fauowls44

I've been to games during the summer in Cincinatti, St. Louis and Atlanta and it was at least as hot or humid as Florida. St. Louis was just unbearable. Cincinnati, and places like Louisville on the Ohio are disgustingly humid during the summer. Sometimes people in Florida have it in their head that it doesn't get hot and humid as hell anywhere else during the summer. But that aside. I think it's mainly the culture in Florida. Even though it's played so much here, I've been all over the east and have never seen a place so unenthusiastic as Florida. I'm thinking maybe it has to do with the fact that there isn't a history of baseball entrenched in the city and so many people are from other states or countries. In a lot of cities up north peoples great grandfathers have supported the same team as them. If I've never been anywhere else I'd probably be convinced that baseball is on par with hockey in terms of popularity. [/b]Also its pretty obvious that cities with the least amount of entertainment draw the most sports fans. I don't expect league average attendence long term but I'm just glad the Marlins will be around for a long time. This is the part that has me scratching my head. I don't agree. Unless you meant to say the least amount of entertainment that you personally like. That I could understand. I just can't come up with a top 10 attendance MLB team that dosen't have loads of other non baseball related activities. More times than not there is around 15% of the city of St. Louis at a Cardinal game, it would be hard to say that about some mega cities regardless of the capacity of the stadium. The greater St. Louis area in Missouri has a population of 2.7 million people. So the Cardinals are drawing almost 417,000 per game? Wow! The Cardinals are a regional team, like the Cubs, and the New York teams. Their fan base is not just St. Louis, but they draw from all over the Mid-West region of the country. That is why they not only draw well in St. Louis, but also have a strong following all over the country. The St. Louis Metropolitan Area still ranks around 20th in baseball in population so they still have one of the highest percentages of their population attending games. I realize there are a lot of regional Cardinal fans due to St. Louis being the most western baseball city at one point and some other reasons; but I'm not sure I believe that a vast majority of the fans day in day out aren't from the St. Louis Metro area. If you subtracted those not from the metro area I'd guarantee it would still be among the league leaders in attendance. The enthusiasm for the Cardinals in the city alone is unbelievable. I always heard about it but I was blown away in person. I'm not saying that the majority of the fans in St. Louis aren't from St. Louis, but you said 15% of the city is there...which is ridiculous since that would be hundreds of thousands of people. But yes, St. Louis is a great baseball town.

I've been to games during the summer in Cincinatti, St. Louis and Atlanta and it was at least as hot or humid as Florida. St. Louis was just unbearable. Cincinnati, and places like Louisville on the Ohio are disgustingly humid during the summer. Sometimes people in Florida have it in their head that it doesn't get hot and humid as hell anywhere else during the summer. But that aside. I think it's mainly the culture in Florida. Even though it's played so much here, I've been all over the east and have never seen a place so unenthusiastic as Florida. I'm thinking maybe it has to do with the fact that there isn't a history of baseball entrenched in the city and so many people are from other states or countries. In a lot of cities up north peoples great grandfathers have supported the same team as them. If I've never been anywhere else I'd probably be convinced that baseball is on par with hockey in terms of popularity. [/b]Also its pretty obvious that cities with the least amount of entertainment draw the most sports fans. I don't expect league average attendence long term but I'm just glad the Marlins will be around for a long time. This is the part that has me scratching my head. I don't agree. Unless you meant to say the least amount of entertainment that you personally like. That I could understand. I just can't come up with a top 10 attendance MLB team that dosen't have loads of other non baseball related activities. More times than not there is around 15% of the city of St. Louis at a Cardinal game, it would be hard to say that about some mega cities regardless of the capacity of the stadium. The greater St. Louis area in Missouri has a population of 2.7 million people. So the Cardinals are drawing almost 417,000 per game? Wow! The Cardinals are a regional team, like the Cubs, and the New York teams. Their fan base is not just St. Louis, but they draw from all over the Mid-West region of the country. That is why they not only draw well in St. Louis, but also have a strong following all over the country.

I don't read the Miami New Times often, but given how biased against the ballpark they have been all along, I have a hunch that Braman Motors buys a lot of advertising in that rag.

I wonder why they are doing the last few rows along the field last? Probably because there is a giant crane in that area building the roof.

This stadium should be awesome. It's just too bad they had to take our tax dollars to pay for it then charge us $10 for a bottle water. The stadium is funded with TOURIST tax dollars...but don't why worry about the facts?

Raised in Houston until I moved to Miami in March of 1993. It makes matchups between them fun, though. According to your birthdate on your profile, you were 6 when you left Houston. You've been in South Florida 18 years. I'd say it's time to let go of the Astros!

I have always thought that liking more then one team in a sport was lame, separate league or not. But that's just me. A whole lot of difference between like and support There is? OK...I've always thought "supporting" more then one team in the same sport was lame. If a team plays my team, or could potentially play my team, then I don't like them. I couldnt care less whether or not the Rays, or any other teams I like such as Boston win or lose their games. Its just I dont mind them, and prefer them to teams I dislike, such as the Yankees etc Alright. I was just answering your original question about if it was OK to like the Rays or Red Sox. I suppose I have no real problem (not that anyone should care what I think about this) if that is how you define whether you "like" a team or not. However, I, as a Marlins fan, cannot support anyone "liking" the Red Sox in any way, shape, or form, so long as John Henry is their owner. The man came in promising to build a stadium, then cried poor, then somehow found another $700 million when a better situation came along.

I have always thought that liking more then one team in a sport was lame, separate league or not. But that's just me. A whole lot of difference between like and support There is? OK...I've always thought "supporting" more then one team in the same sport was lame. If a team plays my team, or could potentially play my team, then I don't like them. Some of us have a reason for supporting two teams (which I support the Marlins and Astros). Alright. I just can't wrap my mind anound how that works...but that is your right.

I have always thought that liking more then one team in a sport was lame, separate league or not. But that's just me. A whole lot of difference between like and support There is? OK...I've always thought "supporting" more then one team in the same sport was lame. If a team plays my team, or could potentially play my team, then I don't like them.

May as well let him play 2nd for a few months so Dominguez can start the year in the minors.

I have always thought that liking more then one team in a sport was lame, separate league or not. But that's just me.

This just in: in a compromise move, d LoMo will legally change his name to Carl Barger and wear the #5. Okay. That's cute. Didn't really see that many Marlins fans at the game yesterday. And the section we were in was all season ticket holders using the tickets from our vouchers that we turned in at FunFest back in January. Not one of them agreed with you guys. In that case, we're all wrong. I don't see what the big deal is. It was a mistake/ shortsightedness to retire a number that was never wore. I guess your problem lies with the issue of un-retiring something? Well.. it shouldn't of been retired in the first place. I think it probably has more to do with dumping our entire history. At FanFest Samson even said something along the lines that this would be a new franchise come 2012 and building it's own history. I believe that was when someone commented on losing the teal. So what's next? No flags representing 1997 and 2003? They weren't the Miami Marlins, the new franchise. They were the team this FO apparently wants everyone to mostly forget. That number was retired to honor the memory of a man that contributed so much to the birth of this team and never got the opportunity to watch them. He died in the process of continuing the dream so many in South Florida had. So, I don't see what the big deal is in leaving it retired. Because it's LoMo that wants it? Honestly ask yourself, if it wasn't a fan fav and instead one of this boards man to blame for everything, would it make a difference then? It's not that LoMo wants the number. It's that retiring it in the first place was kind of a silly thing to do since the man never wore a number. Nobody is saying to not honor Barger's place in team history. The problem I have is that as far as I can remember, his biggest actual contribution to the team was being the first person to have a number retired. Wayne and his money brought the dream of having a team here to reality. It's a shame Barger died so soon into his job, but just dying doesn't warrent the top honor that a team can give someone. Perhaps he did more then I give him credit for....that's why a plaque outlining all of his contributions is a much better way to honor him then a flag displaying a number he never wore.

I didn't say I object to retiring numbers, but Barger wasn't a player and doesn't need a number. Put him into a Marlins Hall of Fame or ring of honor, or build a monument on the Plaza. Retiring numbers are for players or managers. Team presidents shouldn't get that honor because they don't wear uniforms to do their jobs. All I'm saying is there are more appropriate ways to pay respect to what he did for the franchise. A plaque on display somewhere can at least explain who he was and why he's being remembered. Now most people see the #5 flag with no explanation and wonder who he was. Now that you explained it better, I see your point. That first part with the 200 year example was absurd exagerration. But I still disagree. That retired number was given for his contributions to the birth of the team and it has been retired from Day One. Leave it that way. It is a part of our history. If some fans don't know what that flag stands for then it is our job to explain it to them. Just as it is our job to explain to the unknowing what any part of our history is, in and out of baseball. (Example---- I doubt very much if everyone in Miami knows who Julia Tuttle was, and I believe there is even a bridge or something named after her there.) I'm a huge LoMo fan, but the number on his back won't make him play any better. First of all, why should it be our job to explain why the team retired a number for someone who never wore one? The man served as team president for a year and a half before we ever played a single game. I'm not trying to disrespect what he did for the team, but really, are whatever contributions he made for that short amount of time really worthy of the highest honor someone can get in the sport?? A plaque is far more appropriate, just as it would be for a team owner, GM, or broadcaster that played a significant role with a team. Also, the Julia Tuttle thing is different from this situation. You would expect local bridges and roadways to be named after locals or historical figures. That is a normal thing to do. It's not a normal thing for a team president to be given a retired number...that is an honor that should be reserved for someone who played the game.

Seriously? I read the same article and thought it was a great idea. Whatever one may think of Barger, he never set foot on a baseball field as a player and I doubt more than 20% of this board (and maybe 1% of everyday fans) even associate his name with the team. They named the Viera training complex for him, that was sufficient. Who cares who a FO guy's favorite player was? LoMo would like to wear Brett's number. Loria agrees. Fine by me. But then I think the whole idea of retiring numbers is ridiculous. What are they going to do 200 years from now? Everyones number is over 100? Or go to decimals? Sorry, 9 is retired, 9.1 is taken by so-and-so, but 9.2 and 9.3 are available. :lol I agree. I get that he was our first president and all, but the reality is that he did very little in terms of contributing to this organization's history. There are other ways to honor Barger. I'm sure that the new stadium will have some sort of Marlins hall of fame. Put his name in there with the first set of inductees (Conine and possibly Lowell). There is no need to waste a uniform number. As for people not buying tickets because of the name change...get over it. Miami Marlins sounds a hell of a lot better then the San Antonio Marlins. Besides, Miami made a commitment to this team when the state of Florida stalled the stadium effort at every turn. Exactly what I tell them. But it's not just the name change. You guys are just zeroing in on that. It's the whole package. Name, colors, uniforms, etc... All the changes as a whole seems to have tipped their opinions. It's not just a couple of people either. I'm finding more and more fans from this area locking into that excuse. And I do find it as an excuse, not a good reason. My defintions on the difference between the two is pretty well documented. I just don't get that mentality. If it's just the name or the whole package, it's still a lame reason(or excuse) for dropping a team you have supported for 20 years. As long as they are South Florida's MLB team I'm going to be a fan. Nothing outside of a move to another state was going to change that. BTW I had no problem with the state not granting those tax exemptions. From what they could see it wasn't in the majority interests of Florida. As fans we could groan and moan about it, but they were doing their job. Please. There are plenty of projects and businesses that get tax exemptions every year that go to things in North Florida that South Floridians don't benefit from. Besides, the Marlins were seeking a tax exemption that had been granted to every team in the state, not just the South Florida major sports teams. I couldn't care less about the Tampa Bay Bucs, but I can recognize that the State is better off with them in it then not. The people against the Marlins bill up there claimed the Marlins were double-dipping because Wayne already had that exemption for his stadium. Anyway, that is all old news and irrelevant now. You guys can disagree all you want but I'm never going to be in favor of unretiring #5. Barger was an integral part to the birth of this team. Don't like the idea of retiring numbers? Fine. Get everyone to unretire every number then. Including #24. Let's see how far you get with that. I didn't say I object to retiring numbers, but Barger wasn't a player and doesn't need a number. Put him into a Marlins Hall of Fame or ring of honor, or build a monument on the Plaza. Retiring numbers are for players or managers. Team presidents shouldn't get that honor because they don't wear uniforms to do their jobs. All I'm saying is there are more appropriate ways to pay respect to what he did for the franchise. A plaque on display somewhere can at least explain who he was and why he's being remembered. Now most people see the #5 flag with no explanation and wonder who he was.

Seriously? I read the same article and thought it was a great idea. Whatever one may think of Barger, he never set foot on a baseball field as a player and I doubt more than 20% of this board (and maybe 1% of everyday fans) even associate his name with the team. They named the Viera training complex for him, that was sufficient. Who cares who a FO guy's favorite player was? LoMo would like to wear Brett's number. Loria agrees. Fine by me. But then I think the whole idea of retiring numbers is ridiculous. What are they going to do 200 years from now? Everyones number is over 100? Or go to decimals? Sorry, 9 is retired, 9.1 is taken by so-and-so, but 9.2 and 9.3 are available. :lol I agree. I get that he was our first president and all, but the reality is that he did very little in terms of contributing to this organization's history. There are other ways to honor Barger. I'm sure that the new stadium will have some sort of Marlins hall of fame. Put his name in there with the first set of inductees (Conine and possibly Lowell). There is no need to waste a uniform number. As for people not buying tickets because of the name change...get over it. Miami Marlins sounds a hell of a lot better then the San Antonio Marlins. Besides, Miami made a commitment to this team when the state of Florida stalled the stadium effort at every turn.

I'm worried about CF. I'm concerned that Coghlan's offensive abilities might be closer to what they were in the first half of 2010 rather than the second half of 2009. I also don't see him playing good enough defense in CF to compensate for it. I suspect Bonifacio will be given a decent amount of playing time there. I'm with you. People don't seem to be open to the possibility that Coghlan's 2010 numbers may be closer to his abilities than his 2009 numbers. I'm really worried about Coghlan. People don't seem open to that possibility because there is nothing in Coghlan's history to suggest that his 2010 numbers are who he is. In 1300 minor league plate apparences, he hit .298 had an OPS of .839, and walked more then he struck out. In 2009, he had an OPS of .850 and struck out only 77 times in 565 ABs. So there is not much to suggest that he's suddenly become a player who strikes out almost once a game and has an OPS of .718 like he was on 2010. Last year was mostly a by-product of his horrendous start to the year and the ridiculous extra-base hit-less streak, which is something he'll likely never go through again (at least to that magnitude). History indicates he'll be closer to 2009 then 2010 in 2011.

I thought Bosh had a pretty good game too. I know its only been a game and 3 minutes, but Miller isn't wowing me. He's 0-7 from the field and 1-2 from the FT line. I hope its just rust. This the first time ever that the Heat have won both games in a season against the Suns. I don't know that for a fact, but it has to be true. This is either the 4th or 5th time the Heat has swept the Suns. They mentioned it during the broadcast. Also, I wouldn't judge Miller on this performance. He's now had 1 practice and played all of a combined 22 minutes in the past 3 months. Once he gets his legs under him his shot will start falling and he won't get bocked on a dunk attempt like he was tonight. Plus, he only played so many minutes last night because Wade was out. Give him a couple of weeks and he'll be an important part of the rotation. Besides, while he's struggled in limited time shooting the ball, he has rebounded well in his few minutes and he was a team leading +17 against the Suns.

Don't know why people aren't pleased with this. 3 years, $26.5 million seems about right to me. If Nolasco were on the FA market right now, he'd easily get $9-10 million a season if not more. The deal will likely breakout as $6, $9, $11.5, or something like that. It's a fair deal for both sides. Also, it's just a great feeling that now with the stadium in place, the Marlins are starting to operate like an actual Major Leage team. But that's the thing... he isn't on the FA market right now. He is still under club control for 2 more years. So with this contract, we're only buying out 1 FA year. I think the Marlins are hoping Ricky has a superb year next year so we save money on his final year of arb + 1st FA year. If Ricky puts up his same peripherals with an ERA in the low-mid 3's (which he can easily do if his HR/9 comes down to earth) than this deal will be a steal because he would likely command 8-9MM in arb next year and 10+ MIL on the open market. Thank you for typing that bolded part. That makes all the difference in the world. This deal is very market price. If Nolasco is great next year, he'd likely get $10 million in 2012 arbitration, and he'd be a $12+ pitcher in free agency, or more if he is awesome. The Marlins really didn't "save" any money with this deal, but they really didn't "spend" any money by securing a free agency year. I think there is enough value in that with not having to "spend" a lot for that 1 free agency deal, where this is an acceptable move. I don't hate it, I don't love it. It's just market price which is sometimes not a bad thing. I realize he's not a FA, but the point was that if he was, he'd command a lot more then we just paid. I'm good with it because I'm sure the next two seasons are just going to be what he would have received in arbitraion anyway, but we have a preety good chance of getting him a "bargain" rate in 2013.

Don't know why people aren't pleased with this. 3 years, $26.5 million seems about right to me. If Nolasco were on the FA market right now, he'd easily get $9-10 million a season if not more. The deal will likely breakout as $6, $9, $11.5, or something like that. It's a fair deal for both sides. Also, it's just a great feeling that now with the stadium in place, the Marlins are starting to operate like an actual Major Leage team.

All these former Yankees signing with the fish. The Marlins have agreed to sign Randy Choate to a two-year deal worth $5MM plus incentives, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). ACES represents Choate. The 35-year-old led the league in appearances (85), but logged just 44 2/3 innings, since he's generally a lefty specialist. Choate posted a 4.23 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 for the Rays last year. At least two teams besides the Marlins pursued Choate. The Rays offered the Type B free agent arbitration, so they'll receive a supplementary first round pick in next year's draft. I think the money is wrong. From Rosenthal's tweet, it sounds like 2 years, $2.5 million total plus incentives each year.

.....because any of you knew Kiko Calero or Clay Hensley by name Well I think the difference between those guys and this year's guys, is that Hensley, Calero, and Cantu all had ML success at some point in their careers....looking at the ST invites this year and their career numbers (or lack thereof) it's very uninspiring. Probably because the roster this season is mostly set. It's easier to get guys with ML experience to sign as a non-roster invitee if they think they have a realistic shot to actually make the team.

What is sad is that Stanton may be the only player we have that hits over 25 dingers next year. I know Hanley can but not unrealistic to say he won't. Because hitting a lot of homeruns is the only way to win baseball games? I think the Giants would disagree. They just won the World Series with 1 player hitting more then 25 HRs. Also, the 2003 Marlins had only 2 players hit more then 25 HRs.

Cliff Lee is left-handed.....just saying...

I'd just wait to see how this plays out. Remember how bleak the JJ contract talks looked right before he signed?

Riiiigggghhht....First of all, the White Sox would have accepted that so fast, they would have had Stanton on a plane to Chicago before they hung up the phone just to make sure the Marlins didn't change their minds. Second of all, there is no way the Marlins would have even offered a star like Stanton who is under team control for the next 6 years. My guess is this "disussion" went something like this: Marlins: We'd like to talk to Ozzie. White Sox: OK, you can have him, but you'll have to trade for him. Marlins: What would you want in return? White Sox: We'll take Mike Stanton. Marlins hang up after Beinfest stops laughing.