jdogg71

Okay so there is a $100 Million gap in funding. Use the money that he is not spending on payroll to close the gap. The Marlins receive $30 Million and only spend $15 Million. Take the $15 Million left and now you have an $85 Million gap.

Dang! I might not always agree with the things that he says, but he is still one of the most knowledgeable reporters out there. Here is wishing you a full recovery Mr. Gammons, my family and my prayers are with you and your family.

At first I was laughing because I understood it. :lol Then I realized I was getting older and now Im crying. :blink: :verysad

I'd rather have Alfonseca than Looper!

I heard the Cubs were looking at Milton Bradley. FWIW

I am not going to say if Pudge is greedy or not. I will admit his comments about the FO were really stupid. :banghead Whatever happened to the man that walked into the Rangers FO and negotiated his own deal when things werent getting done? I dont know if this has been asked but would it be legal for another team to sign Pudge and trade him to the Marlins? :mischief2

Ive been reading all these negative comments about Pudge for awhile and just thought Id throw my $.02 in. OK, yeah he got a little greedy asking for $10 million a year but when you have an agent like Boras telling you day in and day out how great you are and how you would have to take a pay cut to play for a team that you took to the World Series, what would you do? If Pudge comes back as a Dodger, Cub, or any other team I will still stand up and cheer the man that helped us win a Championship. How come no one is mad at Looper or Urbina for not lowering their price? I like Pudge and will always respect him as a player. And I still hope he will be a Marlin again some how.

I must agree with CitanX and say that I dont think any player is worth over $10 million a year. But watching Pudge in the playoffs and in the WS, I would have to say that I am one of the people who want to see him back here. Pudge is not at fault for what his agent says or does. Anyone remember when he was with the Rangers? He finally got fed up with his agent and walked in to talk to the owner face to face and they worked out a deal. This Pudge bashing Ive been reading recently is getting ridiculous. Remember if there was no Pudge in 2003 there would be no WS Championship in 2003.

Good job DaGreatOne! I still agree on keeping Castillo but not at the cost of some of our other players. On a sad note, I will probably not be able to see the rest of the debates due to my having to travel to Puerto Rico to visit my dying Grandfather. Keep up the good work guys (and girls) and Ill see you all when I get back.

Obviously but if you can keep Conine in Left and have Lee at 1st that makes even a better offense. Than having Conine and Castillo only. The only thing Lee gives is some pop and JT Snow could give offense as well. If there is no Castillo then who is Lee gonna drive in? There is no way to prove that he will be back to his normal self. Thats why some teams and the marlins are worried about giving him a big contract. More than likely he will and you know what a healthy Castillo can do on the basepaths. Yes they did make errors that cost some runs but I can bet you there were situations where they could have drove in a run earlier in the game or get on base so they could score. As I said, Castillo is a proven commodity on defense and on offense, if he leaves there is no real replacement for what he does.

Also if you say Castillo is valuable to team but Juan Encarnacion and Derrek Lee are expendable. That makes no sense. It makes sense when you have Conine to play first base or you can get a cheaper option that does not strike out as much. But I think the team needs Castillo. Well I dont think many people worried about Castillo last year considering he only stole 21 bases and was caught 19 times. Remember he was coming off of hip surgery. Just imagine what a healthy Castillo does batting after Pierre. No way next year does Castillo get only 21 steals. Your right Burnett didnt do anything last year but he is more valuable to the team in the future than Castillo is. Pitching wins games not Defense. Oh yeah, ask Alex Gonzalez of the Cubs or Jose Cruz Jr. if defense doesnt win games

I cannot say the this team is better without Castillo but I can say this team is not better if we keep Castillo and get rid of some other player like a Lowell, Pudge, Burnett. Actually can you please tell me what Burnett did last season. Did he provide sensational defense? Did he hit over .300? Did he do anything to get the Marlins to the World Series? No, but Castillo did and whether you have to pay him $7 mil or $8 mil you do. Maybe you keep Lowell, Pudge, and Burnett. But Castillo is one of the reasons we went to the World Series. D Lee and Encarnacion are the expendable ones, so jettison their salary and find a way to keep Castillo. No one plays defense as well as Castillo, and no one has a combination of speed 1-2 like Pierre and Castillo. You keep that at the top of the order and you keep every pitcher in baseball worried.

Yeah, he batted .286 but his OBP was .381 leaving himself onbase for the heart of the lineup. With runners on base his average was a good .336. As for not being clutch, it was Castillo's 2 out basehit that gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the World Series against a stubborn Andy Pettite. There were only 2 months in the season that Castillos average was below .300 and in all of those months his OBP only went under .350 once and in that month it was .330. Not to mention that he only grounded into 7 double plays and with over 100 less at bats good ole' Grudzy grounded into 13. There is also the chemistry of this team you have to think about. Castillo has been with most of the guys on the team a long time and knows all the little nuances of each player. The intangibles mean alot as well when it comes to a decision of this magnitude. Edit: I actually like Grudzy...so if you read this dont take it personal.

If Mark Grudzielanek is just as good as Luis Castillo, how come he is not as sought after as Luis is? You say that he struck out 4 more times than Luis did, but Luis had over 100 more at bats than Grudz. But this debate is not Luis vs Mark. The Marlins need Luis Castillo and his consistent bat. I know his SB's were down this year but he was coming off of hip surgery so you know that his numbers are gonna get better. Speed, defense, and pitching. Thats what we are supposed to be building this team around. Now Id be a fool to say that Luis can pitch, but the speed and defense part are what Luis is the mold for. Castillo can hit in the clutch and he is consistent. He can turn the double play better than anyone. What other position can possibly hold a higher value than 2nd for a team preaching defense and speed.

I might be new, but Im all for it. I would like to be a debator.

Are we the first team to win the World Series (God I love saying that! ) when the opposing pitchers had a 2.13 era?

The Marlins are now the best team in baseball and we proved it. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

But you gotta feel bad for Bump. On the World Series shirts his name isnt on there but Fox is.