliate the past two seasons.

"New Marlins manager Joe Girardi still seeks bench, hitting and bullpen coaches. He has hired Bobby Meacham to coach third base and Perry Hill to coach first.

"Kranitz succeeds Mark Wiley, who was pitching coach last season for manager Jack McKeon.

"The Marlins added four pitchers to their 40-man roster: right-hander Allen Baxter, left-hander Adam Bostick, right-hander Jose Garcia and right-hander Carlos Martinez." (SFGate.com)

MORE: Transaction Guy lays out who we got, and who is not. (TransactionGuy)

More Free Meals For A. J.!

With that Toronto steak dinner just barely digested, Burnett gloms another gourmet feast on the Nats' tab in Miami Beach. Who knows what the Cardinals had to feed him to keep him interested?

Meanwhile the Fish are showing interest in Overbay and Ordonez, but probably just as far as the drive-thru lane at Burger King.

MORE: The Nats also want Encarnacion. (MLB)

Pierre Rumors On Chicago Radio

And rumor debunking also. (GoogleGroups)

MORE: Cub fans go pro-and-con on Juan. (GoogleGroups)

Nostradumbass Strikes Again!

Check out predictions 2 and 4. (HardballTimes)

Which Anagram of 'Carlos Delgado' ...

...best fits his situation?

1. Lodged Rascal
2. Calls A 'Dodger'
3. Cad Ogles Lard
4. Scared Old Gal
5. A Cradled Slog
6. Egad! Collards!

What Discrimination?

Carpenter was mathematically certain to win Cy Young. (TopTechNews)

Interesting Yankees Trade Talk From Pete Caldera

"JUAN PIERRE: The Marlins' speedster won't be a free agent until after the '06 season, and he was moderately priced at $3.7 million this year.

"Joe Girardi's club is much more eager to dump the $48 million left on Carlos Delgado's contract over the next three years - a difficult proposition with first basemen Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, Lyle Overbay and Kevin Millar available via trade or free agency.

"Since Gary Sheffield never wanted to leave the Marlins, as he's said many times over, the Yanks could attempt to ship him to Florida for Pierre - as long as they take another big contract in return, or if the Marlins can deal Delgado somewhere else.

"The Yankees could attempt to plug center with Matsui this year, and then sign Pierre as a free agent next year. With 57 steals last year and the ability to track down balls in the gap, Pierre fits what the Yanks are seeking in center." (NorthJersey.com)

News From The "Wasn't He Retiring?" Dept.

Jim Mecir files for free agency. (SportsNetwork)

Nic Ungs Gives Up Record-Breaking Homer

(OurSportsCentral)...but he and the other Marlin AFL'ers have been doing well. (MLB)

Next Installment of the "Larry Says 'Goodbye to Miami' Tour"

"Jeffrey Loria gave me a huge chance here. He gave me the reins to a major-league franchise after two years as an assistant GM. I would like to think... if you can step up to this challenge maybe you can step up to the next one, whether that's in a different market or at a different job." (PalmBeachPost)

Jeffrey Charts A Course,..

...one that may not include Lowell and/or Delgado. (PalmBeachPost)

Would Roxy Do Radio for the A's Next Year?

"(H)is contract with the Marlins prevents him from pursuing other jobs. However, he could be a candidate if the A's were to pursue him." (ContraCostaTimes)

A. J. Tours Toronto, Delivers More Parting Shots

"I'm so impressed with the front office here...It's night and day from what I'm used to (in Florida). They're all good people...I want to go somewhere where the fans want to win as much as I want to win and the club wants to win as much as I want to win." (SLAMSports)

Wilma Puts Cone of Uncertainty Over Marlins

"Already a low-revenue team, the storm likely will affect the product the club puts on the field. Without the projected corporate sponsorships and season-ticket sales, the payroll probably will decline from the record total of $65 million in 2005. How much of a decrease, assuming that is the decision of owner Jeffrey Loria, remains to be seen." (MLB)

Buzz: Delgado Stays with Marlins (Possibly)

His contract doesn't have a no-trade clause, but... (MetsBlog)....MORE: Delgado could also "demand a trade after one season if he is dealt." (NYDailyNews)

ALSO: Again through MetsBlog comes ESPN's Insanely Early 2006 Power Rankings.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Finally the electricity came back on! (It was out for about 8.5 days.) Now I can return to my lifelong quest of fighting the swamp with air conditioning.

Finally Back (Sort Of...)

QUICK NOTES: Have to do this quick as I'm on a public computer (Still no electricity in my 'hood - local library just opened today and I'm using their computers)....Wilma mangled a bunch of my shutters and gutters and toppled our big mango tree, but the house and roof and all inside are okay....Haven't even seen this blog yet (computer won't go to it - doing this post by e-mail) but saw FishStripes, and wishing Mike good fortune in whatever he does (or posts) in the future.... Oh, and I just noticed, former Fish Ozzie's team won the Whole She-Bang, and seemingly celebrated by letting go of former Fish Carl Everett....And now, time for another lunch of charcoal-broiled sardines.