Back to Shea

The Marlins return to the Rodney Dangerfield of MLB stadiums for the 1st time this year.

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FUN-CAP: The Marlins improve their Shea record to 23-16 (since 2003). Alfredo gets his first homer since Aug. 31. Fish finish April with a record of 12-13 (last April they were 6-16)...Atlanta beats Philadelphia....Nats win

Who Says There's No Time Clock in Baseball?

For the Marlins at least, every year it's comes down to the wire on whether they'll get that damned sales-tax rebate from the Florida Legislature. Again it's the last week of the session, and to make things more exciting the Sun-Sentinel renews hope that this year's proposals are not totally dead, with quotes such as "There are high-level negotiations going on,"..."In this process, I don't think it's over until it's over,"...."I think that a lot of things happen in the last days of session that no one can possibly imagine."..."I never say never."

Meanwhile, according to Ken Rosenthal, other teams may also be looking at that clock while licking their chops - he feels passage of the stadium bill increases the chances of a trade for Dontrelle, as "the Marlins no longer would fear the political ramifications of such a move."

Next Marlins Fan Coming From Iowa City...

...as Wes, who kept the Marlins close in yesterday's game, and has a good chance to stay with the club when Mitre returns, goes back home for the birth of his 2nd child. (MiamiHerald)

Sunday's Games

The horrible death of Cardinal's pitcher Josh Hancock should lead us to prize and cherish the moments of life we and those around us have left. The Cards have postponed their game for tonight. The rest of the baseball world chugs along...

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RECRAP: Moyer and Co. pitch the Marlins into a 6-1 loss. Mets beat Nats. Atlanta loses

Saturday Games

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WIN-CAP: Marlins win, Phillies lose. Mets and Braves win, Nats lose.

Where Can We Tune in Marlins Games Next Year?

Capefish joins in the discussion with radio guys over where the Marlins (or Panthers for that matter) will end up on the Miami dial. (Radio-Info.com)

Fish at Filladelphia

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REVERSE-CAP: Another 9th-inning rally goes the other way as the Phillies beat the Marlins 6-5. Nats beat Mets. Braves win.

...And the Orgy of Hatred Continues...

Craig has revealed to us bloggers that hate the Marlins.

The state Senate, including at least one Miami senator, hates them.

Even the Marlin's flagship radio station hates them.

At least the Orlando Sentinel has come out for the sports subsidy.

No-Fun-At-All Facts

"With four games left in April, the pitching staff is next-to-last in the National League in ERA (5.05), runs allowed (118) and walks (101). Only the Washington Nationals have worse numbers.

"The Marlins are on track to finish with the franchise's second-highest ERA for any April and worst since the 1998 team posted a 5.19 ERA to start the season. And this month, opposing hitters are batting .290, the highest allowed in April by any Florida staff....

"Of the 118 runs the Marlins have allowed this year, 49, or 41.5 percent have come with two outs - the worst percentage in the league."

After all that it's amazing the team's record is 10-11. (PalmBeachPost)

Day Off

Washington at Philadelphia is the only NL East game tonight.

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UPDATE: Nats beat Phils.

"Braves, Marlins Play Series in Bizarro World"

Braves fan Charlie Hatton explains the Braves-Marlins series. (Bugs&Cranks)

Brand New Day

Maybe Dontrelle's new baby will bring us good luck. Scott Olsen is set to go against Tim Hudson tonight. Here's the 411...

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GOO-GOO-GOOD: Fish trounce the Braves in the 9th inning (Correction: Maybe 'trounce' is not the word Probably 'just barely squeaking past' is more accurate.) . Mets and Nats lose. Philly wins.

Vanden Hurk Out

Rick got rocked for 6, was lifted in the 2nd and dropped down into Double A - Nate Field has been brought up.

"Tuesday marked the third time since April 15 a starter has failed to complete three innings." The Fish are now 6-7 at home.

And at This Point...

...the Mets have 13 wins and 6 losses, Atlanta is 13-7, Florida is 9-11, Philly is 8-11, and the Nationals are 6-14.

Time to Flee

Now that the Fish are 1-5 in their last 6 games, it's time once again to take some time off, and maybe do some baseball-god-appeasin' stuff to get that luck twisted back around. I think I'll have more possible Internet access during this hiatus as opposed to previous times. But the powers that lord over all my vacations will still have the final say. So if I can't log in regularly, at least here are the next 7 days' worth of scoreboards....

Wednesday, April 18
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Thursday, April 19
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Friday, April 20
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Saturday, April 21
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INTERRUPTING-SATURDAY-NIGHT-IN-VACATIONLAND-TO-FINALLY-SAY: Yippie!

Sunday, April 22
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Monday, April 23
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Tuesday, April 24
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RESULTS?: Well, 3 wins out of 7 is better than 1 out of 6.

Place-marking

At this point in the NL East - Atlanta is at 9 wins and 4 losses, the Mets are 8-4, Florida is at 6-7, the Nationals are 4-10, and the team to beat is 3-9.

Mitre vs. Oswalt Tonight

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DISASTER-CAP: A horrible loss - not only is Mitre injured, but Jorge isn't. Julio has taken so many steps backward that he's now pitching from the bleacher section.

They'll probably change it, but the 10:09 ET AP story of the game said, and I quote,...

"Julio allowed six runs and five hits in one inning for the victory."

Well, if the Julio experiment ends tonight, then yes, maybe it would be a victory.

AND: The Mets beat Philly, and the Nats lose to the Braves.

Alex Carver Says "We Deserved This In Every Sense Of The Word"

"This was one of the sloppiest played and managed games I¹ve seen from of the Marlins in fourteen years." (MarlinsToday)

The Plunkers and the Plunked

A dissertation on the recent history of the Marlins as it relates to hitting batters or being hit while batting. (The Marlins set a franchise record for hitting batters last season.) (PlunkBiggio)

Texas Two-Step

Here's a pretty comprehensive preview of the two-game Marlins-Astros series. Anibal and Wandy projected to start tonight.

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RECAP: The Nats defeat the Braves, and the Fish and Astros are tied 3-3 in the 8th at 10:55 ET.
6:25 AM DOWN-DATE: Fish lose 4-3.

Jorge's ERA Drops to 13.50

And he did it while going backwards. (SunSentinelMarlinsBlog)

Happy Jackie Robinson Day

2 games are already rained out (get a dome Boston and Queens).

UPDATE: 3 more games postponed (get a ditto Philly and Pittsburgh). The skies are crying on No. 42's day (must have something to do with Imus).

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BOO-CAP: Fish lose to Atlanta 8-4.

Fun Facts

"The Marlins are first in the National League in batting average (.295), hits (104), runs (60), RBI (59), doubles (29) and triples (6) and are second in home runs (11)...

"Cabrera is leading the NL in batting average (.429), RBI (13), total bases (31) and on-base percentage (.543).

"Jacobs, who hit .194 this spring, is hitting .343, two points behind Hanley Ramirez (.345). Rookie Alejandro De Aza is hitting .313, and just about everyone in the lineup is hitting well." (MiamiHerald)

Son of Borat Attends Game

'Jason Wood said he jumped several feet Friday when -- while he was at the plate -- a fan threw a baseball that almost hit him.

'"It scared the life out of me," Wood said. "I even looked over to [Braves manager] Bobby Cox and he was shaking his head. I've never seen anything like it. It almost hit me. I jumped out of the box. I didn't know what would follow."

'The fan was escorted from Turner Field, but he might have made an innocent mistake. According to stadium personnel, the fan was a foreigner who was attending his first baseball game.

'He had seen fans throwing home run balls back on the field, so when he caught Wood's foul ball in back of home, he threw it back on the field.' (MiamiHerald)

Baseball Everywhere

Last night was a treat - my cable company (Comcast) was showing a free preview of the MLB Extra Innings package. Since I'm too cheap to purchase it I was glad to at least see what I will be missing. Hopefully it will continue for a while - Comcast gave me absolutely zero advance notice of this, and I wouldn't have known if I wasn't just stumbling around the dial. Great to see and hear Vin Scully continuing to excel in his trade.

Fo' da Fish, it's Olsen vs. Davies tonight. Here are the contests....

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WELL-NOT-EXACTLY-EVERYWHERE: The Marlins/Braves game gets rained out (get a dome Atlanta). First indications are that Olsen will still start on Sunday, but Tim Hudson will pitch for Atlanta. Philly wins, and the Nats beat the Mets.

Closer by Committee

Craig expounds on his concerns over Fredi's decision to hold off on deciding. (FishStripes)

Stadium by Committee

One bill meets its last committee, another bill is scheduled for its last committee, and then if all goes well there'll be one big final committee to smash it all together. (MarlinsBallparkNews)

Friday the 13th in Atlanta

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D-CAP: Dontrelle does good as the offense smacks Redman around - Fish win 11-4. Mets beat Nats, and Phillies lose.

Rich and Tommy Recognize Bloggers

Not only did they use info on their April 11th broadcast from this guy's site, but they gave him on-the-air credit too, which was mightly apprieciated. (ThePastime.Net)

Verification - Jorge Not Closing

First the Sun-Sentinel, and now the Post, reports the joyous news.

(SunSentinel) (PalmBeachPost)

No Marlins Game Today

But Philly's still at Shea, and Washington's still at Turner Field.

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RECAP: The Mets beat the Phillies, and Washington actually beat Atlanta.

3RD SERIES RESULTS: The Marlins lose 2-of-3 to Milwaukee, the Mets win 2-of-3 from Philly, and the Braves won 2-of-3 from the Nats.

NEXT-SERIES: Florida starts 3 games at Atlanta tonight, Houston spends the weekend at Philly, and the Nationals play at New York.

Injury Exchange: De Aza Out, Taylor Activated

Alejandro has a "bad ankle. Gonzalez said the injury would be reevaluated Friday"...And it's too bad, but Lee Gardner had to be sent down to make room for Tankersley. (MiamiHerald)

Un-fun Facts

"Of the 11 home runs hit by the Marlins this season, nine have come with the bases empty" (MiamiHerald)...

"Before Tuesday's play, the Marlins were averaging 6.43 runs through seven games, second in the National League. They scored only four runs in 22 innings against Milwaukee pitching, dropping that average to 5.4 runs." (SunSentinel)...

"The Marlins struck out 27 times over the past two games." (PalmBeachPost)

Wednesday's (And the End of Tuesday's Suspended) Games

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DOUBLE-CRAP: The Marlins lost Tuesday's game and Wednesday's game. Philly beat the Mets, and Atlanta beat the Nats.

Donut Disaster

"Fans can exchange their tickets from Tuesday's suspended game for tickets to today's game or can exchange their tickets plus $1 for any remaining Monday through Thursday regular-season home game this year." So if the Marlins get a grand-slam to win last night's game, and then score 6 or more in the 'night-cap' those fans that exchange their tickets won't get double the donuts?

Meanwhile it was reported on a TV news program that some Dunkin' Donuts weren't honoring the give-away. Supposedly the wording of the offer has now been changed from 'breakfast and coffee' to 'two doughnuts and coffee'. No congressional investigations have been called for.

Game 2 Today

Claudio Vargas is scheduled to start for the Sausage-Race-less Brewers.

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SUSPEND-A-CAP: Another first for the Fish - the 1st MLB game to be suspended under the new rules. Jorge's latest disaster will be finished tonight if the weather allows. Atlanta beats the Nats.

Injury Exchange: Willingham Comes In, Nolasco Goes Out

Rick Vanden Hurk takes the leap from SingleA to the Majors tonight, and his parents make a leap over the Atlantic to watch...ALSO: Jorge knows what's wrong after viewing tapes of his performance - "''It's too fast,''...."It's not me.''... ''I don't care,''..."I don't listen.'' (MiamiHerald)

Suppan vs. Sanchez Tonight

The Marlins haven't lost to the Brewers since 2005. Hopefully the tradition continues...

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RE-RECAP: Fish win, and the Mets beat the Phillies.

Hanley and Hammer Hurt

Both are listed as day-to-day. MEANWHILE: Fredi's neighbor/buddy is in the other dugout tonight. (PalmBeachPost)

Scott Hates The Phillies

Let's see if he can channel that frustration into a positive evisceration of their lineup. Rookie Zack Segovia is to pitch his 1st big-league game today for the Phils. Here's the games...

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WHEE-CAP: Fish win 6-4. Lee gets his first MLB save, and Jorge improves his ERA to 16.88.

2ND SERIES RESULTS: The Fish win 2-of-3 from Philly. The Braves win 2-of-3 from the Mets. The Nats lose all 4.

NEXT-UP: Brewers play 3 in Florida, the Nats play 3 at Atlanta, and the Phils play 4 at Shea.

Thanks For The Memories

It was nice that Alfonseca showed up on a night honoring the '97 Championship team. It wasn't so nice that he also shut the Marlins down for 1.1 innings last night.

Well, it's Game 2 today. Myers will be up against Dontrelle. Here's today's matchups/scores...

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RECAP: Marlins beat the Phillies 8-5, as Hammer almost hits for the cycle, Cabrera keeps up his .500 average while Dan's drops to .098, and Jorge brings his ERA down to 19.29. Atlanta finally stops the Mets. The Nats lose again.

Marlinsbeisbol.com Finally Started

11 other teams had Spanish web sites before the Marlins (including even the Devil Rays).

ALSO: Tank and Josh and Logan are improving...and a half-dozen Marlins runs at a home game will get the fans who see it free breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts. (MLB)

Jeffrey, Ironman Fixate on Downtown Site

Jeffrey: `"I'm very happy and optimistic that the city and the county are talking about the stadium being downtown, which is where we belong." (SunSentinel)

Ironman: '"What [owner] Jeffrey [Loria] was saying is he is optimistic and hopeful the county and city are continuing to work toward a downtown site stadium deal," team president David Samson said. "To the extent that they are, which we believe they are, we are very excited about that."

'Why do the Marlins favor a downtown location?

'"I think that having a downtown site as a priority makes sense because an urban facility with mass transportation, with people having the ability to walk downtown and park once when they go downtown as opposed to parking twice, I think that all adds up to a better chance of success," Samson said.' (MLB)

QUESTION: Uh,..park twice?

Good Friday in More Ways Than One

It's Opening Day in South Florida! There'll be many festivities and celebrations of the team of 10 years ago. So join Greg Cote and scoff at those 'experts' who predict a drop-off season for the Fish. Hey, the weather should even clear up by this afternoon.

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OKAY-BACK-TO-BEING-MISERABLE-RECAP: Fish not only lose 8-2, but Olivo's day-to-day with a bruised right thumb.

MORE: Washington loses, and the Mets wallop the Braves.

Fishy Notes

The Marlins infielders are error-free so far and are hoping to stay that way....

D-Train will be wearing No. 42 on April 15....

The 0-3 Phillies are a little down right now. They have acquired Francisco Rosario from Toronto to try to help their bullpen and hopefully keep their fans from attacking the players.

At Least One Stadium Subsidy Bill Still Survives

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MORE: Team official doesn't expect results until May. (PalmBeachPost)

Marlins Off Today

...giving them time perhaps for some more charitable work. Atlanta plays Philly this afternoon.

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FIRST SERIES RESULTS: Atlanta win 3 games off of Philly; Mets win 3 too; Marlins win 2 out of 3 from Washington.

NEXT SERIES START: Arizona already beat the Nats tonight. On Friday the Fish start playing the visiting Phils, and the Mets start 3 at Atlanta.

Julio Promises More of the Same

"We're just starting this season. This is the career I've chosen. You just have to keep at it and keep moving forward. These moments are important for me to help the team and give the people of Miami confidence I can do the job here like the previous closers."

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Sweep Potential Today

Anibal starts this afternoon. Rookie Matt Chico emerges from an alley behind a warehouse to start for the Nats.

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DE-SWEEPED: Maybe it was the cold dark clouds that suddenly covered the sky...Maybe it was the missed opportunities through the middle innings....Maybe it was the latent effects of Anibal's giving up 3 runs in the 6th and a few luckily-placed Washington hits....Nawwww, it was Jorge. Atlanta beat Philly, while Maine and the Mets trounce St. Louis.

Did You Know...

...that the Marlins do not have the lowest MLB payroll this year?

...that "(w)ith a win this afternoon, the Marlins can match the 1997 team for the best start in franchise history"?

...that a 103-year-old woman threw out the first pitch at last Thursday's spring game?

Game Number 2 2-Night

Olsen goes against Hill. Let's see if the Fish keep it up.

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UP!-UPDATE: Marlins win again 9-3. Mets beat St. Looey (fooey).

Check Out "The Sports Fan Base of South Florida" Series

Over at 'Fish or Cut Bait', Henry Gomez's analysis unfolds like the multi-layers of an onion, charting step-by-step the mystery of the SoFla Fish fan. Hopefully the series last another 500 or so episodes.

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Boo!

Marlins start the season already in second place...

Here's an "Opening Day is special, even when it really isn't in the overall scheme of things" story.

Dontrelle thinks the Nats will be tougher than most people think. He also thinks the Marlins won't have a letdown this year either. The team's still loose and still having fun out there. So Let's get the Show Started!

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YAY!!!: The Marlins (including practically everyone who participated) beat the Nationals 9-2, and are now embroiled in a brutal, cut-throat, no-holes-barred three-way race down to the wire for the division championship. Fredi is already drinking the champagne.

No Foolin'...Season Starts Tonight

Mets at St. Louis (not Japan, not Mexico, not even Timbuktu, but St. Louis) start off the bumpy road to October. Check the score through the service that works for you...

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