Piazza31

Have the Marlins wore orange on the road before? I like it alot, much better than that dreary black. Previously the orange was designated for home day games. I really think they should wear the orange as much as possible to show its a young team, and different from last years. Orange as in orange caps, and jerseys.

$15 to park 5 hours to get out Sounds like you don't know how to get out. I stay until the final pitch everytime and get home in Homestead in 20-25 mins. I've gotten home in 15 once.

Poptart how where you able to distance yourself from the franchise ? I tried doing that the last couple of months, but just couldn't do it. I mean I still get that sinking feeling in my stomach when I watch the games, and can't shake being into the team. I'm asking an honest question, because I want to "quit them" as they said in Brokeback Mountain, but I just can't do it. It sure would be better for my blood pressure :haha the re-branding definitely made it easy. I don't look at those uniforms and think "this is the team I've rooted for for years" being a gambler helps, too. I'm rooting for like 3 different teams every day. Yet you still post on a Marlins board. Odd. I'm a huge Florida Marlins fan Here you go, you'll fit in. Adios' http://www.baseball-fever.com/forumdisplay.php?7-The-Teams-of-Yesteryear

Warning - this may be a bit too radical for some fans of South Florida Baseball!!! Humor Thinking outside of the diamond, something occurred to me that may be radical enough to actually fix the Miami problem with baseball. I have enjoyed baseball in Miami since the 1950's, watching the original Miami Marlins in their little downtown stadium. Having a new stadium and a major league franchise was hopefully the solution to the woes that we suffer in south Florida baseball, no need to elaborate. Back to my epiphany. Due to my focus on work over the recent months, I have not kept up with the off season maneuvers of the Miami Marlins franchise. It took two games before the work brakes slowed me enough to notice that the Marlins had played and lost both games. Now I needed to wake up and see my team in action. To my surprise, the franchise was again stripped of many key players. Then the radical thinking kicked in. Why not, yes, why not kick the cheap franchise out of the city and invite the Mets franchise to Miami, with an understanding that they buy back our favorite past and present players (Stanton of course). The Marlin franchise cares only about the money - they would sell! Miami is a great place to live. The New York players may find it refreshing to be in sunny south Florida. We have a beautiful, brand new stadium. We have 100,000 Mets fans already living here. The rest of us baseball enthusiasts simply want a franchise that is committed to win. Miami Mets rolls off the tongue with ease. We would fill the stadium to capacity every game. Why not force the suicide squeeze in this needed moment. Yes, radical. Yes, crazy. Maybe the solution to our South Florida Baseball woes. Original Marlin Fan Just musing a bit. You are even more retarded than my dead great uncle who thinks the Dodgers are still in Brooklyn.

I would pay bell all 21 million up front to make sure he never pitches for us again. Consider anything we pay bell to pitch for Arizona money well spent. Paying a player to play for another team is never money well-spent. It's more like a half-corrected mistake. Ah Erick, Forever the Contrarian, Oh how I've missed thee.

Are people really that bothered about how Toronto performs this season? I would love it if they tanked. Same 2012 Marlins, with even more talent (Bautista, Dickey, Encarnacion, Lawrie, Arencibia) and they tank....that's my hope. I think Loria would look like a fat genius, not matter how bad the 2013 Marlins do. Besides, I'd prefer the Rays or Yanks win the AL East.

no poll? Wasn't meant to be that topic, fixed it now since it became it. More like venting.

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!!!! Marlins win! 7-5 win over the NYM. Sanabia with 6 shut out innings and the offense awakens.

Right in the ass!!! Just the way the Mets like it ;)Piazza retired 6 years ago. That was Clemens.

Have you seen Tucans snoz- that shits imposing enough.

I hope Coghlan ends up being decent at 1B, could be a decent spot for him like Conine was.

THE SKY IS FALLING!!!! Every time a fan of a futile sports team references this, I have to wonder just what their nightmare scenario about their favorite sports team is.Getting relocated, contracted, killed in a plane crash because of pilot error, stadium burning down, being told they are evicted, players drinking and driving with crashes/ deaths involved, killing people, and team wide rape allegations, being the Cubs. I think I touched all the bases.Why so specific about the plane crash? You're saying it wouldn't be so bad if it was a mechanical failure? It's more a reference of true events that affected communities and leagues , lokomotiv and duke lacrosse for example.

I found this on the Marlins international signings, is this what you meant? http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-02-19/sports/sfl-miami-marlins-international-free-agents-blog-20130218_1_raudel-lazo-miami-marlins-cuban-outfielder-yoenis-cespedes

I don't think Loria ruined baseball in Miami. We're here for 28 more seasons, I believe. I think there still is a chance to save baseball here and there's plenty of time to do it. He needs to go for that to happen, though. I agree with the rest of what you said. Baseball will never leave South Florida. Regardless of what happens and how pathetic the team may be, Sellg and the next line commissioners know how important a Market Miami. The Marlins are meant to grow baseball in the carribbeans and further south, as well as help compete for big money by being a top 10 city in National Contract Negotiations. Baseball one day may be in Puerto Rico, but will any Dominican, Cuban, Columbian, or Venezuelan truly call it their own? The marlins have that chance, they just keep screwing it up. Remember the stories of Livan and his mom listening by hand radio to Marlins games? Baseball was put here to grow in a top 10 ML market, and boost national television contracts and sales by being in the best markets possible. If winning truly matters in the end, you would see teams in Dekalb, IL as long as Mark Cuban offered to keep the payroll above 200MM. What baseball wants most in this market is respectability, and while Loria is guilty of not providing it since November- he has a pretty good track record of it before that. Besides, does anyone really see Loria or Samson at the helm in 20 years. They have better s*** to do with their lives by that point, even if they are still around.Piazza I agree with much of what you say, and that is where I shake my head on how has the franchise done its part in all of this. I have read before that the Marlins have one of the lowest budgets for international development. Is this truthful or not ? I can understand not having a large budget for Asian development, and I am sure that is a great expense for teams on the West Coast because of the distance, and I can understand that those costs would be less for the Marlins since the cost of doing business in Latin America is a lot less. However from what I have interpreted from the past articles I've read is that the Marlins have less money allocated towards Latin development than many teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals and even the Los Angeles Dodgers. Is this true ? If it is, this is just gross stupidity on the Marlins part. They should have have an overwhelming saturation of the region for many reasons, most of which is to build your brand in that area so you can attract as many people as you can to purchase team related materials. It's unfathomable for them to not have directed as much resources there as possible. It's my understanding alot of that development cost has to do with budgeting for places to train players, house them and care for them. For instance (not saying they don't, I just dont know) the Cardinals do not have a latin american trainign facitlity and therefore pay outside parties to train and educate their players, and also pay for hotels to provide shelter. The marlins I believe have their own first class (by third world standards) trainign facility much like spring training here where there is room and board they provide out of buildings that they own and employees they send to train them. I'm almost 100% sure the Marlins have a first class training and educational facility that only a few teams even thought of a few years ago. This has been since 2002.

If you don't like the product on the field, tune it out. Judging by the ticket sales so far, that's what South Florida has been doing. Good for them, I have yet to buy a ticket too. But has any of you heard me say that? Not trying to argue with you, I'm asking the group as a whole. I can easily say I've yet to give them money, and put out my chest in a show of solidarity with some of you, but I'm not into the same revisionist history that I believe some of you have. There is a difference between not buying a ticket and not wanting to go. I want to go, just haven't had the opportunity to know what my schedule will be like to purchase even opening day tickets.

I don't think Loria ruined baseball in Miami. We're here for 28 more seasons, I believe. I think there still is a chance to save baseball here and there's plenty of time to do it. He needs to go for that to happen, though. I agree with the rest of what you said. Baseball will never leave South Florida. Regardless of what happens and how pathetic the team may be, Sellg and the next line commissioners know how important a Market Miami. The Marlins are meant to grow baseball in the carribbeans and further south, as well as help compete for big money by being a top 10 city in National Contract Negotiations. Baseball one day may be in Puerto Rico, but will any Dominican, Cuban, Columbian, or Venezuelan truly call it their own? The marlins have that chance, they just keep screwing it up. Remember the stories of Livan and his mom listening by hand radio to Marlins games? Baseball was put here to grow in a top 10 ML market, and boost national television contracts and sales by being in the best markets possible. If winning truly matters in the end, you would see teams in Dekalb, IL as long as Mark Cuban offered to keep the payroll above 200MM. What baseball wants most in this market is respectability, and while Loria is guilty of not providing it since November- he has a pretty good track record of it before that. Besides, does anyone really see Loria or Samson at the helm in 20 years. They have better shit to do with their lives by that point, even if they are still around.

THE SKY IS FALLING!!!! Every time a fan of a futile sports team references this, I have to wonder just what their nightmare scenario about their favorite sports team is.Getting relocated, contracted, killed in a plane crash because of pilot error, stadium burning down, being told they are evicted, players drinking and driving with crashes/ deaths involved, killing people, and team wide rape allegations, being the Cubs. I think I touched all the bases. You're talking about things not really related to team performance. In looking at this team's performance, this team's chances of improving it's performance in the not too distant future, and the front office's complete and total ineptitude, I'd honestly say that except for Fernandez, Stanton, and Yelich, the sky certainly has fallen. Plus, while they aren't relocating at the moment, Loria's ruining of all potential good will and popularity surge from the new stadium has pretty much ended baseball's chances in Miami. Between Ricky Williams surprise retirement and the Dolphins instant transformation from perennial contender to perennial laughing stock, which they may only now after ten years have a chance of escaping, and what the Marlins organization has done in the last offseason, I'd experience the former over and over (and I'm more into football than baseball these days), and I'd say the latter will have done more damage when all is said and done. Winning could cure all, but there's no reason to think that an organization that has made every wrong move since 2006 can achieve that. You asked what my nightmare scenario is for my favorite sports team, I gave examples. Losing games is not a nightmare, losing games does not mean the world will cease to exist for us to rape and pillage as we please. My nightmare scenario, is one of true nightmares. I'm sorry the Marlins losing three games to even the Astros,( let alone the Nationals) does not make me want to go home to cut myself. There are more important things in life than Major League Baseball in South Florida. Baseball is meant as an escape, not prisoner of war torture. If you don't like the product on the field, tune it out.

I think his big thing was not competing or being healthy- not ability. I think Coghlan earned a chance more than Ruggiano lost it. Once Ruggz was able to prove his health and now worth I'm sure he'll be in CF more often with Coghlan spelling JP and Ruggz 3x a week. If only he can play the IF adequately. Could he be a decent 1B?

Okay, but the point is that we know he was graduating in summer. We were well aware. This is public knowledge. He said he can always graduate in the summer instead of going back for the fall. It was in George Richards column yesterday (Wednesday).

I would pay bell all 21 million up front to make sure he never pitches for us again. Consider anything we pay bell to pitch for Arizona money well spent.

Believe it or not- id like to see Thome in a platoon with Giambi at first and Rolen at 3B so we can slide Polanco to 2B. That would make Solano the UTIL IF. Two lefties platooning? That's odd. Also Rolen didn't play in the spring and is considering retirement so either way he's probably not season ready.Old men need rest, 4 games for one, three for another. Kinda what the Rockies did last year with Helton and Giambi. Rolen, can play gold glove defense in his hoverround.

The panthers were scared of losing him if he went to school one more year, so I think they conceded and caved to Bjustads demands. I bet Bjustad didn't want to go to the minors and he used his pending FA / school into getting the panthers to put him directly into the NHL rather than a "wasted year" in bjustads eyes in SA. The panthers promoted him in other words as part of getting him signed. Bjugstad is graduating in the summer. He never had plans to return for his senior year.He has twelve credits remaining, which is a full semester. He could have threatened to go back in the fall and stay in school if he wasnt directly promoted. Then, been a free agent like the defenseman the Oilers signed. I'm taking 12 credits in the summer, and I'm an aerospace engineer. What the heck makes you think a student athlete can't get that done? You're speculating, but we already know the answer. I'm saying 12 is considered a full class load for the fall. I've taken 15 in a summer, when only 6 is considered a fulltime semester. He could have went back for the fall and gained FA.

And we have the worst record in baseball. Congrats guys! But David Samson said it was all about winning ! 69 wasn't enough ! :laughpurple he basically guaranteed 70 or more wins. When you 69, we always win.

Believe it or not- id like to see Thome in a platoon with Giambi at first and Rolen at 3B so we can slide Polanco to 2B. That would make Solano the UTIL IF.

All I have to say is Justin Dimaggiano needs to be the everyday starting CFer or I'm going to drive my car off a bridge with me inside of it. Will your girlfriend be in the trunk, Stan?I drank a 5th of Vodka, dare me to drive? But seriously is there a petition I can sign to make Ruggiano the everyday CFer? I have one, want the link?