PBFishFan

Don't be optimistic about Julio. Ever.

The 'lefty' just scored a run. Awesome call on that one, though. Really.

Why in God's name is Pinto still out there?

God I hate Pinto.

Wells got lucky on that one. 1-2-3 for Mitre. Let's hope he's found his groove.

When Wells gets off the bench, at least three players can sit down. The man literally defies every law of physics.

Gregg's redeeming himself.

Anyone belong to this site who isn't from the nation's cesspit known as New York?

If you want to read the post and get something out of it, then by all means, do so. But please, save the negative comments I've come to despise so much and keep them to yourself.

Let me start off by saying that I?m a native Floridian, born and raised in West Palm Beach, and this is my first post. I?m in college right now in Southern California, so the pride I feel for my home state has grown exponentially since I arrived here. I?ve realized after reading many of the posts on this site and ?expert analyses? from MLB.com that everyone continues to doubt the potential greatness of the Florida Marlins. I?ve been a defeatist and a realist my entire life, but one of the very few things I?ve always believed in are the Marlins. You?re reading a post written by a guy who cried as a kid when his beloved team lost a close night game to the Rockies. It wasn?t a playoff game or critical in any way to the outcome of their season, but for some reason, it crushed me as I trudged off to bed. I?m the same guy who hit a fellow classmate in the second grade for touting the heroics of John Kruk after a loss to the Phillies. I?ve stood by my team, as many of you have, every single year. Even when Pat Rapp was wearing the teal and black, I watched the screen with an unusual amount of hope and anticipation. No other fans of baseball have experienced the unique heartache we?ve had to deal with after a fire-sale. The Cubs may have to accept the fact that their curse is just too powerful and unrelenting to allow them another championship season, but we?ve had to say goodbye to some pretty amazing people along the way. When I look at the team this year, I see the beginning of something that can be described as nothing less than magic. The rookies no one believed in proved everyone wrong last season, and will only become greater because of it. Our new manager, about whom I remain uncharacteristically skeptical, comes from one of the most revered teams in the league. Our ace pitcher has, for the first time in his career, multiple reasons to improve his game and make every reporter eat crow. Miguel Cabrera, arguably the most talented player in Marlins history, is finally earning what he deserves and would like nothing more than to remain in the Sunshine State for the remainder of his career. On top of all that, Florida legislature is finally getting its act together and making progress in an exciting new stadium deal. With all this going on, why do I read posts with quotes like, ?Let?s be realistic...? and ?...finish 4th in their division?? I?m a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy, but I draw the line at my baseball team. Maybe there are so many doubters and attendance is so low because our state is chock-full of snowbirds, a group of people who have earned my utter distaste since I was old enough to form a thought. I dream of a world when I don?t see a New York license plate attached to the car in front of me, framed in Yankees insignia. Florida, like California, attracts so many outsiders escaping their own horrible states that the local teams don?t get the attention they deserve. Go to a Duffy?s on a Saturday afternoon and count the number of out of state jerseys. If native Floridians don?t get more involved with our beloved Marlins, no one will. This year, I?m transferring out of California and coming back to South Florida, either as an Owl or a Golden Panther. I?ll be attending every game I can and cheering for the team, albeit a completely different one, that has given me so much happiness nearly my entire life. I ask all of you, my humidity-loathing, hurricane-weary compatriots, to summon the unbridled love you felt for the game of baseball as a kid. Treat every game like that night game against the Rockies. Go Fish.