HawkFan

What about John Smoltz?

Never liked them, thought it smacked of copying the Yankees and Cubs. I thought they just looked…off, and redundant for having the F on the hat, chest and sleeve. I’m fairly certain they wore them a little in 05, because I have a Carlos Delgado baseball card in that uniform (though of course, it could have been photoshopped, esp if it was Topps).

Maybe we were going to bring him in to convert him back into a pitcher for the BP. He could have been like Dontrelle often was, on his off-days, he could have been available to pinch hit!

Because the name is Sun Life and we live in the Sunshine state. Good point, I completely missed that connection.

Decent name since it goes with the SoFlo vibe. Its only a 5 year deal so the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie might get another name change in 2015. 7.5 mil per year as well. That can almost pay Danny's salary While my bias is noted because I work for a direct competitor, how does a Canadian Financial Services company fit in with the SoFL vibe? It's funny because Sun is making such a huge marketing push while other US-based Insurers are still recovering from the economic meltdown, that they're naming a stadium that's not even in a target market. They're much bigger players up north and out west, shockingly, because those markets are closer to Canada.

Still probably better. The biggest problem with the Selig Lines® on some of these caps is that they just look random cutting down the caps with no reason. At least with the two tone look there seems to be some need for it. I agree with you, I am not a fan of the random piping, as it serves no purpose. The same can be said of the 07-09 BP caps as well; I never understood the curved piping over the ears. The intent for all of these designs is to put the team's primary/complimentary/alternate color on the inside/outside of the piping, as you mentioned, but with the Marlins consistently downplaying the teal and using all black on the BP hats, the piping serves no purpose at all. They should just use their plain all-black hat if they're not going to use a second color, or wear the 03-06 iteration which simply had a white edge on the bill. The whole reason for the BP caps (aside from selling new caps to fans every couple of years) is to have a cap that is differentiated from the normal cap. At least the first iteration (with your dislike previously documented) could say that. I wonder if this means they'll be getting new BP jersey's as well? Each time the BP cas were revised in 03 and 07, they were accompanied with new BP jersey's as well.

This sucks, one of my direct competitors.

No... that's not Comcast's decision. It's SunSports decision. And North Florida/Central Florida is Rays territory and South Florida is Marlins territory. Technically, North and Central FL are claimed by both the Marlins and Rays. For this reason, if you are in the "home" territory and do not get the regional broadcaster of games (and FSN/Sun make the two channels a package deal in order to get Marlins and Rays games on Sunshine), you are blacked out from Extra Innings and MLB.com's streaming. Orlando had this problem for 10+ years w/ Brighthouse; we always had Sun but refused to put on FSN (initially was Sports Channel FL before FSN bought the assets). All games were blacked out on Sun. However, once the Magic moved half their games to FSN, that put the pressure on Brighthouse to finally cave in. What I'm interested in seeing is whether with the Marlins chaning to the Miami Marlins, if they are going to drop their claim on the rest of the state since the So. FL market (rightfully so) is all they seem to care about for marketing purposes.

It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the Marlins keeping Dan Uggla or not. My guess is it might. I agree. I'm sure they would have jumped at the chance to unload Danny, even if they didn't get the return for him they wanted, had they not been in negotiations w/ both MLB and the MLBPA. It wouldn't have helped the MArlins' case that they're not pocketing the RS funds and are reinvesting it into the team had they traded their second-highest paid player, nor will it now that an agreement has been reached. I think it's now far more likely we see Cantu traded for BP help. So, basically, here are the people you are calling liars. The Marlins FO, all talking heads on the tube, all teams the Marlins have been in negotiations with, and all local media outlets. They are the ones saying the Marlins will trade Uggla, but only if they get what they want in return and not for a bag of new baseballs and a coke. That about right? Dude, you need to calm down. I didn't call anyone a liar. The simple truth is Uggs didn't, and still doesn't, fit into their long-term plans at 2B. I don't think nayone will disagree with that statement, because if he had, he would have been locked up long-term like Hanley. If you have a player you don't want to keep longterm, and he's getting progressively more expensive each year through arbitration, his value to your team (and other teams) is generally going to decrease each year because of approaching Free Agency. Who knows what we would have (or still might) receive in a trade for Danny, but it was clear other teams were not going to give us their top talent in return for him, and the market for Danny shrunk by about half when the Giants signed Uribe.

It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the Marlins keeping Dan Uggla or not. My guess is it might. I agree. I'm sure they would have jumped at the chance to unload Danny, even if they didn't get the return for him they wanted, had they not been in negotiations w/ both MLB and the MLBPA. It wouldn't have helped the MArlins' case that they're not pocketing the RS funds and are reinvesting it into the team had they traded their second-highest paid player, nor will it now that an agreement has been reached. I think it's now far more likely we see Cantu traded for BP help.

Wonder if this is what prompted the news Sunday that the JJ contract talks were back on again?

If this is available at a Lids store, I think it's far more likely it's a fashion cap than an official on-field cap. Now, if we sae this on the official Marlins.com store or in a Sports Authority, that'd be another thing. I do remember last year in the stadium store, they had some adjustable New Era all-teal caps for sale. Perhaps they were fr sale as a Barometer, who knows. I doubt it. Rabb- As far as the new Rays logos and unis, they actually leaked in the offseason a week or two before the official unveiling at their fashion show.

Hmm...wonder if I'm going to go!?! Congrats, Hawk! Such an honor you deserved long before now.

dgreco- I'd always assumed inevitably the most logical sponsor would be Bacardi that I never thought of BK. Actually, BK makes more sense because it's more fmaily-friendly and they could have tons of kiosks inside the park to bring in additional reveue. Don't think Simply Orange is a possibility because of Tropicana Field in St. Pete.

Why do I have a feeling people are going to dress way too nice to go to games in the new stadium? Funny you should say that. We always get a kick out of people that do that. Like they are trying to impress somebody at a sporting event. Of course it is a double-edged sword. At least they are at the games. If females want to wear short skirts and high heels to sit in the stands, who am I to argue? Remember, Loria and the Marlins want the new stadium to play into the "Event" mentality of So. FL, so I'm expecting even more "see and be seen" types than currently, especially being closer to the population center. It certainly is going to be an interesting mix. As far as these pictures, I agree with everyone' thoughts on the Orange Bowl letters- a great way to pay tribute to the history on the site but also be an interesting aesthetic addition. Has anyone heard if they're still going to incorporate the OB scoreboard facade into the stadium at all? Back when they were doing the demo work, I remember there being an article on the marlins.com website where Sampson said they donate the actual scoreboard to a highschool, but kept the facade (the one that said "Welcome to the Historic Orange Bowl"); he said they planned to incorporate it into the stadium design to pay tribute. Perhaps in the concourse? I also recall in the same article they planned on having a mini museum playing up the history there. I also agree with most people's take on the home run CF installation. I don't personally have anything against the design of it; in fact, I think it's kind of neat to have a giant recreation of the early 1900's mechanical arcarde and carnival games. Howevcer, it's extremely out of place with the design of the stadium and the rest of the art that will be present. It doesn't fit in any way any design aesthetic in Miami, nor does it have any connection whatsoever to baeball or the MArlins (to me, the dominate features are the pelicans and seagulls). This would be far more at home in the nouveau retro stadiums of the last 10 or 20 years like Camden Yards or Busch Stadium. I don't have an opinion one way or the other on the walkways. I figure it could make you kind of dizzy walking on them. What I'm trying to do is try and gleam what color palete the Marlins will be using from these pcitures. I've pretty much given up on any chance of my beloved teal surviving. We've all read Loria's comments about teal and wanting a whole new identity, and several letters I've written to him and Sampson about saving the teal have not been returned. That being said, the dominate color scheme in the CF feature appears to be sea blue and almost magenta. The OB letters and the dominate color in those walkways are of course orange (though there does appear to be teal as well).

Jason Grilli. With Calero and Donnelly both probably gone for greener pastures, it's time to find our next bullpen reclimatin project. Grilli had a down year last year, so he'd probably come fairly cheap, but over the long haul of his career, he's been prretty dependable. You can cross him off the list, as he signed a minor league deal with Cleveland yesterday. Yeah, I saw that.

Jason Grilli. With Calero and Donnelly both probably gone for greener pastures, it's time to find our next bullpen reclimatin project. Grilli had a down year last year, so he'd probably come fairly cheap, but over the long haul of his career, he's been prretty dependable.

Or Raynor? He's sure to be snatched in the draft.

Or Raynor? He's sure to be snatched in the draft.

Good news about Gload, though I'm prety sure the Fish said they would negotiate a Helms-like deal after declining his option, so it's not entirely unexpected. While his value as a starter is clearly limited, Beinfest and co. clearly undertsand the value of a solid, consistent and dependable veteran presence on the bench and in the clubhouse (with the 2010 team shaping up to be one of the youngest since 2006, this will be needed). As far as Ronny, hearing this is a bit of a surprise considering how long the team has coveted him and after finally being able to land him. But if we can get a good return for him, why not? Brett Hayes is essenially the same type of catcher, just a few years younger and cheaper. He did quite well in ST last year and probably would have made the team as the RH platoon backstop if we hadn't traded for Paulino. Plus, the other guy we coveted last year (Chris Coste) is a FA, as is Miguel Olivo (I'm not serious on that one).

Good news about Gload, though I'm prety sure the Fish said they would negotiate a Helms-like deal after declining his option, so it's not entirely unexpected. While his value as a starter is clearly limited, Beinfest and co. clearly undertsand the value of a solid, consistent and dependable veteran presence on the bench and in the clubhouse (with the 2010 team shaping up to be one of the youngest since 2006, this will be needed). As far as Ronny, hearing this is a bit of a surprise considering how long the team has coveted him and after finally being able to land him. But if we can get a good return for him, why not? Brett Hayes is essenially the same type of catcher, just a few years younger and cheaper. He did quite well in ST last year and probably would have made the team as the RH platoon backstop if we hadn't traded for Paulino. Plus, the other guy we coveted last year (Chris Coste) is a FA, as is Miguel Olivo (I'm not serious on that one).

Marlins aren't your typical small-market team Peter Gammons- ESPN.com This is not about the Mets, who endured what seemed like three years' worth of injuries in 2009, and whose farm system is better than credited. It is about the Marlins and their seven-year record vis-Ã -vis their divisional rivals in New York, not to mention the Braves and the fact that Florida has finished ahead of Atlanta in each of the past two seasons. This is about owner Jeffrey Loria's figuring out how to cope with a small market and -- until the past few months -- no hope of a real ballpark. He tied up one of the game's best general managers, Admin Beinfest, and his baseball board of directors -- Mike Hill, Dan Jennings, Jim Fleming, Stan Meek et al -- to long-term contracts and enabled them to use scouting and development to try to consistently compete with big-market teams. The Marlins have had the lowest payroll in the National League in each of the past four years; the $104 million for those four years was $45 million less than the Mets' 2009 payroll. And after Chris Coghlan won the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year, and as anyone who follows Florida starts thinking about how Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton could compete for the award the next couple of seasons, take a look at the Marlins' relative seven-year success: Link (Insider access required) Another good entry by the reliable Gammons. At least we have a HOF sportswriter on our side. I've always marveled at Peter's support of the Fish, which is especially incredible considering the NE bias in Bristol. It's goodto have a chearleader at the letters.

Marlins aren't your typical small-market team Peter Gammons- ESPN.com This is not about the Mets, who endured what seemed like three years' worth of injuries in 2009, and whose farm system is better than credited. It is about the Marlins and their seven-year record vis-Ã -vis their divisional rivals in New York, not to mention the Braves and the fact that Florida has finished ahead of Atlanta in each of the past two seasons. This is about owner Jeffrey Loria's figuring out how to cope with a small market and -- until the past few months -- no hope of a real ballpark. He tied up one of the game's best general managers, Admin Beinfest, and his baseball board of directors -- Mike Hill, Dan Jennings, Jim Fleming, Stan Meek et al -- to long-term contracts and enabled them to use scouting and development to try to consistently compete with big-market teams. The Marlins have had the lowest payroll in the National League in each of the past four years; the $104 million for those four years was $45 million less than the Mets' 2009 payroll. And after Chris Coghlan won the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year, and as anyone who follows Florida starts thinking about how Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton could compete for the award the next couple of seasons, take a look at the Marlins' relative seven-year success: Link (Insider access required) Another good entry by the reliable Gammons. At least we have a HOF sportswriter on our side. I've always marveled at Peter's support of the Fish, which is especially incredible considering the NE bias in Bristol. It's goodto have a chearleader at the letters.

It would be a good story, local PR-wise. Since that worked out so well w/ Livan Hernandez. It did. I whole-heartedly disagree. The rationale in signing him was as much to improve the team as it was to try and hook in the Cuban population into (finally) supporting the Marlins. Per a March 1996 SI aricle about Livan's signing: "To the Marlins, Hernandez's talent and heritage made him worth almost any effort to land him. Florida suffered a massive attendance drop in 1995, from 3,064,847 in '93 to 1,700,466 last year, and in its four years of existence it has yet to win a devoted following among South Florida's hundreds of thousands of Cuban fans. "We needed to sign him," Dombrowski says. "We get to the 1998 All-Star Game, and he's pitching and he's not a Florida Marlin? And we could've signed him? I didn't want to answer that question." Livan was a workhorse for us and certainly delivered on his potential by winning the WS MVP. The Hispanic population did turn out for the games he pitched, but his popularity in the community never translated into butts in seats in the games he did not pitch. And once he was traded, the majority of those fans leftwith him. The presence of a Cuban pticher on the Marlins did not materialize into long-term, sustained support from the Cuban community; of course, the same can be said for every other demographic in the Miami area, my point is that making roster decisions based on PR and marketing has not worked in the past, nor will it work in the future. When we're talking about commiting that kind of money to a player, it should be because the player will help the team win games, not because it will "look good." While his potential is intriguing, I think the 60 MM Chapman is looking for is better served signing JJ and Ricky to long-term deals, who have demonstrated their ability to win games for the Fish. Long-term success and winning will lead to sustained attendance, not targeting roster decisions to a specific demographic.

It would be a good story, local PR-wise. Since that worked out so well w/ Livan Hernandez.