fanfish

We need to be patient in 2007. This year will be a season when we get to see which of our young players will be Marlins in the future and where the holes will be for 2008. Once the new stadium deal is in place, there will be less financial restrains and a two or three free agents will probably be enough to complete a playoff contending team in 2008. I doubt that the front office will pay Cabrera a $200 million multi year contract. They will ship him to the Yankees, the Red Sox or some other big spender for their best prospects and a decent 3B. So lets try to enjoy his play in the next 2-3 years while we have him.

There are, of course, many different ways to look at this. For the constant attempt to equate sports teams and the impact on a community with, for example, other businesses, it just does not work. When the state and municipalities spend millions on other facilities, be it a more worthy educational venue, such as a library, then we are all on board. Yet how many of us still go to the library to check out books and research. It benefits so few, yet no one would argue against it-almost anti american to do so. Yet, are there any library message boards for library fans to chat? Do you buy library t shirts and hats and get sick over library matters, as you might do when watching Randy Messenger give up a HR in a key situation. What about the pride and joy you have when the Marlins win the world series-very uplifting. These analogies work with other businesses and the millionaire owners. The fact that baseball is a business is overshadowed by the value and the aspect that, as fans, we ultimately watch the game and see it as a sport and a major component of our community. By helping keep a franchise, you are not helping a millionaire owner (and his pervert stepson) you are helping a community keep, what other communities around the country recognize, a part of the fabric of the community. All you need to do is look at the cost to other communities who have let their teams leave and how much they paid to get a new team, once is became evident what was lost. Ask the city of Baltimore, Houston (who not only paid big bucks to get a new NFL franchise) but realized they better do something or they would lose the Astros, ask Cleveland. A new stadium is for the community, even the majority who do not go to games, just as much as a library is, trees in the medians, a performing arts center and on and on. You may argue against the use of public money for these venues but when any one of you go to another city that has modern, beautiful new facilities, you come back and home and rave about how beautiful that other city is. You do not thing about that new facility as helping a millionaire-you equate it to the city you visited. WELL, S. Florida has even more reason to have the facilities than other places, given that we are the destination of millions of visitors. Just look around this weekend-think about all the people from all over the world visiting-think about all the public money spent on all the things that go into a community that can host an event like this-and then I could argue how much better that money would have been spent if it went into schools, lowering insurance, property taxes, police protections etc. It is all part of the balance of living, working and playing in a major league city-versus some Podunk wanna be. Thank you my fellow citizens. I could not agree with you more! You have very eloquently expressed what most Marlins fans feel when we read articles opposing the tax rebate. You should save this and send it to anyone who argues against it.

The most encouraging part fo the article is Mr. Burgess' overflowing optimism. This man is in the middle of the negotiations and statements like "the stars, I think, have really lined up" and "to say we're close is the mother of all understatements" are music to my ears. Some sort of deal will probably be anounced soon so that it can be presented to the lesgilature when the regular session begins.

This article is excellent news. The Marlins have failed to get the state tax break several times because of the "double dipping" argument. If this bill goes through and gives the Marlins or the county $2 million per year in tax breaks, the $60 million we need to bridge the stadium financial gap will be there in 30 years which , I believe, is the the length of the lease the Marlins would be asked to sign. The fact that other areas of the state will also be backing this bill is very encouraging. The rest of Florida does not care very much about helping us down here, but if we can get the representatives from Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville to also benefit from a tax break for their professional teams' facility, then we have a chance.

Good news. I think the 2007 season will be a "lets see what we have" year for the Marlins. The young guys will have to prove they belong and this specially means Jacobs and Hermida. These were the guys that played hurt last season. Ugla and Willingham also need to prove they can be counted upon for the future. I think Ramirez is the real deal. The starters other than Dontrelle also need to have a good sophmore year. They need to adjust to the major league hitters as they adjust to them. Bullpen and closer, well we will have to wait and see. Hopefully sometime SOON we will have the deal of the stadium in place, and perhaps with that promise Mr. Loria will decide to spend some cash to address the teams needs so that in 2008 the Marlins can seriously contend for the NL East title.

At least we know there will be no veto if the legislature votes to help the Marlins. Lets hope that he can influence some of the state representatives and senators that are the ones who actually do the voting.

DuPuy: Progress being made on new downtown Miami ballpark NEW! Posted Jan. 8, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss) MLB President/COO Bob DuPuy tells MLB.com that progress is being made on a new downtown Miami retractable-roof ballpark, but came short of actually committing to whether a new facility is imminent. Parsing these sorts of puffy statements is always hard -- especially when it comes from MLB.com and not an independent news source -- so we did a little asking around and heard this: plans are progressing like they've been progressing over the past few months, with Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami offering the same things they've been offering all the time. What's changed is that the Marlins ownership is now committing more to a downtown location and dropping the pretense of fielding offers from Pompano Beach and Hialeah in hopes of seeing up some sort of bidding war between municipalities. MLB officials, to their credit, have been steadfast in their belief in a downtown ballpark; the real progress has come from getting the Marlins ownership onboard. UPDATE: Apparently one new source of funding has popped up: funds from Miami's Community Redevelopment Agency. By law, these funds must be used to spur economic development in ''blighted'' neighborhoods. Tax money created from a CRA stays inside the district, and it's really meant for local spending, not for large projects like a ballpark. Even so, CRA funds don't come close to bridging a funding gap for the ballpark, so what we reported earlier today stands: the basic funding plan for a ballpark remains intact, and the sides really aren't closer to a new deal.

Marlin2003: That was hilarious.

Check out the link below for the latest on MLB efforts toward a new stadium. Looks like Marlins aren't doing the talking. It is MLB and the City of Miami. http://www.nysun.com/article/45774

If Reggie makes the Marlins 25 man roster I will question Freddie's judgement of talet like I did with Girardi.

I am sure Dontrelle will know how to handle this situation. Rather than combative he will be apologetic and remorseful. He may even become some kind of anti-DUI spoke person etc. We all know what kind of person he is. I am sure we will live up to those expectations and this kind of thing won't happen again. He is too good of a person in many levels to let this bring him down.

We lose players to other teams and then we continue to see our most popular anouncers go elsewhere also! Sad, isn't it? The Red Sox announce their radio broadcast team for next season. Joe Castiglione will return for his 25th season in the booth and be joined by Dave O'Brien and Glenn Geffner. FSN South and SportSouth announced Thursday that Joe Simpson and Jon ?Boog? Sciambi will be the Atlanta Braves announcers on both regional sports networks beginning in 2007. I guess that means Boog won't be doing his local radio show anymore?

When Jerry del Castillo asked Mayor Robaina directly about the new stadium's funding problems the Mayor specifically said that there was no problem with the money in either site (Hialeah and downtown). I interpreted that as meaning that the funding gap had been breached. I could be mistaken, but there was absolutely no discussion about any funding problems during the entire interview. The delay in announcing anything, I believe, is due to the fact that there is still no final decision as to which of the two sites will be chosen. They are probably still studying the logistics of the downtown site, such as where to put the building that was originally planned for that land, the parking issues, and probably many other details. Once they have ironed out all the problems, calculated the pros and cons of each site, I suppose a decision will be made. Reportedly, the Marlins and the construction company (HOK) want the Hialeah site and MLB prefers the downtown site. There will be another meeting with MLB next week. I don't know if only Mr. Robaina will be there or if the team, the county and the City of Miami will also be represented. I am hopeful that this will be resolved soon. No issue is as important to us Marlins fans as the stadium issue. Everything else depends on this. Once we have our stadium all the other pieces will fall into place and we will have a competitive team for many, many years to come.

by any chance do you know which downtown site? Mr Robaina was talking about the downtown site next to the Government Center. Jerry del Castillo mentioned that he was going to talk with the Mayor off the air after the interview. Maybe he will have more information on today's show.

The Mayor of Hialeah, Julio Robaina was on Descarga Deportiva today. In a nut shell he said this: 1. The talks and negotiations for the new stadium have really picked up in the last few weeks since MLB has made building the Marlins a stadium their #1 priority. 2. The two sites in contention are Hialeah Heights and downtown Miami. (No mention of Pompano). He is certain that the Marlins will stay in Miami-Dade County. 3. There is NO funding gap for either site!!!!!!!!!!!! ( I can't believe it!!!) 4. He realizes that he has said this before, but expects the final decision of the site and subsequent announcement to happen shortly. He did not say when, but he implied days or weeks, not months. 5. Of course he prefers the Hialeah site but he stated he is ready to support the project even if his city is not chosen.

I think those broadcasters are very right in saying we need to head north of Miami. Pompano Beach is a fantastic location, and I'll promote it until the final location is named. Knock yourself out. But you'll be disappointed in the end if you don't come down from the clouds.

In 14 appearances for the Yankees last season, Dotel allowed 12 runs in 10 innings, while striking just seven compared to 11 walks. This doesn't sound like someone I want closing Marlins games!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least Crist is implying he won't veto a bill that would help the Marlins get a new stadium. He can always change his mind, but I much rather have him come out publicly on our side now, rather than having to change his line in order to help us out.

Governor elect Crist was recently interviewed and this was published in a Gainsville paper: He also said he supports the idea of a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins, who have threatened to move out of state if they can't get government help for a proposed stadium. The team now shares a stadium with football's Miami Dolphins. ''It's not a stretch at all to view it as economic development for our state,'' Crist said. ''I would be very unhappy if any of our teams would leave the state. And I'll do everything I can within reason to make sure that does not happen.''

DOWNTOWN WOULD BE CRAZZZY..you`d have to leave broward or in my case brevard 4 hours early to get through the 5:00 traffic during the week..think about it..7:05 tues night game..get off work,if anyone can, at say 3:30-4:00 and probably just make it to the game???? f that..put it right off the turnpike somewhere..where i don`t know,but downtown,they`ll lose fans..... Traffic at 5pm northbound on I-95 between the Golden Glade and downtown Miami is a nightmare. I don't think you would see too much traffic traveling south at that time.

Good job Cape

This was posted on Ballpark Digest yesterday. New downtown Miami site explored for proposed Marlins ballpark NEW! Posted Nov. 21, 2006 Miami-Dade County officials are exploring a new downtown Miami location for a Florida Marlins ballpark, and they say the site has fewer obstacles than those already under review. The spot, which is publicly owned by the county and city of Miami, is about 10 acres just north of the Miami-Dade government center adjacent to Metrorail. It is just east of I-95, a few blocks southwest of Miami Arena and is home mainly to parking lots. Because the land is publicly owned, a new ballpark could be built for less. It's a very interesting situation in Miami: the Marlins ownership seems resistant to the idea of a downtown ballpark, which is being pushed (rightly so) by MLB officials, who see Miami as a key market and the gateway to Latin America. We've heard HOK Sport (which is advising the Marlins) is also resistant to the idea of a downtown ballpark on a small site, but some of that criticism has been blunted by the fact the Minnesota Twins are building a new ballpark (designed by HOK Sport) on an eight-acre downtown site. Meanwhile, we've heard proposals for a new Marlins ballpark in Hialeah and Pompano Beach have stalled, mostly because affordable land was more difficult to acquire than originally anticipated. This was published in Miami Today New site, new Legislature give stadium hopes new life By Dan Dolan Hopes for a $420 million stadium for the Florida Marlins in downtown Miami moved closer to reality this week after Miami-Dade County officials unveiled a new site proposal and renewed plans to prod the Legislature into giving the Major League Baseball franchise a massive tax break. Miami-Dade commissioners said the Marlins' chances of winning a $60 million state tax subsidy key to the construction of a stadium were greatly improved by this month's elections. With a new governor taking office in January and Rep. Marco Rubio of Coral Gables installed as Speaker of the House, commissioners say the mood in Tallahassee likely has changed for the better. "Now that the legislative leadership is from Miami, I think we'll get a fresh perspective on the stadium project," Commissioner Carlos Gimenez said. "This really helps. It gives us a very good chance." Commissioners Rebeca Sosa and Bruno Barreiro agree. Ms. Sosa said, "The public has spoken loud and clear that they want a new stadium." She said she expects the House of Representatives to listen now that Mr. Rubio is running the show. Mr. Barreiro, a former state legislator, said Mr. Rubio's new job will give the county a bit more political muscle. A formal request for the Legislature to approve the Marlins' tax break will be considered by the commission Tuesday. Two years ago, the House gave the baseball team what it wanted only to have the proposal stall in the Senate. Last year, the Senate passed a Marlins tax-relief bill at the 11th hour only to have the legislative session expire before the House and the governor could act. "With that history, we have a very good chance of getting the proposal through the Legislature during the next session," Mr. Barreiro said. "It's good for the county. And I think the newly proposed site for the stadium is a good thing, too." In a memo issued days ago, County Manager George Burgess recommended a site just north of the county administrative building on Northwest Third Street. Mr. Burgess' proposal calls for the stadium to be built on about 9 acres of city- and county-owned land currently earmarked as the site of a new $110 million juvenile-justice center. But the land, now being used for parking, would be perfect for a stadium because it is next to the main transit station for buses, MetroRail and Metromover, Mr. Burgess said. He said the site provides easy access to Interstate 95. "Locating the ballpark next to mass-transit access would provide a positive site characteristic that has not been present at most of the sites we have previously studied," Mr. Burgess said in his memo to Mayor Carlos Alvarez and the county commission. The county has looked at several other locations for the stadium, including Hialeah and the Orange Bowl. Major League Baseball executives have considered a site by Miami Arena. But Mr. Burgess said the county was never actively involved in that plan. Major League Baseball and the Marlins have been approached with Mr. Burgess' new proposal, according to county officials. But the plan to build the juvenile-justice center could scuttle the stadium project, officials say. "My main concern is the children's court," Commissioner Natacha Seijas said. "Hopefully, that's not an issue." Mr. Burgess said he believes he has found a solution to the problem. He said the court building could be relocated to the east side of the county administration building ? on privately owned land that's currently used for parking. He released no further details. Pending more information, commissioners Sosa, Gimenez and Barreiro were generally positive about Mr. Burgess' plan. "It sounds really good," Mr. Barreiro said. "If we can work things out with the children's court, this could be a perfect location. It has the Metrorail, parking and easy access. I really think it's ideal."

Commissioner Pepe Diaz was on Descarga Deportiva tonight talking about the new stadium site. He clearly prefers the Hialeah site but realises that MLB is set on having the stadium in downtown Miami and that is where the stadium will probably be built. He thinks the newly proposed site has many advantages over the site south of the Miami Arena, namely that the land is publicly owned. He also has hopes that the State will be able to contribute toward the stadium now that Mr. Rubio is the leader of the House or Representatives.

Pierre's value is in his speed. Once he looses a step ( in a year or two) he won't make so many plays, won't steal so many bases and won't beat out so many bunts or infield hits. He has a very weak arm. Deep singles become doubles and everyone scores from second on a sharp single to center. Safely tagging from third or from second on a fly ball to shallow center was routine. Yes, LA overpaid him giving him 9 million per year. Not so much for this year but definitely for the last 2 years of his contract. I like Juan. Good for him. Not too good for the Dodgers.

The newest proposed downtown site just east of I-95 looks like it is larger than the site just south of the Miami Arena. Perhaps there won't be any problems fitting a roof on the stadium if it were build there. It also has the Metro-rail and Metro-mover just next to it on the east. The article did mention that there was plenty of parking around the site, so I see no problem there. The land is all publicly owned with no buildings to move or demolish. That is also a big plus. MLB wants the stadium in downtown Miami and the Miami-Dade County manager thinks it is a good idea. Was this the result of MLB discussions with the County? There was mention in the news a few day ago that Mr. Dupry was going to set up a meeting with Burgess. Now we need to hear from the County Commission, the City of Miami, the Marlins and the State, so hang on again for a long ride! Are the Marlins on board with this new site? Is the parking area big enough to satisfy Loria's need for parking revenue? Is it big enough to put a roof on it? If the answers are yes, then I don't see the Marlins having a problem with it. Both the Republican and Democratic party leaders in the State House this year are form the Miami area. Does this mean we now have a better shot at the State money? With all the positives this site has, why wasn't it brought up 5 years ago??????