Seminole

once he found his control he was pretty strong, but did Lindstrom throw anything other than fastballs? Don't be afraid to mix it up a little Matt... That's all Baker calls. It's easy to catch a fastball. I'd like to see him throw more offspeed but whatever works I guess.

How about Jason Stokes (retired) to Oakland for John Baker?

It's time to give this front office the recognition they deserve. I know it's only 2 games but this is THE BEST front office in all of baseball! No one could do it any better..... Beinfest is the best GM in baseball hands down (even if that isn't his title anymore). He trades 2 decent players Willingham and Olsen for Bonfacio and everyone thinks he gets ripped off- well with Willingham's back and Olsen's attitude- he won that deal! Uggla a Rule 5 pick up- one of the most powerful 2nd baseman ever to play the game. Nolasco, a team ace traded for Juan Pierre, who is a nobody now. Leo Nunez, a guy who throws 97 mph for Mike Jacobs, worst OBP among starting 1st baseman last year. Last year he trades the team's best hitter- Cabrera and best pitcher- Willis and the Marlins actually IMPROVE in terms of wins! And Maybin only had 32 ABs!!! Trades Josh Beckett for Hanley Ramirez among criticism- Hanley becomes the best overall player in baseball- still with upside- and locks him up long term for 6 years! Signs Pudge for one year and the Marlins win it all. He doesn't bait on Manny Ramirez for Michael Stanton swap and now Stanton is Gammons favorite minor leaguer. The list goes on...... Best GM in baseball. Best front office in baseball. As long as they are here- the Marlins can win it all ANY year. I forgot to add- he picked up Cody Ross (22 HR) and Jorge Cantu (29 HR and 2 this year) OFF THE SCRAP HEAPS! HE IS THE MAN!

It's time to give this front office the recognition they deserve. I know it's only 2 games but this is THE BEST front office in all of baseball! No one could do it any better..... Beinfest is the best GM in baseball hands down (even if that isn't his title anymore). He trades 2 decent players Willingham and Olsen for Bonfacio and everyone thinks he gets ripped off- well with Willingham's back and Olsen's attitude- he won that deal! Uggla a Rule 5 pick up- one of the most powerful 2nd baseman ever to play the game. Nolasco, a team ace traded for Juan Pierre, who is a nobody now. Leo Nunez, a guy who throws 97 mph for Mike Jacobs, worst OBP among starting 1st baseman last year. Last year he trades the team's best hitter- Cabrera and best pitcher- Willis and the Marlins actually IMPROVE in terms of wins! And Maybin only had 32 ABs!!! Trades Josh Beckett for Hanley Ramirez among criticism- Hanley becomes the best overall player in baseball- still with upside- and locks him up long term for 6 years! Signs Pudge for one year and the Marlins win it all. He doesn't bait on Manny Ramirez for Michael Stanton swap and now Stanton is Gammons favorite minor leaguer. The list goes on...... Best GM in baseball. Best front office in baseball. As long as they are here- the Marlins can win it all ANY year. I forgot to add- he picked up Cody Ross (22 HR) and Jorge Cantu (29 HR and 2 this year) OFF THE SCRAP HEAPS! HE IS THE MAN!

Boni, Baker, Hanley Baker 2 two out rbi's were huge. Got us back in the game. His patience allowed Boni to mess with the pitcher's mind and steal again. If Maybin is in the 8 hole he is primed to score from either Baker or Hanley at 2 and 3. Isn't it great to be discussing this after a sweep?

I'm a Brett Carroll fan and defensively he is outstanding. He might have one of the best arms in all of baseball. However, the role of the 4th outfielder can be filled by Bonifacio which gives Brett the opportunity to get much needed at bats at New Orleans. Now as a fan of Brett's I would never vote for the minors over the majors, BUT if we need him to replace an injured outfielder I would rather have him fresh with at bats, rather than sitting around and getting an occasional plate appearance. He has options which helps the team make some decisions on other guys. This is the tough love part. It might mean he goes to N.O. to save Andino until such time as we can get value for Andino or someone gets hurt and we need Brett to be an everyday player. It is never a good situation to be a bubble guy.

Mungo beat me to my post. Paulino has gotten bad reviews at every stop for his lack of work ethic and general laziness. He doesn't run well. I really like our front office and I would be the first to jump on their bandwagon for finding diamonds in the rough, (case in point Baker) but were the Pirates, Phillies, and Giants all dumb? I would have preferred to see the Marlins get Adam Melhuse from the Rangers. He had a terrific spring (I know ST stats are misleading), and from all I've heard he is a terrific clubhouse guy, can play 3rd or 1st, is a switch hitter and was perfect compliment to Jason Kendall in Oakland. We could have gotten him for the ML Minimum and used the excess dough for a lefty reliever. I'm still missing Arthur Rhoades!

I'm sure all of you are talking about the odd day off Baker is getting. He is batting 2nd against righties and lefties. When Baker gets the odd day off or against a particularly tough lefty, Pualino will bat 8th. He is a slug and you don't want him clogging the bases. If you've read what Freddie has had to say on the subject you will come to the same conclusion. Bonifacio batting first and Maybin 8th works well for a number of reasons. It takes a lot of pressure off of Maybin. Bonifacio is a better base stealer than Maybin and if the majority of teams feature right handed pitchers Bonifacio is a better left handed hitter. Today's game had a perfect example of this. Bonaficio slices a double to left. Baker, pulls one in the first base hole and gets Bonifacio to third. Hanley sac fly gets him in. The more I watch this team the more excited I get. I wasn't a fan of the Olsen-Willingham trade, but I'm getting won over. If Maybin bats down in the order, it's just another stud the other team has to worry about and they don't get an inning to take a breath. Now I hope the Marlins give Gaby a chance to get some games in down in N.O. and McPherson is the backup 3b-1b.

The Marlins will be on at 11:00 PM Eastern time on Wednesday February 25.

The Marlins are looking primarily for a right handed compliment to John Baker. Although Zaun is a switch hitter, he is primarily a lefty bat. I think the guys to keep an eye on are, Brad Ausmus, Henry Blanco, or maybe Chris Coste. Coste is excess insurance for the Phillies now that they have both Ruiz and Paulino and are carrying 5 catchers on the 40 man roster. Any of these would be upgrades to Rabelo, as they would provide more hitting with the veteran presence that everyone seems to think is such a big deal. As for me, I think it is extremely overrated and given how well Baker executed Wiley's game plans last year I find it hard to believe he is suddenly going to forget everything he learned last year. We have a young staff, and Baker is older and has played longer than all of them, just not at the Big League level. Baseball is baseball and it makes me laugh when I hear talking heads like Tim McCarver or Harold Reynolds say things like "that guy has never seen that situation before". Were they playing stick ball in the minors? I'm excited about 2009 and think we are going to beat a lot of teams.

marlins having good defense, lmao. maybe that'll improve this season with willingham and jacobs gone and hermida moving over to LF but last season their defense was horrible. also i know that the mets improved their pen but am i the only one that thinks their rotation is weak with only santana and maine as reliable starters? The team defense is going to be outrageously better with Maybin in CF, shifting the corner OF, getting Gaby at 1B which improves both balls hit to the right side and all the "errant" throws from Hanley, Jacobs couldn't handle. Additionally, 3B should be much better with a lot more playing time going to McDallas, Bonifacio, and Helms. Not to mention if they get Pudge, that would outrageously help the running game even in his elderly state. This team is going to be really really good if the starting pitchers stay healthy. I watched the new MLB Network with much anticipation. It turned out to be another version of ESPN Sportscenter. It focuses on the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs. Everyone else could be the Washington Generals in their eyes. They blew the Marlins off without a mention of how close we were last year. Harold Reynolds is a blowhard who won't let anyone get a word into the conversation. Joe McGrane is actually quite thoughtful but he is trampled by Reynolds. I can't get used to some anchor babe trying to talk OPS with the boys. It's classic pandering, and the Network loses credibility as a result. I agree with MarlinsLou to an extent. Pudge won't change the running game unless the Marlins work on holding runners. Volstad, JJ, Sanchez and Nolasco are brutal at holding runners on base. The only guy who was decent was Olsen and he's gone. This is an area of concern in a division with Reyes, et al. If Maybin can be the threat he has the potential to become, it could be fun this year. I really enjoyed watching Maybin score from first on Baker's numerous doubles at the end of the season. I think we could be sleepers this year.

Matt Treanor is a class act. Baseball needs more class acts. Glad we got to know him and we wish him all the best.

Forget about Paulino, he was just traded to the Phils for a minor league catcher.

You forgot to list the Jason Stokes (out of baseball) for John Baker trade 3/31/2007.

agree with mystikol87. If Baker was a younger franchise type guy, bringing in Pudge might make more sense. But particularly if you can add Ramirez to the equation, Pudge is just taking at-bats away. And no way we're carrying 3 catchers. Seems like at this stage he's an injury risk, is on the downside, and still may not come cheap. estan's question about Baker being an integral part of the team's future.... that's a tough one. Although he's not young, 28 next season certainly isn't old, and if he were here for 3 or 4 seasons that's a relatively long time in catcher terms. Would be enough time to keep the seat warm for Skipworth for example, if that was the long-term thinking. I think the questions are: a) was 2008 close to what we can expect from him? b) defensively he's still not quite what you want in a starting catcher c) is he more suited to be a platoon player? Now granted, (b) is a heck of a lot easier to deal with if the answer to (a) is yes. and as for 'c', defensively I don't know whether durability is an issue with him or not, but at the plate he mashed righties, so even if you platoon him it seems you'd still want to give him a majority of at-bats. If Baker is next year what he was this year, he and Ramirez would be exceptional. If he isn't, Ramirez is still expected to be a fantastic full-time backstop offensively. No worries. Well, one worry.......we still have to pull off the trade. :thumbup