chumforsharks

Bump is a mop-up man.....he should never pitch when the game is still to be decided.

1) Willingham's long term future starts right now......he's not a 20 year old. 2) Olivo is a better player than Aguila 3) A young pitching staff needs a catcher that is at least a decent defensive catcher and it will take Willingham a long time to just get there. 4) Joe Girardi is crazy to think he has a magic wand that he can wave and make a very bad catcher at least an average one. 5) Willingham needs to bat as many times as he can, because this offense will be weak. 6) Catchers don't play the OF on their days off.....they sit on the bench and rest......it's a tough job. Personally, I don't think the argument that Willingham would be a great offensive catcher and an average LF. That is a really dumb argument......who cares about that. So you have a good offensive catcher and the absolute WORST LF in the major-leagues if Aguila plays out there.....how does that help the team?

Nate Bump might be a nice guy......he's an horrible pitcher though.

The reason Willingham should play left-field is so he can get more at bats. If Willingham catches...he'll be lucky to play 130 games.....in left-field he can play 150.

I have looked at every teams projected bullpen and I'm very confident to say.....the Marlins will have the worst bullpen in baseball without a doubt. I hope I'm wrong by this statement, but I doubt it.

No, I asked you to show me a team with a bench containing MORE than TWO .300+ hitters on it since you implied that was a LOW amount. get it? Let's take a look at bench production from the other NL East teams: Atlanta: Ryan Langerhans: .267, 8, 42 Wilson Betemit: .305, 4, 20 Julio Franco: .275, 9, 42 Brian Jordan: .247, 3, 24 Brian McCann: .278, 5, 23 Pete Orr: .300, 1, 8 Raul Mondesi: .211, 4, 17 Philly: Jason Michaels: .304, 4, 31 Jim Thome: .201, 7, 30 Todd Pratt: .251, 7, 23 Tomas Perez: .233, 0, 22 Placido Polanco: .316, 3, 20 Ramon Martinez: .286, 1, 9 Marlon Byrd: .308, 0, 0 NY Mets: Victor Diaz: .257, 12, 38 Mike Jacobs: .310, 11, 23 Marlon Anderson: .264, 7, 19 Ramon Castro: .244, 8, 41 Chris Woodward: .283, 3, 18 Notice something, all those benches outhomered and out RBI'd the Marlins bench, and they all had higher total bench averages than the Marlins. After Harris and Conine, the Marlins didn't have a guy over .244. Still care to call that a good bench? And stop putting words in my mouth, I was simply showing that it was foolish for the original poster to suggest that our 2005 bench was the stuff of legendary, or even league average production. I never said the Marlins bench was even average last year, but it's alot better than what they have lined up for this year. Lenny Harris is an old man that has barely hit .200 the two years before last year, and at any time can start to show his age. Easley's value was way higher than his batting average. Whoever said the Uggla would match Easley's production has been smoking a little too much of the "sweet leaf". Rule 5 guys are usually really productive as rookies.

Bowyer was a throwaway for the Twins.....I'm sure they're not losing any sleep over their decision to trade him. Treanor......solid vet.......have you ever seen him play? A solid vet is not someone with a .212 career average and a .569 career OPS.

With the exception of Lenny Harris (who's 90 and can't play the field) and Wes Helms.....the bench is going to be horrible. To leave the bench open for young players is not the way to go....it's a hard job riding the pine. The bullpen is going to be ridiculous. Borowski and Bowyer scare me as closer types. The set-up crew is no better. The Marlins should be calling everyone from Felix Rodriguez to Buddy Groom and inviting them all to camp and hold an open audition for EVERY spot in the bullpen.

I think it will be hard for Hermida playing half of his games in our park will put up Lance Berkman type numbers. Enron Field is like a glorified high-school field.

If Beinfest would have acquired ANY relievers that Jack had any confidence in, he would have used them. He was an old man going for the last few wins of his career....I don't ever blame someone for trying to win ballgames.

I agree with that.

I wish that was my hand.......

Pierre had more range than any CF the Marlins can put in CF, I agree about arm strength. Jacobs is a converted catcher that will be no better than Delgado. And you're insane if you think Cabrera will be close to as good as Lowell......who is the defending Gold Glover.

The offense very well could be better than last year's, the defensive range will certainly improve. Willis stands to benefit from those two factors. However I don't think it's fair to expect Willis to replicate his 2005 numbers under even the most friendly conditions. The bullpen will be even worse than last year.......I don't think any pitcher on this roster could pitch as good as Todd Jones did last year....even on their best day. Is that even possible? (And I'm usually a bullpen apologist) Look at who they have out there.....if I were a starting pitcher I would try to pace myself and go nine every time out. I don't see how the offense is going to be better. Cabrera will get pitched around, no doubt about it. Jacobs and Hermida on their best day couldn't hold Carlos Delgado's jock. Even though Pierre had an off year....who do the Marlins have that will improve the lead-off spot? Nobody. Their is no Castillo to get on for Cabrera either. I would be stunned if Jacobs and Hermida put up the combined numbers of Delgado and Encarnacion. 49 homers and 191 RBI....I just don't see it. Defensively the team will be far worse than last year.....to even suggest it can happen is absurd. Catcher.......downgrade 1B...........even 2B...........slight downgrade SS..........huge downgrade 3B...........huge downgrade LF............even CF...........even RF...........even

I agree. It doesn't matter what age you are when you get to the SHOW......it's what you do when you get there that matters the most. Randy Johnson had his first full season in the bigs at 25, Dwight Gooden was 19........you see the point.

The Braves are better evaluators of talent and their players are always ready to play when they get to the majors. Another difference between last years Braves and this year's Marlins is.......they had a ton of major-league talent. The Marlins don't have a Giles, Furcal, Chipper, Andrew Jones on their team. The Braves had a veteran rotation.....and one of the best managers in baseball.

Chum, honestly, tell me what you thought the Braves were going to do last year? The Braves always win the division. I have learned my lesson picking against them in the past and won't do it again until they don't win the division....they are still the favorite until someone beats them in the division. I lived in Miami Beach for a few years, but I live in St. Petersburg now. I never thought I would say this....but the Devil Rays have a brighter future than the Marlins. I used to be a Marlins season ticket holder until they raised the prices after failing to make the playoffs.....so they could keep all the deposits. I'm not bitter about that because they saved me a lot of money so I didn't have to witness the under-achievers every game last season. I just think the bullpen....which easily is the worst in the majors in combination with a line-up I think will be very weak adds up to over 100 losses. The only way this statement makes sense is if by 'brighter future' you mean more permanent residence. Because in terms of talent, the Marlins have a plethora of prospect talent in their system and it's inevitable that at least a few of them will develop into MLB studs. The Devil Rays have tons of talent too. Position wise they have more talent up and down the system than the Marlins do. As far as pitching goes....we'll have to see on that one. The new Devil Rays management is doing the right thing trading some of the extra hitting they have for starting pitching. Borowski might save a few games, but he's no Todd Jones. Uh, yeah.... He's "no Todd Jones"?? Wouldn't you have said the same thing last year, that Jones was "no Armando Benitez"? Before last season no one was using Todd Jones as a measuring stick for good closers. He was basically a has-been. I don't expect that out of Borowski either, but nor did I figure Jones had that kind of year in him, so who knows? Borowski doesn't have the same arm strength that Todd Jones had......so we'll have to see on this one. I'm for calling up Felix Rodriguez and having him battle it out with Borowski...at least he has a big arm.

It would cost alot more than Petit. The Mariners told the Red Sox.......Arroyo and Lester.....for just Reed.

I lived in Miami Beach for a few years, but I live in St. Petersburg now. I never thought I would say this....but the Devil Rays have a brighter future than the Marlins. I used to be a Marlins season ticket holder until they raised the prices after failing to make the playoffs.....so they could keep all the deposits. I'm not bitter about that because they saved me a lot of money so I didn't have to witness the under-achievers every game last season. I just think the bullpen....which easily is the worst in the majors in combination with a line-up I think will be very weak adds up to over 100 losses.

10-12 wins for the D-Train.

Willis win total will be effected......by a horrible bullpen, a weak team defense, and sporadic scoring. Take a look at the best pitcher in the American League last year (Kevin Millwood) and tell me that you think Willis will win a ton of games this year.

Why should you have to choose between pitching and position players? With the Marlins trading the bulk of their roster they should have gotten a few more position players too. Baseball is a TEAM sport, and hitting and fielding are just as important as pitching.

I hate to be the cold water coming from the shower.......but it's Spring Training and means nothing. People come to Spring Training from all over the world to watch their teams play. Let's see how the Marlins draw during the week in April and May when they're not giving something away.....my guess is horrible! And if it's a day game, you'll be able to count the heads in the stadium without having to announce the crowd.

Marlins under 62 wins, they are not close to anyone in the division talent-wise and 76 games are played in the division. I will believe the Marlins have a better offense than last year when I see results on the field. We'll see how many teams pitch to Cabrera......I'm guessing not many. The bullpen will be even worse than last year.......I don't think any pitcher on this roster could pitch as good as Todd Jones did last year....even on their best day. Borowski might save a few games, but he's no Todd Jones. The Marlins have been spoiled by the ability for Beinfest to wave his magic wand and find a closer, but that will end this year.

No way the D-Train wins 18........10-12 with this sorry excuse for a Major-League team.