fauowls44

Say what you want about Loria and Samson, but they have owned the team for what, 6 or 7 seasons and so far have delivered a World Series, the best 3 year run in our history, and oh yeah, have saved baseball in South Florida with a stadium deal. Do I like the fact that we have the lowest payroll in baseball? No, but I understand why they operate this way. That is why i'm giving them the benefit of the doubt until the new park opens.

Dave Hyde just got Boog to admit that he thinks it's perfectly fine for the Marlins to have a payroll that is 1/2 of the next lowest team while making a lot of money while taking in tens of million in revenue sharing and hundreds of millions of public funds for a new stadium because the Marlins only responsibility is whatever they want it to be because they have no responsabilties towards the public trust. I hate Boog. No baseball talk is better than retarded baseball talk. Why is that retarded? Because he doesn't agree with your view? Hyde's article was lazy journalism. It's real easy to say "The Marlins only spend $20 million but get $60 million in revenue sharing, so they must be making $40 million." He doesn't mention all of the other costs involved in running a team like the minor league system, stadium rent, marketing, paying it's employees, travel, etc. I'm not saying they aren't making money, just that it's not as simple as Hyde would make it seem. Don't get me wrong, I don't love the fact the Marlins payroll is so low, but from a business prospective, the way the Marlins run their company makes perfect sense. For a myriad of reasons, fans don't come to the games consistantly. The owner spends money, people don't show up. He doesn't spend money, they don't show up. If it was your team, what would you choose? I'm giving this ownership group the benefit of the doubt until they get into the new ballpark. If they get into the new stadium and still have the lowest payroll in the game, then I will have a serious problem with it.

Is Hendrickson really better than Nolasco? I was surprised he even got the opening day start. I hope that Nolasco is better than Hendrickson, but he pitched well in spring and he is the veteran of the group so he got the nod. He was going along pretty well until the floor dropped out in the fourth. Whoever they threw out there would have been in a tough spot facing Santana, but it's only one game, we'll see what happens....

Concur on Volstad. He is a very good pitcher and should be a solid starter for the Marlins for years to come. However, no need for him to start the year in the rotation, especially as the 5th guy where he won't get regular work. Let him get his innings in Double A, call him up either mid season or next year. I have no problem with De Aza being in the game that late. The season is just around the corner, you can't be coddling your professional athletes. He isn't a mega super star so no harm in getting him ready to play the full 9 innings in this weather. He got hurt, sh*t happens. It's not Fredi's fault. Maybin is better than Carroll and Gomez, but it's not worth having him start the season with us because of arbitration issues. We will see plenty of him come June-July, so just be patient. It will be worth it in a few years. Meh...I guess I'm being a little too impatient. However, it's just what I believe right now. Especially about Volstad. Let him get a couple starts in AA, and bring him up, when we need that 5th starter, imo. Demote Hendrickson. :thumbup Jk (but I wish). What do you have against Henrickson? All he's done is consistently pitch well this spring. He's earned his place in the rotation. As for Volstad, he'll be up at some point this season. Let him get some starts in AA and he'll be ready.

I think at this point I'd be surprised if Marion stays. I realize he was anxious to get out of Phoenix but he's gotta be miserable here. He'll be a lot less miserable with a healthy D-Wade and possibly Michael Beasley here next year. I agree. The Heat will be better...they can't possibly be any worse. Put Wade, Marion, possibly Beasley/Rose, and a few free agents and this team is back in the playoff hunt in the East. Having said that, I think the $$$ will be more of a determining factor in his decision than team performance. Also, it is just as likely that he does not opt-out and is still playing elsewhere through a sign-and-trade.

I would say I care, but I'd be lying. In other news, Alaska Fairbanks has won the Rifle National Championship! :lol Seriously, I am happy that Iowa won though. I think Iowa is the only place in America that really cares about college wrestling. And the fact that Tom Brands is back just makes it even better!

Spring records are meaningless, but winning is always better than losing. The Heat were 0-7 in the preseason and we've seen how that turned out.

If Marion stays, we don't have any cap room. Uh, yeah we will man. J-Will, Ricky Davis and Zo come off the books. You are wrong. Yes, Davis, Williams, Zo, and potentially Wright's salaries come off the books this offseason, but that doesn't mean the Heat will have cap room this offseason. They still have Wade, Marion, Haslem, Blount, Banks, and Cook on the books. The NBA salary cap is somewhere in the low-to-mid $50 range. Those players combined put the Heat at or near the salary cap. Even though the cap will increase slightly, any cap room the Heat have would be minimal. What the Heat will have is lots of room under the luxary tax. That will allow them to add players with both the mid-level and low-level exceptions without having to worry about going over the tax and paying a dollar for dollar penalty for going over the tax. Should Marion opt-out, then you are looking at $17-20 million in cap room and enough room to add a max contract free agent. They also could use Marion in a sign-and-trade deal for a player like Brand, or they could work out a contract extension with him and lower his cap number for next year. Otherwise, you let him play out next season and have a lot of cap room after next year. Obviously, where the Heat ends up in the Lottery will determine what course they take in the offseason. If they get the #1 pick, then you have Beasley and Haslem or Marion become expendable(or more expendable then they are now). If they end up with #2, #3 or #4 and you get Rose or another PG, then they may chose to keep Haslem and let Marion play out his deal and use the cap room the following offseason.

From Sarah Talalay's Blog on the Sun Sentinel: http://blogs.trb.com/sports/custom/busines...te_no_9110.html Marlins Stadium Update No. 911,000 > Posted by Sarah Talalay at 11:25 PM OK, it?s not much of an update, but it?s almost the deadline for an agreement on which police and fire departments will patrol a new Marlins ballpark. Among the items raised during last month?s seemingly endless Miami-Dade County Commission debate over the ballpark was whether county or city police and fire would patrol the venue. County officials promised to resolve the contentious issue within 30 days ? or risk derailing the plan to build a $515 million retractable roof ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl. On Tuesday, county commissioners extended the deadline for the law enforcement issue to be resolved until April 8 ? the next scheduled meeting of county commissioners. I?m being told the issue of which jurisdiction will win the coveted patrol ? more than likely it will be a blended patrol ? will be resolved and will not prevent the ballpark agreement from moving forward.

Have you actually visited Morgantown or just looked at pictures? I would definately visit the school before making the decision. Lots of people say that they want to go away to school "x" until they get there. Being in West Virginia may seem like a good idea until you are there, freezing in the winter, thousands of miles away from your family and friends, and adding up how much debt you are in. If you are already concerned about the money, i'd personally go conservative and look for less expensive options. It's your choice and there are plenty of positives to going away to college, but just don't go just to go. Make sure it is the best fit for you academically and financially. College is what you make of it. There are plenty of excellent in-state schools that don't require you paying for them 20-30 years down the road.

Jets signed former Dolphins RB Jesse Chapman to a 1 year deal. I'm not really sure why they did this because they already have Jones and Washington. It's Jesse Chatman.....He's a solid player, was playing well with the Dolphins until he got hurt. I agree, I don't really see a need in NY for him, but as the Dolphins proved last year, you can never have enough RB's (or you'll be left with Patrick Cobbs and Samkon Gado). I take this as a sign that the Dolphins really do expect Ricky to be a part of the plans. I, for one, hope this is true. He could be the best bargain in football as long as he's on the field (i know that is a big question mark).

Now the Mets TV guys are talking about how Opening Day on the 31st is going to be like Opening Day at Shea....in front of 35,000 Mets fans. Actually, that's probably not far from the truth unfortunately.

I'm watching on MLB.tv....man are these Mets announcers terrible. Keith Hernandez doesn't let an inning go by without commenting on how terrible he thinks the Marlins are going to be this year.....about how little range Hanley has at SS, our awful pitching, how the Cabrera trade will put too much pressure on other players to carry his load and that they are not up to it. What ever makes Mets fans feel better about themselves I guess.

Without a stadium, nobody gets any of the overtime pay. There will be yelling and screaming and then it will get resolved.

While, as I said in today's game thread, this is one of those petty in-fighting things that makes everyone involved look bad, and by making a federal case out of it everyone loses. There is going to be so much work in and around the stadium that no one will go without their daily overtime stipend. Now do I understand you'd rather be stationed in the airconsitioned and dry stadium versus dieing in the South Florida sun or soaked in the rain? Of course I do. Ultimately this get resolved and everyone wins. What was so infuriating about this when commissioners and police union officials were talking about derailing the deal over this issue during the stadium vote was that if there is no stadium, nobody gets the overtime pay. It is to everyone's benefit to reach an agreement on this and i'm sure, after some yelling and complaining, that they will.

Dolphins signed G Justin Smiley from the 49ers. 5 years, $25mil with a $9mil signing bonus. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/footbal...0,6287331.story

Barrone came in and stranded the base runners. Nice outing for him.

Mitre had to leave game with injury, not sure what, Joe Angel said he was limping slightly. He wasn't very sharp....two walks and didn't record an out. Hopefully, the injury isnt too serious, he was able to walk off on his own power.

I'm not worried. The attorneys for both the City and the County seem to feel that Braman's argument has no legal basis. In addition to that, County Manager Burgess seemed to strongly feel that the taking down the of the Global Agreement would not affect the stadium. And while Braman has some good lawyers, I am willing to bet that the City, County, Major League Baseball Inc., and Florida Marlins LP have better ones. I agree. This guy is a nuisance, but I don't think he is a big threat to the stadium deal. I find it hard to believe that the city and county's lawyers would have allowed a deal to progress to this point if there were any legal issues that could derail the deal.

FAU hosts #5 UNC in Boca this weekend.

I am officially a fan of Bob DuPuy !!! Bob DuPuy is a hero in this last vote. His speech turned that vote around in about 2 seconds. Good job by him and the rest of those involved. All those who emailed the commissioners should write back and thank them. Being nice never hurts.

what is about? reporter say braman want voter to say he want voter to vote for ballpark Braman is looking for an expedited hearing on the matter and a temporary injunction to hold off on stadium construction until his lawsuit is settled. His lawsuit is not asking for a vote. The reporter is being lazy (as are most TV reporters) who don't bother to do any of the necessary work to actually report the facts. The report also included the Mayor saying that he and the county's lawyers believe that they are on solid legal footing. As a lawyer, do you agree?

I don't want Eddy Curry. Riley says that he's not interested in Curry...which probably means he'll be traded to the Heat sometime in the next 24 hours.

Breaking ground seems further and further away the more articles I read about the Legality of the deal. This sucks. This is more anti-sports stadium propaganda. Just get used to it. When it comes to publically financing of anything, there is always a ton of negative articles(the city of Boca just built a new library. It cost $12 million in tax payer money and drew a public outcry...for a PUBLIC LIBRARY!). That doesn't mean that the people writing these are correct or know what they are talking about. The Marlins, City of Miami, and Miami-Dade county all have plenty of high-priced lawyers working on this deal. I find it hard to believe that they would allow this deal to get this far if there was anything in it that violated the state constitution.

Kidd to Mavs is now official.