bradk258

I keep hearing that the games are being broadcast in HD. On Comcast, does anyone know what channel that is? Is the game broadcast on DirectTV via HD?

You can complain about the FO all you want, but the fact remains that they own the team and can, unfortunately, do with it what they want. This firesale is painful on so many levels but unless someone comes up with a whole bunch of cash, some land and a plan we, the fans, are flat-out stuck. Complaining about management is just complaining, although it really seems to me like there is a fixed plan to move already and that this "market correction" is just going to drive fans away thereby justifying the "move." If MLB really believes this is a "big market," then step in and bail out the fish with all the money they're going to make by the impending sale of the Nationals. Until then hope and prayers seem to be the only chance we have. Meh. :thumbdown

While I agree this town has crappy in-stadium fan support, the fact remains that Loria is not free from blame here. 1. He knew he was getting a crappy deal at Dolphins stadium because of the deal John Henry made with Huzienga. Even assuming the Marlins had 30k per game, they would still lose a ton of money primarily because of the stupid stadium/concession/parking deal they have. Presently, they would literally have to lead the league in attendance in order to be borderline profitable. 2. Loria gambled. Plain and simple. He thought that if he spent some money up front, built a good team and won a championship that the politicos would be willing to finance a stadium. It is not the fans' fault that politicians don't want to do more. Even assuming there was 30k per game, does anyone really believe that magically that would be enough to cover a $45-60 million shortfall? It really is convenient to blame the fans but, in reality, what good is that going to do? 3. In the end, what we're really talking about is that the Marlins want a publicly funded stadium for obvious reasons: small risk with a potentially high return. I love this team; I love this organization and I will be devastated if they leave. I agree that this team deserves better fan support at the stadium. Unfortunately, this really wouldn't help the Marlins all that much-- it would make Huzienga even more money. He's the villain in this. Why won't MLB extend a loan to the Marlins? They freakin' bailed the Expos out and paid Peter Angelos MILLIONS of dollars. Throw a loan to the Marlins to keep them here, the 8th biggest market in the country. Bottom line: there's plenty of blame to go around, but don't put it all on the fans. Lots of us have spent a lot of money on this team at games and on merchandise. Maybe the best thing to do is to bring in a minority partner with a lot of money-- the Marlins stand to make much more through a privately-owned stadium in the end. Someone just has to come up with the money.

on the mlb cover section of espn.com?

1. Lowell is a huge impediment to the team. I like Mike-- think he's a good person, a great fielder, a good leader and good for the clubhouse. However, Cabrera renders him obsolete from a hitting perspective and its easier to get an outfielder than a third baseman. I would think the Marlins could afford to eat $ 4 million of his salary to deal him with a prospect for, possibly, a reliever. I would bet that some GMs would have to believe that this year was a fluke and that he'll bounce back. He may not have the power he once did, but this year's numbers are not truly indicative of what he is capable of and what his own history has shown. 2. Encarnacion was good for the team this year and he should stay (unless he can be packaged with Lowell). He's a good fielder with a better than average arm and he hit well this year, both in terms of average and RBIs with some decent power. I have no problem seeing him return in right field. 3. We should keep Conine. I can only wonder what would have happened had he played in the first half of the year. He hit well and he, too, is a better than average fielder with a good arm. 4. Pierre should remain. 5. Gonzo- if he stays fine, if he goes fine. Power numbers slipped and seemed to have more key errors this year. 6. Re-sign Jones; he earned it and he's good for at least another year. 7. Mota is good trade bait; Alfonseca's option should not be picked up (or did his contract change with his disc injury?). Mecir's retiring so, clearly, there will be room in the bullpen. Clearly the biggest area that needs to be filled. Valdez could probably be a solid reliever, maybe even a good setup man. 8. Most important thing: do not trade Delgado. His numbers for playing at Dolphins Stadium are incredible. Well worth every penny he's paid and due for next year. Just my .02

Is the game on TV tomorrow (Thursday), 2:00 p.m. vs. MIL?

When stocks, i.e., securities, are stuck in a range and then they break through the top number, they tend to increase for quite a while. Hopefully this will happen tonight- break through the "5-over" number and then run off 7-8 straight.

I think Valdez has only 2 starts. Can't really blame Moehler for most of the season- he's done as good as a #5 can and his run support has been atrocious. True he hasn't pitched very well as of late, but you can't really fault him too much as he's done a nice job. Leiter, on the other hand, can easily explain those poor numbers, i.e, 18-28.

Encarnacion could be trade bait-- wouldn't really hurt us because then Conine could play outfield. How much time will Aguila need to make it to the majors? Is he capable of starting next year? If so, then Encarnacion is tradeable.

Chemistry is great when you're winning. Chemistry sucks when you lose. The Fish were on a good streak (7 in a row?) prior to the present debacle. Nobody complained then. You can't fault the manager for not hitting the ball with RISP. It's not Jack's fault when you ground into a DP. It's not Jack's fault when you pop up (Gonzo) everytime we have a RISP. It's not Jack's fault that Nate Bump is wild. It's not Jack's fault Perisho hung a pitch that got slammed into Right. It's not Jack's fault that Mota couldn't pitch (amazingly, he's pitched well since he got reamed). It's not Jack's fault, Mikey is batting around .220. Part of it is slump, part of it is luck. When you lead the league in BA, you're eventually going to improve in Runs scored. Regardles: take responsibility when you screw up or don't get the job done. The only person you can blame is yourself. Since Jack's not swinging the bat, fielding, throwing or pitching, stop whining and just get the job done. Stop whining and start playing.

I agree that Robinson needs to go. It seems to me that a hitting coach is best evaluated over the long-term. Lowell's 2+ month slump coupled with Pierre's slump is pretty damning considering that there were also long-term slumps last year (Gonzo, Castro and Encarnacion). However, it's ironic at who is performing and who is not performing when compared to last year. Obviously Encarnacion's shoulder is a big part of the improvement but how is it that Lowell can't hit anything and Gonzo can? Curious. Anyway, it seems to me that the short-term solution is to play Conine/Easley more, even if it means moving Cabrera to third when Conine plays. I think Pierre needs to play everyday as he will always be more of an asset than a liability. We can pick up Danny Graves and either trade Mota or demote Bump (personally I'm for shipping Bump to AAA and giving Mota some time to "work it out." Let Mota close out the 9th in non-save situations to get back into the flow.) If Mota were to go on the block, I'm sure someone would want to pick him up. For anyone who suggest that we trade Lowell, who is going to pay $8 million+ for him right now?

Remember Jeter last year?? He finished up okay and I'm sure Mikey will do the same. Give Jack credit for trying to help him out.

Thanks; that's what I needed to know. Now the most expedient thing would be $10 m more from each of the three partners.

I didn't mean to make this into an argument about economics. The fact is, no matter how you look at it, the tax rebate essentially deals with future money. The real issue is: Considering the money to be given by the team, the county and the city, what is the amount that is needed now to complete the stadium deal? While I understand that the request was for a tax rebate, how is that future money being used to complete construction now.

There is no way that $30 million is the present value of $60 million in thirty years. The present value is much less probably 4.5 times less-- probably around $12 million. $30 million dollars today is much, much more than $60 million dollars in thirty years. In fact, $30 million today is probably worth $120+ million in thirty years. My number of $15 million in the first post took into account the fact that that $ 1 million was essentially being amortized over thirty years-- that's because a million dollar rebate today will be worth much more to the team than a million dollar rebate in thirty years.