Malman

Any chance this guy can help the Fish??? Would he be considered a better catching prospect than some other in the organization? How do they stack up? :mischief2

The difference between Finley's firesale and today is that Finley was selling players not trading players. Good point... I'm sure Loria would have done that if he could have... :whistle

CNS News = fanboys of the Bush administration Come back to me with a credible source hey, i know a source you'd undoubtedly find credible... :mischief2 Doom, gloom and falling skies is always the recipe for disaster reporting. The Chicken Littles of television's Entertainment News shout and scream at the sight of the first rain cloud on the horizon, and most of the other reporting from New Orleans, particularly after shock and awe subsided, has done nobody good. The usual blabbermouths rushed in to describe Katrina relief as a fevered reprise of Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz, and found cameras and notebooks waiting. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, ever on the scout for exploitable misery, saw nothing but sinister intention in the rush to help. Louis Farrakhan said the feds weren't fit to help the refugees from the storm, rapper Kanye West said George W. Bush "just doesn't care about black people," and a clutch of congressmen were entertained with fantastical claims that white folks had deliberately dynamited the levees to drown black folks. Now it turns out that white folks, not black folks, suffered disproportionately. Figures compiled by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reveal that fewer than half of the 658 bodies from New Orleans identified so far are black, though blacks made up nearly 70 percent of the ante-Katrina population. A slightly smaller number were white, though whites comprised only 30 percent of the ante-Katrina population. Nearly all of the sob-sister reporting focused on the black Ninth Ward, but the middle-class, mostly white Lakeview neighborhoods were equally devastated. Such fly-specking of the statistics is sad, because a hundred percent of the suffering was human. In modern America, where race-hustling is a growth industry, it's sometimes difficult to keep the human statistic in mind. The flood waters behind the levees the feds promise to rebuild higher and stronger are equal-opportunity killers. The good news is for everybody. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden121605.asp Wow...great find! Shaq-man, you just made my day. The Jewish World Review...awesome. For the life of me...I can't understand why any Jew would not support Bush. With this administration's strong support of Israel and the quest to bring democracy to the Middle East I would think all Jews would be supporting W.

Nice "threadjack." Who really gives a f***... Back to the original point of the post... The article really illustrates how inept Bud Selig is...I remember when Bowie Kuhn stepped in and stopped the salary dumping of Charlie Finley back in the 70's. He vetoed a couple of trade to the Yanks and Sox which included many of the A's best players - Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, Sla Bando, etc. Selig should have stepped in and never let things get to this point. MLB should be instrumental in helping the Marlins get their new stadium. Afterall it was Selig who allowed Joh Henry to leave for the Sox and brought Loria down here. If Henry were only $30 million away from a stadium deal...I guarantee you it would have gotten done. MLB's role in the demise of the Marlins has been patheric...

Here is a letter that I submitted to American Express in support of my dispute to get a refund for my season ticket. ----------- To: American Express, Merchant Disputes Department From: Re: Case # Attn: Via Fax: Dear Sir or Madam: This letter is reference to my dispute with the Florida Marlins for charges that amount to $851.09. The disputed charges are for a season ticket account with the Florida Marlins Baseball Club. I have been a season ticket holder for 3 seasons (2003, 2004, 2005). Toward the end of the 2005 season all season ticket holders received a solicitation to renew their accounts for the 2006 season. The solicitation was combined with an offer to purchase playoff tickets for the 2005 season (if the Marlins were to qualify for the playoffs). In other words, a season ticket holder could not purchase playoff tickets for 2005 unless he/she committed to renewing for 2006. The Marlins did not make the playoffs in 2005 and all monies paid for those tickets were refunded. This is normal procedure for sports franchises. What happened next is not. In November of 2005 the team began trading away the vast majority of its everyday players in an effort to cut the teams operating costs. The president of the Marlins, David Samson, called this a ?market correction.? He announced that from that day forward the club?s payroll would have to be in line with its revenues and that the club could no longer afford to take operating losses. Some roster turnover is expected from year to year on any professional sports team but what the Marlins are doing is far different than what usually goes on between seasons. There is no way to verify the veracity of Mr. Samson?s statements about the club losing money in previous years since the team has never opened it?s books to anyone for inspection. After 3 seasons of fielding a competitive club with a salary figure that was neither considered low nor high in Major League Baseball, the Marlins are expected to have the lowest payroll in the Major Leagues in 2006. I understand that the club has to make difficult financial decisions based on the reality of the marketplace but so do the fans. I believe Marlins season ticket holders are victims of the old fashioned ?bait and switch?. We were shown one product in 2005, asked to purchase it and when we committed, they changed the product drastically. The team has been adamant about not giving refunds to season ticket holders. Beyond the inferior on-field product that will be a result of slashing 2/3 of the payroll, the Marlins announced that they would be seeking a new market to move the ball club to. When a sports fan purchases season tickets he/she is not only buying tickets to an event, he/she is expressing an allegiance to the team. That allegiance is based on mutual respect. When the Marlins announced that they might be leaving and that they were slashing payroll and disrespected their best customers by not offering an opportunity to cancel their ticket plans, they severed that allegiance. I am submitting several documents in the form of newspaper articles that support my argument. The purpose of these articles is to emphasize the veracity of my claims. The national media has been covering this story thoroughly and I could literally send you hundreds of articles from different publications about the team?s recent decisions that are not flattering to the ball club. My understanding is that American Express wants its members to be completely satisfied with purchases made from its merchants. That is why I am disputing these charges. I am not satisfied with my purchase because what I will be receiving in exchange for my money does not in any way resemble what was represented to me as the product. For the record the charges in dispute are below. There were 4 charges because the purchase was made on a payment plan. 8/29/05 $224.95 10/1/05 $200.59 11/1/05 $212.78 12/1/05 $212.77 Total: $851.09 Most sincerely, NAME OMITTED for Privacy I think this letter is a joke. C'mon...it's not like the team is going to be that bad. Enjoy the experience of a ballgame, watch Cabs & Willis, relish the development of all of our young players. It's only $850 bucks...it's already been paid...grow some balls and support the Marlins. Jeez.

I'd love to see this guy bust his ass in ST and win the job. Would be nice to see a little pop at the position too. I think it's probably his job to lose. I agree...I can't see Andino or Wilson in the majors this season.

Great article...thanks for posting. Uuuuuuuuuuuuugla!!! :notworthy

Maybe the trades of Huselius & Hagman have gotten the players attention? :mischief2

Royals Reach Preliminary Deal With Bako By Associated Press Posted December 12 2005, 8:52 PM EST KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals have reached a preliminary agreement on a $700,000, one-year contract with backup catcher Paul Bako. The 33-year-old Bako is a .239 career hitter and would play behind John Buck. Bako played 13 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year and had left knee surgery June 24 to repair his anterior cruciate ligament. "There are still some things we need to tie up on that so it's not a done deal," general manager Allard Baird said Monday, adding that Bako must take a physical. A major leaguer since 1998 with Detroit, Bako has spent time with six NL teams. He has 14 career home runs and 133 RBIs. :blink:

Stokes might be the "sleeper" pick of the season. Imagine if he could stay healthy and get his act together? A Stokes/Jacobs platoon might not be the worst thing in the world.

I want to be able to bring my kids to a ML game...

Jill... :mischief2

OF Dante Brinkley http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/d...-brinkley.shtml Tweaner player. Will play next year at 24-25 in high A ball. Thanks for the update. The information you've provided over the last few weeks has been greatly appreciated. Hard to believe someone so civil is actually a Met fan. :shifty

Starting Rotation 1. Dontrelle Willis 2. Brian Moehler 3. Jason Vargas 4. Mitre (unless traded to the d-rays) 5. Scott Olsen/Johnson that is what I think the roster will look for to start the year. I expect Brian will be dealt halfway through the year for some specs. I think we have enough specs on this team already... :whistle

Not only is Samson on, Ariolla is on 20 minutes later. Forget Ariolla...I'd much rather hear from George Burgess. How about Bob DuPay...wouldn't mind hearing his thoughts either.

Psshh, he's going to be a 5th year player--too much. He does have some professional experience at 2B, 3B and 1B (although none at SS), perhaps he's another MLB minimum guy we could bring in to battle for what was Easley's job. Sounds like a poor man's Joe Dillon... :whistle

I'd trade Mitre for Gathright in a heartbeat...

Have the Marlins lost any players???

I know it's a bit early for this but I couldn't resist... Any thoughts on who Girardi will tab as his Opening Day starter??? :lolup

Meh...I'd rather have Bobby Hill. :plain

What pick do we have??? I imagine we will end up losing a pitcher or two based on all the recent acquisitions. What does our 40 man roster look like??? :mischief2

Any team that signs a player before the arbitration deadline has to give up picks. So can we assume we will be receiving picks as a result of the Todd Jones signing???

Any updates??? :mischief2

trade him to Colorado for Aaron Miles...

Reg-gie! Reg-gie! Abercrombie that is... :notworthy