fishatbat

We took a few photos at yesterday's game. Check them out here: Fish@Bat - Photos.

If you read the flyer, it says that the Marlins, the City, and the County are inviting people to the event. That means it's ballpark related. They may also announce Hanley at that point, but we don't know.

Lenny Dykstra never played for the Marlins. Sorry -- My bad. I was rushing through the hundreds of pages and accidentally copied his name (in fact, I almost missed Sheffield and Santiago but then remembered they were involved with Balco).

"Virtually every player on the Marlins was 'doing something' ranging from steroids and greenies, to marijuana, etc." Former Senator Mitchell served on the Florida Marlins Board of Directors in 2000 and 2001. The Marlins are named in an incident that happened in 2000: C. Discovery of Steroids in Florida Marlins Player's Locker, June 2000 In late June 2000, a clubhouse attendant with the Florida Marlins brought a paper bag to the club's athletic trainers that had been found in the locker of Marlins pitcher Ricky Bones. The bag contained over two dozen syringes, six vials of injectable medications – stanozolol and nandrolone decanoate, two anabolic steroids that are sold under the names Winstrol and Deca-Durabolin, respectively – and a page of handwritten instructions on how to administer the drugs. Soon thereafter, the athletic trainers returned the bag and its contents to Bones at his request. Also: F. Bullpen Catcher Admits to Supplying Steroids to Eight Major League Players, September 2002 On September 26, 2002, during a game against the Florida Marlins at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Montreal's bullpen catcher Luis Perez asked a Marlins clubhouse attendant if he would carry a duffel bag back to Florida for him. The Marlins employee, who knew Perez from his previous tenure as a bullpen catcher with the Marlins, agreed. Perez later delivered a large padlocked duffel bag to be included with the Marlins luggage. Marlins equipment manager John Silverman was suspicious because of the padlock and directed that the bag be opened. When it was (using a combination that Perez provided), Silverman and the clubhouse attendant discovered a box coated on the inside with pine tar that contained two plastic packages amounting to one pound of marijuana. …. After the criminal process had ended, Hallinan and his deputy, Martin Maguire, traveled to Miami to interview Perez. Perez explained that during his time as a bullpen catcher for the Florida Marlins, between 1998 until 2001, two players asked if he could obtain steroids for them. After he was successful in doing so, word spread and he became a source for players to acquire steroids and other drugs. Perez alleged that he had witnessed widespread use of steroids and other drugs. According to Hallinan's memo, Perez told baseball officials ". . . that virtually every player on the Marlins was 'doing something' ranging from steroids and greenies, to marijuana, etc. He also claimed that every pitcher in Montreal's bullpen was on some form of steroid." Perez told Hallinan that when teams were in San Diego, players often crossed the border into Mexico to obtain illegal substances. He said that he knew of clubhouse employees with other teams who were similarly called upon to obtain drugs for players, including in particular a visiting clubhouse attendant in Philadelphia.269 Perez also claimed that he was paid as much as $500 by certain players to carry their bags on trips to and from Canada. At the conclusion of their interview of him, Perez's lawyer handed to Hallinan and Maguire a typed list of players and their "drug of choice" that had been compiled by Perez. The list identified eight players (with the Marlins, Astros, and Expos) for whom Perez personally had acquired anabolic steroids, in addition to identifying twelve players for whom Perez had obtained other drugs. Congrats to the following former Marlins for being named as steroid or HGH users (although, not all used it while playing with the fish): Kevin Brown Josias Manzanillo Gregg Zaun Paul Lo Duca Ricky Bones Ron Villone Matt Herges Chad Allen Ismael Valdez Gary Sheffield Benito Santiago

A few observations: - Reading through the memo, it hurts to read that the site in downtown was actually cheaper and better than the Orange Bowl site. Alas, we'll take whatever we can get. Also, construction begins November 2008 with opening day scheduled for the 2011 season. - The County wants to look into the fabric roof concept introduced by Tampa Bay's proposed pirate ship of a stadium. They believe it saves both construction and air conditioning cost. I say we we build a real roof — hybrid roofs don't have a good track record (see Olympic Stadium in Montreal). - Total of 37,000 seats, 3,000 club seats, 60 private suites, 7,200 affordable seats, and parking. Total cost: $525,000,000 ($489,800,000 for construction and design + $4,200,000 for furniture fixtures and equipment + $9,000,000 for owner contingency + $12,000,000 for site work + $10,000,000 demolition of the Orange Bowl, infrastructure and site prep). - If the Marlins are sold to a new owner in the first 10 years (except for the unfortunate death of the team's principle owner), the team would have to pay the County a percentage of the sale price with the assumed price at signing being $250,000,000. Fish@Bat

Interesting that most of these voters are agreeing with the Marlins. I like my poll more.

There is also a good argument to trade him: Why the Marlins Should Trade Miguel Cabrera

If you haven't seen it, Jeff Conine is retiring after this season. Hopefully Randolph plays him today (Sunday). I don't know about you, but I think a very long standing ovation is a must. Link: Mr. Marlin Plays His Final Game at "Home"

Funny because we just put up a poll with this exact question. Our choices were: 11/25/03: Derrek Lee to Cubs for Hee Seop Choi and Mike Nannini 11/20/97: Jeff Conine to Royals for Blaine Mull 7/16/05: Al Leiter and millions in Cash to Yankees 12/2/05: Luis Castillo to Twins for Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler 12/4/95: Chuck Carr to the Brewers for for Minor Leaguer Juan Gonzalez 11/18/97: Robb Nen to Giants for Joe Fontenot, Mike Pagele, and Mike Villano 11/11/97: Moises Alou to Astros for Manuel Barrios, Oscar Henriquez, and Mark Johnson 7/25/99: Livan Hernandez to Giants for Jason Grilli and Nate Bump Vote Now: The Worst Trade in Florida Marlins History? -- Fish@Bat