mystikol87

Cheap signing here. He probably could have garnered a bit more which is probably why we gave Hermida a bit more than he deserved. Huh? I don't quite get what you mean here. I wouldn't overpay for a T-shirt just because I got jeans on sale. I'm sure the price for Hermida was the cheapest the Marlins thought they could get him for relative the potential money he may have made from arbitration and the risk involved in going into said arbitration. Had we given Cantu what he deserved, negotiations with Hermida would probably still be ongoing. There's no way we could've thought he'd make that much in arbi after how he performed this year. Eh, I just can't see an organization being generous in that way, especially not this one. Your first sentence might certainly be fair, though. If we gave Cantu 4.5, for example, they may have crossed their fingers and prayed to win the arbitration case (or trade him if they lost)? But I can't say that with any degree of certainty, of course. I don't know if it's "being generous". Its not like we would have saved a million or anything by negotiating longer or going to arbi. But we could have saved a quarter-a half mil off of the salary he'll be making next year. It's just as well though. Now he doesn't have anything else to think about except for improving. Getting him signed quick could go a long way in molding him into shape this year. I think I may see what you mean.....That signing Cantu pretty cheaply changed their risk assessment (i.e. is it worth it to go to arbi or to just settle and maybe not get Hermida for the cheapest, but not risk losing arbi). And I certainly hope your latter thought is accurate. He could be the difference in this team making the playoffs, IMO.

Cheap signing here. He probably could have garnered a bit more which is probably why we gave Hermida a bit more than he deserved. Huh? I don't quite get what you mean here. I wouldn't overpay for a T-shirt just because I got jeans on sale. I'm sure the price for Hermida was the cheapest the Marlins thought they could get him for relative the potential money he may have made from arbitration and the risk involved in going into said arbitration. Had we given Cantu what he deserved, negotiations with Hermida would probably still be ongoing. There's no way we could've thought he'd make that much in arbi after how he performed this year. Eh, I just can't see an organization being generous in that way, especially not this one. Your first sentence might certainly be fair, though. If we gave Cantu 4.5, for example, they may have crossed their fingers and prayed to win the arbitration case (or trade him if they lost)? But I can't say that with any degree of certainty, of course.

Cheap signing here. He probably could have garnered a bit more which is probably why we gave Hermida a bit more than he deserved. Huh? I don't quite get what you mean here. I wouldn't overpay for a T-shirt just because I got jeans on sale. I'm sure the price for Hermida was the cheapest the Marlins thought they could get him for relative the potential money he may have made from arbitration and the risk involved in going into said arbitration.

Andruw Jones who? Garrett Anderson who? Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with an agent Monday who believes Adam Dunn "will get a max of $5MM per year" this offseason. "Anything more than that and I'd be surprised," added the unnamed agent. Dunn is reportedly still seeking a four-year, $56MM deal. Harlan notes that there are no big market teams in the running and he's highly unlikely to get those desired figures. "That's why Dunn just might end up in Washington, the one team that unequivocally wants the guy," the report concludes. You know, I can't see Dunn signing a deal for that... If this is true, I could definitely see the Marlins pulling a similar move to 2003, and try to get him on a 1-year deal. Get him for one year a little above what he'd make in a long-term deal per season, so he can go back out next year and get the big-market deal that isn't available this year. Then deal Hermida, and replace Dunn next year with Logan Morrison. Yeah, I feel the same way. 2010 = Morrison, Maybin, Ross, with likely Raynor off the bench. Sure, they'll be young, but they'll be loaded with talent. All 3 can flat-out hit, and at least Ross and Maybin play very good to excellent defense. Still, $5 just seems like such a longshot; I mean, I've heard of people analyzing his offensive production and putting him in the neighborhood of Ryan Howard, who's made $10 million last year in arbitration...

Andruw Jones who? Garrett Anderson who? Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with an agent Monday who believes Adam Dunn "will get a max of $5MM per year" this offseason. "Anything more than that and I'd be surprised," added the unnamed agent. Dunn is reportedly still seeking a four-year, $56MM deal. Harlan notes that there are no big market teams in the running and he's highly unlikely to get those desired figures. "That's why Dunn just might end up in Washington, the one team that unequivocally wants the guy," the report concludes. Wow, I'm stunned if the $5 million figure is right. This guy would be an amazing addition, obviously. But still, it's really hard to justify, let's say, $6 million of a 4th OF - on the Marlins, you gotta start for that kind of green. Of course, if they got Dunn, they could let him start while Cody/Jeremy compete for the other starting spot. Depending on some other stuff, Hermida could become very expendable, maybe netting a certain player from Texas with a funny name?

And all these one-year deals are scaring me... These players are still in their arbitration years. A 1-year deal here just means "We settled for 2009, we'll worry about 2010 later (but you're still under team control [in most cases]).

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-011...0,3114628.story The Marlins have pared down a lengthy list of arbitration eligible players, but it appears they're headed for hearings with some if not all of the remaining five. Jorge Cantu was the only player who came to terms Monday, agreeing on a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Alfredo Amezaga, Jeremy Hermida, Ricky Nolasco, Cody Ross and Dan Uggla have yet to reach accords on 2008 contracts. Per club policy, if agreements are not in place before the two sides submit figures at noon Friday, negotiations cease and the Marlins move forward with hearings. According to multiple baseball sources, Hermida was close to a deal today, but Amezaga and Nolasco were prepared to exchange. Uggla's agent, Jeff Borris, said he would reserve comment until Tuesday. Boy, he's still a bigtime steal. I believe this one was a good bit under Lou's projections. Hmm, maybe they figure that the arbitration judges will be taking the poor economy into account when assigning values? Otherwise, this value seems a bit low. Oh well - better for us! Now, we either keep him as a bargain, or he becomes VERY attractive to deal - either way, I like it a lot. The $3.5 million contract wasn't a steal.It's a fair contract. Sure, but he's a bargain still because of arbitration. If you think Cantu gets only 1-yr, $3.5 million on the open market, you're kidding yourself. He is a great player to have at that price.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-011...0,3114628.story The Marlins have pared down a lengthy list of arbitration eligible players, but it appears they're headed for hearings with some if not all of the remaining five. Jorge Cantu was the only player who came to terms Monday, agreeing on a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Alfredo Amezaga, Jeremy Hermida, Ricky Nolasco, Cody Ross and Dan Uggla have yet to reach accords on 2008 contracts. Per club policy, if agreements are not in place before the two sides submit figures at noon Friday, negotiations cease and the Marlins move forward with hearings. According to multiple baseball sources, Hermida was close to a deal today, but Amezaga and Nolasco were prepared to exchange. Uggla's agent, Jeff Borris, said he would reserve comment until Tuesday. Boy, he's still a bigtime steal. I believe this one was a good bit under Lou's projections. Hmm, maybe they figure that the arbitration judges will be taking the poor economy into account when assigning values? Otherwise, this value seems a bit low. Oh well - better for us! Now, we either keep him as a bargain, or he becomes VERY attractive to deal - either way, I like it a lot.

Why as soon as someone mention getting a player, the first thing comes up, how much it will cost the team, to get someone good we have to spend, Salary has to be realistically considered in deciding which players to go after. This team currently has a low budget, so a player's [potential] value relative to his cost should always be important, but especially so when you have a total salary under $40 million. For example, C.C. Sabathia would be a tremendous addition to any starting rotation, including the Marlins. But for that price, and for that many years, he wasn't a realistic option for our team.

Ah Opening Day, without a doubt one of the the best days of the year! Fixed.

Bottom line, they're probably not getting a significant discount if they are buying out his arbitration years, at this point. True, but at least they would have the security of knowing how much he would make, instead of taking it year by year and "hoping" an arbiter doesn't overvalue him Haha, given the way that they blew the first set of arbitration hearings, the Phillies maybe really should consider this.

The Phillies should consider doing this with Ryan Howard if possible. His arbitration has gotten extremely expensive, and it's probably going to get worse. I'm sure they'd love to, but he also knows how much money he stands to make in arbitration. So he's not going to take any offer unless he feels that the extra money he might earn in arbitration isn't worth the risk. Bottom line, they're probably not getting a significant discount if they are buying out his arbitration years, at this point.

I can't let myself believe that we gave up both Olsen and Willingham for a backup. I believe he will contribute much more than he is being given credit for. As for his lack of offense, I'm ok w/ that. This team can use his defensive prowess. I remember having Lowell, Gonzalez, and Castillo in our infield. Damn, that was nice to have those gloves behind our pitchers. Would be nice to head in that direction once again. Lowell ranged from a low .800 OPS to a high .800, so basically average to above average for a 3B. Gonzo was usually good for around .750, avg for a SS. And Luis was an on base machine. Those were great players because they could field and hit pretty well (or in Luis and Lowell's case, very well.) Bonifacio might be a defensive wizard, but I don't ever seen him being more than the .700 OPS guy he was in the minors. That's not worth a starter CI spot. I gotta point out that AGonz has had a .750 OPS only twice, last year and 2003. Otherwise, he was a .694 career OPS. Also, your starter and your backup/platoon partner at any position don't have to display any particular skill sets or characteristics. If you put Barry Bonds in left field, it wouldn't be important that his backup/platoon partner is good at defense. Barry Bonds is good to have because he produces an overall strong net positive for the team he plays on. If his backup was Manny Ramirez, also terrible at defense, I would much prefer that to a Podsednik-type who is great at defense, but would not improve the team as much as Manny is his playing time. This is a big myth on this website. Each player on your roster just needs to be able to improve the team as much as possible when he plays. A defensive-minded player may fit that description, but that doesn't mean your platoon partner for a bad-D, good-O player must play good defense. Stop it with this - this is in honor of Erick

Reynolds saying that we have the best pitching staff in all of baseball surprised me a little bit, and it was nice to finally hear them turn our "attendance issue" into a positive. LOL That was a positive?? Leiter says they play in front of about 2500 fans. His average is off by about 14K. They all gave us a back handed slap and people are saying it was a positive spin?? I suppose if you all mean it gives us another excuse to not go to the games then it was a good spin on our "attendance issue." "We don't want to put too much pressure on our guys." Little over a week ago this network and these guys were getting bashed soundly in another thread here. Now that they say a couple nice things they are being elevated to almost genius status. Remarkable how that works out, isn't it? I think Harold Reynolds was on both panels, but I think the other guys were different.

Ha I'm not sure how I got that slapping thing (obviously I typed the word), but to clarify, it says "slaps wrists" with two colons on either side :mis2

I agree with this lineup to start the year. I wonder if Gaby can become a #2 hitter? Obviously it depends on how his skills translate (he's been old for each of his minor league levels), but he's been a good OBP, low strikeout guy. Sure, we lose the RLR aspect, but I'm not as excited by that. To be fair though, if we go Maybin, Sanchez, Hanley, Cantu, Uggla, Cody, Hermida, Baker............then RRRRRRLL looks a bit weird lol. Hopefully Jeremy breaks out and then we can maybe go something like: Maybin Sanchez Hanley Cantu Hermida Uggla Ross Baker It's a fair point, but I mean... ideally, if Hermida does what he's supposed to, he becomes the best #2 hitter on the team. Otherwise... Sanchez or Bakerellington in the 2 hole works probably equally well. Yeah, that's true about Jeremy. I mean, if he pans out and hits 20+ HR with a .365+ OBP, then he belongs in the 2-hole. I was kinda thinking about a #2 hitter more traditionally without power ::slaps wrists:: If he does all the things a #2 should AND hits for power, yay. To me, Jeremy is the key to making this lineup outstanding. Without him, we'll be good but not great. With him plying anywhere near potential, this can be a championship lineup.

There should be a salary floor. agree of atleast 40 mill I'd much rather have a floor than a cap. That way the marlins would be forced to sign some of their young players rather than trade them away every 3 years. But then what happens a la 2006 when we go full youth? Then we end up vastly overpaying some FA(s) or signing unproven guys to contracts they don't deserve yet So true. While I don't think this would be a good thing for the reasons NNY and PWG have stated, MLB might reasonably say that each team should spend (all or a certain percentage) of their revenue sharing money. I'm not sure how big these figures are annually for a team like the Marlins. Still, each team should be able to earn a profit > $0 not including revenue sharing or players' salaries, so this might be reasonable. Theoretically, revenue sharing should artificially increase the demand for low and mid-level players, while lowering the demand for the most expensive free agents. I wonder if any study has been or could be done to examine this in practice.

Just plain silly. Even if the Marlins wanted to pay a journeyman $5 or $8 million a year, which is completely out of the question at face value, what would be accomplished? If you moved Uggla to third, you would be negating half his value as a player. The offensive punch you get from Uggla as a second baseman is what makes him a unique contributor. Put him at third and he is no upgrade over Cantu. Same would go for moving Hanley out of the shortstop role. He's one of top few players in the game because he plays short. Having Ramirez and Uggla as the keystone combo is the foundation of the Marlins offense. I wouldn't mess with Cantu at third base either. His defense improved in the second half and he was a solid hitter. I wouldn't hesitate to play McPherson at third, however, if Cantu could land the lefty Sanchez from SF, a deal I'm still hoping materializes. Gaby Sanchez is going to be absolutely solid at first base and at the plate ... I just know it. I'm hoping to see Maybin lead off and Hanley bat second. Hanley needs to see all the fastballs he can get. G. Sanchez third in the order. Cantu cleanup. Hermida. Uggla. Ross. And Baker. Let's start the season tomorrow. My preference is - Maybin, Baker, Hanley, Cantu, Uggla, Ross, Sanchez, Hermida Or swap Herm and Sanchez about, but for me 1-6 is the best option available I agree with this lineup to start the year. I wonder if Gaby can become a #2 hitter? Obviously it depends on how his skills translate (he's been old for each of his minor league levels), but he's been a good OBP, low strikeout guy. Sure, we lose the RLR aspect, but I'm not as excited by that. To be fair though, if we go Maybin, Sanchez, Hanley, Cantu, Uggla, Cody, Hermida, Baker............then RRRRRRLL looks a bit weird lol. Hopefully Jeremy breaks out and then we can maybe go something like: Maybin Sanchez Hanley Cantu Hermida Uggla Ross Baker

That's pretty sick. He actually has Morrison ranked ABOVE Cameron Maybin. That's something completely new that I haven't seen. I also haven't seen Cam Maybin ranked that low anywhere, either, but that makes it even more impressive on Morrison's part. If a year ago anyone knew we'd have another prospect RIGHT behind Maybin on the MLB track whose ranked right up there with him, they'd be going crazy. Imagine if a year ago anyone knew what Mike Stanton was going to do, too... The part about Logan above SpiderCam is interesting. In the original article, CM is #1, but that list seems to have been made by Berardino. Whereas this staff writer for BA puts Logan ahead on that list. I'm a bit confused, but it's amazing that Logan is so highly regarded as one of the top in the entire NL.

Wow. A few thoughts. What praise from Harold Reynolds! I wouldn't say we have the best 1-12 in the big leagues - that's a stretch (although we certainly have enough talent to eventually be in that conversation in the coming years). But, as others have said, nice to hear the good news and a positive spin on the attendance stuff. Also, gotta love the Andrew Miller/Big Unit comparison. If he comes anything close, wow. Thank you, Harold, for not framing the Red Sox inquiry as anything more than that. Instead of saying "they discussed trading Hanley back to Boston," he just says that the Sox wanted him back because he's so good. That guy mentions the "1997, 2003, 2009....you do the math!" Yokofox, you should sue! And that didn't even make it to our top 3 potential slogans. My favorite part of all was around the 2:57 mark when they are showing a clip of Cameron Maybin and his windmill run. Awesome.

2 a minute is a little much. At that point just call the person. I probably send about 10 or so a day. One every two minutes is what the article said. But that's not even accounting for sleeping time. Whatever we want to say about texting in general, this is an insane amount. I think I've been in the 1,000 ballpark for a month before, but 14x that is unfathomable. Wow thats even worse than I thought. What else could she have done besides text? There is literally no time to do anything else. Actually, 2 texts per minute is four times as much as 1 text every minutes, so it's not quite as bad as what you originally wrote. :cool Well I guess the "waking hours" depends on how much the daughter is presumably sleeping at night. I kind of have a hunch that many of these are being sent when the lights are out and the parents think she is sleeping. You are right about the "waking hours" thing. I overlooked that. 30 (days per month) X 24 (hours per day) X 60 (minutes per hour) = 43,200 minutes per month. If she sent one text every two minutes, that'd be 21,600 texts. If she sleeps 8 hours a day, AKA awake for 2/3 of each day, then 21,600 X (2/3) = 14,400. So he's roughly saying she sleeps 8 hours a day, and sends one text every 2 minutes otherwise. Or: 30 (days per month) X 16 (waking hours per day) X 60 (minutes per hour) = 28,800 minutes 28,800 / 2 = 14,400 texts

I don't really want any highfalutin player on the Marlins team. I like the rookie look. I'm guessing you mean the youngster look? Because we'll have 2 rookies in the starting 8 at most, and none in the rotation....

2 a minute is a little much. At that point just call the person. I probably send about 10 or so a day. One every two minutes is what the article said. But that's not even accounting for sleeping time. Whatever we want to say about texting in general, this is an insane amount. I think I've been in the 1,000 ballpark for a month before, but 14x that is unfathomable.

Maybe I'm a crotchety old bastard, but this is evidence of a big problem with that age group... completely obsessed with myspace and texting. Those are two very different animals, though. I find texting to be extremely efficient and useful. Many times a whole phone call is unnecessary, but you need to transmit information. Or, a person is in a place where they can't answer their phone, and a text and get key information to them without disturbing people and around them or totally interrupting what they are doing. Now, "that age group" may use texting differently, I can't say. And I'm not a MySpace user, just a Facebook user who started when it was still for college kids only.

FTR, Mike Berardino wrote the Top 10 list (as well as a short rundown of the team's current makeup). http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...009/267349.html I would've been curious to hear someone else's take, but I guess it'd be hard for someone who doesn't regularly follow the team to do a good job? Does anyone know if Berardino also wrote the analyses? Here's something I found interesting that I got to through ESPN's MLB section: By Jim Callis January 12, 2009 E-mail Print While the Hall of Fame interests me, I can't get too worked up about it. Rickey Henderson obviously belongs. I'm not sure I would have voted for Jim Rice, but he doesn't ruin Cooperstown. I would have voted for Bert Blyleven and Tim Raines, who didn't get in, but that won't keep me up at nights. As upset as some people get about the inclusions and exclusions, baseball still has the most meaningful Hall of Fame of any of the major sports. I've been getting a lot of questions about the 2009 Prospect Handbook, which is expected to ship next week. If you haven't ordered one yet, here's an incentive to do so directly from us. Everyone who buys the book from Baseball America will get a bonus insert with detailed scouting reports on each team's No. 31 prospect, to accompany the Top 30s that appear in the book. I enjoyed reading your list of the American League's top 10 prospects in the Dec. 22 Ask BA. Who do you think are the 10 best prospects in the National League? Ernie Monaco Milford, N.J. When I put together my overall Top 50 for the Handbook, the top two choices were easy: Rays lefthander David Price and Orioles catcher Matt Wieters. After that, it got more murky, though I eventually settled on Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez as my No. 3 prospect, making him tops on my NL list. 1. Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Pirates Spring injury, summer holdout overshadow his devastating hitting ability. 2. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Giants Showed much more polish than expected in first full season, led minors with 1.46 ERA. 3. Colby Rasmus, of, Cardinals The best player developed by St. Louis since Albert Pujols is ready for the majors at 22. 4. Buster Posey, c, Giants Has the tools to become the NL's version of Joe Mauer. 5. Tommy Hanson, rhp, Braves Displayed four plus pitches at times while blowing away Arizona Fall League hitters. 6. Logan Morrison, 1b, Marlins The best hitter in the minors who hasn't received the hype he deserves. 7. Jason Heyward, of, Braves It's still unfathomable how he lasted 14 picks in the 2007 draft. 8. Dexter Fowler, of, Rockies Colorado has done a fine job of developing the once-raw Fowler. 9. Cameron Maybin, of, Marlins Strikeouts are still a concern, but there's a lot of Andre Dawson in him. 10. Mike Stanton, of, Marlins Hit 39 homers in first full season after turning down a shot to play two sports at USC. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...009/267429.html 3 out of the Top 10 NL Prospects. Other teams include the Giants with 2, the Braves with 2, and the Rockies/Cardinals/Pirates each with 1. Very impressive in my mind, especially considering the youngsters we also have in the ML who are performing at a high level already.