Stag5

I still have hopes of seeing the Broward Marlins soon enough. Maybe change the name to the Fort Lauderdale Fish

A Ball - Blanton was the A's # 10 Prospect Blanton 2.57ERA 133IP .96WHIP 7.5-1 k/BB Ratio Murphy 2.25ERA 92IP 1.01WHIP 2.7-1 k/BB Ratio AA Ball Blanton 1.26ERA 35.2IP 0.78WHIP 4.28-1k/bb Ratio Murphy 4.09ERA 55IP 1.27WHIP 1.30-1k/bb Ratio Dontrelle Willis - AA 1.49ERA 36.1IP 1.24WHIP 3.55-1k/bb Ratio What these stats show me is thatin A ball he got away with so-so control. In AA his arm probably tired, but his control got worse and ERA up...we have seen that...lose control and then groove some pitches. Murphy is just 22 and obviously has potential, but he looks like he is a 2005/2006 prospect.

If I remember correctly fans said we were worse off last season because we had Redman, Pudge, Holandsworth, Pierre and Encarnacion instead of Dempster, Johnson, Floyd, Wilson and Millar. Now we are worse off because we have AJ/Justin Wayne, Choi, Conine, Cabrera and Castro instead of Redman, Lee, Hollandsworth, Encarnacion and Pudge. At some point you need to give Bienfest some credit and your trust....so many hammered him for trading Clement and Alfonseca. They hammered him for trading Preston and CJ. They hammered him for not signing Floyd @ $10MM/3 years and trading him for Pavano(glad we have him), Mordecai(great team player), Justin Wayne and Levinski(helped us get Conine). And he was buried for trading Dempster for Encarnacion. The team has a budget. You may not like it but you need to learn to live with it.

Though I'm open to giving Kevin Hooper a shot, I'd give consideration to Marlon Anderson. He's capable of starting, pinch hitting, and pinch running. He would become the top IF off the bench and Mordy would go back to the role he has last season.

some guys named CJ and Pudge were in his way Those moves wouldn't have been made if the FO really believed that Castro would be a great player. exactly - note that they're not picking up anyone to play Cabrera's position this year. Remember....I didn'y say I am comparing Castro to Pudge. I think a full season of Conine gets us those numbers. I am comparing offensive numbers Castro may produce to that of Juan Encarnacion. Juan's .313 OBP will not be missed and Castro's homeruns will help offset the loss of the longball in Lee and Pudge. Now Encarnacion's glove and arm will be missed and Castro is still a question mark until he proves he can be the .280 25 80 hitter I hope he can become. We'll see....

I guess ESPN doesn't see Benitez as a major addition. Funny how the A's are ranked as having a better off-seson than the Marlins. They lost Tejada, Foulke, Guillen, Lilly, Ramone Hernandez and Terrance Long.....and added Kotsay, Redman, Kielty, Rhodes

I'm not sure how many different ways we can try to make a point, but here is one more. I think Conine will deliver Pudge numbers offensively. Cabrera has a chance at matching Derrek Lee;s numbers from 2003. Castro can match Juan Encarnacion or even bypass his production if he stays out of jail. Choi will match Hollandsworth and then some.....he may be a very pleasent surprise. Are these sure bets? No. But while the ex-Marlins are not gauranteed to duplicate their performance of 2003 three iof the four 2004 Marlins I listed have upside potential. 2003 Opening Day Lineup Castillo Pierre Pudge Lee Lowell Encarnacion Hollandsworth Gonzalez 2004 Opening Day Lineup Pierre Castillo Lowell Cabrera Conine Castro Choi Gonzalez

Sure, Mazzone may be able to fix him, but ask yourself this. The Marlins are looking for a hard-throwing, inexpensive left-handed reliever....and they passed on Armando Almanza :banghead

When I hear the question "are we weaker than the end of last season" the answer seems like a simple yes. Then I remember when people were whining because we were starting the 2003 season without Cliff Floyd, Preston Wilson and Kevin Millar. We were going to be a team lacking power and unable to produce runs. I will not even try to compare Lee and Choi's bat just yet, but consider this: Lee 539 At bats 91runs 92 rbis Choi 202 at bats 31runs 28 rbis Give Choi 539ABs and we have 82 runs and 74 rbis I have no worries that Choi will produce offensively....my biggest concern is that he gains a better knowledge of the strike zone. If and when he does he will become the very dangerous hitter that has had him listed as one of the Cubs top prospects for several season.

I'd rather see Nate Bump or Justin Wayne (if he can EVER do it) cover the # 5 spot until AJ is able. Use the $1MM or so to be spent on a # 5 starter for a SCott Sauerbeck...a nice lefty for the pen. Overtime, we will have the # 5 starter in AJ or one of the minor leaguers. So let's not waste it on a one-year filler....let's make the pen as solid as can be.

The Marlins seemed to lose confidence in Looper in the same way they lost it in Mark Redman. No, they are not lousy, but if McKeon and Co. do not have confidence in them, they money is better off spent elsewhere. You can throw Encarnacion, Almanza and Andy Fox into the same boat I guess. Going into the season you need to be sure the manager has confidence in his key players. It's obvious with the addition on Urbina and Chad Fox last season...they lost it on Looper long ago. McKeon didn't lose faith in any of those guys(except for maybe Almanza and rightfully so). He was just going with who was playing better at the time. Just because those guys stumbled a little at the end of the season doesn't mean they are bad players. The Marlins didn't lose confidence in Looper but they went out and signed someone that at best costs $500k less than what Looper would have? He was 2-2 with a 6.14 ERA after the All-Star break, and opponents batted .291 against him, 44 points higher than they managed pre-break. In the postseason, he was 2-0 with one save and an ERA of 5.14 It seems if they had confidence in Looper he would be penciled in as the closer in 2004, not Benitez.

We don't need A.J. to be a stud in 2004 though it would be nice. Pavano seems capable of being our # 3 starter. That means Willis and AJ/whoever we have holding the # 5 slot need to match the results of Willis and Pavano of last season. Is 26-19 3.85 ERA possible from Willis and AJ(and the AJ fill-ins)?

The Marlins seemed to lose confidence in Looper in the same way they lost it in Mark Redman. No, they are not lousy, but if McKeon and Co. do not have confidence in them, they money is better off spent elsewhere. You can throw Encarnacion, Almanza and Andy Fox into the same boat I guess. Going into the season you need to be sure the manager has confidence in his key players. It's obvious with the addition on Urbina and Chad Fox last season...they lost it on Looper long ago.

Phillies 86-76 in 2003 No doubt Milton is at least a 5 game improvement over Duckworth. Wagner and Worrell are head and shoulders above Mesa and Williams. Biggest hurdle will be their young starters have yet to pass the test the Marlins young starters did last season.....tey have yet to win the big games when it counts. The Old Pen: Mesa 5 wins 7 losses 24 saves 4 blown savs 2 holds Williams 0 wins 4 losses 3 saves 2 blown saves 2 holds Plesac 2 wins 1 loss 2 saves 2 blown saves 10 holds The New Pen Worrell 4 wins 4 losses 38 saves 7 blown saves 1 hold Wagner 1 win 4 losses 44 saves 3 blown saves 0 holds Hernandez 5 wins 3 losses 0 saves 4 blown saves 19 holds The Result: +3 wins - 1 Loss 85% save % vs. 78%, +6 Holds All impressive towards the upside, but the three guys that are now GONE blew only 8 save opps and have just 6 less holds. Quick math says 8=6=14*.85=almost 12. All that says...Phillies are 17 games better. 2004: 103-59 Marlins 91-71 in 2003 They won 60% of their games after the 10-29 start. From Opening Day to Opening Day we turned Pudge, Lee, , Andy Fox, Encarnacion, Hollandsworth, Redman, Looper, Vlad Nunez and Almanza into Castro, Choi, Lenny Harris, Cabrera, Conine, Wilis, Benitez, Fox and Nate Bump. The bullpen will not be worse than the start of last season. The starting staff will be much more mature and I believe will show it by treating April and May games much like they did September games. We are all assuming poor years from catcher and first base. Keep in mind that CAstro and Choi are highly touted prospects. Biggest thing to consider is the Braves and Expos are worse...the Mets are still very beatable. 91 wins will go upwards. 2004: 98-64 Mets 66-95 in 2004 Matsui, Cameron are added...noone lost. Piazza maybe stays healthy, Floyd maybe stays healthy. Ther youngers are bound to improve. The Mets are surely going to add more this off season. Give them Urbina or Williamson, another starter and a rightfielder and I see.... 2004 86-76 Braves 101-61 in 2003 They lose 35 wins from their pitchers and then lose Sheffield, Castilla and Javy Lopez. You'll be surprised at how the absense of the three sluggers will impact the results from Chipper and Andruw Jones. 2004: 74 - 88 Expos 83-79 in 2003 Vladimir, Vazquez, El Duque gone. Everett, Johnson added. 2004: 69-93

Why must we compare our team on the LAST day of 2003 to the Opening Day team we will field in 2004? If our team makes a run at the title in 2004 I am confident that Bienfest and Co. will make the needed additions AGAIN. Who did we start LAST season and who has replaced them on the roster for the start of NEXT season? I Agree - we are worse Ivan Rodriguez = Castro/Redman Derrek Lee = Hee Sop Choi Could be better - could be worse Mark Redman = Dontrelle Willis Tell me we are worse off on any one of these - can't do it Andy Fox = Lenny Harris Todd Hollandsworth = Jeff Conine Juan Encarnacion = Miguel Cabrera Braden Looper = Armondo Benitez Armando Almanza = Chad Fox Vladimir Nunez = Nate Bump

Last season the Expos had Guerrero and they didn't win. Last season the Braves had Lopez who had an outstanding season and they didn't win. Would adding Lopez make us stronger next season? Perhaps. Would Guerrero added to the team make us stronger? Certainly. But do you want an organization that is ALWAYS making decisions like it's the trade deadline in a pennant race? The players we have signed are young and our core. The next few aeasons will hopefully bring us the likes of Abraham Nunez, Chip Ambres, Jason Stokes, Jeremy Hermida, etc. If we could spend like the Yankees and financially afford mistakes such as too many years paid to Javy Lopez then I'd agree we had a poor off-season. But I am glad that our management is thinking as much about 2006 as they are 2004.