Hello Miami!

The time is here. The time is now!

The Board of County Commissioners along with the City of Miami council has finally given the Marlins the support that they needed to finalize the dream of many Marlins fans nationwide.

With a 9-4 vote (Joe Martinez, Natascha Seijas, Rebeca Sosa and Javier Souto as the “No” votes) on Tuesday afternoon at the County Commission meeting along with a 4-1 vote (Tomas Regalado as the lone “No” vote) last Thursday at the City of Miami Council meeting, the wheels are now turning in order to finalize a new Marlins ballpark in the area that is now the Orange Bowl in Little Havana.

Although those four county commissioners voted “No,” They didn’t vote know twords the Marlins portion of the multi-billion dollar project that they voted upon on Tuesday afternoon. Martinez and Seijas voted “No,” to not having enough time to review the upcoming plans, and as for Sosa and Souto they both opposed the new Port tunnel that is part of the plan.

Now, while many people are not happy with the location and wanted downtown, that was never going to happen (in my opinion). We need to be happy, rejoice and go out and celebrate that we at least will have our team here in MIAMI where they belong, not in Las Vegas or San Antonio.

So (in my best public address announcer voice) LADIES AND GENTLEMAN WELCOME TO THE FIELD YOUR MIAMI MARLINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because yes as part of this deal, after 2010 there will no longer be the Florida Marlins (start picking up the collectibles) but they will be Miami Marlins, the way it should have always been (once again in my opinion).

By 2011, we will have our own place to call HOME. It is a dream that has come true for the many fans that didn’t think this would happen with all the times these items have been shot down.

So you ask, “What is next?” Well the next step is to finalize the funding (which is nearly done) and get the Marlins to hand over a check to the county/city. I can see groundbreaking happening in November 2008 and us opening the new ballpark in 2011.

Now while the vote today doesn’t close out the deal, it is by far the closest that the team and us fans has ever been to a new stadium deal. The team still needs to prove that it can acquire over 150 million dollars in financing (which they say they have) and the city and county need to finalize negotiations with the team and Major League Baseball.

So Marlins fans, I ask you this, STAND UP and show your allegiance for the Fish.

If you have time, I ask that you please e-mail or call your county commissioners and/or city leaders and thank them for getting this done. It has been a long ordeal over eight years and six tries in the making, but it is finally here.

List of e-mails for the County Commission

Barbara Jordan - District1@miamidade.gov
Dorrin D. Rolle - BMORRIS2@miamidade.gov
Audrey M. Edmonson - District3@miamidade.gov
Sally A. Heyman - District4@miamidade.gov
Bruno Barreiro (chairman) - district5@miamidade.gov
Rebeca Sosa - District6@miamidade.gov
Carlos A. Gimenez - District7@miamidade.gov
Katy Sorenson - District8@miamidade.gov
Dennis C. Moss - District9@miamidade.gov
Javier Souto - District10@miamidade.gov
Joe Martinez – district11@miamidade.gov
Jose “ Pepe” Diaz - District12@miamidade.gov
Natacha Seijas – No e-mail address (305-375-4831)

List of e-mails for the City of Miami

Angel Gonzalez – agonzalez@ci.miami.fl.us
Marc Sarnoff – msarnoff@miamigov.com
Joe M. Sanchez – jsanchez@ci.miami.fl.us
Tomas P. Regalado – tregalado@ci.miami.fl.us
Michelle Specne-Jones – mspence@ci.miami.fl.us
Pedro G. Hernandez – pgh@miamigov.com

Bargain Shopping

The Holiday season is upon us, and it seems every mall and store in the land has great deals on gifts and other items. It also happens to be the season that baseball scouts and general managers begin looking for great bargains themselves, perhaps to round out their roster or add some extra arms or bats to challenge for spots in Spring Training.

The Florida Marlins are no different, only that they bargain shop year-round. This time of year, though, you can find players that you can get for a lower cost than usual. Players who were not offered arbitration and minor-league free-agents are being actively signed around this time. And the Marlins still have holes to fill.

Every day that goes by, it seems another player gets crossed off the Marlins wish list. Either names that have been suggested by the local media or fans are being gobbled up as the Marlins sit idly by. Cliff Floyd. Paul Lo Duca. Mike Lamb. Aaron Boone. Alex Rodriguez. Okay, so the last one was a stretch anyway.

But the Marlins have a few spots that can still be addressed. After all, remember a few years ago when the only signing the Marlins made up to this point was Alfredo Amezega? Speaking of Amezega, he may be penciled in as the starting third basemen for now. Abraham Nunez is still out there, and sportsline.com lists the Marlins as a potential suitor. Pedro Feliz is available, but like Brandon Inge (a name that has been thrown out as well), he may be too expensive. The key for teams like the Marlins is to hit on as many prospects as possible, so they can become starters at a low price, or at least while they’re still club-controlled. When you have a vacant starting spot and don’t have the cash to get an actual starting player (and don’t have a young guy ready), you’re forced to sign a reserve or platoon player to start every day, thus creating a hole in the lineup.

Catcher is also a position of interest. The Marlins will likely stay put with a platoon of Mike Rabelo and Matt Treanor, and let them fight it out in the spring to see if either will stand out. Unless they can get a Johnny Estrada-type on the cheap, they’re likely to sit still, or maybe bring in a minor-league free agent to push the youngsters.

Another question mark is center field. The Marlins front office has sounded like they don’t expect Cameron Maybin to be on the opening day roster. He could have a big spring and earn a spot, however, especially if they don’t sign someone or none of the other candidates (Amezega, Brett Carroll, Alejandro De Aza, Cody Ross) stand out or if they get hurt. Once again, it all depends on if the Marlins can sign someone during this bargain-basement period.

The pitching is probably set, what with the number of arms the Marlins will have competing for not only bullpen spots, but rotation roles as well. And as in years past, add some minor-league free-agents that will no doubt be signed into the mix. With the success of Lee Gardner and Justin Miller among others, the coaches will have no problem plugging some good-looking veteran arms into the staff.

Finally, the veteran bench spot is still open, and this is one position I expect the Marlins to fill with a free agent. With Aaron Boone going to Washington and Wes Helms unlikely to be traded to the Fish, Florida is still looking for that veteran bat off the pine. They’ve had success over the past few years replacing that position yearly, and there’s no reason to think they won’t do it again this year. Robert Andino could be in line to finally get a chance to back-up the middle infield spots, so it’s likely the Marlins will go after a corner backup.

Don’t forget- there’s always the possibility of a trade to address one of these neeeds. We know Larry Beinfest isn’t afraid to wheel-and-deal, and he certainly knows what he wants. The question is whether there is anyone that fits the bill under the Blue Light Special that Beinfest and co. will be shopping at this year.

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