JUPITER, Fla. (AP)?Dressing at his locker, Dan Uggla grinned when a stranger in the Florida Marlins clubhouse stopped by Tuesday to introduce himself.

 

It was Bucky Dent.

 

?I went to your camp when I was 13,? Uggla said.

 

That was news to Dent, who invited Uggla to make a guest appearance at the camp in Delray Beach this summer.

 

?That would be great for the kids,? Dent said later. ?They can ask him questions on how he did it.?

 

What Uggla did was transform himself from a struggling minor-leaguer five years ago into a two-time All-Star second baseman who this month was awarded a $5.35 million contract in arbitration.

 

For the thrifty Marlins, that?s a hefty salary. The only Florida players to make the same kind of money in recent seasons were Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, both now departed.

 

The Marlins? annual paring of the payroll sent Josh Willingham, Mike Jacobs and Scott Olsen elsewhere this offseason. But Uggla?s back.

 

?I?m not really that surprised,? he said. ?I actually had a really good feeling that I would be back. I don?t know why.?

 

Maybe it?s because he knows the Marlins appreciate power from a middle infielder. Dent hit one of the most famous home runs in history, but the most he had in one season was eight. Last year Uggla had 32 home runs and 92 RBIs, both career highs, and his total of 90 homers over the past three seasons is the most among second basemen.

 

And Uggla?s more than mere muscle. He had a .360 on-base percentage last year, thanks in part to 77 walks. He?s consistent and stays healthy. And he set a good example on a young club.

 

?He?s a great teammate,? manager Fredi Gonzalez said. ?He only knows how to play the game one way. You never see lack of effort.?

 

The Marlins are so fond of Uggla that during his arbitration hearing, they resisted any temptation to bring up last year?s All-Star Game.

 

He became the first All-Star to commit three errors, and all came in extra innings. To make matters worse, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts while his dad cringed in the stands at Yankee Stadium.

 

?That was not the toughest night of my life,? Uggla said. ?Hanging out with two sick kids by yourself is way harder.?

 

But was it his toughest night on a baseball field?

 

?Probably,? he said. ?But that kind of stuff doesn?t bother me. Obviously I would have liked to have had a better All-Star Game, but you?re going to have bad nights. I?ve had plenty of them before. I?ve made five errors in a game.?

 

That would have been in the minors, where Uggla endured some rocky times. His career appeared to be heading nowhere in 2004, when he was mired in Class A in his second season with the Lancaster JetHawks. The Tennessean?s big break came the following year when the Marlins acquired him from Arizona in the Rule 5 draft.

 

He won a starting job in 2006 and set a major-league record for homers by a rookie second baseman with 27. Now he?ll be second to shortstop Hanley Ramirez in salary on a team with baseball?s lowest payroll, and the many youngsters in the Marlins? clubhouse are sure to take note.

 

?The perfect example of somebody with this team is Dan Uggla,? said catcher John Baker, who?s entering his first full major-league season. ?He was in A ball in 2004 and struggling and gets Rule 5, and three years later he signs a deal for $5 million. That?s the kind of team we have.?

 

There are flaws in Uggla?s game. He ranked fourth in the majors last year with 171 strikeouts. He tied for fourth among second basemen with 13 errors, and that doesn?t even include the All-Star Game. He turns the double play well, but his range is below average.

 

The Marlins likely cited those deficiencies in arbitration. Uggla said he hopes to avoid the process in the future, but his raise from $417,000 last year took some sting out of any critical comments by management.

 

?I?ve got a great relationship with all those guys,? he said. ?You?ve got to realize it?s just business. It?s not that they don?t love you, because they do.?

 

That?s understandable. Uggla has been a model of consistency in his three major-league seasons, hitting 27 to 32 homers every year, with 88 to 92 RBIs and on base-plus-slugging percentages of .805 to .874 while playing at least 146 games.

 

That summer at Bucky Dent?s camp has really paid off.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-m...p&type=lgns

 

Ok, a cute little story about Uggla going to Dent's camp and a bunch of players singing his praises. Cool. So why is the title "Marlins willing to pay big for Uggla's power"? It has been made pretty obvious by management that we are not willing to pay him even what he deserves to stay here let alone give him "big" money.

 

What a terribly written article. How did this guy get a job with the AP?

 

Edit: And another thing:

 

The Marlins are so fond of Uggla that during his arbitration hearing, they resisted any temptation to bring up last year?s All-Star Game.

Yeah, the guy posts the third best defensive numbers at his position during the rest of the season so why didn't the Marlins reach into the schedule and pluck out one bad game, something that happens to every player during the course of a 162 game season, not to mention the fact that it happened during an All-Star Game appearance in front of a sellout Yankee Stadium crowd? Surely that would have had an affect on the arbiters' rulings!

 

He more than likely didn't title this story.

Steve Wine has been the AP reporter covering the Marlins for probably five years now. He's not some newbie who flew in from Salt Lake City on assignment. I don't find any fault with the story and yeah, the Marlins are paying him, so what's the big deal? It's February, you have to expect these kind of feel-good articles for a few weeks before the claws come out.

Which defensive numbers?

Which defensive numbers?

I found the average of where he placed in all of these. It works out to 4.3. I put him third because of the fact that Jeff Kent only played 885 innings last year.

Steve Wine has been the AP reporter covering the Marlins for probably five years now. He's not some newbie who flew in from Salt Lake City on assignment. I don't find any fault with the story and yeah, the Marlins are paying him, so what's the big deal? It's February, you have to expect these kind of feel-good articles for a few weeks before the claws come out.

There's a difference between willingly paying him and sending him a lowball offer, going to arbi, and losing the case.

what's the big deal?

 

Exactly. He's the second-highest paid guy on the club.

 

Regardless of all of the intracacies of the machinations involved in how they arrived at that precise arbitratable state of affairs, the absolutely inarguable fact is that the Marlins were "willing to pay big for Uggla's power."

 

And so they did. Via a big (for them) one-year contract.

 

Everyone's happy. With the possible exception of everyone who thinks Uggla should have a multi-year contract and shouldn't have to undergo the wrenching experience of attending a hearing (he didn't have to attend it personally) about whether you are going to be paid $4.5 million or $5.5 million. Oh, the horror!

 

See ball, hit ball!

 

Good for $5 mill. Not bad for a guy who would probably be asking you whether or not you would like fries with your order, absent professional baseball.

what's the big deal?

 

Exactly. He's the second-highest paid guy on the club.

 

Regardless of all of the intracacies of the machinations involved in how they arrived at that precise arbitratable state of affairs, the absolutely inarguable fact is that the Marlins were "willing to pay big for Uggla's power."

 

And so they did. Via a big (for them) one-year contract.

 

Everyone's happy. With the possible exception of everyone who thinks Uggla should have a multi-year contract and shouldn't have to undergo the wrenching experience of attending a hearing (he didn't have to attend it personally) about whether you are going to be paid $4.5 million or $5.5 million. Oh, the horror!

 

See ball, hit ball!

 

Good for $5 mill. Not bad for a guy who would probably be asking you whether or not you would like fries with your order, absent professional baseball.

 

A bit harsh :confused

what's the big deal?

Good for $5 mill. Not bad for a guy who would probably be asking you whether or not you would like fries with your order, absent professional baseball.

 

A bit harsh :confused

 

And bulls***, he has a degree from the University of Memphis

what's the big deal?

Good for $5 mill. Not bad for a guy who would probably be asking you whether or not you would like fries with your order, absent professional baseball.

 

A bit harsh :confused

 

And bulls***, he has a degree from the University of Memphis

Well, he was is an athlete. Ryan Braun managed to last two years at UM and that guy is very brick-like.

There are thousands of pro athletes with absolutely meaningless degrees which are reflective only of NCAA pressure to graduate athletes in general while allowing them to satisfy requirements with coursework that's nothing short of a joke.

 

I love Dan's baseball skills, but face it, he's a bit thick. There's a reason he makes so many ridiculous mental errors. Perhaps I was a bit harsh, but it wasn't BS. The guy's just a jock, and not a very bright one. His baseball story is amazing and inspirational, but he'd have a hard time earning more than minimum wage in any other line of work.

Steve Wine has been the AP reporter covering the Marlins for probably five years now. He's not some newbie who flew in from Salt Lake City on assignment. I don't find any fault with the story and yeah, the Marlins are paying him, so what's the big deal? It's February, you have to expect these kind of feel-good articles for a few weeks before the claws come out.

There's a difference between willingly paying him and sending him a lowball offer, going to arbi, and losing the case.

 

They were under a mil off in their numbers. Watching Uggla mingle and converse with coaches, front office personnel, and even Samson during FanFest it was very apparent going to arbie wasn't a big deal to any of them. Reading quotes before arbie and after arbie it was apparent it wasn't a big deal to any of them.

 

So why do some continually insist on making something that every club goes through with a player or two every year such a big deal???? Not everybody was brought up thinking all they have to do is stomp their little feet, pout a bit, and mommy and daddy will come running with whatever they want.

 

The guy is here. Everybody in the orginazation is happy. Relax and enjoy the show.

There are thousands of pro athletes with absolutely meaningless degrees which are reflective only of NCAA pressure to graduate athletes in general while allowing them to satisfy requirements with coursework that's nothing short of a joke.

 

I love Dan's baseball skills, but face it, he's a bit thick. There's a reason he makes so many ridiculous mental errors. Perhaps I was a bit harsh, but it wasn't BS. The guy's just a jock, and not a very bright one. His baseball story is amazing and inspirational, but he'd have a hard time earning more than minimum wage in any other line of work.

 

I was with you until this statement only because I took your last statement as an exaggeration to counter an exaggeration. This one shows I was wrong.

 

The amount of college a guy (or gal) has, or the type of degree a person has dosen't always equate to the intelect of that person or the amount of $$$ they will make. Thinking differently is like looking down your nose at anyone that you don't think went to the "right" schools, took the "right" courses, to get the "right" degrees. Heavy emphasis on the "that you don't think." IMO, Dan has enough smarts, the drive, and the kind of personality to succeed in whatever career field he felt was right for himself had baseball not been it.

looking down your nose at anyone that you don't think went to the "right" schools, took the "right" courses, to get the "right" degrees.

 

Whoa. I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to him personally (and I'm sure it would be enjoyable as I admire his baseball skills,) but I've watched him being interviewed, often at some length dozens of times over the last few years. I've concluded that he's just not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

That's not looking down at him, it's just my conclusion about him. I'd actually be the last person to care about the "right" school or the "right" anything considering that I dropped out of high school to be admitted early to the University of Minnesota in 1969. Then, I dropped out of the U of M because it was just more of the same BS.

 

And, you're quite right, the "right" school means nothing. I, a total drop-out possessing exactly zero degrees from anywhere have often made (and once lost) over a million dollars in a single day (often in less than an hour) and am living proof that degrees mean absolutely nothing whatsoever. The money athletes make doesn't impress me, I've made the same kind of money and seen it come and go more than once.

 

I've traded futures for decades and owned a number of businesses and have hired and fired hundreds of people. I would be hard-pressed to justify hiring Dan unless I were the owner of a baseball team that needed a slugging second baseman.

 

I've already admitted that I was probably a bit harsh, but he is what he is. I love watching him play and hope that Loria and Beinfest keep him around for another year or two or three.

 

They've already demonstrated (correctly, I think) that he's worth some serious money and I wish him all the success in the world regardless of what his non-baseball worth might be.

 

See ball, hit ball!

 

Gotta love it. Simplicity incarnate.

looking down your nose at anyone that you don't think went to the "right" schools, took the "right" courses, to get the "right" degrees.

 

Whoa. I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to him personally (and I'm sure it would be enjoyable as I admire his baseball skills,) but I've watched him being interviewed, often at some length dozens of times over the last few years. I've concluded that he's just not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

I've already admitted that I was probably a bit harsh, but he is what he is. I love watching him play and hope that Loria and Beinfest keep him around for another year or two or three.

 

They've already demonstrated (correctly, I think) that he's worth some serious money and I wish him all the success in the world regardless of what his non-baseball worth might be.

 

See ball, hit ball!

 

Gotta love it. Simplicity incarnate.

 

And yet you have him labeled as a guy that was pushed through school because he is an athlete. I didn't realize Memphis had such a powerhouse baseball team and that Uggla was going to be going high on draft day. Don't let that slow talking Tenn drawl fool you.

what's the big deal?

Good for $5 mill. Not bad for a guy who would probably be asking you whether or not you would like fries with your order, absent professional baseball.

 

A bit harsh :confused

 

And bulls***, he has a degree from the University of Memphis

Well, he was is an athlete. Ryan Braun managed to last two years at UM and that guy is very brick-like.

 

UM lets Football and Baseball players major in eligibility