PurpleHaze

Gotta go with Slicky Ricky.

Disagree with Freddy being an idiot...I mean, yeah, I would have liked to see the CG, but Holliday was coming up, he was 3-3 with 2 HR, and it was the heart of the lineup. Sure, Ricky may have been able to go the distance, but right now, so close in the running, I'd rather be safe then sorry. Thank you Freddy. Yep...if that part of the order wasn't up, then maybe Fredi would've given him a chance. I didn't get my hopes up. Whatever. The constant flaking out with RISP becomes less bothersome when you get pitching performances like that of Ricky tonight. And how 'bout Jake legging out that triple? And how creepy was Rich and Tommy's interview with the Bangles???

Man, it's just one blow after another for the Braves. Not gonna lie, I was a fan in the '90s -- because they were my team before 1993. I went a good while rooting for both teams because my dad told me it was OK to root for them both, despite them being in the same division. Growing up in Tallahassee, it was easier for us to catch games in ATL. I was really in love with that '95 team, but after they blew the WS in '96, I was like "Aight, Marlins forever." And then the Braves and Marlins went head-to-head in the NLCS and I was freaking out, but more than happy with the outcome. After the fire sale (devastating to a 13-year old), though, I rooted for the Braves on the side for a few more years before fully committing to the Marlins for good. I feel a little bad for the Braves fans right now, because I know many. One of them told me yesterday that he hopes the Fish win the division.

It felt like the '98 Marlins tonight. Ugh! Ugh, I try to block out that Marlins era as much as possible. So depressing. Anyhoo, 2003 was definitely magical, but I am gonna have to go with 2006 here as the last time I felt 'this good' about the Fish. Not gonna lie, it took me until June to really warm up to them, but since then I've really been behind this group. Their rise back to .500 was awesome....so many great moments from Miggy's intentional walk hit to all of Anibal's starts. My only regret is that on the day of Anibal's no-hitter, the SunSports in Gainesville decided to play fishing instead of the Marlins (This happened way too much when I was in college). I miserably followed the last few innings on Gameday. Luckily, they replayed the entire game a few nights later. But I was hella pissed that I missed it live.

yeah u call the media morons and u expect a response, not gonna happen Nah, I've spoken with BJack before. He's friends with my dad, who taught him in a journalism class at UM in the 80s.

Hi, Barry. Aimee here. I was inspired to write this just now. It's an op-ed blog type thing about the perception of the Marlins, and I would like to share it with you. I wrote it as a note to my friends on Facebook, and the headline reads, "This needs to be said." Here it is: We all know the national sports media is fickle. But these last few days surrounding the MLB non-waiver trade deadline have made me more convinced than ever that these people are morons. The way the Florida Marlins are portrayed has always been poor, but it has become terribly obvious that the national sports media just doesn't do their homework when it comes to the Marlins (while at the same time, the South Florida sports media continues to make their top stories about their precious yet train-wreck Dolphins, while their baseball counterparts are having a hell of a season). My problem has partly to do with people saying that Manny Ramirez was a "perfect fit" for the Marlins, who already lead the major leagues in home runs on their own. That ignorance doesn't bother me nearly as much as people like Mike Greenberg saying yesterday that the Fish needed Manny's bat because they "can't pitch" and have one of the worst team ERA's in the league. THAT is the main reason I was motivated to write this. People like Greenberg look at those numbers while failing to look deeper into why the ERA is that high. And if they bothered to dig deeper, they would realize that the current starting rotation is completely different than that of the beginning of the season. People who know this team remember the rookie foursome from 2006 -- Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez. These four made history in each winning 10+ games as rookie teammates. Josh Johnson even led the majors in ERA in late July! Anibal Sanchez, who was called up in June and won his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium, threw a no-hitter in his thirteenth MLB start. Not to mention the fact that Sanchez was part of the Beckett-Lowell trade that brought Hanley Ramirez to Florida. The future of the Marlins' starting pitching staff looked promising after 2006. But in 2007, Johnson, Sanchez and Nolasco were all out of the rotation with injuries. Johnson had Tommy John surgery, and Sanchez had shoulder surgery. Those three were still recovering at the beginning of the 2008 season. Out of pure desperation, the Marlins signed Mark Hendrickson as a starter. The first week of the season's rotation looked like this: Hendrickson, Olsen, Andrew Miller (from the Willis-Cabrera deal), Rick Vandenhurk. Andrew Miller looked like a terrified sixth-grader about to get his lunch money stolen on the mound. Hendrickson lucked out with a lot of run support at first, but he basically ended up looking like a BP pitcher opposing teams feasted on. He surrenderd Griffey's 600th home run. But then Nolasco came back, and he and Olsen have turned in steady, quality starts in the majority of their outings. Chris Volstad was called up July 6, and the 21-year-old's composure and ability to pound the srike zone brings back memories of D-Train's 2003 call-up. Right before the All-Star break, Josh Johnson made his return, 11 months removed from TJ surgery. He has been nothing but solid in his four starts so far. And on July 31, Anibal Sanchez made his triumphant return to the majors as the Fish thrashed the Rockies, 12-2. Sanchez and Johnson have pitched very close to their 2006 form, and will only get better in the next month. Getting these guys back down the stretch is the equivalent of acquiring two frontline starting pitchers, but without having to trade anyone. And it's not like Nolasco, Olsen and Volstad are chopped liver. Now the Marlins will have a chance to win every day with these five guys. I honestly could not say the same during the first half of the season. This will only strengthen the bullpen, which was overworked in the first half. And the bullpen has quietly added 18-year MLB veteran Arthur Rhodes before the deadline, who will give Renyel Pinto a breather as a lefty specialist. I highly doubt that the people who say on national tv and radio that the Marlins "can't pitch" have any idea about any of what I just wrote. They are too busy salivating over the Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, Yankees, Mets and Phillies. Their ignorance and failure to learn the facts instead of stats will make it all the more fulfilling to watch the Mighty Marlins fly under the radar yet again to prove everyone wrong. And this time, the happy ending will include the throwing out of Norman Braman's lawsuit and the breaking ground of the Marlins' very own ballpark -- which they deserve.

Mehh, just as dumb and ignorant as the national sports media that gets off on saying the Marlins have "no pitching" and that the ERA is "bottom of the league" without even bothering to look deeper in the fact that the rotation was massively upgraded in July with guys they have never heard of, but are already proven talents that just aren't the "big names" they jack off to.

I love it. May I use it as my Facebook picture? Oh wait, I already did. I lost A LOT of sleep over the possibility of this happening. Deep down I was hoping, but unsure, that Beinfest would "get it" about their chemistry and not pull the trigger in an attempt to garner support for the ballpark. I've never really been against any of the trades made at the deadline in past years we were "in it" -- but this one just rubbed me the wrong way. And it was sickening how the fickle South Florida sports media was salivating over this. It was almost as infuriating as the national sports media pointing out that the Marlins' ERA is near the bottom of the league, totally clueless that the rotation now is completely different to that of the season's start. I was so glad when Rich and Tommy brought that up because I definitely noticed it on Mike and Mike after a sleepless night. For the record, I finally got some sleep -- just a few hours, though.

What a feel-good win! I'm so glad Beinfest & Co. kept the team intact. And if that deal had gone down, it would have grossly overshadowed Anibal's triumphant return tonight. Anyway, back to the game -- this was a major statement that this offense doesn't need Manny -- and that they're starting to come out of their slumps. Most importantly, they were patient and drew a ton of walks. It's gonna be a tough road ahead, but I am totally stoked!

They came up together in the Mets farm system. Nice to know they still talk. Sir Kaz speaks the truth.

At one point I considered starting the post-game thread, but my connection sucks. GREAT win. Great to see Uggla not only have a multi-hit game, but have THE BIG HIT. Nice way for JJ to get his first win, despite that 3-run homer to Easley. I swear guys, I am gonna lose sleep over these rumors. This Manny stuff is out of control. Is it really worth giving up Hermida? Maybe Hammer, he's older...but I dunno. Back to the GAME -- Gregg made it interesting as usual...but we prevailed. One of my fave plays of the night was that 5-3 double play that started with Cantu snagging that line drive. Nice to see. ANIBAL SANCHEZ TOMORROW! People of SouthFla -- go to the game and show your love to Anibal! I will be there in spirit, as usual...

Yes. I'm friends with Samson and he said we will be getting Ramirez, Rhodes, and Johan Santana LOL... I met him at a function in February. We saw eye to eye on things...because we are the same height.

This trade pisses me off on a number of levels. f***ing Steinbrenners. And it really pisses me off as a Rays fan (my AL team). Ughhhhhh

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. 27 hours until the trade deadline. Don't get too excited, we never really make any big moves at the deadline, although we also expect to :mischief We don't make moves unless we're in the race....a la '97 (Dutch) and '03 (Conine). The catcher issue must be addressed. If we got Pudge (fat chance, I know), I would run around screaming like I did when we brought Niner back.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. 27 hours until the trade deadline.

:banghead :banghead :banghead :banghead :banghead That's all I have to say.

They showed us a lot of love, it was awesome and never once did they mention attendance, awesome. Yeah, but LebeRETARD -- the hometown guy -- said the Marlins are exciting because they play "no defense at all" and still manage to win because of the home runs. I hate when people generalize the Marlins defense like that. They may have the lowest fielding percentage, but that doesn't make it justifiable to say the team plays "no defense." Most of the Marlins have made appearances on web gems and top plays this year.

Pull the trigger already, Admin! I can't wait another day. At this point I'd welcome lo Duca back. He proved his value in the last Nats series. I know he's older, but he knows what he's doing behind the plate and is a damn good situational hitter, which we desperately need.

Over at the Mets board, theyre all talking about Tommy. What kind of comments did he make? I was at the game, so couldnt watch the broadcast obvously Tommy referred to them as "front running New York fans who are all heading for the exits". The exact quote just replayed was "Lookie Lookie the Mets fand are all goin home." I think it was funny. It was hilarious. They deserve to be made fun of. As T-Hut was saying that, I saw some douche I know leaving all sad in his Mets gear. He had just e-mailed me abt going to the game and I told him that a.) I don't live there and b.) nothing pisses me off more than Mets fans at Marlins games, to which he had some snarky, unoriginal comeback about them outnumbering Marlins fans. I never liked that dude anyway, so I blocked him and then LMAO when I saw him leaving in the bottom of the 8th.

Who cares what Sid Rosenberg has to say? Come to think of it, why should anyone care what Tommy Hutton said? It had zero effect on what happened on the field.....besides, it's a Marlins broadcast. If you want to hear pro-NY sentiment, listen to the Mets announcers. My point exactly, Sid seems to forget Tommy is part of the MARLINS BROADCAST NETWORK. Now if the game is on ESPN, Fox, or TBS, then it should be unbiased just the facts play calling. Yep. But you know ESPN, FOX (or should I say SOX) and TBS are biased motherf***ers. I pride Rich and Tommy on being fair and respectful, but T-Hut's comment was just glorious for that particular moment. You know it bothers him to always have the Mets fans take over DS. It was a great moment after Andino busted it open, with the herds of Met fans leaving and the awesome Marlins fans taunting them. T-Hut's comment was just icing on the cake for me.

I saw Bengie Molina make a throwing error on SportsCenter last night and thought to myself, He'd definitely fit in with the Marlins.

I'm giving this to Fredi. He made the right calls when they needed to be made. Hells yeah. Props to Fredi. And props to Cody, Willingham and Uggla for adjusting their swings tonight. And Uggla seems to be running pretty close to 100 percent. I saw someone I know leaving after the Andino hit, pathetic in his Mets jersey.

Top priority right now is a veteran catcher, or just a catcher who has spent at least one full season in the big leagues. Can't get by on Baker/Hoover/Treanor/Rabelo. There's really no need to rent a diva left fielder (Manny and Barry) when what we really need is a friggin catcher that knows what he's doing out there.

Just trade Jake for catching and/or relief, move Cantu to first and call this beast up already! Jake had a damn good showing today...perfect timing....

Well, I saw him hitting for the last few days, and I saw his first two at bats today (along with watching a replay of the HR). It seems to me that he's been hitting harder and making much better contact, and today he got a good single and a gigantic bomb. In the two games prior, he made some nice contact and has induced a few walks as well, although for the most part he seemed to hit the ball right to a fielder. I mentioned this yesterday, but it seems to me that he's seeing the ball better, and I predict that he will be coming out of his slump now. I don't want to say too much, don't like to jinx things,so I'm going to continue watching as we play the Mets tomorrow, but I believe he could return to the Pre-injury Uggla here in these next few games...Thoughts? Anyone else seeing what I am, or am I just a little delusional here? Haha, you're not delusional...I noticed the same things today. He's also looking a little more relaxed and comfortable at the plate. He was really on fire right up until the ankle injury, so we haven't had a Hot Uggla for a good month. I think he'll probably bust out this week.