marlingirl

Miguel-yes-hes gonna be great! he has speed, power,...hes the sull package! Cabrera is great, I agree. But he doesn't have speed...

Juanky does anyone know if the Marlins have offered him one yet? I bet if we offered him 12 mill a year with some of it backloaded he's sign. Marlins just need to offer him the contract so they can move on and not waste their time. Marlins have NOT offered Guerrero a contract yet. All I've read in print is they're investigating into his contract requirements and stuff.

May we see Kevin's e-mailed response, or is that asking too much? Yeah, I'd like to see it too, if you don't mind.

Damn, boy... you threw out practically every question in the book. I'd rather have Pavano. Pavano came through in the stretch against the big teams. I also don't like Redman's mouth - he's too vocal with the press. Remember the whole Jim Wolf talk last year? And before his Yankee start he was really cocky with reporters, speaking of how his Detroit team didn't have a bullpen or offense to back him up in his previous start and how he was definitely going to do better than the 2 runs he allowed back then. Yeah, he did -4 runs better. I'll leave the Looper/Benitez decision up to the FO and Wayne Rosenthal. They're more intuitive about pitcher potential and media effects than I am. I personally would like Looper to stay, but I'm not very knowledgeable on that front. Right now, I, along with 80% of this board, am hoping for a Choi/Conine combo at first, and specific Dominican to play right field, a speedy center fielder, and a young Venezuelan at left. About Alex Gonzalez, I'm undecided. I'd like to see Miguel start some games at shortstop during spring training or something and see how he handles it. If Miguel's defense isn't close to Sea Bass', then sign Sea Bass, because, as Jack said in his interview yesterday, defense and pitching win games. And, as I've said before, I'd like to see some line-up changes to give Sea Bass better pitches to hit, if he does stay. I definitely think Burnett should enter in the bullpen, so he can get some action without lots of work. Once he's comfortable, he can rejoin the rotation. Bullpen time seems to do our starters well (i.e. Beckett, Pavano, Willis). Castro/Redmond - this is a tough, tough question. It's up in the air. We've seen Redmond with a lot of action. Sure, he's somewhat of a lefty specialist, but his overall regular season production leans toward mediocre. On the other hand, we've never seen Castro with a lot of game time. No one knows for certain how he'll handle it. Furthermore, there's always the court case. I'm not certain which case will finish first (Kobe or Castro) but if Kobe's finishes first, and he's guilty, forget about Castro. Castillo's status all depends on his hip. Hopefully he'll work on it this offseason and get back in top-notch shape. Regardless, I think Pierre will top Castillo again. However, both of them need to work on their timing a little bit as the running game didn't come through at all in the playoffs. I'm not so sure about Lowell. No one expected it last year, but this year it is expected. I don't know if that will have an effect on his performance or not, but it might. He definitely has the potential -- he's mature enough. I personally think and definitely hope he will. Juan Pierre got an insane amoutn of attention during the playoffs and World Series. If he keeps up last year's performance (offensively with batting average and obp, stealing bases, and with consistent and occasionally flashy defense) and works on his arm, he'll definitely be an All-Star. Everyone knows him now (see ESPN magazine) and many eyes will be on him. It's too early to predict with certainty about Cabrera, but I definitely think he's got the stuff to be a Pujols-type guy with power, consistency, and run production. He was really "clutch" last year, and that'll probably continue this season and for many to come. As long as he stays healthy and grounded, I don't see how he won't turn into something spectacular. Josh Beckett will win more games than he did last year and so will Pavano. Willis is hopefully working on his pitches and control this offseason. I think he will win more games as well. The Willis frenzy is gone, it's not new anymore and the media attention will definitely tone down, which I think will be much to his benefit. Tejera is up in the air, IMO. If we get stuck with Castro/Redmond and it doesn't seem to be working, I wouldn't be surprised to see Josh Willingham called up. If we don't get Vlad, we might see Hermida as well.

I'm speechless, Marlins2003. Very impressive, well written, and well calculated. :notworthy

Just heard on MLB Radio (I think): Orioles might be interested in signing both Rodriguez and Lopez, and putting one at catcher (probably Rodriguez) and one at DH. This is definitely good for the Vlad front.

Jayson Stark seems to think Koch will end up with the Mets: Now that they've signed Mike Cameron, the Mets will turn to their next objective -- finding a closer. They've talked to free agent Ugueth Urbina. But indications are that they're more likely to trade for either Billy Koch or Scott Williamson. And if we were betting men, we'd bet on Koch, given his connection (from Oakland) to new pitching coach Rick Peters.

I take it there was NO rumor on the fish?>??????/??// No -- it was all Tampa. Only rumors floating around in prominence today involve Redman/Texas and of course all the Baltimore/Tejada/Lopez/Rodriguez chatter which we link to Florida/Guerrero.

He doesn't own Vlad...

The Montreal Gazette and an MLB Radio interview with an Expos guy (same guy who said he thought Vlad would end up with us) said that the Expos are also after Benitez. He said that Benitez is excited about the possibility of pitching for the Expos and their diverse club as well as his relations with Frank Robinson. So we'll have to wait and see who comes out as the frontrunner.

I sure hope not. Snare, ok. But I dont really want anyone else we sent over there back. I am not thrilled with dealing Red unless we get something substantial back - the guy won 14 games last year with a 3.59 ERA. He is also very cheap, and could be a #2-3 on a lot of teams. The market is very thin for lefty starters...in case you havent noticed. Dont undervalue Redman... Not even Adrian Gonzalez?

According to the Montreal Gazette: In another twist of fate, Guerrero agent Fernando Cuza is under the weather just as things heat up, and Jim Beattie, whose Orioles are considered the front-runners for Guerrero's services, didn't meet with Cuza yesterday. How perfect!!!!

all this info and no certain answer is killing me. i cant wait till its confirmed if vlad is gonna sign or not! Don't get ahead of yourself, now. We need to make an offer first!

Got a statue?

LOL Close, close. What are the lottery numbers for next week? Will I get into MIT or will they defer me? Let me know, thanks.

I really think we should try something new with Alex Gonzalez this year -- like switch him and the pitcher or something. He does well when he gets pitches, but he's not going to get any batting 8th, unless the pitcher is and always will be Mike Hampton.

Unless Castro is guilty.

How about Mantei instead of Benitez? Maybe a Looper, Hutchinson, Ungs package can get us Mantei with us only having to pay about 2.8 of his 2004 while the Dbacks pay the rest. Imagine this Rotation and Bullpen 1)Josh Beckett 2)Brad Penny 3)Carl Pavano 4)Dontrelle Willis 5)Byung-Hyun Kim(if non tendered) Matt Mantei Chad Fox Scott Williamson(traded for Redman) Scott Sauerbeck(if non tendered) Frank Gracesqui A.J Burnett(when healthy he trades places with Kim) I like it! If the Vlad deal doesn't work out we can really invest money in our pen. Hopefully it won't be full of one-year deals so we won't sweating it out like this next winter.

We need another bat before we worry about the pen. If Castro can't come back our offense is going to be below average. Exactly We just lost 3 pretty big power and RBI guys, the only REAL one we have left is Mikey. I wouldn't trust this lineup right now night in and night out. It needs a little work. WOH. You forgot about your "man" (as your nickname implies). There's no way in hell you can say that Cabrera is not a big power and RBI guy. Conine's OK and no one's really seen Choi in action. Alex Gonzalez might do well if he's not in the #8 spot with the pitcher batting 9th. He needs a hitter behind him so he can get some pitches to hit. I do agree that we need more depth in the lineup, but Lowell is not our only big guy.

No, the question is WHY? We have a good prospect in Willingham and we still have Castro. Dude I said not only... of course the main question is why. If you get to "who," you really can't think of anyone, thus answering the "why" question.

First off, this is purely rumor. And a speculative rumor at that - there hasnt been any menitoning at all of a possible deal between the Giants and Marlins, is there? Secondly, if you follow me this far, you cannot at all think a deal is being made for Torrealba. That doesnt make any sense AND someone is trying to pull something out of thin air. I dont get you guys sometimes...there is nothing substantial at all... True - and the question is not only why would we trade for Yorvit, but who?

UberUbi is talking about this guy (hey, he's Dominican! lol): 7. Joel Guzman, SS HT: 6-5??WT: 220??Bats: R??Throws: R??2003 AGE: 19 on 11/24/03 The Skinny: One of the most hyped players to ever come out of the Dominican Republic, Guzman signed for a Dominican record $2.25 million bonus in 2001, with scouts already comparing him to a young Alex Rodriguez. His pro debut was inconsistent, but a success overall considering he is still the age of most high school seniors. On a pure tools level, Guzman is beyond reproach. He projects to hit for average and power, shows an excellent understanding of the strike zone, and features good range and a plus arm. Because of his size, he may be better suited for third base, but he has both the arm and the bat to play there. 2003 Outlook: Guzman's ceiling is as high as anyone in the system, but he's still very far away from being major league ready. He'll get his first taste of full season baseball at South Georgia in the Sally League.

If it indeed is a prospect that we are acquiring for Encarnacion, here are two lists of the Dodgers' top ten prospects. The Baseball America list is dated Feb. 24, 2003 and The Prospect Report list is dated Jan. 1, 2003. Baseball America - LA Dodgers Top 10 Prospects (Subscription needed to view full list) The Prospect Reports - Los Angeles Dodgers Top 10 Prospects Don't bite my head off if some of these players have already been called up or traded away, because I don't really feel like checking all of these details right now

True. Forgot about that. Still, though, by the time the Yanks or the Marlins (if that even happens) get past their current obstacle (Sheffield, Guerrero, respectively) Tejada will probably already be signed by the O's or the Mariners or someone else.

If The Marlins went after Tejada, they would stand no chance because THe Yanks have too big of an ego to lose again to The Marlins. Um, why would the Yanks sign Tejada? They have Jeter...