Posted March 28, 200718 yr MARLINS Closer spot no longer is open Florida acquired Jorge Julio in a deal with Arizona for pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, and gave him the closer's job. BY CLARK SPENCER cspencer@MiamiHerald.com Scott Cunningham / Getty Images Former New York Mets Jorge Julio was acquired in a trade to be the Marlins closer on Monday. Cubs' Lee 'playing for more' Monday's game | Cardinals 3, Marlins 1 Catching up with | Mike Jacobs, 1B JUPITER -- Jorge Julio has yet to throw a pitch for the Marlins. But the Venezuelan reliever has already put out his first major fire before putting on the team's uniform. Julio, 28, was anointed the Marlins' closer Monday after Florida obtained him from the Arizona Diamondbacks for starting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit. Thus resolved the biggest question facing the Marlins all spring. ''We have a closer now,'' Marlins general manager Admin Beinfest said. Julio, who has 99 career saves but would have served in a secondary setup role had he remained with Arizona, becomes the latest makeover project for the Marlins, who resurrected careers of ninth-inning specialists Armando Benitez, Todd Jones and Joe Borowski. Julio hasn't been a full-time closer since 2003 when he saved 36 for Baltimore. ''It's good for me because I want to do my job, which is closing,'' Julio told Arizona reporters while packing for Florida. ``I would have been happy to stay here, but I need my role, my job.'' Said Beinfest: ``Guys who had maybe not been full-time closers have come here and done a really good job, and hopefully he's the next one.'' Had the Marlins not landed Julio or any other established closer, they would have entered the regular season without an experienced save artist. Rookie relievers Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens had been mentioned as ninth-inning pitchers, but neither has a major-league save. LONG TIME COMING The Marlins have coveted Julio for years, as far back as the July 2005 trading deadline when they were in serious talks with Baltimore while trying to unload pitcher A.J. Burnett and third baseman Mike Lowell. Beinfest said the Marlins have had renewed interest in Julio since before the first of this year. ''We were pretty upfront that we were in the closer market,'' Beinfest said. ``We talked to a number of teams. We've talked about any number of closers, and we've talked about [Julio] for quite some time.'' The Marlins also explored the possibility of working out a deal with the San Francisco Giants for Benitez, but his $7.6 million salary and diminishing skills served to diffuse interest. Julio comes cheaper. He will make $3.6 million this season, of which the Diamonbacks have agreed to pay about $1.5 million, after which he will become eligible for free agency and likely command a heftier price tag than the thrifty Marlins will be willing to swallow. His addition will bring the on-field payroll this season to about $28 million. But he at least provides them a back-end presence in the bullpen for this season. ''We love the arm. We have for a few years,'' Beinfest said. ``Watching him this spring, we thought it was the right thing to do, given the composition of the bullpen, to bring in the experience, a guy who has closed.'' Julio leans on a mid-90s fastball while also mixing in a splitter and slider. He averages nearly a strikeout an inning, but he also issues more than the usual share of walks and has the unsettling tendency of coughing up home runs at inopportune moments. But the Marlins believe he is better than the other alternatives. And Beinfest likes the makeup of this year's bullpen. Last season's relief arsenal ranked as one of the worst in the majors at protecting leads. ''We've got two lefties,'' Beinfest said of Taylor Tankersley and Renyel Pinto. ``And you've got some power arms. Looking at it on paper. . . . I think it's deeper than the group a year ago. I think it's more mix and match. There are opportunities to fit into roles early on, whereas we were kind of in the tryout mode for a good part of last year to see what we had.'' Petit, whom the Marlins acquired along with first baseman Mike Jacobs in their 2005 trade with the New York Mets for Carlos Delgado, became expendable because of the Marlins' depth of starting pitching. Though Petit was mentioned regularly this spring as a candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation, Sergio Mitre was always assumed to be the front-runner for the job. And the Marlins are higher on some of their younger pitching prospects than they are on Petit, who in his one season in the Marlins organization never lived up to the reputation he earned with the Mets. NEW BEGINNING ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' Julio is scheduled to join the Marlins on Wednesday, the same day that manager Fredi Gonzalez said he intends to answer the last major question hanging over the team as it takes aim on Opening Day: Who is the center fielder? MiamiHerald.com I hope this wasn't posted already or talked about in the trade thread.
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA.
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question.
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question. Sorry to tell you buddy, but if you can't beat out Sergio Mitre for a rotation spot then you can't beat out anyone. Don't let his 10 innings fool you either. Petit acted like he had no chance here which was a total mistake. If you can't see that then you are just blind.
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question. Sorry to tell you buddy, but if you can't beat out Sergio Mitre for a rotation spot then you can't beat out anyone. Don't let his 10 innings fool you either. Petit acted like he had no chance here which was a total mistake. If you can't see that then you are just blind. Considering it would only be a temporary thing until JJ gets back anyway, it's hardly beating out Sergio Mitre. Other than that, you still don't get it, Petit really did have no chance. He was strung along last year on the ever rolling roller-coaster between Miami and Albuquerque. There's no way, absolutely no way, you can say with a straight face (well, maybe not you specifically) that Petit was given a fair shake. Did he have an opportunity this spring? Yes. Is he going to a better opportunity in Arizona? Yes. So, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what he said.
March 28, 200718 yr i hope he pitches against the marlins at some point this year...then we will see what he has to say(assuming he gets racked off course, if not, then ill eat my sneaker)
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question. Sorry to tell you buddy, but if you can't beat out Sergio Mitre for a rotation spot then you can't beat out anyone. Don't let his 10 innings fool you either. Petit acted like he had no chance here which was a total mistake. If you can't see that then you are just blind. Considering it would only be a temporary thing until JJ gets back anyway, it's hardly beating out Sergio Mitre. Other than that, you still don't get it, Petit really did have no chance. He was strung along last year on the ever rolling roller-coaster between Miami and Albuquerque. There's no way, absolutely no way, you can say with a straight face (well, maybe not you specifically) that Petit was given a fair shake. Did he have an opportunity this spring? Yes. Is he going to a better opportunity in Arizona? Yes. So, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what he said. How can you say it's only temporary? How do you know JJ will return at all? JJ, Nolasco, Olsen, they were all temporary also at one point and stuck because they preformed well. Had Petit pitched well, he could have pushed Nolasco out of the rotation. Don't make excuses for the guy. He had his chance and didn't perform, period.
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question. Sorry to tell you buddy, but if you can't beat out Sergio Mitre for a rotation spot then you can't beat out anyone. Don't let his 10 innings fool you either. Petit acted like he had no chance here which was a total mistake. If you can't see that then you are just blind. Considering it would only be a temporary thing until JJ gets back anyway, it's hardly beating out Sergio Mitre. Other than that, you still don't get it, Petit really did have no chance. He was strung along last year on the ever rolling roller-coaster between Miami and Albuquerque. There's no way, absolutely no way, you can say with a straight face (well, maybe not you specifically) that Petit was given a fair shake. Did he have an opportunity this spring? Yes. Is he going to a better opportunity in Arizona? Yes. So, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what he said. How can you say it's only temporary? How do you know JJ will return at all? JJ, Nolasco, Olsen, they were all temporary also at one point and stuck because they preformed well. Had Petit pitched well, he could have pushed Nolasco out of the rotation. Don't make excuses for the guy. He had his chance and didn't perform, period. You know what, you're right...I'm sorry to have even missed that. These 10 innings he got (or whatever the hell it was) is certainly more than adequate to displace any of our five rotation pitchers. Thanks for reminding me.
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question. Sorry to tell you buddy, but if you can't beat out Sergio Mitre for a rotation spot then you can't beat out anyone. Don't let his 10 innings fool you either. Petit acted like he had no chance here which was a total mistake. If you can't see that then you are just blind. Considering it would only be a temporary thing until JJ gets back anyway, it's hardly beating out Sergio Mitre. Other than that, you still don't get it, Petit really did have no chance. He was strung along last year on the ever rolling roller-coaster between Miami and Albuquerque. There's no way, absolutely no way, you can say with a straight face (well, maybe not you specifically) that Petit was given a fair shake. Did he have an opportunity this spring? Yes. Is he going to a better opportunity in Arizona? Yes. So, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what he said. How can you say it's only temporary? How do you know JJ will return at all? JJ, Nolasco, Olsen, they were all temporary also at one point and stuck because they preformed well. Had Petit pitched well, he could have pushed Nolasco out of the rotation. Don't make excuses for the guy. He had his chance and didn't perform, period. You know what, you're right...I'm sorry to have even missed that. These 10 innings he got (or whatever the hell it was) is certainly more than adequate to displace any of our five rotation pitchers. Thanks for reminding me. they call it survival of the fittest...petit was nabbed from mommy in infancy, and now he is whining that he is gobbled up and gonna be sh*t out in arizona, maybe he wont stink too badly :mischief
March 28, 200718 yr I love this quote.... ''Over there I have a little more opportunity,'' Petit said of the Diamondbacks, who will most likely start him out at Triple A. ``I've got a chance over there.'' As apposed to what? haha.....You had the biggest chance your life to be our 5th starter and you blew it. Try pitching one inning in the majors without giving up a run. Have fun in AAA. God damn you're thick. How about going to an organization that doesn't feature a system that has half the quality arms we do as far as front of the rotation guys go. Petit's got a bigger chance to be in the rotation with the D'Backs in 2008 than he does with the fish, and that's no question. Sorry to tell you buddy, but if you can't beat out Sergio Mitre for a rotation spot then you can't beat out anyone. Don't let his 10 innings fool you either. Petit acted like he had no chance here which was a total mistake. If you can't see that then you are just blind. Considering it would only be a temporary thing until JJ gets back anyway, it's hardly beating out Sergio Mitre. Other than that, you still don't get it, Petit really did have no chance. He was strung along last year on the ever rolling roller-coaster between Miami and Albuquerque. There's no way, absolutely no way, you can say with a straight face (well, maybe not you specifically) that Petit was given a fair shake. Did he have an opportunity this spring? Yes. Is he going to a better opportunity in Arizona? Yes. So, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what he said. How can you say it's only temporary? How do you know JJ will return at all? JJ, Nolasco, Olsen, they were all temporary also at one point and stuck because they preformed well. Had Petit pitched well, he could have pushed Nolasco out of the rotation. Don't make excuses for the guy. He had his chance and didn't perform, period. Your arguments get more and more ridiculous by the day.
March 28, 200718 yr Author I see everyone is thrilled to have Julio as our new recycling closer project, I can just tell by the ridiculous amount of posts on the subject...
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