sam35

Mike Mordechai

Giants just blew lead in the 9th to Cubs!

If Marlins can sweep Mets, we will hopefully be just 1 or 2 back with a week to go. Rockies just lost series to Padres and now have to face Carpenter, Wainwright & Piniero. And although Cards have division wrapped up, they have the motivation to go for home field advantage in playoffs.

1. Move Hanley to left field (Alfonso Soriano is one of the highest paid players in baseball & made the IF to OF move, so can Hanley) 2. Trade Hermida for bullpen help Amezaga at short + Hanley in left = much improved defense (vs. Hermida in left and Hanley at short)

JJ is the obvious choice as player of the game, but if I had to vote for a "2nd star", I'd vote for Paulino. He called a good game, had a big RBI hit & threw out Jose Reyes stealing at the beginning of the game. If Reyes was safe, that might have changed how things played out. Looks like the Marlins have a very solid backup catcher.

Bonafacio's speed is a real game changer. Even when he's not stealing, he's causing balks, rushed throws- he is a major distraction to the other team whenever he gets on. It's amazing to go back to posts from November and see how bitterly Beinfest was ripped for making this trade with the Nationals. No one, including Beinfest, is perfect. However, I don't know how anyone can't give a Beinfest trade the benefit of the doubt at this point.

Marlins back in 1st!!

I think it's safe to say virtually anyone active on this site is a "real" Marlins fan, regardless of opinion on this topic. That being said, in my opinion this is an important topic. We know most South Florida fans are "fair weather fans" - I'm not talking about those of us on this site, I'm talking about the casual fan. And the reality is, the casual fan tends to base a lot of their interest on things like sound bites on the local 11:00 sports news. The longer we can stay in first place, the more positive media coverage there will be, the more positive media coverage, the more interest the casual fan will have. This can translate into higher attendance. Who knows, that could even impact future payroll decisions. For the average team, standings in April are irrelevant; however, as stated above, I think they are important for the Marlins. Bottom line: go Phillies!! (just retook the lead 5-4) P.S.- although it was covered in another thread, pretty cool to have Peter Gammons say Hanley Ramirez is the best player in the league!!

I think WPLG's comments are absurd & grossly ignorant of the facts. I'm sure I've wasted my time (especially given that their sports director is noted Marlins-hater Jimmy Cefalo), but for what its worth, I emailed WPLG (editorials@local10.com) my reply: "Dear WPLG Editorial Board: You should be ashamed for your editorial regarding the Florida Marlins stadium, as your comments reflect an absolute lack of understanding of the facts and issues. The State would not be handing the Marlins $60 million, or any money for that matter, that would come at the expense of food-for-the poor, flood prevention, or anything else for that matter. The way the sales tax subsidy actually works is for 30 years, the Marlins would not have to remit to the State the first $2 million of sales taxes they collect. There is zero chance the team will survive in Florida for 30 more years without the revenue provided by their own stadium. Zero. If the Marlins move from Florida, the State will lose all sales tax revenue that would have been generated by the Marlins. It could be argued that your position jeopardizes countless food-for-the-poor programs, etc. by eliminating all Marlins-related sales-tax revenue for the State, not just the first $2 million. Every recent stadium deal in the United States involved the vast majority of the money coming from public funds - look at the Washington Nationals as an example. Forward-thinking politicians recognize the fact that a Major League Baseball team is a great community asset. Furthermore, you are greatly over-hyping the issue by referring to this as a "$60 million giveaway." Due to something called the "time value" of money, 30 annual installments of $2 million is not worth $60 million, they are worth approximately $30 million. This is the same principle in use by every state lottery in the country (when they say you win $1 million, but you read the fine print to see that's actually 20 annual installments of $50,000). With the sales tax subsidy, the state sells bonds to investors that are paid off by the $2 million annual amount. The Marlins then get the use of the bond proceeds, which will be $30 million, not $60 million. The bottom line is your comments were truly made out of ignorance, and for the good of the South Florida community, hopefully no one will pay them much attention."

The Marlins bullpen was a disaster last year- 27 blown saves (only Atlanta & KC were slightly worse). How much worse can a relatively new bullpen be this year? The veterans that added "stablity" - Borowski & Herges - accounted for 11 of those blown saves. In an ideal world, we'd have spent tens of millions shoring up the bullpen like Baltimore did. Given that we all know that's not reality, I think Admin Beinfest did the next best thing- brought in a bunch of new arms that potentially could set-up or close. Maybe Gregg can be a closer- who knows? Same with Owens & Lindstrom. Maybe Koplove or Rodriguez becomes a solid veteran presence. The bottom line is I'd rather have the uncertainty we have right now versus the mess we had last year.

Thanks very much for posting this! After listening to the press conference, I am convinced this will be recognized as a great day in Marlin history at some point in the near future for a number of reasons: 1. Joe Girardi seems like a good guy but does anyone believe he'd be here longer than 3 years no matter how well things worked out? The Marlins were clearly a stepping stone to other things for Joe. Fredi, on the other hand, this is his dream job & he might be the face of this organization for many years to come. 2. Fredi was three times the Baseball America minor league manager of the year. Bobby Cox (like Joe Torre) is unquestionable a great mentor for a manager-to-be & Fredi spent a lot more time on Cox's coaching staff than Girardi spent on Torre's coaching staff. Bottom line, I believe we can have a lot more confidence in Fredi's in-game decisions his rookie year vs. Joe's in-game decisions his first year. 3. The fact that Fredi is bi-lingual seems important, not only for marketing reasons in a marketplace such as Miami, but also given that half of MLB players are Hispanic. 4. Fredi will bring some much-needed continuity & historical perspective to the Marlins. As an example, he first got to know Miguel Cabrera when Miggy was 15. Obviously the Marlins will take a PR hit from jerks like Jimmy Cefalo who love to bash the Marlins every chance they get. However, I think true Marlins fans will share Fredi's sentiments "I can't wait for spring traning to start!"

Jeffrey Loria is to blame. Girardi is forced into misusing his bullpen because of lack of depth in the bullpen. Virtually every other playoff contender has had their GM's making deals to shore up their bullpens. I'm sure that Admin Beinfest could have done the same if he was given any financial latitude by Loria. Look at the Mets- they gave up nothing (PTBNL) to get Guillermo Mota & he's been virtually perfect in 10 appearances, including 4 strikeouts against us in the last 2 games. Mota was certainly a disapponitment when he was with the Marlins. But I'd definitely rather have a fresh Mota-type of reliever out of the bullpen than a burnt-out Tank, Borowski or Herges.

Hanley is the most important rookie to the Marlins in my opinion. Just as JP was the catalyst in 2003, Hanley is the catalyst for this year's offense. A perfect example in today's game: Hanley doubles, Uggla fails to bunt him over. Hanley steals 3rd to make up for the failed bunt attempt. Those are the types of things that make a big difference in September. Had a 4 hit game today, maybe the hottest hitter on the team right now. The MLB record since 1900 for runs scored by a rookie is 133, Hanley probably won't quite reach that, but he'll get pretty close.

I really like the comment that the Marlins know the Cubs farm system better than the Cubs do...go Admin Beinfest!!! Chicago Cubs Message Board Welcome to the Chicago Cubs Message Board, . Before posting, please review our Message Board Guidelines. From: downstatecubfan 7:56 pm To: ALL (1 of 7) Nolasco is pitching tonight for the Marlins, and he's looking pretty good. I'm glad to see him doing well for Joe Girardi. It's nice to see a young team like the Marlins play as well as they are. I know they're under .500, but they're doing much better than our Northsiders right now. The Cubs could learn a thing or two from those guys. They seem to give it their all each and every game. From: bacubsfan 8:04 pm To: downstatecubfan (2 of 7) 233570.2 in reply to 233570.1 When you are playing for your baseball lives you play hard every day. The problem is the Cubs players are too comfortable. As for Nolasco, if you believe how "stacked" our farm system was with young arms, his being traded was a numbers thing, and nothing more. From: chubbycub 8:07 pm To: downstatecubfan (3 of 7) Girardi can probably get more out of young players because he's not that far removed from playing himself. So he can actually give some good advice about pitchers and players still playing that he played against. And he's probably willing to change his ways quickly since he's not set in any yet. He's gonna be a good one. From: wxboy2002 8:48 pm To: bacubsfan unread (4 of 7) 233570.4 in reply to 233570.2 Instead of dealing Mitre and Hill....Hendry decided to go with Mitre....Pinto and Nolasco.... Why...?? Because Hendry loves to fall in love with a particular prospect while ignoring the real talent. Sometimes I wonder if the Marlins know the Cubs farm system better than the Cubs do..... And all for what?? Pierre will be traded soon for something much less than Nolasco.....

Melky Cabrera is the "Mr. Cabrera" referred to in the article...

...in the Wall street Journal, of all places. Good article about all the rookies having success throughout Major League Baseball this year, with major mention of the Marlins. Rookies of the Year Injuries to High-Paid Vets Give New Players Starring Roles; A 'Buffalo's' Home-Run Trot June 16, 2006; Page W1 From the friendly ballyards of Boston and Chicago to the cavernous stadiums in New York and Los Angeles, fans of baseball's marquee teams are getting a firsthand look at a species they rarely encounter. Rookies. Herds of them. For a number of reasons ranging from injuries and payroll cuts to changes in the way some teams approach the draft, rookies are getting plenty of chances to play this season. They're not just making their debuts in some of the most nervewracking situations imaginable, they're stealing the show. Melky Cabrera leaps into the hearts of Yankee fans by stealing a homer from the rival Red Sox. Through Monday, rookies in the National League had the highest collective batting average in seven years and had hit 101 home runs in 526 games -- a 38% increase from last season's rate and the most in at least a decade, according to STATS. On the pitching side, rookies are not only keeping pace, they posted an earned-run average that's actually 3% better than the leaguewide average -- a feat that's been accomplished only once in the last 10 years. In the American League, rookie pitchers had won an impressive 56% of their games. In Boston, the talk of the town is rookie Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, the current American League saves leader, who mesmerized the entire league by converting every one of his first 20 save opportunities. This month, David Pauley, another Boston rookie, stepped in to make an emergency start in a city he'd never even been to: New York. He held the Yankees to two runs in just under seven innings. In Los Angeles, Dodgers fans have watched their team overcome a plague of injuries to take over first place in the National League West -- thanks in large part to a posse of rookies. As of Wednesday night, three Dodgers rookie hitters had batting averages above .300 while four rookie relievers had piled up nearly 100 innings. Since the Dodgers called him up Memorial Day weekend to give the veterans a breather, 21-year-old outfielder Matt Kemp has launched seven home runs, including a clutch blast off Pedro Martinez. Mr. Kemp's stompy home-run trot has prompted fans on Dodgers chat boards to dub him "The Buffalo." Nowhere is rookie fever more pronounced than in New York, where years of bloated payrolls have made rookies something of a novelty. Mets fans have taken a shine to a flamboyant rookie outfielder named Lastings Milledge who, after hitting his first major-league home run this month, jogged along the fence between innings to trade high-fives with the fans. Across town, the Yankees have rallied around another rookie sensation, 21-year-old outfielder Melky Cabrera, who recently scaled the outfield wall to steal a home run from Manny Ramirez of the archrival Red Sox. Not only did the fans coax him out of the dugout for a curtain call, they began a continuing debate about which nickname to give the soft-spoken kid from the Dominican Republic: "Melky Mantle," "The Melkman" or "El Leche." For the most part, this year's rookies are getting their opportunities the old-fashioned way: through injuries. The list of highly paid veterans who've missed time or landed on the disabled list this season includes Barry Bonds, Bartolo Colon, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Derrek Lee, Hideki Matsui, Mark Prior, Albert Pujols and Gary Sheffield. Already this season, the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers, together with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, have been forced to throw nearly 50 rookies into the fire. Shaving the Payroll Another reason for all this: the Florida Marlins. Unable to close a stadium deal before the season, the Marlins shaved their payroll to about $15 million -- baseball's lowest -- mostly by replacing expensive veterans with rookies. Not only do the Marlins lead the league in youngsters passing through the clubhouse (18 so far) but they've boosted the stats for the entire rookie class. As of yesterday, three of the team's rookies had hit nine or more home runs -- accounting for more than 25% of the NL rookie total. The team's precocious pitching staff was also helping the cause. Josh Johnson, a 22-year-old, has the lowest ERA (2.05) among all major-league pitchers with at least eight starts. While it's too early to make any firm conclusions, major-league teams may be hastening this trend by doing a better job of identifying talent. Take the Cardinals: In 2003 the team hired Jeff Luhnow, a former management consultant, to shore up the team's scouting operation. Since then, he has doubled the team's budget for what he describes as "R & D," building new databases and statistical models, adding more layers to the scouting process and investing heavily in youth baseball academies in places such as Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, which have proved to be prodigious sources of talent. Several of this year's top rookies, including Mr. Cabrera, were signed in their home countries as teenagers. Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander The draft may be playing a role, too. In recent years, more teams have targeted college pitchers in the early rounds because they tend to make it to the big leagues faster than kids from high school. So far, the strategy seems to be working: Nine of this season's top rookie pitchers are college kids who were drafted since 2003. Perhaps the rapid rise of pitchers such as Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers, who was drafted second overall in 2004 out of Old Dominion, has created a momentary glut of ready arms. A rough count of this year's rookie pitchers who were acquired through the draft suggests that more than half of them attended some college. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti says the increasing impact of rookies probably has less to do with the supply than a rising level of "open-mindedness" in baseball front offices. Last year, he says, the pool of veterans available as free agents was "fairly thin." So while he signed several free agents before the season, he says he made sure the deals were short enough to keep them from blocking all the promising kids in the minor leagues. Nowadays, Mr. Colletti says, when general managers look at veterans who might cost $5 million to sign, "you look at the economics and start to say 'wait a minute, I may have a college pitcher in the system who's pretty close.'" Despite the early returns, it's a little too soon to proclaim 2006 the Year of the Rookie. Baseball executives are quick to note that early in the season, the only rookies who stick around are the ones who are performing well -- so the collective numbers tend to be better early on. As teams fall out of contention and begin calling up rookies just to give them a taste of the big leagues, the numbers may drop. Buzz vs. Bad News Nevertheless, this year's rookie class has provided enough buzz to balance at least some of the bad news coming out of baseball -- like the continuing revelations about players using steroids. Scott Olsen of the Florida Marlins is a good example. After struggling early in the season with a 6.64 ERA, Mr. Olsen found himself in this situation last month: late innings, one-run lead, full count, Barry Bonds at the plate. The rookie struck him out with a slider. On Tuesday, with his team down by one run to the Red Sox in the bottom of the 12th inning, Minnesota rookie Jason Kubel came up with the bases loaded, worked the count full, and then lifted a ball just over the fence for a game-ending grand slam. His teammates dumped a Gatorade cooler over his head. But if current trends continue, it may be the rambunctious Marlins -- a team populated by such household names as Dan Uggla and Ricky Nolasco -- who will make the biggest splash of all. As of yesterday morning, the kids had won 14 of their last 20 games. Write to Sam Walker at sam.walker@wsj.com