Saturday, March 31, 2007

Fish Finish Exhibitions With a Win

Marlins beat Reds in Fifth Third park by the score of sixth to twoth. Mitre pitched well, Miguel homers.

One of Your Nastier Marlins Previews

...with links to more problematic previews from Batter's Box and Deadspin. (OutOfLeftField)

MEANWHILE: Mr. Pinto gives a more even-tempered preview of the NL East. (BaseballMusings)

Beinfest Makes Another 'Huh?' Trade

(FutureFish)

Friday, March 30, 2007

Spring Stats Are Meaningless, But...

...'the Marlins finished their Grapefruit League season with the fewest runs scored (105) and the lowest batting average (.218) in the Major Leagues.' (BareBaseball)

Reed's Plight Frustrating

'"I don't want to say anything because I'll probably say something I'll regret." - Eric Reed, when asked for his reaction to being reassigned to minor-league camp despite hitting .351 for the Marlins in 15 spring games.'(PalmBeachPost)

Uggy's Plight Ugly

First his mother's kidnapping, and now sentenced to 14 years in prison. Loria, Dontrelle, Miguel are beside themselves. (LJworld.com)

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Roster Man Vibrations

Former bully De Aza is the Marlins' new centerfielder. Here's Fredi's thoughts on Alejandro...

"Every time he gets in the game something good happens. He has won me over. He has won the staff over and he has won the team over."

"Eric Reed did everything he was supposed to do but De Aza came out of nowhere,...We had an open competition and he won.

"It's just his overall play. You can't say it's because he hit 350. It's the way he handled himself. He can play all three outfield positions above average. He's an above-average runner."

Reed was sent to AAA. Alex Sanchez was released, along with pitchers Felix Rodriguez and Mike Koplove. Tankersley and Hermida start the season on the DL. (PalmBeachPost)

ALSO: Right-field will be the Cody and Joe show for a while. And "catcher Paul Hoover, infielder Zach Sorensen and pitcher Roy Corcoran were told they would be reassigned to the minors when the Marlins break camp." (SunSentinel)

MORE: Wood and Gardner tell their families they're in.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Interleague Scheduler a Marlins Fan?

'The only reason the Mets are not playing all eight playoff teams from last year is that they were one of them. The Mets have wound up with an interleague schedule with three-game series against the Yankees (twice), the Twins, the Tigers and the As, 2006 postseason teams all. Their interleague opponents average 2006 winning percentage is .590, by far the highest among the 30 teams.

'Meanwhile, the Marlins, going for the same National League East crown, get two series against the Devil Rays and one each against the Royals, the Twins, the Indians and the White Sox. The combined winning percentage of their six A.L. opponents is .461, or 29th over all.' (NYTimes)

(Hat tip to Balls, Sticks & Stuff, after another hat tip to Baseball Musings)

Craig Asks (And Answers) 5 Questions About the Florida Marlins

Check them out at the Hardball Times.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Fish Finally Do the Deal

Jorge Julio is coming to close for the Marlins, and Yusmeiro is cast to the Snakes. (MLB)

MORE...

1. Beinfest has wanted Julio since 2005. (MiamiHerald)

2. It's hard to find a commenter on the Marlins blogs who likes the deal. 'alex' is one of the few I found. (SunSentinelBlog)

3. There's some question about how much money Arizona is throwing into the deal. "Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes... wouldn't say specifically how much of Julio's salary the Diamondbacks will be paying, but he did say that the deal did not require the approval of the commissioner's office, which would suggest that less than $1 million changed hands. Reports out of Florida said the opposite, that the trade had to be approved." (AZcentral)

De Aza, Gall Still Have a Chance?

And a hopeful report from Gall: "I said the other day to my wife, 'I can't remember having this much fun in a clubhouse and with a group of guys.' I really like the chemistry here."

MORE: Tank's throwing, and an early Opening Day weather forecast. (PalmBeachPost)

EDITED: Sorry, Alejandro.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Bye Bye Perry

All the best wishes possible to Mr. Hill and his family.

MEANWHILE: How can you replace the irreplaceable? Maybe Ed Romero, maybe Cookie Rojas (shhh, don't mention Jack). (SunSentinel)

Friday, March 23, 2007

Bye Bye Orange Bowl?

One UM official thinks that "only if the Marlins' stadium plan collapses soon, and the city uses its $108 million Marlins contribution toward renovating the OB" would keep the Hurricanes from moving to Joe-Pro-Phin Stadium.

Sounds as if the 'Canes would get a better stadium deal than the Marlins play under right now...

"Unlike at the OB, UM would get some parking and concession revenue and pay less rent."

However, did you know that, according to "Dolphin Stadium president Bruce Schulze....the Marlins have scheduling priority even over the Dolphins." (!)

MEANWHILE: Fredi thinks Hanley will be eventually a middle-of-the-order hitter. (MiamiHerald)

Pitching Duel in Jupiter Yesterday

Willis outlasts Carpenter, De Aza drives in the winning run, Messenger closes. (MiamaHerald)

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Voters Asked to Protect Us From Who They Voted For

'Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, and Rep. Scott Randolph D-Orlando, said Tuesday that their bills would give voters the final say on such (sports) tax breaks.

'Bennett said it was "absolutely crazy" to give $60 million to the Marlins while Floridians are suffering from high property taxes and insurance costs.

(Of course he's right. It's obvious that if the subsidy's voted down, all of Florida's tax and insurance problems will disappear.)

'"If you're going to ask somebody in the Panhandle to help pay for a football stadium in Tampa or a baseball stadium in Miami, I believe they should have a right to vote on it," he said. "It's their money."

(But the gracious people of Pensacola and Destin want us to have our stadium out of the goodness of their hearts. We should send them a card thanking them when they pay for it. Although I don't know if they will like paying even more money to add referendums to their ballots or, heaven forbid, set up a special election to decide if they are willing to pay for something we all know they would love to pay for in the first place.)

'Randolph used a number of sports analogies to make his case at a press conference that featured hockey sticks, mini basketball goals and footballs covered in fake dollar bills.

'"In a democracy, our voters should be the referees. If they see local government step out of bounds they should get to call a foul," he said.

(Continuing the analogy, if players from Orlando and Bradenton cross into the south side of the field to try to take the Pensacola pigskin away, the southern team should do a little hat trick on their facemask and personally foul them all the way up to Ocala. Yay, democracy! )

'The bill would also require a local referendum if a county or city wished to give tax breaks for a local effort to help a sports team.

(Too site-specific. Why not a national vote to determine whether the state and the county and the city votes can be substantiated? How about a UN resolution? Take it to Intergalactic Court!)

'Bennett said the $60 million that the Marlins want to help build a new stadium could be used to pay for health care for 355,000 children, for 30,000 police officers or 12,600 teachers.

(Maybe, if the 60 mil was flung all at once, but unfortunately, it's $2 million for 30 years. By the time 2037 comes along, $2 million will get you an aspirin tablet and a couple of slabs of soylent green.)

'"If the Florida Marlins or any other baseball team can spend $52 million to pay a guy to throw a ball 90 feet, I think they can kind of fix their own stadium," he said.

(True. The only thing those blood-sucking Marlins have done is make over $200 million in committments to construct a building that they wouldn't even own. The sheer audacity to imagine that they could possibly hoard some extra cash so that they could brazenly pay for someone to throw a ball 90 feet or, even worse, 60!)

'Bennett said Crist supported the idea of requiring a vote before tax breaks were given. But Crist said he hadn't decided yet.

'"I wouldn't rule it out," Crist said, after explaining why the teams were important to Florida.

'"I look at sports as an economic development opportunity," he said. "It's not outside the realm of reasonableness for us at the state level to feel that it's worthwhile to nurture the teams that are already here."

'But many economists say public financing of sports teams does nothing to help local economies since money spent at sporting events would be spent elsewhere anyway.

'"I'm sure it's better to have them than to not have them," Crist said.'

(For clarification I called the Governor's office and got this message: "Hello, this is Governor Crist. I agree with everything you want. Please say anything at all at the tone, and I'll agree with it too...*beep*.) (LakelandLedger)

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Story Since Thursday...

Marlins win 3 of their last 5 games...Paul Hoover has a talent, but don't tell anybody...Willis and Cabrera and all that money...Fredi has Dontrelle starting in the 1st opening day in D.C. since 1969...It's also the last opening day for RFK...Rest of the rotation - Olsen, Sanchez, Nolasco and Petit/Mitre...Jeremy needs knee relief...

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Friday, March 16, 2007

Hurdles? What Hurdles?

Stadium sales tax bill flies through two legislative committees on its way to about 900 or so other committees. So get with it, Marlins fans! Prove the state economists wrong, and get an extra job just so you can buy those tickets!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Stadium Stories

Next hurdle the Marlins need to cross for state assistance coming on Thursday. (MarlinsBallparkNews)

MEANWHILE: Miami commissioners are serious about having court trials for children, and putting the Marlins where the Orange Bowl may not be for long. (MiamiHerald)

Fish Beat O's 4-1

(MiamiHerald)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Monday, March 12, 2007

Freespirit Fredi vs. G. I. Joe

'(T)hough it's a sensitive topic that some Marlins are reluctant to discuss, players have noticed differences.

'Matt Treanor said Gonzalez "is more relaxed with the guys. You knew where Joe was all the time. Fredi is letting us do what we need to do."

'Josh Willingham said Girardi, who sometimes ran with the players, was "a little" more hands-on: "Girardi told us more things early in spring training, where Fredi is kind of letting us get our feet wet."

'And Mike Jacobs said: "Girardi was a little more strict the way he wanted things done. Fredi is a little more loose."

'So is it better to have a manager who is more easygoing, or do these young Marlins need someone such as Girardi, who constantly is pushing them?

"I don't know. I kind of like the constant push," Jacobs said. "My biggest thing this year is hopefully we don't take the success we had last year for granted. We're still young. We have a lot of things to learn and work on."

'Another returning Marlin who requested anonymity (!) said the ideal approach would be "in the middle" between Girardi (who the player said micromanaged) and Gonzalez (who he said doesn't). That player likes how Gonzalez is "allowing guys to show their individuality," but wonders how some of the young players will respond if they're not being constantly pushed as they were last year, when Girardi called team meetings to express displeasure.

'Gonzalez, who likes to throw batting practice, said his style won't change in the regular season: "That has always been my approach every team I've had. I let the guys play and my coaching staff work. When I was coaching, I didn't like someone micromanaging me."

'Because he has a young team, does Gonzalez think he needs to push more? "No, I don't. If I see something that needs to be addressed, I will address it with that individual. And if that doesn't work, we'll try it again. And if that doesn't work, we'll get [GM Larry Beinfest] involved and we'll make it work somehow. I'm not here to embarrass anyone. I'm not calling a team meeting every other day."

'Said Miguel Cabrera: "He's a nice guy, but you have to respect him and play hard for him. If you don't, he will say something. That's good."' (MiamiHerald)

Another Unfinished Finish

Former hockey prospect Glavine and Sergio Mitre both pitch well, and the Mets and Marlins skate to,...er, ah, Play to a 5-5 tie. (SLAMSports)

Thursday, March 08, 2007

The Tale of Tosca

Fredi and Carlos seem to make a good team. (MiamiHerald)

Some Legislators Want Voters to Decide on Stadium

'Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said any money spent to build or refurbish pro sports facilities should be decided by the voters instead.

'"Every person who thinks their property taxes are high right now should be contacting their Legislature and the governor's office and demanding that we not use their hard-earned money to support a professional sports franchise," Bennett said. "If they want to have taxpayers' money, then let the taxpayers vote on it."

'Bennett's bill (SB 1008) would require a voter referendum at the state, county or city level to finance enhancements to attract or keep pro franchises. A similar measure (HB 687) in the House is sponsored by Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando.

'Miami lawmakers in both the House and Senate, however, are pushing legislation designed to provide a $60 million tax rebate to help the Florida Marlins build a half-billion dollar, retractable-roof park at a site yet to be determined.

"I'm really not understanding why (Bennett would) want to put that on a referendum at this point," said Sen. Rudy Garcia, R-Miami, who is sponsoring one of the measures to help the Marlins. "It's not tax dollars going to the stadium, it's a rebate." (Bradenton.com)

Split Results

Fish tie the Orioles (Dontrelle looked good) and lose bad to the Dodgers (Jeremy's still hitless).

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

County Commission Throws Gyroball at Bob DuPuy

Commissioners voted 11-1 to continue to pursue a stadium for the Marlins. But, in response to threats by the Hurricanes to move their football team to Dolphin Stadium, several commissioners now want the baseball park to be built at the Orange Bowl. 'We were surprised at the discussion regarding alternative sites," Major League Baseball President Bob DuPuy said.' (SunSentinel)

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Dice-K Today

The man with the winning smile faces his first test against Major-League bats today (it would be a good day for the Marlins to reverse their recent batting slump). Roger Dean will be over-filled with international media. Petit is scheduled to start for the Fish.

RESULT?: Matsusaka pitched well, but Petit pitched better. Hanley homered. Fish lose 14-6 in the 10th inning. (MLB)

Monday, March 05, 2007

'Fish Or Cut Bait' Revived

Same address, but now fully reconditioned.

Marlins Back in Ft. Lauderdale to Play O's Again

"Fredi Gonzalez said he hoped to give Borchard some time in center field today..." (SunSentinel)

WHA' HAPPENED?: Fish lose 5-3. Nolasco was scheduled to pitch but didn't, owing to back spasms that he started having on Friday. Borchard went 0 for 1. (MLB)

SOME GOOD DEFENSE, THOUGH: "After losing a fly ball in the sun, resulting in a third-inning single for Baltimore's Aubrey Huff on Monday, Reggie Abercrombie threw Huff out trying to advance to third on Ramon Hernandez's RBI single. ... Josh Willingham made a strong throw to second, nabbing J.R. House, who was trying to stretch out a double in the fourth." (MLB)

Loria Speaks

(PalmBeachPost)

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Blog Re-invigorated

The blog of Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel has been laying low for a long while, but recently, with the new season coming and with the addition of fellow Sun-Sentinel writer Mike Berardino, it's now pretty close to can't-miss reading. I'm now calling it the Sun-Sentinel Marlins Blog on my list.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Fish Against O's Again Today

Roger Dean was only a third full for yesterday's game. Maybe they'll draw better in Ft. Lauderdale, now that Anna Nicole's finally flown the coop.

RECAP: Marlins lose 3-0. (MiamiHerald)

Someone Does The Math - State Makes Money If They Give Marlins Tax Break

Barry Becher writes, "A new domed stadium would easily increase attendance to at least 20,000 per game. That means that at least 1.6 million people would attend Marlins games. Average ticket price would probably be $25, therefore generating $40 million in ticket sales. A 6 percent tax on these ticket sales would bring in $2.4 million to the state's coffers.

"Add in the sales tax on all the food sales and Marlins merchandise, figured conservatively at even $25 per person, and the sales tax number doubles. It would be easy to generate $4.8 million a year in sales taxes, thereby giving the state a profit of $2.8 million every year on their investment. That's a return of over 100 percent and $84 million that the state will lose if they don't keep the Marlins here." (SunSentinel)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Marlins Beat Orioles 8-6

SLAMsports

Possibly The First Anti-New-Stadium-Proposal Editorial

Courtesy of the alternative alternative, the Miami Sun Post. Hat tip to Stuck On The Palmetto.

Matsusaka Learning New Pitch?

Daisuke, who will pitch his first big-league spring-training game against the Marlins on Tuesday, and who already throws about 58 different pitches besides the Gyroball, checks out Wakefield and 'in a joking manner' says he wants to learn the knuckler. (WHDH.com)