Totalnerd

Dontrelle will bounce back from that rain-delay debacle last Sunday and throw a good game; get the Fish 4 back of WC, and giving him 10 wins.

According to ESPN.com's Braves team page, tomorrow's game is on TBS (1:05 edt, which means I'll be working anyway), but according to TBS's website, the next televised game is Friday vs Montreal. Any help here? Should be a good two-game set, anyhow; good pitching on both sides (I hope we can shell Hampton real good).

All I'm saying is I'm having Dan Miceli flashbacks.

I hate TBS. I live in Portland. ESPN is showing the Phi/ChC game here. Thank god I get to look at Sammy Sosa and Jim Thome dozens of times this season (Zzzz...). This just in: Despite going 2-4 against them, The Marlins are better than the Cubs. I'll be watching KC/Min on ESPN2, because "small" market teams are sexier. Spooneybarger needs to get traded (hey, looking real good, kiddo, nice 4.07ERA, hey, way to b*tch and moan about being over"worked" big guy, way to call out your manager, sh!theel). I don't care about his upside or his cheap contract, the guy's a bum right now and needs to go.

Killer outlook, Lar. I wish I were in So Fla right about now so I could feel for myself what I've been told is a genuine buzz in the air surrounding my Fishies. I'll continue to check the games online - and this Sunday I'll actually be able to see Dontrelle pitch on tv against the Cubs and show up Dusty again. Let's see if Redman can get another CG victory tonight, and get our 2nd half off to a good start. I'll be wearing my old Conine t-shirt this weekend, to channel the spirit of better days (here again?). GO FISHIES!

I almost forgot about Gonzalez. Why isn't he a choice in the poll? Granted, he's been slumping somewhat, but he started the season gangbuster; he even had BoSox Gammons touting him as an All-Star.

Pudge: 10-time All-Star, career .300 hitter, the guy knows how to get it done. His experience and leadership, combined with what I think will be a very strong second half at the plate, will have the most impact on this team. We need continued production from Lowell, Pierre, Redman, Beckett, and of course Dontrelle (and it would be nice if the bullpen could gain some consistency); but I think Pudge is a huge key for us. Bring on the second half; let's start it by sweeping Dusty out of Joe Robbie (remember the '97 playoffs, Dust? I know you do...). GO FISHIES!

"There is no reason for Portland to have a team. you can buy a $16 train ticket and ride roundtrip right up to Safeco." Safeco is a beautiful stadium, and the Ms are great (in the regular season). But it would be nice to walk to a game after work instead of driving 3 hours. Not to mention tickets to a game there are pricey and hard to come by and you have to sit with nitwit yuppies who're rooting for the Ms. Boo. GO FISHIES!

People here like the Ms I guess (at least that's what the posters in the sports bars would have you believe). But if they can't even put more than 6000 butts in the seats for opening night for our AAA team (great downtown stadium, high-quality minor-league ball, and they only draw well on cheap beer night), how the heck are we going to support an MLB team? Answer: we're not. At least not yet. The big deal for tonight's Beavers game is Mullet Appreciation Night (half-price admission if you have a mullet...any surprise when a guy named Veeck runs the stadium?); also Phil Nevin is here for a rehab start. Whoopee!

I haven't been to a Marlins game since the end of the 2001 season. I live in Portland now, and I haven't even had a chance to see Dontrelle pitch yet on TV yet. Christ, niether TBS nor WGN showed his starts, but I get to see tons of Braves and Cubs/Sox games otherwise (whoopee!). Oh, and apparently Portland's "home team" is the Mariners - whom I hate almost as much as I hate the Braves (they're both choke-meisters, but the Ms are simply a worse team). I'd rather watch As games. I'll be in So Fla in September, and I'll catch at least 2 games against the Mets and/or Phills. Hopefully I can see Dontrelle, and hopefully the games will be part of a playoff push.

I agree about the location. There are over a million Cubans in Miami, but there are also millions of baseball fans in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Something in downtown Ft. Laud. would be perfect. I even remember a proposal a few years ago for something in southern Palm Beach Co. But it's got to be in an urban center or the same problems will exist as do at Joe Robbie. A stadium in the 'burbs is fine for football, but baseball needs to be downtown.

I think you said it all pretty nicely. Conine was our first 'star;' he won the All-Star MVP (shove it up your keister, Bobby Cox!); he was the mini-Iron Man, at one point playing in something like 400 straight games; and he's still Mr. Marlin (my Mom used to have a Marlins' license plate with "CO9 19" on it, and he's still my favorite Marlin from way back). Anyhow, as much as I like D-Lee, I wouldn't mind losing him if Mr. Marlin comes back. -Nerd

Hola Fishies, I don't know if this topic has been covered lately, but with the recent signs that management might begin to commit to a winning product, it has raised the question of a new stadium in downtown Miami (which really is the sine qua non for a perennial Marlins contender which draws respectable-sized crowds). Any news here? Also in re: potential trades. Loria's decision to keep Lowell, even if just for the remainder of this season, is great. It makes the possible loss of guys like Castillo, Lee or Penny easier to take; and if that Lee-for-Conine deal happens...well, all I'm saying is the crowds had better start showing up again. I still think the whole situation with Loria, Henry (traitor) and MLB is fishy (no pun intended); but naturally I'll forgive all if the Marlins make a real push for the playoffs. I live in Portland now, and I'd love to get the Expos here (but I don't think it'll happen). -Nerd