Fish2Repeat

Marlins Second Base This was supposed to be a nasty deathmatch between superstars in the making Pokey Reese and Dan Uggla. In fact, it could?ve gotten real uggla between these two. However, Reese bailed on the Fish due to personal issues and they terminated his contract. Now Uggla?s only competition is the immortal Alfredo Amezaga. Unless the Marlins coax Roberto Alomar out of retirement. So who the heck is Dan Uggla and why is he starting for a Major League team? He?s a 26 year-old Rule 5 pick from the Diamondbacks. He?s pretty much the second baseman by default. Uggla did a fine job in Double A last year, but translated to the Majors he?s probably just a .235-.245 hitter. The flip side is that Uggla has double digit power and speed, which cannot be ignored in NL-only. He could crush 10-12 HR and swipe the same number of bags for half the price of a Josh Barfield. I?m reaching here, but he?s still roster-worthy. As for Alfredo Amezaga, well, his offense makes Uggla look like Ryne Sandberg. He?s 28 and has bounced around with three clubs, barely cracking the Mendoza line in 217 career at-bats. He?s got no power, but he did have wheels once upon a time. Back in 2000, he stole 73 bases in 108 games. If the Marlins let him loose he could certainly steal 15 bags this year. But Amezaga is a glove man, so don?t roster him unless your league has fielding categories or is a 20 team NL-only. http://rotoworld.com/content/story.asp?spo...B&storyid=20157

A couple little comments here on Abercrombie. I was able to attend both the Friday and Sunday ST games. In the 9-11 innings I saw him play defense, he dove for 3 balls. One was a web-gem catch. The other was not caught, however it was no big deal because the ball stayed near him and the runner didn't advance anything extra. The third time the ball got by him, turning a would be single into a three base hit. This kind of agrressive mentality appears to carry over into his hitting as he swung at the first pitch of each of his ABs that I can remember. Similarly he swings through a lot of balls. Everything here said, he is incredibly athletic (CRAZY SPEED!). If he can somehow manage to harness is raw ability, my limited scouting abilities would lead me to believe he could one day be a legitamite major league player. Lastly, between him, Reed, and Aguila, it would be my hope that every effort is made to avoid a Gathright trade for one of our blue-chip propsects. The way I have managed to legitmize the fire sale of this offseason to people (and I truly believe this) is that if you are going to dump salary, go all out and get rid of everyone and restock with the hope that the maturation of talent to go along with a few FA signings will vault you into contention in the near future. The concept of doing all this stuff for the future and then making a trade that is more for the present than down the road eliminates the main upside to the subtractions we have endured this offseason.

1. Reed - CF 2. Uggla - 2b 3. Hermida - RF 4. Cabrera - 3b 5. Jacobs - 1b 6. Willingham - LF 7. Olivo - C 8. Pokey - SS I also like the lefty righty set-up, particularly at this point because we have no reason to think anybody surrounding Cabrera is going to be overwhelmingly superior to the rest of the lineup. So hey, why not try to maximize our utility. I would like to see Andino get in the games a little bit more as the season goes on, but for now, having a veteran on the field (Pokey) with these guys would seem to be more of an asset. Furthermore, I like the idea of our SS and Catcher (2 most important defensive positions) being solid on that side of the ball. By minimizing the careless miscues, it will hopefully allow the rest of the team to gain some confidence. As for Hanley, I say wait till after the Super-Two deadline and then let him play short. At that point, based on play up until then, determine if Pokey, Uggla, or maybe even Andino deserve a chance to take over at second full time. Finally, I would just like to say that I feel if Reed shows himself capable of coming close to replicating his numbers at the minor league level, which is clearly somewhat wishful thinking, this lineup has the potential to out produce last years offensively (that not saying very much). Go Marlins...Beat them Canes!

Take a look at the picture attached to the following article. Looks like there is no love loss between the Marlins and Krispy Kreme. I don't know about you guys, but I think this is a tremendous offseason upgrade. Definately something to hang our hats on. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

Cape, I currently live in Gainesville FL and have received the Marlins games for the last couple of years via Fox Sports for the games on that channel as well as all of the games on PAX via a channel called "Cox Sports". Cox is in fact our cable provider. Would you expect this change to Sun Sports to have any effect for the 2006 season? Thanks in advance.

Here's the part where the marlins are mentioned: But the best baseball talent on the field in Detroit will be Hines Ward -- once voted the best high school baseball player in the state of Georgia. Ward is still grumbling that his mother made him go to college instead of heading for the minor leagues. So he was only a 73rd-round pick, as an outfielder, by the Marlins in 1994. Unfortunately, as you might have noticed, he then found a sport other than baseball to pursue. (The Fish, by the way, were clearly trying to bolster their passing game that year, because they took future Browns quarterback Josh Booty in the first round and drafted future Jets quarterback Glenn Foley in the 72nd round.) http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...yson&id=2315267

From what you all have heard, what is the impression on whether or not Hanley will be on the big league roster on opening day. For two reasons this would seem excessive. First off, it is before the Super-Two deadline. That extra year before FA eligability is going to be a heck of a lot more valuable on the back end than the front. Second of all, he has been rushed through the system at this point and could likely use a little more time to learn to have some success. Anyway, I am just curious about the impression are on this topic.

Anybody know?

My favorite thing on the Map is the Mets....Take a look.

http://www.commoncensus.org/sports_map.php?sport=2 Cool map. Nice to see the Marlins infringe that much on what legitamitely should be Devil Ray territory.

Does anybody know who Cab's agent is?

Has anyone heard anything on how or when to go about getting tickets to the World Baseball Classic next March?

Take a look at the FA's after '06 on that site, I'm sure a bunch will resign before reaching free agency, but wow, what a class that could be!

Are they going to be putting all the MarlinsBaseball things in the same sections of Club B and Terrace Box?

Hey guys. I have a quck little question for you. I know how the general rule is you need 6 full years of service before you can apply for free agency. Here is my question. When a guy like Stephen Drew signs a 5 year deal right after he gets drafted, what does that mean. When does this contract kick in? Is the team still somehow guaranteed those 6 years? Thanks in advance.

Is there any chance that the game will be blacked out locally tonight since it is not on Fox Sports, but is on ESPN? Thanks in advance for the answer.

Anybody know when and where he will be doing book signings?

Suprisingly I haven't heard anything about our boy with the Topes. Tonight I stumbled upon his stats and WOW!!! G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG 38 137 32 42 7 0 13 30 89 20 27 3 0 .411 .634 .313 13 HOMERUNS!!!! in just 137AB's WOW! I hope we one day get to give this guy a shot over the course of the season. He has earned it with is performance. PS: The game is still going on tonight, so the numbers might change.

Do you guys think that Jones would be ready if neccessary tomorrow despite having thrown all of those pitches? On top of that, if he is ready, do you think he would be the first choice with that kind of rest?

Thanks for coming out everyone. I hope you all had a good time. Please feel free to let me know of anything you would like changed in the future. Hopefully we will have another event in September. Michael Kassower

Hye guys, sorry about the rain. I hope all of you can still make it out. If you come, the majority of the watch party will be on the patio (which is closed in) so come on out and take your shot at winning some of the great prizes we have as well as competing in the EA Sports MVP 2005 Home Run Derby. See you all there. Michael Kassower MKassower@aol.com 954-937-7377

This will be the first ever Florida Marlins Watch Party in Gainesville. It is my intention to put together more when I return to Gainesville for the Fall semester. Everything really depends on the turnout, so tell all of your friends so we can make Gainesville Florida Marlins Watch Parties a tradition. Hope to see you all there. Michael Kassower 954-937-7377 MKassower@aol.com

Hey everyone, The Florida Marlins Gainesville Watch Party will be tomorrow at Gainesville Ale House. It looks like EA Sports will be their as well, holding tournaments of MVP Home Run Derby and giving out free video games among other things. Here is the basic information again: When: Thursday April 7th 7:05 PM Where: Gainesville Ale House Who: Atlanta Braves @ Florida Marlins (Hudson vs. Burnett WHOA!) If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at MKassower@aol.com Thanks, hope to see all of you there. GO FISH!!! Michael Kassower

llahsram, I hope to see you their. You are 100% allowed to come. Fritz, Thanks for the advice. That will certainly be part of the plan. Mike Kassower

Hello everyone, To celebrate the start of the season there will be a watch party at Gainesville Ale House on Thursday April 7th as the Florida Marlins and the Atlanta Braves conclude their opening series of 2005. Admission is free. I would like to extend a special invitation to every one of you to come to this first of its kind event in the Gainesville Area. In the last couple of years I have learned the types of fans MarlinsBaseball.com breeds. With that being said, this is something I know all of you would enjoy. Raffles will take place throughout the evening. Please join us for the chance of winning prizes ranging from team apparel to autographed memorabilia as we enjoy the game. Here is the basic information: Where: Gainesville Ale House (On Archer Just East of I-75 in Butler Plaza) When: April 7th, 7:05 PM Who: Atlanta Braves @ Florida Marlins If you have any questions, I will be checking the boards for responses frequently or you can feel free to e-mail me at: MKassower@aol.com Starting early next week I will be flyering in Turlington Plaza. Feel free to stop and say hello. Additionally, I will be going around to different student organizations announcing for the event. If you are part of an organization and would like me to make sure you are on my list of stops, just let me know and I will be sure to attend. I hope to see you at the Watch Party. GO FISH! Thanks, Mike Kassower