HawkFan

I have some budies coming up for the series and my gf suggested that we get a hotel. I think she wants me out of the house. This seemed like a good idea though. Anyone have any idea what the team hotel is? I think they stay at the Vinoy.

Mark DeRosa is exactly the type of player this team could use. Unfortunately he fits that for many other teams to so the bid to get him will probably be pretty high. I doubt Beinfest and Co are willing to give up a whole lot for what would essentially be a rental. Uqeth Urbina for Adrian Gonzalez was a top prospect-for-rental swap similar to what a DeRosa trade would be, so don't rule it out. If the numbers work and the asking price isn't too high, don't discount the Marlins from making a move like this.

I thought Maybin was suspended for several games for "Aggressivwly arguing a called third strike" and bumping the ump?

I would like to point out while the judge denied the injunction, the lawsuit still stands (and the plaintiffs are filing an appeal of the decision). This could potentially cause issues with the sale (possible in the form of slightly higher interest rates that the investors will demand).

Not really stadium news, just found this kind of funny. On last week's Burn Notice (one of the best, most underrated shows on TV, IMHO), the storyline involved a child being kidnapped. The parents wanted to see proof their son was ok and alive, so the crook showed them a picture with the boy holding (supposedly that day's) the herald. Obviously they filmed this in early March becasue the headline was "Stadium Vote Delayed!" with a big picture of the stadium rendering. Just thought it was kind of funny (and the second Marlins tie, as they threw out the first pitch 2 yrs ago at the Marlins/Twins Super Saturday game).

Thanks for your support, Rabb. I wanted to go for a more sarcastic route w/ the description as opposed to the sob story the others put in theirs.

Our home is one of the featured homes on the Orlando Sentinel "Win a New Backyard" contest, and we need as many votes as possible to help win professional landscaping. Ever since the owners of the other half of our townhouse abandonned their home over a year and half ago, it's been a losing battle to keep the overgrown weeds in their backyard from overtaking ours. Unfortunately, they have spread to the point where there is not a single blade of grass left in our backyard. I've tried killing them 3 times this year with Roundup, but they keep coming back before I have a chance to lay down some sod. After you register (For free), you can vote one time a day. Thanks for you help, fellow Marlins fans! Submission 64 of 79 entitled "Behold!" http://tiflorida.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?PageType=VOTING&ContestID=6922&SubmissionID=942166&IncrementNumber=1&SSMode=STOP#SubmissionDisplay

No way this wuld happen w/ the record signing bonus Boras will ensure Stephen gets.

I really feal bad for him, he can't catch a break in life (between two major surgeries, repeated setbacks w/ injuries) and the death of his child. I've just come to accept he'll never be able to pitch injury-free. He's just one of those guys (like Prior) with so much potential that just breaks down. While Hanley is an amazing player for sure, that trade is looking more and more one-sided. Beckett hasn't been that great in Boston outside that one year (which yes, was probably worth it for a ring) and Mike Lowell has been pretty good, but nowhere being one of the best in baseball. Not just that, remember that Lowell and Beckett would have been FA after 2007. I'd make that trade 100 times out of 100. Rabb- Good point about the Free Agency, but to me, a trade's value is determined by what the traded players help their new teams accomplish (or what their old teams fail to accomplish through their absense). Beckett and Lowell helped win a Championship (Lowell winning the WS MVP in the process) with their leadership. With as great a player as Hanley is (and will continue to become), he has lead us to nothing. We've had a run of poor defense at 3b and until recently w/ JJ's development, have lacked a truly dominant, front-of-the-line starter. The Sox are a half game back out of first, we're plummeting to the cellar. I'm not saying that I wouldn't make this trade again because I would (as you pointed out, they would have been gone a year later w/ only a sandwich draft pick as compensation); Hanley is goign to be a perrenial All-Star and the linch-pin of our offense for years to come. However, I'm simply saying this trade has essentially turned into a 2-for-1, with the Sox netting another trophy out of it and the Marlins netting their first All-Star starter voted in as a Marlin. Which would you rather have at the moment?

Really? All I see is the same two people continuing to pitch well, with the rest of the staff failing to be consistent. Sean West has done well in his 3 starts, Andrew Miller, no matter how bad he may seem, only has a 4.76 ERA, but that 1.67 WHIP needs to go. And like they stated earlier in today's telecast, the marlins have the best starting pitching ERA since May 25th I believe at 2.77, While I'm encouraged that Miller seems to be putting it together, I would hardly put "only" and "4.75 ERA" together. That means we basically have to score 5 runs in every game he starts in order to win, and when our offense strands 12 runners and lose a 1 run game, that's not going to happen.

Sorry for the double post.

I really feal bad for him, he can't catch a break in life (between two major surgeries, repeated setbacks w/ injuries) and the death of his child. I've just come to accept he'll never be able to pitch injury-free. He's just one of those guys (like Prior) with so much potential that just breaks down. While Hanley is an amazing player for sure, that trade is looking more and more one-sided.

C - Mike Rabelo 1B - Hee Seop Choi 2B - Dan Uggla 3B - Wes Helms SS - Walt Weiss OF - Reggie Abercrombie OF - Joe Borchard OF - Jeremy Hermida Uggla, Choi, Weiss and Hermida shouldn't be on the all-bad Marlins team. OF Darrell Whitmore, 1B Mike Jacobs, 2B Craig Counsell and SS Kurt Abbott. I couldn't disagree w/ you more on Counsell. I mean, he was only w/ us for parts of 3 seasons. His Marlins AB's basically comprised a Full Season, hitting .253. Not the best, but not horrible either. I would like to point out he hit .293 in the '97 post season. .99% Fielding % w/ the Fish means he played a pretty good 2B for us as well. Besides, you can't call the person who scored arguably the Franchise's most important run it's all-time worst 2B. He simply was a victim of someone much better waiting in the wings. Though he won the SB crown in '05, I'd put Quilvio Veras ahead of Counsell any day as the worst Marlins 2B.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Penn as he walked off the mound trying to hold back tears knowing his career was over and he'd be gone as soon as the game was over. It's an awful feeling to fail so miserably and by your own hand and so publicly. But that's what comes with the upside of being a major league ballplayer. I wonder if the Fish pick up Mike Koplove? Wasn't Koplove in ST a couple of years ago?

Well, if we're talking about their whole careers and body of work and not just what they accomplished w/ the Marlins, here would be my 25 man roster. I've outlined my reasoning for those some might not be familiar with or don't seem obvious. C- Pudge 1B- Conine 2B- Castillo SS- Hanley 3B- Lowell RF- The Hawk CF- Devo (Just feel he was the best all-around CF we've had, a true 5-tool player) LF- Alou SP- Beckett SP- Dempster SP- Willis SP- Johnson SP- Burkett (22 game winner in 93, 2-time AS) CP- Nenn BN- Benito Santiago (19 yr career, 5 time AS, 3 time GG, ROY) BN- Pierre BN- Bobby Bo BN- Sheffield BN- Russ Morman (one of the greatest Minor League hitters to never catch on in the ML's) BP- Hammond BP- Miguel Batista (1 yr in our BP, has turned in a decent career as a starter w/ the Jays) BP- Alejandro Pena (2 WS rings and 15 yr career don't lie) BP- Looper BP- Mantei BP- Harvey I'd love to put Rob Dibble in my BP, but he technically never played a game for us in '96 bc of injuries.

Now, are we talking about the players' in their primes and their whole body of work and/or potential, or just during their tenue(s) ww/ the Fish? Great thread by the way.

I think the Chris Carpenter listed is a different chris carpenter that plays today. I'm almost sure of it. Yup. http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=112021&c_id=fla

Are you serious? Dream team with non proven players yet?? C- Mike Piazza 1B- Derrek Lee 2B- Luis Castillo SS- Hanley Ramirez 3B- Miguel Cabrera OF- Gary Sheffield OF- Juan Pierre OF- Moises Alou I admire your Catcher---- I'll post my top Lineup too--- 1.Hanley Ramirez SS 2.Luis Castillo 2B 3.Mike Piazza Catcher 4.Gary Sheffield RF 5.Miguel Cabrera 3B 6.Derrek Lee 1B 7.Jeff Conine-LF 8.Devon White-CF/Juan Pierre CF 9.Johan Santana Rotation: Johan Santana Kevin Brown Josh Beckett Livan Hernandez Josh Johnson Bullpen Spot Starter:Brad Penny Dennis Cook Trevor Hoffman Antonio Alfonseca Ugeth Urbina Chad Fox Bryan Harvey Robb Nenn Bench Charles Johnson C Mike Lowell 3B Preston Wilson OF Alfredo Amezega IF I may be wrong, but I don't think Johan ever played a game for the Fish. He does know the power the 3W1M has on the ladies though. Correct, he was a Rule V pick from the 'Stros, then immediately traded to the Twinkies.

Personally, I think the Club seats are worth every penny. They might not give you the up-close view of the action like the box seats, but the club lounge, upgraded concession stands and AC/shade make them the best seats, regarldess of price. My favorite seats are Outfield Terrace, Section 220. You get good sightlines for home plate, and usually there are seats available in the first couple of rows. Prime HR territory. Worth the extra 5 bucks over the fish Tank, IMHO.

Thanks for the laugh. First of all, you want to trade for JP when his trade value is "at the highest." You have failed basic economics of buy low/sell high already. Second, the Dodgers would trade Pierre and relievers to us for Hermida immediately for a variety of reasons. We wouldn't have to include anything. More importantly, Juan Pierre of 5 years/$44M (2007-11) 07:$7.5M, 08:$8M, 09:$10M, 10:$10M, 11:$8.5M Pierre is due over $20 million dollars the rest of 2009, and 2010-2011. There is absolutely no way, shape, or form, anything like this is happening. --- What's going to happen is simple. If they still suck in July, they will move Uggla ($5.35), Cantu ($3.5), one of Hermida ($2.25) or Cody ($2.22), Amezaga ($1.3), Helms ($.95 this year and next) if possible, and if someone wants them, Gload and Paulino (they make the minimum). They aren't going to trade any pitching away. Just try to reload for next year while trimming some payroll. This team just needs to build around Hanley, Johnson, Volstad, Miller, Maybin, and the new young class like Morrison, Coghlan, etc. Everyone else is pretty irrelevant if they can get value for them. I would love them to move Uggla and Cantu for a Tim Aldersen package, and then try to get more relievers with Cody, Amezaga, and any sort of moderate prospect for our bench players. Dude, don't talk economics to an ODE'er (Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Economics Honor Society). I promise you I understand economic and quantitative principles far more than most. If Loria and co. are considering making changes as some reports seem to suggest, then they would be negotiating from a position of weakness as everyone in baseball knows of their troubles over the past month +. First, one would argue the supply of ML-calibre players who have good OBP, decent speed and good defense is fairly low, so the supply curve would be fairly steep (causing the price to go up fairly high at each additional player of this type demanded; scarcity of resources ensures this principal applies. Assuming the franchise wants to stick to the speed and defense mantra, the demand curve for that type of player would shift because of their desire to make this strategy work (consumer preference); if you were to consider other teams have an interest in JP's services, the change in demand would be even more severe, driving up the cost. Now, this doesn't contemplate JP's salary as you pointed out, is pretty high. Many teams very well might not want to, or be able to, pay that kind of salary. However, he's only 31, so he's still in his peak production age range (all bit more on the tail end). He'll only be 34 at the expiration, so the contract is not necessarily unreasonable. While knowing his salary is much higher than what this owner usually tolelrates, the MArlins are quite aderpt at two salary-saving measures when it comes to traders and FA signings: getting current teams to pick up a portion (or all) of the player's salary or deferred compensation. If JP is open to returning to So. FL, he might be willing to restructure his contract. Hell, we're still paying for Carlos Delgado and i believe we were still payign for Mike Hampton until last year. Don't underestimate the FO from being able to make this work somehow.

I honestly believe our troubles start w/ Bonifraudio. When your leadoff hitter is 50 points below the league average in OBP, and your offense is designd around situational hitting and "Small ball," your offense is going to stutter. He only accounts for 32% of our total SB and only has a 66% steal rate; hardly turning my head as a serious leadoff contender. If we're going to make changes, they have to start w/ him. When we got him in the Hammer/Ol.lie trade, this was the first move in a while thew FO really made me scratch my head on since we were loaded w/ IF's. Since 2B and SS were obviouslly filled, the only place he'd get serious consideration would be 3B; however, they had just resigned Wes, so I honestly didn't know what they were doing. I mean, look at the active Roster- they only have 2 OF's listed w/ 7 IF's!!! This guy long-term is no more than Alfredo's replacement in terms of a light-hitting, quick (but not fast) verstile defender. The only problem is his defense isn't near on par w/ 'Fredo's. I suggest if we're to make a major move, we move Emilio either to the bench or the minors. Then we make a trade, I'm thinking Juan Pierre; while you might instantly pull the Manny card as a reason this wouldn't happen, here is my reasoning. First, he and Loria were all hugs and chatty before the game last Saturday. Obviouslly, there's no ill-will from JP towards the team, and obviouslly Loria still likes him enough that he sought him out (it was at least a 5 minute chat while the starters were having BP and JP should have been in the cage). Second, Juan himself said after the game when he was signing auto's by his car that he missed So. FL; I think he would be open for a return. Third, JP's trade value is never going to be higher w/ him hitting well, stealing bases and being a temporary hole in the OF. Once Manny comes back is 36 games, JP will go right back to the bench. Dodgers would be smart to capitalize. So, what would we do to get him? Well, the Dodgers would need a LF'er until Manny returns, so why don't we ship off Hermida? Chances of him being here next year are slim, anyways, so why not improve the team now? Throw in a minor league arm and I think the Dodgers make that trade in a heartbeat to get more pop in the lineup. I don't know if he still can patrol CF at LSS, but we could explore a couple of different possibilities. JP in CF, Ross in RF and Gload in LF or JP in LF, Ross in RF and De Aza in CF (my preferred option, though we could even try out Maybin again). Then, w/ Fraudio out of the lineup, we platoon Helms and Coughlan at 3B. This could hurt Chris' development by not getting regular AB's, but then again he's not doing so well w/ the regular AB's he's getting. The following lineup has potential, in my mind. JP Baker Hanley Cantu Helms Uggla Ross DeAza Pitcher Tell me this lineup won't score more runs than currently and be a defensive upgrade. Even w/ De Aza being at the bottom of the lineup, the P would bunt him over and w/ JP hitting the way he has, that's another R on the board. Now, our pitching is a whole nother story, and I have no idea how to fix that.

Basically, an "A" rating means that is the lower side of quality investments. Fluctuations in the economy can affect a company's (or in thsi case, city/county) ability to meet its obligations when it comes to repayign the bond at maturity at this level. Really, we shouldn't be as concerned with the fact they gave it an A rating over an AA (I contend there's little difference) in terms of sellign the bonds as the fact they gave it a stable outlook. Generally, new bonds have a + outlook which means there's a high probability for return on investment. When you consider many of the other So. FL bonds have negative outlooks, investors might look at the stadium bonds and figure there's a high chance their outlook will turn to negative (which is a precursor for a ratings downgrade to B). Since the stadium bonds are tied to hotel bed taxes and not the general obligationn fund (property taxes), they will be more volatile. I believe the timing of the offering was purely strategic, as they will be sold as the torusit season is beginning. I believe it is their hope that the initial bump in occupancy rates tourist destinations see at the beginning of summer (even in turbulant recessionary economies) will serve as good news to investors and as an incentive to buy.

Well, it seems this topic has gone more of the historical route, so I'll split my comments into Historical vs. Current. I developed these by factoring the amount of times I've seen the players sign (a proxy of attitude towards the fans), observed interactions w/ the fans and personal interactions. Nicest Historical players 12) AJ Burnett (pre-2003; used to sign anything you put in front of him, turned quite beligerant out of nowhere) 11) Josh Beckett (pre-2004; I was there for his first spring workout and used to talke every spring about how cool someone my age was rising so quick through the minors; after the WS, he walked around ignoring "the little people") 10) Bob Natal 9) Niner (though he tended to be moody, so you just had to catch him on the right day) 8) Edgar Renteria (even though he changed his signature each and every year) 7) Luis Castillo 6) Gary Sheffield (I know he's got a reputation of being an a-hole and all, but I have 15 or 20 auto's from his time as a Marlin and I have never seen him be anything but awesome to the fans) 5) Chris Hammond 4) Pat Rapp (When he ended up in KC, my AL team, I went to see him in ST w/ a Marlins hat and KC jersey. He joked w/ me about how I couldn't make up my mind, then finished off with how much he loved the fans and organization, and was going to miss So. FL) 3) Juan Pierre (While I only got his auto once, this past Saturday after the game w/ the Dodgers, I've seen him enough and know enough about his character that he's one of the most genuine people ever to wear the "F") 2) Dontrelle (Simply the best, loves baseball, loves the fans, loves life) 1) Mark Kotsay (Was there for his first ST game, at Dodgertown. I was the only one there who knew who he was, asked him for his auto. He came over smiling saying this was his first ST signature. I happened to have his first baseball card, a draft pick card that had literally come out that week. He'd never seen it before, so he was studying it and talking to me the whole time. He oferred me a bat for another copy, but by the time I found another one the next week, the company had sent him one. Really cool guy, though. From that point on, he knew my name and would come over to chat and sign every time he saw me). Current Players- Unfortunately, as a whole, I do not think the current bunch of players is nearly as nice and cool to the fans as the past teams. It's kind of surprising considering how young they are, but I think it comes down to ownership and mngt not placing a high emphasis on fan relations. That being said: 10) Hanley (though every year as his star rises, he gets tougher and tougher. The above post about him being a spoiled child is dead on) 9) Renyel Pinto 8) John Baker 7) Chris Volstad 6) Matt Lindstrom 5) JJ 4) Cody Ross 3) Brett Carroll (Including him even though he got sent down) 2) Jorge Cantu (most of my experiences have been from his D. Rays days) 1) Dan Uggla (I've lost track how many times I've seen him come over and sin auto's when no one else does. Talks to the fans, esp the kids) Honorable mention- Kevin Millar, Dave Berg, Gregg Colbrun, John Cangelosi, Jim Eisenreich, Mike Lowell Biggest Dicks- Bobby Bo, Joe Orsulack, Moises Alou (would sign alot, but would be pretty snippy about it), Andre Dawson (he's my fav all-time player, but not exactly warm and fuzzy), and #1: Miggy. Probably would spend the day w/ Cody bc he seems like me: fun loving but dedicated to profession, family man.

The key here is not that he asked for something in return for the ball, but that he 1) First asked for "Too much" and 2) Would not give up the ball after he was given the agreed upon "bounty." It's customary for a player to give a fan a few things and take a picture for home run balls, and it's customary for the fans to agree. It's only when greed enters in tehe piture that this chnages. No one would have any right demanding a signed bat and ball from Hanley, or Marlins-Yankees tickets, because they have nothing to do with Chirs or this homerun. Maybe he could have requested the MArlins bring Hanley out of the clubhouse to sign a few items of his own, but this is straight up greed. Why would he want Marlins-Yankees tickets? He's neither a MArlins or Yankees fan. Note in the AP version of the story, this guy's got a different take on this, saying it was Chirs and the Marlins that were being difficult. Queue the sad violin for this guy, for sure. "I only make $50,000 a year in law enforcement." The only reasn top bring this up is that motives could have been financial in nature. When the MArlins balked at the Yankees tickets, he then requested Marlins-Brewers tickets since he was "going to game already." I'm sure he was. He put in a pot shot about our fan base and attendance, as well. Hope they give him upper deck tickets...

I'm not too ecstatic about facing the Dodgers this weekend :/ I am, anyone know about the Hanley glove on friday for bingo? Is it a authentic replica, as in I can use it to play baseball? It's probably the same one they're giving to the first 5,000 kids on Sunday. If you look at the picture of the kid's glove, it's clearly vinyl, not leather. Plus, it's black where hanley's glove is natural cowhide brown. That being said, the Firday night giveaways are usually fairly high dollar giveaways. Authentic jersey's, helmets (not replicas, but full-size helmets) and the like. I don't see them reversing that trend by giving away a glove that's probably costing them no more than a dollar or two per unit. Of course, it's possible the glove given away tomorrow night is just a plain, normal glove signed by Hanley as opposed to the teal leather one he's been using since last year.