musk

Lidge is clutch. He's a great closer and can deal w/ pressure. He did almost completely silence the best offense of 2004 in the NLCS last year. Bring Lidge in moves Jones to set-ip and mota to middle relief or vice-versa. If we can get Lidge cheap (which wont happen) I say go for him. If not lets stay w/ Mota and Jones.

Lieter is a long time verteran. He knows that this game is about production and helping your team out. I think 10 years ago Lieter would not be as graceful w/ his demotion. He knows he's throwing crap out there and it's not helping his ball club. As for taking Beckett's spot. My feeling is that you might just need to use Lieter on a short leash. I think if you throw some AAA or AA pitcher into starting against a good hitting team such as the Angels (and Vlad) you might just ruin his fragile psyche. And plus, "Road Lieter" is much better than "Home Lieter". And these 1-2 starts would be on the road.

good to know BUT..... $4 for parking at the metrorail station and $7 for the bus trip. (unless parking is included in the $7 then disregard this) makes it $11 total. parking at the stadium is $10 and traffic on the palmetto is NOT bad on the weekends (it takes me 30minutes from the dadeland south station area to Joe Robbie Stadium aka DS). obviously the cost of gas needs to be included ($5 from dadeland south station).

...and don't look back. Get Encarnacion off this team.. the lack of effort does nothing but bring everyone else down. Not to mention his TERRIBLE swing at the plate. Conine obviously isn't as athletic or doesn't have the arm of Encarnacion but he will give much more QUALITY at bats and you know he will always give 100% At the beginning of the season I just wanted Conine to start but now I just want Encarnacion off this team. His lack of effort is disgusting. I want the veteran presence of one of our team leaders on the field EVERY SINGLE GAME. 810438[/snapback] i totally agree w/ you that juan needs to be benched. his plate apperances are getting more and more lack luster with every swing. its like hes not even trying out there. hes got some wheels and he could easily be a good guy to have at the bottom of the order working the count and geting on base but he doesnt even do that. as for lack of effort. you forget that last week he fliped over the wall in right field to catch a fly ball. then again, he missed a fly ball into right center on monday night. i dont know if its "lack of effort" as it is him letting his offensive woes get to him defensively. all in all i COMPLETELY AGREE that Juan needs to ride the bench for a while and Conine needs to see more AB's. I mean hell, he deserves it after being benched for Juan and taking it like a man.

reporters are known to be using past facts in order to create a story. i think the marlins are comfortable w/ bentz coming out of the pen and de los santos has thrown pretty well in his past outings. only time will tell if these relievers will pan out. also, it's a well known fact that pitchers coming out of colorado need to be overhualded because their confidence is completely shot after pitching in that stadium (see Mike Hampton).

you guys act like lieter is going there forever. I think Lieter is the best starting pitcher that is available at this time. Maybe come July teams that fall out of contention will try to unload some high priced pitching but RIGHT now Lieter has to be our starter. Going to tbe bullpen will be good for him because relievers have a diferent mentality than starts do. coming out of the pen he can just throw what he wants and not worry about a pitch count or mixing it up. he will be a good left handed reliever for us if we need him. when valdez comes back i think we can use valdez and lieter as good spot starters for our 5th man in the rotation.

soriano isnt going anywhere. he's an integral part of that infield and contributes both on O and D big time. Plus, where the hell are the marlins going to put him? w/ Cast and Easily who can play anywhere you cant fit him in. come on, are you serious?

i really do think this is a stupid comparison. first off clemens is arguably one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game. if you can afford clemens then you go ahead and pick him up. second, they fail to mention that willis gets some of the best run support of the entire marlins staff and that always helps in the win column. third, willis has been inconsistent over the years. showing sings of great play then turning around and just getting shelled (last season is a good example). if it were up to me and if i had the money for a ball club that was in contention come july i would go clemens over willis .

Has anyone looked at Delgado's numbers lately? .326/13/45...and this is in a ballpark that was going to hurt his numbers. Lee would never, ever, put up the numbers he has this year in Pro Player. He is too damn stubborn to try to pull the ball more, he will always be a power alley hitter, and left-center is a little more forgiving at Wrigley. Even with money considered, I'd rather have Delgado. Yes we lost a lot defensively, but Lee wasn't exactly a great character guy (remember the revolt he tried to lead after Floyd was traded), nor was he a "clutch" hitter. Plus, Delgado's a lefty and he is more marketable (I actually see people walking around CityPlace with Delgado t-shirts on...DLee wouldn't have gotten that kind of love). 807563[/snapback] good post. I think Wrigley does help Lee out a lot. But remember that Lee is young and hasn't had the time that Delgado has had to establish himself. Also, Delgado was a big offseason pick up. Any big offseason pick up is going to have instant love. He's a big name and the pick up shows that the Marlins front office are committed to winning (unlike the devil rays). But I agree with the numbers but you cannot disregard Lee's numbers and how outstanding they are right now. And no, he isn't just having a "good year". He has consistently been a producer but now he is the heart of the cubs with sosa and alou gone.

Stadium at current location = HUGE LIABILITY 807571[/snapback] Obviously that goes without saying. i never said Dolphins Stadium should be the home of the Marlins (or even the Dolphins for that matter). But neither should the Orange Bowl be.

Putting the new stadium next to the Orange Bowl would not be the best possible place for a new stadium. Here's why: - Putting the stadium next to the Orange Bowl would make the stadium quite land-locked. No room for parking (lets be honest people, parking garages and sport venues are a combination created by the devil himself). And as many of you hurricane fans know, parking in someone's front lawn is almost a requirment risking getting blocked in by someone who decides to leave the game a little later than you do. - The stadium will be in the heart of a dense latin community yes, however this latin community as a very low average household income and will not be able to afford season tickets or many single game tickets once the prices rise from the new stadium. - You are putting the stadium in the middle of a residential area. There is no room for commercial uprising and success (see Wirgley Field, Busch Stadium for commercial success near baseball field) - No real mass transit system and the roads to the Orange Bowl are mainly used for residential traffic and not designed for high traffic. Especially almost every day of the summer. I think we all would agree that the BEST place for a new baseball stadium would be in downtown miami. Yes, this would alienate the Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach fans that the present location of Dolphins Stadium has bred. However, There is already mass transit that serves the downtown area very well (see American Airlines arena and Miami Arena) which would eliminate traffic congestion (and with parking only $4 for the Metrorail thats a 60% savings from stadium parking). Lets see why the stadium should go in downtown Miami. - Masstransit already in place. The Metrorail and People Mover, regardless of your existing negative feelings towards them, offer great transit throughout downtown. From the Dadeland South station to Government center is about 30minutes on the metro rail then add 5 minutes on the People Mover. It takes the same amount of time (with no traffic) to drive to Dolphins Stadium. But on a weeknight game forget it because you'll be stuck in traffic. The Orange Bowl does not have great mass transit to it. You could use shuttles to go to and from the Metro station to the stadium but again you run into the problem of traffic congestion in an already congested area. (Hurricane games do not expirence this since they are Saturday afternoon. Marlins games are during the weeknights) - Downtown Miami offers GREAT commercial potential. For those of you who live in South Florida you are well aware of the recent explosion of expensive housing being built in and around downtown Miami which will only lead to nicer shops, resturants, and night clubs. All key ingredients to building a successfull franchise (trust me, there is more to building a popular baseball team than just what happens on the field). - And last but MOST importantly, the emergence of well-to-do latin americans that are flooding Miami. They are coming into Miami and buying up condos and business and transforming Miami into the United States business capital of Central and South America. These people CAN afford season tickets or ticket plans and they WILL attend the games because the stadium is so close to their homes (mostly the condos in downtown). The residents of Little Havana (where the Orange Bowl is) just do not have the nessecary income to be able to afford to go to many games. Obviously all this is easier said than done. Heck, the Marlins don't even have the funding for a stadium yet. And land in downtown Miami is so scarce that building a stadium there seems almost impossible. However, I have realized that many (including myself) have been blinded by the potential gift of a new state-of-the-art stadium for our beloved baseball team that we fail to see it's flaws. There needs to be more consideration on the location of the stadium so that the city, as it does with great success, doesn't rush into a project that 5 years after completion turns out to be a big mistake.

remember, don't just think offense, think defense. I think D. Lee is one of the better defensive first basemen in the game. And he has shown this year that he has the ability to carry a team on his back. I am not sure on the whole money situation but i think we could have kept Lee for what we're paying Delgado. I like Lee.

i think bump got the shaft. he was a pretty dependable reliever (better than riedling and mota). i have a feeling he'll be back w/ the fish sometime this season.

An African American on a small-market club... Doubtful....nah jp The voters have nothing to do with it theres a chance... 807118[/snapback] i dont think willis has locked up the starting roll in the asg as many of you think he has. You cant just start off hot (when 10 of 12) then fall off the map (lose last 4) and expect to start the ASG. He has definitely locked up being on the roster. If he goes into the ASG with 12 or 13 wins he will definitely start regardless of Morris (good point cards fan). La Russa respects what Willis is doing and since the Cardinals will have 3rd base, SS (hopefully), first, center, and 2nd base (hopefully) in the ASG and basically own the NL roster (again) then he wont mind giving a Marlins pitcher the start. theres nothing more that La Russa likes than a young talented pitcher who is humble and works hard at his craft like Willis does. So you better believe that if Willis wins at least 2 of his last 4 he will be starting.

problem is you've got Jones saved for the 9th, and you don't want to overuse Jim Mecir. So after that, who knows what your gonna get from the rest of the pen? 807274[/snapback] de los santos pitched pretty well in his couple of outings. bentz is pitching pretty well. and reidling is showing signs of improvement over his bad outings in the begining of the season. i also think bump will be back w/ the club later in the season.

This is the one and only time I will back Mota up. The job of a manager is to "unlock" the talent of his players anyway he can. Jack seems like he has a short fuse and uses critiscm when he reaches the breaking point. I think if Jack called Mota into his office, sat him down and said: "Look buddy, we need you out there. You are an integral part in this team's sucess. You have my faith and support to go out there and get the crucial outs we need you to get. Just pitch the way you can pitch and everything will be fine. You'll get your closer roll. This is where we need you right now" I think Jack has been a little hard on Mota and it's taken a toll on his confidence and his psyche. Jack has been more understaning with Lowell and Pierre who possibly hurt the club more by their recent slumps. Trust me, I hate Mota as much as anyone right now but I have a feeling that if he got the faith and support of his manager everything would be fine.

i think bump is easily the best pitcher on that list. it's a toss up between Lieter and Perisho. At least Mota gets outs. Lieter and Perisho are BB machines. Hell, Lieter can't get through the 5th w/o 100+ pitches.

My gripe is not with the amount of bunting (and I'm assuming we're not talking about drapery because I like that bunting), but when they are or aren't doing it. 803550[/snapback] exactly. i think runner on first with no outs in a close game where the other team's pitcher seems to be pitching lights out. i think waiting until the 8th or 9th inning in this game to bunt would have been pretty dumb. i think this game should have one of those where you are pushing for runs every chance you get.

Well i've just started reading the sun-sentinal articles on the marlins and i just can't believe how much negativity is going around this club. Everything from the hitting coach's job security, Mota getting chewed out and AJ being mad he was pulled against the Nats in the 7th inning. It seems like everyone rather be negative and pissed. Granted no pitcher is going to be happy at the last 2. McKeon needs to appologize to Mota and reinstill faith in him. Mota's confidence and psyche is all f-d up and if McKeon is as good of a manager as everyone thinks he is then he will take it upon himself to put Mota back into form. Mota is a good pitcher and just needs faith behind him. I think McKeon has given up to early on Mota. Maybe the players are right and McKeon IS being to negative even if the team is losing so much. (yeah, i know this contradicts my earlier posts but i've had a little change in heart with this whole mota situation. a scene like that can turn the whole ball club's momentum upsidedown.)

Before you start, this is not another Jack-Bashing post that seem so popular in times of dispare. That being said.....It really pissed me off in the bottom of the 5th against the Mariners Lowell singles to leadoff the inning and JP is up w/ no outs. Instead of telling JP to bunt to move Lowell to 2nd and MAYBE beat it out for a single himself (which he does the best in the league) he lets JP swing away almost hitting into a DP. Now, with a 1-0 deficit and an offense that you KNOW struggles to produce runs why don't you call the bunt Jack? You have one of the top bunters in baseball at the plate with no outs. You have Alex Gonzalez on deck who, regardless of RISP avg can hit the ball better right now than JP can. So using this example, and the recent lull of the Marlins offense, I think Jack needs to be a little more creative when it comes to the offensive side. I know hes not an aggressive manager and lets his players just play. But when the team is struggling like this its NEVER to early to try to manufacture runs, something this team has forgotten how to do ever since they landed delgado as a power hitter. Everyone is noticing the dramatic shift in the Marlins gameplay this season from small ball to more of a reliance from our 3 and 4 spot hitters. I know JP is the heart of our offense and when he gets on base the offense comes alive. But last night's lack of bunt call enraged me. That being said, I've lost some faith in McKeon. Not because of the losing streak and not because of the articles that hes to negative. Just because he doesn't call the simple plays that may bring your club out of the gutter. We are focusing to much on the individual (1-8 we have very good batting averages) but it seems like players arent playing team ball right now.

This is just hideous baseball. And I fault the players as much as I fault McKeon for not trying to start playing small ball again. For Example: Mariners game, bottom of the 5th. Lowell on first and Pierre at the plate. 0 outs. You SHOULD drop a bunt w/ one of the league's best bunter move Lowell to second. The worst case scenario is that pierre lays a horrible bunt and you have one out w/ a runner on first. Which ended up happening anyway (hindsight is 20-20). Come ON Jack! It's a close ballgame (at this point only 1-0) and you're offense has been struggling for the past 2 weeks. you KNOW runs are not going to come easy and you are going to have to make some small plays to string a couple along. Everyone knows that our hitting w/ RISP is horrible. And our defense has been somewhat shaky (minus the middle infield) and the bullpen has sucked. All around hideous baseball. But on the plus end Alex is helping himself out in this free agency year w/ a better bat (you can't help but wonder what degree of selfishness Alex has knowing that if he can swing the bat and end close to .300 he has a big payday coming. Read La Russa's book if you disagree with me)

wow. just wow. i can't believe this ariticle. players actully said McKeon's yelling is getting to them? Have they watched any tape of their past few games? It's not even good enough to be Minor League Baseball needless to say Majors quality. I am sure McKeon is not getting on Pierre or Lowell knowing that Pierre is a workaholic and Lowell is slowly geting out of his slump. I can see McKeon getting on the bullpen and Lieter for just pitching complete crap. I can see Mota being upset that he lost his closer roll (which he wasn't even that good at in the 2 opp. he got) and taking it out on McKeon. And I'm sorry Perisho, but the way you've been pitching doesn't grant you the right of someone remembering your name. I'm suprised McKeon got the first letter right though.

Jack seems to like Damion and puts him late into games. I love Damion. I think he could start on a less defensively strong club where his occasional errors would not be glorified by the near perfection of the men around him. And I love him as a spot starter and a pinch hitter. But really Jack, why put Damion in late in games when deffense is the most crucial. He had that bobble at 3rd base against the nationals. damion brings a lot to the table offensively (speed, contact, pop). what do you guys think? is damion's bat worth his defensive holes late in the game where defensive perfection matters most: the infield?

well today i read about the perisho and bump moves and i had mixed emotions. Perisho is garbage. His ERA is nullified as soon as you look at the strikeout/walks ratio. i am happy he is finally out of the pen. i havent hated a reliever this much since LaTroy Hawkins when he was with the cubs. The guy is brought in for one batter a game and more often than not he walks him. Give me a break. Well hes gone and now im happy. But the Bump move to AAA is somewhat perplexing to me. Every time i've seen bump on the mound he's been able to get outs and not give up runs (except for that horrific game against the nationals). So I just don't understand why they moved him down. I was a fan of him in the bullpen for some long relief. Before you respond let me give you a little insight on what I think about our pitching. Willis Mohler Becket Burnett and Lieter. Best pitchers in our rotation in that order. If Valdez comes back he should stay in the pen or take Lieter's spot if Al keeps struggling. I like Mecier, Bump, and Jones out of the bullpen. I am not sold on Mota yet. I think he could be a good set up man like he used to be but I just think he doesnt have the mentality (not aggressive enough) to be a closer. And why would we want to take Jones out of that spot. Reidling is showing me that i might be able to trust him in the 6th or 7th. so what do you guys think of the perisho and bump moves.

jeez, what a freeking mess all over the state. the marlins seriously need a retractable roof. every summer brings rain every single day. you could almost bet your house on it. oh well, im going to the game anyways. the only thing i would lose is the 45min commute on the turnpike.