SoFlaFish

One of the things I miss most about living in Palm Beach County is having Roger Dean Stadium nearby. I used to go to Spring workouts a lot; it really is a very cool thing to experience. I'll be making the trip on Sunday, to catch my first ST game of 2009. Hope it doesn't rain out. No chance of that happening, it hasn't rained up here in a while! I know my lawn could use some rain!

I wish I could have seen this. I don't get the MLBTV channel. I called in comcast and asked them to add MLB and outdoor channel. They gave me NBATV, NFL channel, hockey channel, soccer channel, like 6 college sports channels, womens sports channel, and no MLB channel. Do you know how upset I am? I must call again and have them add the MLB channel. I have Comcast and MLBTV is on Channel 741.

I can't believe with all the whinning that goes on in this board about how this team is perceived in the national media, that I'm the only one who has started a thread and probably watched the hour long Marlins preview on MLBTV's "30 Teams in 30 Days" series which aired tonight. It was really in-depth with interviews of Johnson, Lindstrom, Hanley, Maybin, Ross, Uggla, and Fredi! They went into detail about the top prospects (West, Morrison, Stanton, Ceda) and the outlook for the team and it was all pretty positive!

Sunday after we had the opportunity to return to Jupiter with camera in hand. We hadn't planned on going, but we were supposed to meet some friends (who never showed up) and decided to go. It was what EvenLittler SoFlaFish called "the most awesome-est day ever" as he got what looks like the whole 25-man roster to autograph his team ball! ...because someone always wants to see a Dallas Trahern picture. EvenLittler SoFlaFish checks out Amezaga and Ramirez during infield drills. Amezaga came up to EvenLittler SoFlaFish and said, "If you want to be the best, look at how I do it!" He then proceeded to talk to the two of us about baseball. Amezaga wanted to know how old EvenLittler SoFlaFish was and whether he was playing ball. I said he is currently a 5-year old budding shortstop! Both Amezaga and Ramirez were cracking up at our conversation and my son was in complete awe that Amezaga and his baseball hero were talking to him, he kept telling me, "Daddy, are they really talking to us?!?" Dan Uggla working on some double play drills. I was shocked at how accessible Hanley Ramirez was on Sunday afternoon! EvenLittler SoFlaFish, though, was having a hard time keeping up (he's the little arms and legs BEHIND Hanley!). Cantu and Amezaga, though, kept the pace pretty slow for EvenLittler SoFlaFish. EvenLittler SoFlaFish in awe that we were so close to his baseball hero! The ball was "sizzling" as Matt Lindstrom was getting his tosses in. What would baseball season be without Cody Ross's smile! Mike Stanton is HUGE in a baseball uniform! This is the guy that was "untouchable" in the Manny Ramirez trade talks, and if he pans out I can see why! http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/SoFlaFish/Spring%20Training/Camp033.jpg Spring means chillin' out in the outfield. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/SoFlaFish/Spring%20Training/Camp035.jpg We were standing right by the gate while Ross and Uggla were taking the final swings of the day. When Ross would hook it foul, EvenLittler SoFlaFish would yell "FOUL!" causing Ross to crack up laughing!

Continuing a SoFlaFish tradition, me and my camera made the pilgrimage to Jupiter today. Here's a few things to whet your appetite for baseball! EvenLittler SoFlaFish enjoying a lollipop as catchers get ready to for the first tossing of the day. Josh Johnson getting in some tosses. Chris Volstad waits his turn during fielding drills. Renyel Pinto tries to get into form for the start of the season. Can you beat the "up close and personal feel" of Spring Training? Anibal Sanchez gets ready to throw. Anibal Sanchez throws as Chris Volstad looks on. Little SoFlaFish (who's not so "little" anymore) looks on as the pitchers get some words of advice from the coaching staff. Fredi Gonzalez takes some time to pose for a picture with EvenLittler SoFlaFish and my buddy Abe (author of the book Van Halen 101 available through amazon.com). http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/SoFlaFish/Spring%20Training/PitchersCatchers022.jpg Hitting coach Jim Presley and Jeff Conine look on as the catchers take batting practice. We actually stopped by earlier with Conine in his golf cart and talked to him. He was giving my son a high five and being VERY nice to us! The access and lack of a large crowd made it a pleasure for EvenLittler SoFlaFish to get autographs. He was the only kid around to approach Anibal Sanchez and Taylor Tankersley for autographs. He also got Andrew Miller and Scott Proctor. Finally, as is our tradition, the first autograph of spring training belonged to Freddi, who took some good natured ribbing from my buddy and I (Columbus H.S., Class of 1990) for being a Southridge grad. Freddi was cracking up while signing the ball for my son! The next treasure trove of pictures will come after the Tigers-Marlins game of March 9 when EvenLittler SoFlaFish will be in the dugout as an "Honorary Bat Kid." There will be no SoFlaFish Spring Training Road Trip this season due to the economy.

Questions for thoose who have previously attended. You only have to pay $5 for parking right? Are food or drinks served and if so are they free? So i can come prepared. How do you become a VIP? I would love to skip all the people in line. You have to pay for food, unless they're giving out "free popcorn" like last year. VIP passes are given out at caravan events (which I find a joke -- they should be reserved for season ticket holders) so it's not like you're going to be skipping out on lines. Last year it looked like EVERYONE had a VIP pass so there was absolutely no advantage to having one. I just got my two in the mail, and my son convinced me to go because he wants to go -- not because I want to go.

is not yet we should know some time after fan fest or when spring training start so mild to last feb It should be out soon, remember that traditionally the caravan "ends" at FanFest.

Fred Grimm is not an editor, he's a columnist (big difference). Second, Grimm is the "Broward Columnist" for the Herald so you can see where his bias lies!

The intro to the Swedish Chef's skit from the Muppet Show Yay bor shveer, yay yum de doop de dooh, yay bor shveer deer do oom Bork! Bork! Bork! It replaced Eric Cartman screaming, "Hey, I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation, and I don't need to hear crap from a bunch of hippie freaks living in denial. Screw you guys, I'm going home . . ."

This is probably going to be the first year since 2002 that I will not attend FanFest. I don't want to deal with the lines of people who are more than likely NEVER to set foot in that stadium again for the rest of the year. I've already done all the tours of the press box, dugout, field, etc. that I really don't need to see them again. I already have my season tickets, so I don't care about the $5.00 credit to tickets, and last year my son got to play wiffle ball with the players (he hit a Lindstrom pitch right to Vanden Hurk in RF!) so I'm going to save myself the drive from Palm Beach. I will, however, be at Roger Dean Stadium on the 15th and 16th for Pitchers and Catchers report. That's where my kids get their treasure trove of autographs. Last year my daugther just walked right up to Chris Volstad and got him to sign his Jupiter Hammerheads baseball card . . . . . . and you can't beat the actual ACCESS with the players, like walking with them from the clubhouse to the practice fields . . . Plus, my son is going to be an "Honorary Bat Kid" again. This time he'll be "working" the Monday night game against the Tigers on March 9, 2009. By the time we reach that game, he'll probably have ANOTHER baseball with the entire team -- joining our fully autographed baseballs of the 2003, 2005, and 2007 team! FYI, you should see his collection of other autographed balls. He got half the Indians and half the Astros last year. As a matter of fact, Astros closer Jose Valverde came over to us last year in Kissimmee completely unannounced and unsolicited to talk to me and my son and a group of Dominicans sitting behind us. He literally took my son's Astros baseball right off my lap and said to me in Spanish, "So, you got a pen?"

does DirecTV get the MLB Network? Why don't you go to Directv.com and find out.

does Comcast have MLB Network? I have the DVR stuff so I'm just wondering. In Palm Beach County, MLBNetwork is on Channel 741 on Comcast Digital. If you don't have Comcast Digital, you don't get MLBNetwork.

When he makes a Wonderboy bat, you'll have a customer in me. We already inked a deal with Sony Pictures Studios, so a "Wonderboy" bat is in the works for a possible March release to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the release of The Natural Also, we are in negotiations to have a line of bats from Major League hopefully out by March as well, so keep looking for your Jobu bat ("Hats for bats, keep bats warm")

Let me direct you to the website of a buddy of mine who has created a new line of commemorative baseball bats honoring some of the great baseball movies of our time. This has been a labor of love for him (and a lot of hard work for both of us as I have been negotiating all the appropriate licensing agreements with the requisite movie studios and with Hillerich & Bradsby -- the makers of Louisville Slugger bats). His concept has been featured on ESPN The Magazine and Beckett's Magazine, and it will soon be featured at mlb.com. Please visit his site Reel Bats and take a look around -- and why not buy a bat or two. For now, only the Bull Durham line of bats is available, but check back soon as we're currently negotiating with two other motion picture studios for a line of bats commemorating two other "major" baseball movies.

For those of you that listened, thanks. It was a great time. I know probably most of you here wanted to hear more baseball talk, and the host (Steve Politzner) did not "cut me off" or "not want to talk baseball" with me, we just both agreed beforehand to steer the conversation in different directions. Plus, the baseball theme got sidetracked when Senator Dave came into the room. Our appearance on the show has led to some great contacts with the station (Politnzer is the Vice-President of ESPN760 and co-owner!) and I've been told to send along any baseball nuggets anytime and they'll credit me as their "baseball/politics/real estate law insider". As for a playback, the show's producer is supposed to get back to me today or tomorrow about a downloadable version of the show. Here's some more shameless self-promotion. For those of you in the Orlando TV market, I'll be on "This Week" on WMFE-24 (PBS) tonight at 8:30 p.m. (and available online at WMFE-"This Week" starting Friday night) discussing the property tax ballot questions in the upcoming elections. For those of you in the West Palm Beach TV market, I'll be on "Enfoque Comunitario" on WWHB-48 Azteca America (Comcast 230/611) tonight at 6:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. discussing the upcoming elections. For those of you in the West Palm Beach radio market, I'll be on 1380AM and 96.9FM "Radio Fiesta" on Monday, November 3 at 12:00 p.m. for the first ever political forum/debate in Spanish in Palm Beach County's history. Thanks....

Okay, because I'm bored by a slow day at the office: Sting (James L. Knight Center 1988), w/ Concrete Blonde (USF Sun Dome 1991), w/ Melissa Etheridge (Miami Arena 1994), w/ Cowboy Junkies (Great Woods Amphitheatre 1996) Robert Plant w/ Cheap Trick (Miami Arena 1988 - second ever show there!) R.E.M. w/ Indigo Girls (Miami Arena 1989), w/ Grant Lee Buffalo (Providence Civic Center 1995) Billy Joel (Miami Arena 1990) Depeche Mode w/ Nitzer Ebb (Miami Arena 1990), w/ The The (Miami Arena 1994) The Cure w/ The Cranes (Miami Arena 1992) Psychedelic Furs w/ Ocean Blue (USF Special Events Center 1991) Big Audio Dynamite II w/ Public Image Limited, Live, and Blind Melon (Florida State Fairgrounds 1991) Morrissey w/ Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys (UCF Arena 1993), w/ Kristeen Young (Mizner Park Amphitheatre 2007) Dave Matthews Band w/ Cracker (Coral Sky Amphitheatre 1999) U2 w/ Smash Mouth (Pro Player Stadium 1997) The Police w/ Fiction Plane and Maroon 5 (Dolphin Stadium 2007) Liz Phair w/ Matt Pond PA (Revolution 2005) Queen+Paul Rodgers (American Airlines Arena 2006 - free tickets courtesy of Brian May of Queen!!!) Bon Jovi w/ Daughtry (Bank Atlantic Center 2008) INXS w/ Marty Casey and Lovehammers (Mizner Park Amphitheatre 2006) ...I'm sure there are more, but I can't remember them all without my ticket stubs in front of me.

For those of you who can listen to ESPNRadio 760AM in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, I will be appearing on Mike Goldstein's baseball show with Senator Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Senator Dave and I will talk about a whole range of sports topics from college football to the NFL to Marlins baseball (Senator Dave is a HUGE Marlins fan, we discuss the games each day in the office -- and he voted for the tax rebate bill each time it came across his desk). Tune in and I may give a "shout out" to marlinsbaseball.com. p.s. - for those of you not within the listening range of ESPN Radio 760AM, it streams online at ESPN760.com, so you will be able to listen on your computers.

Has there been any further word on the Orioles moving to Dodger Town this year?? O's staying in FTL this season. Any move to Vero would be for Spring Training 2010.

To me what makes sports talk radio more and more unbearable are the callers. That's why it's more entertaining for me to listen to ESPN Radio where you only have the hosts and guests and no callers. The most annoying thing about the local market is that one station only really knows one sport (who could that be). They should change that stupid slogan of theirs from "Where football always matters" to "Where only football matters." As for the other station, I'm just getting tired of local sports talk radio hosts openly saying they are fans of teams in other markets. For the life of me, I cannot recall hosts on WFAN or WEEI saying they were fans of other teams aside from the local teams. But here, you have Rosenberg (who is an ego maniac who needs to talk more about himself than anyone else) openly rooting for the Mets, Giants, Rangers; you have Sedano openly saying he's a Yankees fan; you have Weiner saying he's a Mets and Jets fan. I find that completely disrespectful to the market and unacceptable if I were running a local sports station! Plus, if I have to hear one more caller to 790 finish a sentence with "you know, bro," I'm going to just have to rip my arm off just so that I can have something to beat myself over the head with.

The Three's Company Award for Seamless Replacement When Joe Girardi left the Marlins, he had a Manager of the Year award in his pocket after taking the team to a 78-84 record. After a transition year under Fredi Gonzalez and a further loss of a massive talent in Miguel Cabrera, the team is back to .500+ baseball. Meanwhile, the Yankees have no shot at the playoffs with a $200 million payroll. Our thought? Like Don Knotts replacing Norman Fell on Three's Company, the Marlins did fine, and the Yankees have to wonder just how much of a "genius" Girardi was to scratch 78 wins out of what we know was a talented but young Marlins team. Good ol' Knotts. Like a Kramer with a decent new role.

That is true on paper, although you got the title wrong. It's President of Baseball Operations (according to this year's media guide and the Marlins web site). But I don't think anything has really changed regarding who does the traditional GM duties. That position was "created" by the Marlins in order to give both nice raises and promotions. Also what it did do was more well define everyones' roles (plus it had Jim Flemming add on Asst GM to his title, for what that's worth). It took Samson completely out of the picture of any baseball personnel decisions and solely into the biz end of things. Something he is well qualified to do. Samson isn't exactly a people person, but he does have a good biz head on his shoulders. I thought he was "President" but I wasn't sure. Serves me right for not doing my normal "research." The point I was trying to make, though, is that in the organizational hierarchy, Beinfest is higher than a GM, which means moving to another team would require either a "step down" or a role equal to the one here. Here I'm not sure if baseball has similar rules to football regarding what rights can or cannot be granted for moves that are not exactly "lateral" (i.e., coordinator to coach, or coach to manager), or that if you hire someone to a position that is higher than the one he presently holds, compensation is not needed (i.e., when the Cowboys took Jason Garrett from the Dolphins and made him an offensive coordinator because that position was "higher" than QB Coach -- even though the Cowboys had no head coach at the time). Guess, I should look into that.

Well, for starters the chances of that happening are slim to none. First, Beinfest is not the GM of the Marlins, he is VP of Baseball Operations which puts him responsible for the baseball side of the organization (by contrast Samson is the President, which puts him responsible for the business side of the organization). Michael Hill is the official GM. With that, Beinfest signed a huge contract extension last summer which makes him one of the higher paid execs around. Taking a GM role on another team would not be a lateral move. Here he doesn't answer to anybody except Loria. That may not be the case elsewhere.

From Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal Class AAA teams prep for affiliation changes By ERIC FISHER Staff writer Another wave of major change awaits Minor League Baseball with the onset of the biennial reaffiliation period and perhaps a half-dozen Class AAA teams poised to change major league partners. The last reaffiliation cycle, in 2006, involved five Class AAA teams and 26 clubs overall. The new cycle likely will bring a similar amount of switching. At the minors? upper-most level, the most-talked-about scenario involves the Cleveland Indians parting ways with longtime partner Buffalo to align with Columbus, with a new downtown ballpark set for completion in 2009 for the Clippers. If Columbus aligns with Cleveland, it could set off a chain reaction.That move, should it happen, would set off a chain reaction that could see Buffalo link with Toronto, and the Blue Jays? current Class AAA partner in Syracuse, N.Y., sign with the New York Mets. That scenario could prompt the Washington Nationals, currently affiliated with Columbus, to go back to New Orleans, where they were in 2005 and 2006. Class AAA markets in Memphis (currently a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate) and Omaha, Neb., (Kansas City Royals) could also become part of the affiliation dance, according to multiple major and minor league baseball sources. No club is yet allowed to speak publicly about their intentions. The process is a tightly regulated one that begins after minor league seasons conclude in early September, and ends no later than Oct. 7. Behind the scenes, though, planning in many markets has been under way for months, and some clubs, such as Columbus, have more generally announced their plans to seek a different situation. ?For years and years, the [Class AAA] ranks didn?t change. There was a lot of stability there,? said Pat O?Conner, Minor League Baseball president. ?In the last couple of cycles, we?ve seen a lot more upheaval, and I think it?s going to take one more cycle to sort itself out.? In recent years, many major league clubs have placed greater importance on their minor league affiliates for both business and baseball-oriented reasons. As a result, teams have aggressively sought out tighter geographic clusters for their farm clubs to promote regional marketing, lessen travel costs and promote easier monitoring of minor league operations. Such a mind-set is in full flight in Gwinnett County, Ga., where the Atlanta Braves are building a new ballpark for their club-owned Class AAA affiliate that will open next season just 37 miles from Turner Field. In January, the Braves announced plans to move the minor league club from Richmond, Va., after 43 years to the suburban Atlanta locale. O?Conner said he is currently talking with a handful of Class AA, Class A and Rookie-level clubs about relocating to Richmond. ?This is an incredibly complex process,? he said. ?In any of those situations, you?re talking about new alignments, new travel schedules and the like. It?s like putting together a puzzle.? The reaffiliation process will also expose once more the relatively difficult situation facing the New Orleans Zephyrs. The club has ably rebounded from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but it sits geographically at the edge of the Western-oriented Pacific Coast League, making it a less popular target among MLB clubs. A sometimes-discussed switch to the Eastern-leaning International League would likely do little to remedy the situation. As a result, the Zephyrs have been partnered with four different major league teams since their arrival in 1993 from Denver. ?Any label that New Orleans is not a good market is just not accurate,? O?Conner said. ?But it?s a victim of its geography. It?s really on the fringes of both leagues, and on the map, not a good fit on either side.?

Total extinction of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the basic foundation, even if it doesn't stick (in my opinion it will if they want it to), for a democracy and a stable economy. Also, we need to secure borders by, for lack of a better term, kicking a little Iranian ass. Under that belief, "total victory" will never be attained unless we occupy Iraq for one hundred years (oh, wait, McCain said we're already going to be doing that). Also, if you think that engaging Iran militarily will result in a little "Iranian ass getting kicked," you have another thing coming. The last thing this nation needs is to be engaged in a war with Iran. First off, Iran is no Iraq. That is not a country that can be toppled with strategic air strikes. Second, unlike Iraq, Iran has a much stronger civil society and is more nationally and ethnically united than Iraq. The last thing the U.S. needs is to be the "big bad ass drunk redneck in the bar that needs to prove his balls are bigger by engaging anyone in a fight!" An American attack on Iran would unify the religious leadership with the civilian leadership (something that is not happening today). Why is it that some people think we're always going to be greeted as liberators when we march onto foreign soil? Why is it that some people think the world wants to be "Americanized?" I was once in a conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict with former U.S. Representative Dante Fascell (yes, I know, that may be well before many of your times) when a Palestinian told me, "Why is it that you Americans think the world is made up of Americans who don't happen to speak English?" That really struck me and has molded my thinking of international politics. This is something that applies to both sides of the aisle, so I'm not pinning this on anyone, but we have to stop looking at the world in that light. I'm a liberal democrat, but I truly believe in the world view of Bismark and Kissinger, which is realism and what is in it for the nation's vital interests. As Bismark would say in regards to the Balkans, "The plight of the Balkans is not worth a drop of blood shed from a Pomeranian foot soldier." (Bismark would have never backed the Serbs in 1914 -- oops, my History BA came out there). Same should hold true for the U.S. We don't need to go out and "export democracy and freedom from the end of an M-16!" I close out with what I thought was the most powerful thing said at both conventions. "[P]eople the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

It only took me a few seconds to be offended by that video. I found it highly "amusing" how partisan it was. Anyone with just a simple modicum of education (or at least knowledge in history) would have been insulted to see how the terrorist attacks depicted in the video were the ones that happened during Democratic administrations, as if U.S. interests are only attacked if Democrats are in the White House. That video makes "Day One" the hostage crisis in Iran in order to have you think of Jimmy Carter (without ANY context to the fact that al Qeada is Sunni and Iranians are Shi'ite - and we can see today how much they love each other in Iraq). The next cut-away scene? The embassy attacks in Nairobi and Dar Es Saalam. WHOA! WAIT!! Do you mean to tell us that there were NO ATTACKS between 1980 and 1998?!?!? What was the third cut-away scene? The U.S.S. Cole in 2000. HUH!?!? How convenient for the Republican Party to omit the Marine Barracks attack in Beirut in 1983, the Achille Lauro hijacking and murder of Leon Klinghoffer in 1985, the TWA hijacking in 1985, the numerous airport and nightclub bombings in Berlin and Rome during the mid-1980s, Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, and others. And I won't even mention the fact that during the first hours of the Oklahoma City bombing, the right wing blowhards had already called to arms our nation against the Islamic Terrorists, when in actuality the single deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil before September 11, 2001 was carried out by a white American kid whose political beliefs were not too far off from the Rush Limbaughs, Michael Savages, and Sean Hannitys of the world! It was the insinuation in the movie that America is attacked only when a Democrat is in the White House is insulting and disgusting. Our "enemies" don't care what political party is in power, they only care about eliminating our way of life, and it has nothing to do with "freedom" and "liberty," but with their belief that we live in a soulless culture that promotes consumerism and material goods (hmm, those are Republican and Democratic values) over their vision of a religious and pious society based on religious law (hmm, don't fundamentalists here in our country want a legal system based on the Bible?). And don't start with your knee jerk reaction of, "But fundamentalists don't bomb buildings..." It's not my point, my point is in the core belief, not the means in which they go about in administering them (but then again, Timothy McVeigh made a point of "administering" his beliefs, didn't he!). Sometimes I'm of a mind that if our populace were more educated, these types of explotive messages would simply fall on deaf ears. But, unfortunately, it's not the case and there are many, many, many folks who buy this sh*t hook...line...and sinker!!!!!!!!