1. I hope the Orioles, White Sox and a few other teams looking for shortstops and second basemen, especially those like Baltimore in a rebuilding mode, take a look at Robert Andino, not because we'd get so much back in return, but rather that the kid gets a chance to play at the major league level.

 

Nevermind Uggla and Ramirez, now with Castillo and Cantu, McPherson (hopefully), Amezaga and the kids waiting in the wings, he's needs an organization where he gets his shot. What he makes of it is up to him but if the Orioles are looking at Uribe for around $4 million, considering their decision to tear down and rebuild, Andino at minimum wage makes a lot more sense. My guess is, Andino's downside BA couldn't be more than five percentage points below what you could expect from Uribe, and his defense is better.

 

2. Nice job by Vanden Hurk yesterday. I admit to waiting for him to fall on his face (not that I want him to, being the homer I am I want every Marlins pitcher to be Cy Young candidates) but he's having a more than respectable spring and just might "earn" (as opposed to being handed because there is no one else) a spot in the starting rotation.

 

3. I wonder sometimes whether we'd be better off sending both Maybin and Miller to Carolina for a few months if Miller can't locate his pitches better? Miller seems to have a touch of the Dontrelle Willis disease, throwing too many pitches to get too few outs. At this level that's a death sentence. Maybe he turns it around tomorrow, I hope so but I'm not counting on it anymore.

 

4. Is Burke Badenhop going to start a game this spring and see what he can do and how far they can reasonably stretch him before final decisions are made?

 

5. Did anyone really think when Castillo and Cantu were signed this off-season that we'd see the defense we have from Castillo or Cantu in the zone he's been in since day one? All those who did please take a giant step forward.

 

6. Did Fredi really suggest that Dan Uggla had the potential to be in the Hall of Fame? Hey, I love Uggla and think he improves at the plate this season, but c'mon Cooperstown?

 

7. Right about now I really wish some of these spring training games were being televised. I hope someone at FSN or the Marlins can find a way to expand their contract to cover enough games where we get to see some of the new names that appear in MLB camps every year.

 

8. If Maybin is being sent down I wouldn't mind seeing the Marlins try to pry either Reggie Wilits (on everyone's blocked players list) or Joey Gathright or even Kenny Lofton to come in and platoon with Ross rather than trusting De Aza to contribute over the longterm. I hope he proves me wrong, I'd be thrilled but I'd rather someone with either the skills or experience in center considering the guys we have playing the corners.

 

9. Is the season a success if we can take both the Opening Day game here and the last game of the season at Shea from the Mets?

1. Trade Uggla and avoid his decline and pending arbitration. It would be awesome if we could pawn him off for something like Ian Stewart or Josh Fields, and I don't find that incredibly unrealistic. Amezaga, Castillo, Andino, and Cantu in a pinch would do just fine, and Coghlan is 1-2 years away. We have depth.

 

3. Miller would dominate the minors with his fastball. It might look ugly at the MLB level with BBs, but he's got to figure it out on the fly. Especially with a MLB contract.

 

6. Gonzalez is crazy.

 

8. De Aza wouldn't be longterm. It would be until Maybin is ready. He and Cody (and Carroll and J. Miller hopefully in a few months), will be able to handle it until Maybin is ready to go. This organization absolutely does not need to trade for outfielders. We have 2 longterm rocks, and a plethora of young options that could develop, plus an endless supply of cheap 1 year vets to throw into LF. It would be nice to have Lofton to pawn off to a contender in July though, but I find that unrealistic.

I would send Miller and Maybin to the minors and call them up in later in the season if they're doing well. One of the priorities with them this year should be to not waste a cheap year of service on what is a throwaway year as far as contending is concerned. I would just make do in CF with Carroll, De Aza and spot Cody once in a while and even Fredo if Carroll and De Aza fall on their faces. If we had an outside shot at contending then I would be all for Lofton but where we are right now it wouldn't really matter so we might as well play the young guys and see what they can do.

THe problem about service time with miller is he already has 122 days of service time.

 

So if we wanted to save a year, he wouldn't be back up until like september.

THe problem about service time with miller is he already has 122 days of service time.

 

So if we wanted to save a year, he wouldn't be back up until like september.

 

True, I forgot about that. Still, I'm not sure he's ready for MLB because of the walks and he'll be facing tough lineups in the division with the Phillies, Mets and Braves.

I see no problem with keeping Miller in the big league , he pitched his innings , made some experience and is ready to pitch in the big league. its a different story with maybin..thats truely a tough one , but there is enough depth in the outfield to survive calling him down to the minors.

 

I definetely agree with ur point on Andino , he is a huge prospect ready to take his shot..but unfortunately there is no chance in the marlins roster for him to play as much , as he would like to..

I don't know how huge Andino is but he's done enough at the minor league level to warrant a major league tryout with some other team in need of a position player like him, and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the Marlins front office don't have out there as available.

 

Teams do that all the time with players like Andino, not agressively try to trade him but let other teams know he worth considering. They do it as much for the player as for themselves.

I relly don't think he's done enough in the minors...I think he still needs more time. A .278 AVG/.750 OPS at Albuqurque really isn't impressive.

 

And I could be wrong but I think he's out of options.

 

"If a player is on the 40-man roster in spring training but optioned to the minors before the season begins, an option is used."

 

So last year was his last option year, now he's out of options. Well, he has played in ST 2005-2007, was he on the 40 man on 2005?

 

The reason this is a big deal is cuz...if he's out of options and struggles at the major league level, you then can't send him down. If he still has an option year left though then yeah, I'd be a lot more inclined to trade for him.

Nny, you can pick which stat you want to highlight and for a guy like Andino I'd look at BA but more importantly OBP rather than what his OPS is. Over the years he's gotten progressively better, last year .278/.322 not extraordinary numbers but if you're comparing him to Juan Uribe @ $4.5 million and last year's line of .234/.284 and a lifetime OBP below .300 it's hard say he's not worth a look.

 

And as one makes the comparison considering the position, defense has to come into the equation and while Andino looks to have a big error count, from everything I've read, and I extensively went through a lot of stuff when moving Hanley to CF was at least minimally and option, you remember that, two things came up repeatedly, his error count was high because he was trying to make plays no other shortstop could even get close to, and defensively last season he was the best SS in the PCL.

 

So you call'em as you see'em. I think on the right team he has a chance of playing everyday, not here, not a lot of places, but he'd fit well with certain teams with specific needs and it wouldn't surprise me if the Marlins brokered a deal, however minor, to accommodate that given his situation in this organization.

I agree that I would take him over Uribe, but there's also a reason Uribe is supposedly on waivers.

 

And while the O's do have a hole at SS, if they do the supposed Brian Roberts deal, they'd supposedly get a 2b (patterson) and a SS (cedeno) in return.

 

I can't really think of any other team with a huge hole at either SS or 2nd that's in rebuilding mode...but I'm also not thinking very hard at the moment

 

edit: just want to clarify that I'm not saying Andino can never be a useful player for another team, but I still think he's atleast another year away from being able to contribute at the major league level.

 

 

And looking at his minor league numbers I really have to wonder if we've rushed him. Me personally I would have had him A+ in 2006...and in 2006, he didn't produce enough at AA to warrant a callup to AAA in 2007 imo...

 

But he also improved a lot last year so eh, alls well that hopefully ends well.

Nny, these are random thoughts...and not I'm committing a whole of brain cells to this either. If it happens great, if not it's not world-altering.

by the way, I have to assume this is Andino's last option year because he wasn't optioned at the end of last year, so he's currently on the 25 man (I believe that if a player is on the 40 man but not on the 25 man, he can still be sent down in ST).

I would send Miller and Maybin to the minors and call them up in later in the season if they're doing well. One of the priorities with them this year should be to not waste a cheap year of service on what is a throwaway year as far as contending is concerned. I would just make do in CF with Carroll, De Aza and spot Cody once in a while and even Fredo if Carroll and De Aza fall on their faces. If we had an outside shot at contending then I would be all for Lofton but where we are right now it wouldn't really matter so we might as well play the young guys and see what they can do.

Ideally both Miller and Maybin should be sent down, but Miller has 3 years remaining on major league contract that allows him to opt out for arbitration. He can also earn an additional 2 million for being on the 25 man. With all that I dont think the marlins are willing to pay him millions to develop in the minors, and would rather have him learn on the job.

Details about Miller's contract..

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/printer/p262119.html

 

Tigers Get Miller Deal Done

Deal expected to exceed value of Royals' pact with Hochevar

By John Manuel

August 4, 2006

 

Andrew Miller has had quite a year.

 

The North Carolina lefthander was the College Player of the Year, led the Tar Heels to the College World Series championship series and was the No. 6 overall pick in the draft.

 

Now, having signed with the Tigers, he'll end his year in the major leagues.

 

The Tigers announced they had agreed to terms with Miller on a major league contract that is believed to include a $3.55 million bonus and a guaranteed September callup. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the contract guarantees Miller more than $5.4 million, and with escalator clauses tied to his presence on the 25-man roster, Miller could earn nearly $7.5 million. His contract also allows him to opt out early for arbitration.

Maybe is not getting sent to Triple A.He is getting enough seasoning in spring training.

Maybe is not getting sent to Triple A.He is getting enough seasoning in spring training.

 

:blink:

1. I agree about Andino. I've been a fan of his for some time, and believe he can be a decent starting middle IF for some team. Here, he'll simply be relegated to a backup. Still, that'd be an improvement over another year at AAA....I think he's reached his ceiling there.

 

2. Despite what everyone else has said, both within the organization and on this board, I've had Vanden Hurk penciled into the rotation since spring started.

 

3. I would rather send Maybin to the minors than Miller (Carolina or the 'topes). I feel we have more depth at the CF position and can afford to send Maybin down for some seasoning (not to mention the advantage when it's arby time)....I think we need Miller up. We've got some depth with the starters, but a lot of them are young (Volstad, etc). If we have Volstad up, why not Miller?

 

4. I'd like to see Badenhop get a start. It wouldn't hurt. That's what Spring Training is for, right?

 

5. I can't speak for Castillo's defense since I haven't seen it, but we all knew what Cantu could do offensively. The question is which part of the game the coaching staff is putting more emphasis on when making a decision on who starts. I suppose they could platoon, too, which is another option.

 

6. Yeah, Freddi went a little overboard talking about Danny for HOF. Why even mention that?

 

7. Spring games are always interesting to watch, but not always interesting for the announcers/production teams that do the games. I would think, with Marlins regular-season games getting high ratings, they'd at least put some ST games on TV. But I'm not down there, so I don't know their schedule/how they operate.

 

8. I'd be very comfortable sticking with some combo of Ross/Carroll/De Aza until Maybin gets ready. I don't really see the need for a trade, unless someone is giving away a no-questions starter for cheap (as in, a PTBN) that we can deal at the trade deadline.

 

9. I'd say if we prevent the Mets from being in the playoffs again, then yes

Why are people talking about Cantu's offense like it's anything special? Give me Castillo over him.

Why are people talking about Cantu's offense like it's anything special? Give me Castillo over him.

if it helps us play better defense, then sure...but cantu is swingin a hot stick right now and if that carries into the season, no reason to not keep him in the everyday lineup

Why are people talking about Cantu's offense like it's anything special? Give me Castillo over him.

Well, he has torn up Spring Training (I know, it's just ST, but still), plus he has a history of being good offensively.

A random thought of mine. Ever since I saw Cantu playing for the rays, there was just something about him that I can't stand. I hate the guy for no apparent reason. It just pisses me off to look at him (it most likely was the rays jersey). It will take some time to get used to seeing him in teal. It has nothing to do with his on field production, just something about him says "HATE ME". lol

A random thought of mine. Ever since I saw Cantu playing for the rays, there was just something about him that I can't stand. I hate the guy for no apparent reason. It just pisses me off to look at him (it most likely was the rays jersey). It will take some time to get used to seeing him in teal. It has nothing to do with his on field production, just something about him says "HATE ME". lol

 

He does have that look doesn't he.

random thought: I really really hope we look into John Patterson.

random thought: I really really hope we look into John Patterson.

 

I really hope you look at his stats the last three years. he's barely pitched for the last two of them and his ERA is more than double what it was three years ago. Check them out you'll see.

he's also been injured and only pitched 72 inn the past two years combined, so the stats alone aren't good indication (Although anytime someone's injured you have to raise a flag)

 

That's why he was released supposedly, because he hasn't progressed as much as WAS would like. But personally I'd be willing to deal with a few (months?) rought starts as he builds back up his arm strength, when you consider that he has two years of service time left. I don't think he'll repeat his 2005, but he could be a solid low-4 ERA man. considering his K rate and decent enough control.