Wild Card Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Not my best work, but not too shabby... One Big Question, No Answer . . . Yet By Josh Clinton There is no doubt that the Florida Marlins front office is going to make trades by the July, 31st deadline. The question is, will it be to improve a team looking to push for the National League wild card spot, or to demolish a core of star players that have been together for years? With one more win, the Florida Marlins will have a record of 39-39, making them an average Major League team. Although their record might not tell the whole story, it is where they unfortunately stand. Since the team fired Manager Jeff Torborg, who was 16-22 after 38 games to start this season, the Marlins are currently 22-17 in 39 games under new manager, 72-year-old Jack McKeon, who has seemed to get better with age. Because of that very fortunate stat, the front office is somewhat confused about what its plans or direction for the future may be. A "fork in the road" if you will. If they keep performing the way they have under McKeon, and are in the area of 2-5 games above . 500 by the all-star break (July 14th), they may end up trading minor-league prospects for impact Major Leaguers to make a playoff run, which may not be very far off. At the beginning of the year, the belief was that Owner Jeffery Loria had high expectations for this team to perform at a high level. Now that they are performing, they may lean toward this optimistic direction and try to improve the team. Because second baseman Luis Castillo is a Free Agent after the season, they could choose to deal him dispite where they are in the standings. Possibly for Major League pitching talent, and maybe a cheap replacement at second. There were slight rumors earlier of the team acquiring left fielder Rondell White from the San Diego Padres, which might be a slight sign the team is looking to make a run. Talks died down once the team called-up their best prospect Miguel Cabrera, but new stories could surface soon. If the Marlins slip during a tough stretch before the all-star break, they may have to end up dealing their star players away, such as Derrek Lee, Luis Castillo, and of course Mike Lowell. They would most likely recieve little Major League talent and massive talented minor league prospects in return for them. Obviously only time will tell which direction the team does choose to head in once they reach that fork in the road. If Florida keeps playing as well as they have over the past month, they may choose to make a few positive moves for a run at October. If they drop a few games before the all-star break against teams such as the Red Sox, Braves, Phillies, Cubs, and Expos, who all have records over . 500, they could possibly decide to make our worst fears a reality, trading away star players for prospects. All you can do is hope, and see where the team is at when it matters most. But once you see where they're at, I just hope you know what to expect. Feedback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephisto Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 "seemed get better..." you forgot to put to there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJBurnett34 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Good Article! Yea no doubt we are gonna make Major trades here with Lowell, castillo or Lee.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Card Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 No I didn't! :shifty :whistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephisto Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Good article sent to the Herald maybe you'll get a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramp Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Good article sent to the Herald maybe you'll get a job. not there he wont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Card Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 not there he wont Damn straight! I am a positive writer and I want a positive environment! I'm working for the Sentinal! :banghead :unsure : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 It's more of a column that an article... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnie1941 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Not my best work, but not too shabby... One Big Question, No Answer . . . Yet By Josh Clinton There is no doubt that the Florida Marlins front office is going to make trades by the July, 31st deadline. The question is, will it be to improve a team looking to push for the National League wild card spot, or to demolish a core of star players that have been together for years? With one more win, the Florida Marlins will have a record of 39-39, making them an average Major League team. Although their record might not tell the whole story, it is where they unfortunately stand. Since the team fired Manager Jeff Torborg, who was 16-22 after 38 games to start this season, the Marlins are currently 22-17 in 39 games under new manager, 72-year-old Jack McKeon, who has seemed to get better with age. Because of that very fortunate stat, the front office is somewhat confused about what its plans or direction for the future may be. A "fork in the road" if you will. If they keep performing the way they have under McKeon, and are in the area of 2-5 games above . 500 by the all-star break (July 14th), they may end up trading minor-league prospects for impact Major Leaguers to make a playoff run, which may not be very far off. At the beginning of the year, the belief was that Owner Jeffery Loria had high expectations for this team to perform at a high level. Now that they are performing, they may lean toward this optimistic direction and try to improve the team. Because second baseman Luis Castillo is a Free Agent after the season, they could choose to deal him dispite where they are in the standings. Possibly for Major League pitching talent, and maybe a cheap replacement at second. There were slight rumors earlier of the team acquiring left fielder Rondell White from the San Diego Padres, which might be a slight sign the team is looking to make a run. Talks died down once the team called-up their best prospect Miguel Cabrera, but new stories could surface soon. If the Marlins slip during a tough stretch before the all-star break, they may have to end up dealing their star players away, such as Derrek Lee, Luis Castillo, and of course Mike Lowell. They would most likely recieve little Major League talent and massive talented minor league prospects in return for them. Obviously only time will tell which direction the team does choose to head in once they reach that fork in the road. If Florida keeps playing as well as they have over the past month, they may choose to make a few positive moves for a run at October. If they drop a few games before the all-star break against teams such as the Red Sox, Braves, Phillies, Cubs, and Expos, who all have records over . 500, they could possibly decide to make our worst fears a reality, trading away star players for prospects. All you can do is hope, and see where the team is at when it matters most. But once you see where they're at, I just hope you know what to expect. Feedback? Good article. Thoughtful and well-written. But, I do not believe the Marlins recent success should be credited to McKeon. Perry Hill could have done as well, probably better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephisto Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Hill does not make the decisions Mckeon does. Hill has helped Alex alot, but not the team as a a whole. Hill was there before Mckeon and the team was not winning then, remember? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramp Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 McKeon is a proven winner and he is proving it right now in South Fla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJBurnett34 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Hill did a very good job for us, he and Guillen really helped alex and alot of Infielders on fielding, but McKeon should be credited because we werent winning when he wasnt here and now we are.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramp Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Arnie was saying that Hill would have done just as good as McKeon.... read people, read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephisto Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Maybe that is Jeff after all or Brad? He's always saying Mckeon does not deserve any credit for the team's recent winning ways. :mischief2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephisto Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Oh yea your right Ramp. But still is not Hill in Mckeon and I'm happy with what his done and I dont think Hill could have done the job Mckeon has. TJ has changed this team's attitude, and he's also a proven winner like ramp said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierre75sbs Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 yea and I hope guillen doesnt become the manager next year. The guy is horrible with sending players home... if he cant handle those decisions imagine what he will do as a skipper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramp Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 i disagree... i wouldnt mind him as manager next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdannyx25 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 i disagree... i wouldnt mind him as manager next year good joke hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramp Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 i disagree... i wouldnt mind him as manager next year good joke hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g8trz2003 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 what is this column for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportsCenter Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 i rather have my my grandma that doesnt know anything bout baseball than Ozzie , i would hate to see him as ur manager next year , keep him a 3B he doing good over there . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odom006 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 i wouldnt mind Trader Jack back next year...... Article makes sense we all know we have to win.... ? is can we??? next 18 games 15 are on the road..... all i have to say is the next 18 games we go 10-8 we still would have team in tact dont you think????? becuz this is where the Schedules Hard part is, i iffy right now, the teams we play arent no joke most them are in our divison and the NL CENT... ill tell ya what it will be very Intersting to see what happens... as 4 this trade Mike Lowell thing he isnt a free agent after this year is up he is a free agent after 2004 like Beltrain i say wait till next year..... you get more value 4 them both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdannyx25 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 if the guy is doing good, i dont see why we need to get rid of him?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SportsCenter Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 either do i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdannyx25 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 wildcard, from the 2nd to last paragraph in your article, you seem to play favoritism and ignorant by influencing you want to keep castillo, lowell, lee...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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