Quantity Over Quality

This is the three-thousandth post of this blog. (I spelled it out instead of typing '3000' because it looks more impressive.)

I know, I know...the way I blog I could've had 30,000, as my posts are usually just a headline, a blurb, and a link.

I tip my hat to those bloggers who can day in and out can write long and thoughtful and witty posts on the happenings of the Marlins. It takes me sometimes hours to come up with the two or three scraggly lines I do, with my wife in back of me insisting all the while that I'm still spending too much time on this thing.

Oh, well; time for No. 3001.

Let's Get This Party Started

The Oil-Change Caravan gets on the road this coming week. The Marlins will be visiting Jiffy Lubes and radio stations, the Seaquarium and Habitat for Humanity, a Heat and a Panthers game, a Cuban joint in Little Havana and a sports bar in Jupiter. They'll play wiffle ball at the Orange Bowl site, and golf at their Celebrity Classic. They'll be public and private events leading up to the stadium on Saturday. (PalmBeachPost)

Fans will be waiting at the stadium in the brutal Miami sun two hours longer this year to buy tickets, as ticket sales and the FanFest starts at the are-they-trying-to-give-us-skin-cancer time of 12 noon. It may be interesting to see how the field will look after this weekend's Monster Truck Rally. (MLB)

One thing these notices told me that I didn't know before is that it seems the Marlins have a new Spanish-language radio home, WAQI instead of WQBA. Felo is still here, though.

Today's Compendium

The Marlins sign Kiko Calero. (SunSentinel)

The final Mermaid auditions for this year are tonight at Seminole Paradise. (MiamiHerald)

From The South Florida Daily Blog: Both the Transit Miami and Blind Mind blogs express negative feelings about what the traffic situation around the proposed stadium will turn into.

The Naturist Association guy is still announcing to our legislators that our nude beach "outdraws the Florida Marlins and Miami Dolphins combined -- a comment that drew titters from the crowd" (Yeah, we call 'em "titters" down here.) (SunSentinel)

Tonight's Things

Randy Messenger has been released by the Mariners. (He was with the Mariners?) (KNDO)

The goofing has begun: Rob Neyer calls the stadium a "big white spaceship", while Eric Barton of New Times calls it "Dark Helmet Stadium". (First Prize goes to the commenter that called it "scrubbing-bubble-helmet of a stadium")

The game with Danny's first career grand slam in it will be on MLB.com Thursday starting at 2 PM Eastern time. (MLB)

John Raynor aims to be the first Seahawk in 40 years to reach the majors. (No, not those Seahawks.) (StarNewsOnline)

Concessions

The agreements have been released to the public and commissioners. Here are the concessions the Marlins have made as listed by the Herald.

"o If Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria sells the team in the seven years
after the agreement has been reached, the county would almost double
its share of any profits."

Since Jeffrey is pushing 70 this may be a wise move.

"o The ball club's $2.3 million a year in rent will go up by 2 percent
each year."

If a deflationary cycle hits the economy this could be a money-maker. But if we collapse into hyper-inflation this won't seem like much.

"o Extra costs due to scheduling or problems between the contractor and
subcontractors will now be paid by the Marlins."

Conversely, extra costs Not due to scheduling or problems between the contractor and subcontractors will, I guess, be in the government's hands.

The government will pay for infrastructure and groundskeeping. And any of the parties can pull out of the agreement up until the middle of 2009.

The Sun-Sentinel gets more specific on the county's profit share:

"If the team is sold within seven years, the county and city will
benefit, receiving in the first year 18 percent of the profit, up from
10 percent in an earlier agreement.
The team, which has the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball, has
also doubled to 10,000 the number of tickets available each season free
to youth and community groups."

MORE: Craig tells us the dimensions and some of the planned features of the stadium. (FishStripes)

STILL-MORE: Risa Polansky of Miami Today spells out more of the fine print of the agreements. (MiamiToday)

EVEN-MORE: Fish@Bat give some Features and Dimensions and More Details of the ballpark.

Drawings of the New Stadium!

Finally the renderings are released. Check them out in this MLB slideshow.

Standridge Signed

Along with a note that another knuckleballer is now in a NL organization, the bottom of this blog post says that the Marlins signed "former elite prospect Jason Standridge" to a minor-league deal. Standridge has been with 4 MLB teams and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. (BaseballReference)

Fish in the News

Cody's getting ready to move to right field (currentargus.com)

Emilio Bonifacio helps the Tigres win the Dominican crown. (MLB)

"Astros outfielder Reggie Abercrombie slugged a two-run homer and Marlins farmhand Andy Gonzalez contributed three hits, including a solo shot" to help Ponce win the Puerto Rican title. (MLB)

Scott Proctor gets major-league help for his second annual charity event. (TCpalm)

On TV This Morning

Michael Putney on his Sunday morning chat show on Channel 10 interviewed Miami Mayor Carlos Alverez, who said among other things that the stadium agreements will be given to the commissioners to start reviewing either today or tomorrow for a still-possible Friday the 13th voting date, that language in the documents makes it clear that any construction overruns not caused by government will be the responsibility of the Marlins, and that giving the infrastructure work out without bids is a legitimate method to expedite an already-delayed process.

Quicker!

You have a hour from this post to get to Ft. Lauderdale Stadium for the Joe DiMaggio Legends Game! Orestes will be there along with a pile of great players of the past. (MiamiHerald)

DARN-I-DIDNT-GO: And so I missed Orestes Destrada, Andre Dawson, Alex Arias, Chris Hammond, Cookie Rojas, Jeff Torborg, Jeff Conine, Orlando Cepeda, Brooks Robinson, and "Dick Allen, Paul Blair, Ron Blomberg, Dennis ''Oil Can'' Boyd, Bert Campaneris, Rico Carty, Mike Cuellar, Alvin Dark, Tommy Davis, Al Downing, George Foster, Willie Horton, Al Hrabosky, Ed Kranepool, Bill Lee, Phil Linz, Dennis Martinez, Gene Michael, Minnie Minoso, John ''Blue Moon'' Odom, Amos Otis, Jimmy Piersall, Art Shamsky and Ron Swoboda." (MiamiHerald)

Quickies

Ricky and Scott may face each other in the season opener. (PalmBeachPost)

Marlins games are making UM readjust next year's football schedule. (MiamiHerald)

February 13 is the latest date that the parties involved will be trying to get the city and county commissions to vote on the still-unfinished stadium agreements. (blogs.trb.com)

The non-local constuction company pegged to do the stadium project (without competitive bidding) may also do the infrastruture work (without competitive bidding). (MiamiToday)

Luis will be getting the Bart Giamatti Award, but is not yet getting any interest as a player for next season, especially from the Marlins. (MLB)

Samson say there's 'zero' chance of Pudge coming to the Fish, and seemingly also any other free agent. (RotoWorld)

Reversals

As of now, it seems not only that Uggla may not get traded, but that Anibal may be WBC-bound after all.

Uggla's Agent Sees Marlins "Going in a Different Direction"

(SunSentinelBlog)

Crappy Recap

What happend over the weekend?

The Marlins (says Samson) are excited about Obama even as his inauguration had a hand in stalling the stadium vote until February.

They sign all their arbitration guys except Danny Boy, but they still need a catcher.

And the group going to the WBC may shrink by at least one.

Time On

My trip is over. A group of us went to Vegas. Hung out on the Strip and went to Fremont Street for a day. I didn't get drunk, didn't gamble my money away and didn't seem to catch any STD's. So I guess I had a lousy trip. Seemed like fun anyway. The wife had fun too, even though we didn't eat at any buffets out there. Miles of walking between hotels, miles of walking inside hotels, miles of walking to get to the trams to try to avoid miles of walking. Had a nice room, saw some expensive shows, saw some free shows, and had some good food. One thing I did learn: Mexican guys in orange shirts flicking cards at me do not make me horny.

Time Off

I'm on vacation this weekend, and as usual with my trips I won't have a predictable way to access the Internets, so I may still post or I may not. I posted this last night, as I have to take some connecting flights early this morning. I hope the geese stay away.

I should be back on Tuesday. Check the links that I have over here on the side or the bottom or wherever your browser puts them for the latest Marlins news and rumors.

One more thing: The Marlins' color scheme seems headed towards the orange. Something told me not to change the color on this site. (That something was laziness.)

Dallas Gets Dollars

The L.A. Times sports blog reports that Dallas McPherson avoids arbitration and signs a half-million dollar deal with the Marlins. (LATimes)

Everything (this morning) in One Blurb

Chad Cordero is getting interest from the Marlins, but his recovery time may require some time in the minors, the coaching staffs of which were announced yesterday. The Marlins AA and AAA clubs will be squaring off for an exhibition in April. At least the minor-league clubs will have ballparks to play in, which won't be the case for the big-league club if some commissioners have their way. That means no place for Orlando to play in either.

Points of Interest

Along with Gibbons and Sanches, the Marlins yesterday signed outfielder Michael Ryan, infielders Andy Gonzalez and John Lindsey, and pitchers Michael Wood, Willie Collazo and John Koronka to minor-league contracts. (WVEC.com)

A possible trade of Hermida to the Mariners was scuttled because Seattle wouldn't include Adam Moore in the mix. (ProspectInsider)

The chiropractor for the Marlins performs (excuse me, has a discussion) tonight at the Improv Comedy Club. (SunSentinel)

What Bad Economy?

"(T)he Marlins -- who had the lowest attendance in baseball last season -- held the line on most individual game ticket prices, aside from their most expensive seats. Some premium dates, such as opening day and Saturdays, will continue to be priced higher.

"Of the Marlins' 5,000 or so season-ticket holders, those who renewed before Sept. 15 will pay less than last season, and others will pay the same. New season-ticket holders will pay '08 season-ticket prices, the team said.

"'Our renewal rate is way up from last year,' Marlins President David Samson said.

"The Marlins' cheapest seat is $9 on an individual game basis and $6.75 in a season-ticket package.

"The Marlins have not made layoffs and, in fact, are hiring 40 new employees in sales and other departments, Samson said." (MiamiHerald)

Experienced Veteran?

Admitted hgH user Jay Gibbons signs a minor-league contract with the Marlins and is invited to Spring training. (SunSentinel)

"(H)e hit .285 with eight homers and 30 RBI in 36 games" this winter in Venezuela. (PalmBeachPost)

MORE: Fish@Bat postulates that Mr. Marlin may have had a hand in Gibbons' signing. (Fish@Bat)

Up-To-Datest Latest Rumors

Barry Jackson says that the Marlins are/were interested in Keith Foulke and fo-Fish Gregg Zaun. He also says that Pedro Martinez "would love to pitch for the Marlins, but the interest doesn't appear mutual." However, Joe Frisaro says that the Marlins *are* interested in Pedro - "According to ESPNdeportes.com, the club has had discussions regarding free agent Pedro Martinez. The report states that the Marlins may have begun preliminary contract talks with the 37-year-old right-hander, and the two sides are expected to continue talking next week."

RUMOR-REFUTING: Joe Capozzi, Juan C. Rodriguez, and even Joe Frisaro join Barry in reporting that a 'source' affirms that the Marlins *are not* interested in signing Pedro. No extra word about Foulke and Zaun though.

Couple of Things

Lindstrom is invited to the USA WBC team. (MiamiHerald)

One way attendance-challenged teams like the Marlins can save money during the coming economic uncertainty....more double-headers! (FOXsports)

Blurbs

Hanley's at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. (Alibaba)

MLB actually puts money into a project - $3.2 million for a youth baseball academy in Hialeah - although with the inevitable string attached, this one being that the Marlins stadium gets built (hear that, commisioners?) (MiamiHerald)

Remember how the Marlins needed a catcher after getting rid of Treanor and Hoover? Well, Treanor's with Detroit and now Hoover signs with the Phillies, and the Marlins still need a catcher. (philly.com)

Logan Signs

(MLB)

January 22

That's when the Marlins hope the City and County commissions both vote on the final agreements for the ballpark. Those agreements are reportedly almost finished, and the Marlins will be schmoozing with the commissioners in the next couple of weeks, going "through the entire set of documents with them so that they can be prepared to vote". But however that goes, the Fish still have no place to play in 2011. (MLB)

Roundup of Stuff

Sergio Mitre gets a 50-game suspension for he-says-unintentional use of a banned substance. (MLB)

CodyRoss.org lays out the arbitration process. (CodyRoss.org)

Proctor verses Nelson = No contest. (BaseballProspectus)

TODAYS-RUMOR: Pavano wants double what the Marlins are offering him. (MiamiHerald)

RUMOR-REMOVAL-UPDATE: Forget Pavano - he done signed with the Indians. (BaseballMusings)

The O's Return

Those Fish fans determined to stay on the south end of the peninsula this coming spring have four chances to see the Marlins play the Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale (and Hanley and countrymen show up as the Dominican national WBC team for another game), though the only weekend Marlins game will be the first on Feb. 28. Tickets for the possibly last spring season for the O's in Broward County go on sale this Saturday. (MLB)

Some News of Note

The Marlins have reportedly signed former Nat and Phil Brian Sanches to a minor-league deal.

The Marlins get number 6, 62, and 91 in the Toronto Sun's list of the "100 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball in 2008" (TorontoSun)

And former Fish-caster Roxy may have the inside edge for the Padres TV job. (GaslampBall)

Peter on the Marlins

Gammons explains the reason why the Marlins are wise to start de-emphasizing homers and pushing for defensive improvement, and promoting youth instead of expensive experienced players. He points out Miami's recession woes as a part of MLB's overall troublesome future. And he tells us exactly how fast the 'Hanley to Boston' trade talks actually lasted. (ESPN)

A Birthday Gift - Being Signed By The Marlins

Pending a physical to prove his arm is still attached, Scott Proctor is now a member of his 'hometown team'. (TCPalm)(MiamiHerald)(BaseballReference)

Turnbow Turns From Marlins

(MLB)