January 21, 201016 yr per David Samson http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_bytes/2010/01/samson-expects-uggla-to-be-marlins-opening-day-2b.html Samson Expects Uggla to be Marlins' Opening Day 2B Marlins president David Samson said on his weekly radio show that he expected Dan Uggla to be the team's Opening Day second baseman. That marked the first public admission by a club executive that Uggla would likely remain with the Marlins after months of speculation that he would be traded. "He is a Marlin and will be a Marlin this season," Samson said Wedneday on 790 The Ticket. Asked by host Dan LeBatard whether Uggla would be the Opening Day second baseman, Samson replied: "Yes. The fact of the matter is he is a Marlin. I never actually went to bed one night this offseason thinking he was not going to be a Marlin." The Marlins had trade discussions with several teams about Uggla in December. Samson also said there are no plans to trade third baseman Jorge Cantu and discounted rumors that Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell might be traded back to the Marlins ("It's not something that's come to my attention," Samson said.) The Marlins signed Uggla ($7.8 million) and Cantu ($6 million) this week to one-year contracts. The team has also scheduled a press conference on Thursday to officially announce the signing of starting pitcher Josh Johnson to a 4-year deal worth $39 million. "We're pretty much bringing back in full an 87-win team," Samson said. "We expect to do better."
January 21, 201016 yr That says winter, not this season. If the team stinks in July, Uggla, Cantu, Ross, one of Baker/Paulino, Helms, Nunez, Pinto, and maybe even Nolasco, Anibal, or A. Miller, will all be shopped for young pitching.
January 22, 201016 yr That says winter, not this season. If the team stinks in July, Uggla, Cantu, Ross, one of Baker/Paulino, Helms, Nunez, Pinto, and maybe even Nolasco, Anibal, or A. Miller, will all be shopped for young pitching. I definetly see Uggla in this scenario. Maybe even a couple of the others. Heck, I could see Uggla by the deadline no matter how we are fairing at that time. But not for pitching prospects. It would have to be a big return. Some of the others, under this scenario, I would doubt unless their "replacements" in the minors are really showing something special. Reasons: More income next year because of the new park opening the following year (folks buying season ticket packages to have the guaranteed seating the following year) means an even higher payroll in 2011 than it is this season. No reason to backtrack and plan on 2 or 3 years to get to the competitive point we are at now. Just makes no sense. Not to mention it would totally go against the "double secret probation" thing some seem to think we are on.
January 22, 201016 yr I can buy into it being based on replacements, but if Morrison, Stanton, Dominguez, and Petersen all show up in AA/AAA this year, this team is quickly going to turn over the reigns to them simply based on performance and projection rather than payroll. I feel if you were going to keep Uggla, you'd sign him to a two year contract. The reason they didn't, and this goes for Cody too, is that they are watching the progression of the minors. Second, the agreement with the Marlins for this season was to keep payroll over $40 million. They are going to surpass that pretty heavily with expected payroll around $46 million right now. What's the agreement for next year? $45? $50? I would say $50 is probably the most the Marlins would agree to. But maybe it's $55. Just keep $50-55 in the back of your head while we do this. Here's just a hypothetical, turn over the entire offense and keep all the pitchers roster. This is trading Uggla and Ross, and letting Cantu and Helms walk as free agents. 2011 C John Baker $420,000 1B Logan Morrison $410,000 2B Chris Coghlan $430,000 3B Matt Dominguez $410,000 SS Hanley Ramirez $11,000,000 LF Bryan Petersen $410,000 CF Cameron Maybin $420,000 RF Mike Stanton $410,000 B Emilio Bonifacio $430,000 B Gaby Sanchez $420,000 B Jorge Jimenez $420,000 B Ronny Paulino $2,000,000 B Brett Carroll $1,000,000 (likely Super 2, 2.004 days of service time so even if he's up and down, if he's up 2/3 the season he gets it) SP Josh Johnson $7,750,000 SP Ricky Nolasco $6,000,000 SP Chris Volstad $430,000 SP Andrew Miller $3,750,000 SP Sean West $420,000 RP Leo Nunez $4,250,000 RP Reynel Pinto $1,750,000 RP Brian Sanchez $430,000 RP Dan Meyer $430,000 RP Rick Vanden Hurk $430,000 RP Ryan Tucker $410,000 RP Anibal Sanchez $2,500,000 $46,730,000 < - Basically matching 2010 payroll Uggla next year, is costing approx. $11 million. Cody will break into the mid $6 millions. Cantu will walk as a free agent, so will Helms. And that's everybody. Petersen/Morrison are surely going to be MLB ready as they are already in AAA, so they'll be up, so the questions come down too: 1. Keeping Stanton in AAA for awhile longer, retaining Cody and letting the kids all fight over the "other" corner OF slot. 2. Keeping Dominguez in AAA for awhile longer, signing a stopgap 1 year veteran as we have no one else in the organization. Depending on the quality, this could range. Mike Lowell and Brandon Inge are probably the top free agents post 2010 that would be on the 1 year veteran train. 3. Potentially upgrading Gaby/Jimenez/Carroll on the bench with a veteran, which would add $1-2 million or so to each of them. 4. Are you keeping all those pitchers? Miller hits arbitration, and since he had a MLB contract out of the draft, will rocket up fast. Nunez will have two years racking saves. Pinto will start increasing, Anibal will start making sums, and Nolasco will be on the brink of huge pay days. Of course, they all need to show up in 2010 as well to do this. I mean, if it's $50. Adding Uggla on top blows this past any reasonable expectation. But if you finally give up on Miller or Anibal, refuse to pay your closer $4+ million, etc, maybe you can fit him in? But do you really want/need a 2B, when the three most glaring holes offensively above are third base (Dominguez is least ready of everyone), right field (stanton is next least ready), you want to delay arbitration for both of them so it's beneficial to keep them in the minors until June 2011 anyways, and then left field (Petersen/Carroll platoon) is the next weakest spot. If I'm spending more money, and I have low 50's payroll, I'm doing this. C John Baker $420,000 1B Logan Morrison $410,000 2B Chris Coghlan $430,000 3B Mike Lowell/Brandon Inge 1 year Free Agent Type $3,500,000 SS Hanley Ramirez $11,000,000 LF Bryan Petersen $410,000 CF Cameron Maybin $420,000 RF Cody Ross $6,500,000 B Emilio Bonifacio $430,000 B Gaby Sanchez $420,000 B Jorge Jimenez $420,000 B Ronny Paulino $2,000,000 B Brett Carroll $1,000,000 SP Josh Johnson $7,750,000 SP Ricky Nolasco $6,000,000 SP Chris Volstad $430,000 SP Sean West $420,000 SP RP Leo Nunez $4,250,000 RP RP Brian Sanchez $430,000 RP Dan Meyer $430,000 RP Rick Vanden Hurk $430,000 RP Ryan Tucker $410,000 RP $47,910,000 I have somewhere from $2-7 million dollars to spend (payroll could also be closer to $49 if I am underestimating cumulatively Nolasco, Ross, Nunez, Paulino, and Carroll who are the arbitration cases) on a SP and two RP. If Miller ($3-4 million), Anibal ($2.25-3 million), or Pinto ($1.75-$2.25) show up in 2010, I'm going to keep them. If not, I'm going to find a veteran starting pitcher to eat innings with all that money, and then Im going to keep playing the RP carousel with Leroux, Wood, Ceda, Jones, MILB FA, etc. Then in June, god willingly, I'm calling up at least Stanton from the minor league corps and sending someone from Petersen/Gaby/Jimenez to AAA. Sure, you can cut Cody from this team, add Uggla, then go with "young pitching" and get to the same salary level, but does that make sense with Coghlan and Bonifacio on the roster, and your potential problem areas as the corner OF slots and 3B? I guess you can shift Uggla (or Coghlan) over to 3B, and then go all youth in the OF, but you really want to devote 1/5th of payroll to Dan Uggla? I just don't see that happening in any scenario. Payroll is going to go up with or without him as everyone is getting farther along and Hanley takes the double digits jump next year. Plus, Uggla is your best trading chip and despite it not happening this year, someone is eventually going to need a slugging 2B and the Marlins will relatively get what they want when that happens. Add in surefire Type B compensation for Cantu, maybe Type A, then after 2010 you get more draft picks for Ross, that's adding a nice heap of talent with what we already have. I get the building momentum into the park thing, but let's say you grab Mike Lowell, which is a headlines move, and keep Nolasco, Ross, Nunez, and let's say one of Miller/Anibal/Pinto, that's pretty damn good. Payroll is over $50 million, and that's going to be a good team entering the park in 2012. Where you then have the cash to keep nearly everything and sign a big ticket free agent for $12+ million a year for some part of the field. More than likely a corner OF or a SP.
January 23, 201016 yr I can buy into it being based on replacements, but if Morrison, Stanton, Dominguez, and Petersen all show up in AA/AAA this year, this team is quickly going to turn over the reigns to them simply based on performance and projection rather than payroll. I feel if you were going to keep Uggla, you'd sign him to a two year contract. The reason they didn't, and this goes for Cody too, is that they are watching the progression of the minors. Second, the agreement with the Marlins for this season was to keep payroll over $40 million. They are going to surpass that pretty heavily with expected payroll around $46 million right now. What's the agreement for next year? $45? $50? I would say $50 is probably the most the Marlins would agree to. But maybe it's $55. Just keep $50-55 in the back of your head while we do this. Here's just a hypothetical, turn over the entire offense and keep all the pitchers roster. This is trading Uggla and Ross, and letting Cantu and Helms walk as free agents. 2011 C John Baker $420,000 1B Logan Morrison $410,000 2B Chris Coghlan $430,000 3B Matt Dominguez $410,000 SS Hanley Ramirez $11,000,000 LF Bryan Petersen $410,000 CF Cameron Maybin $420,000 RF Mike Stanton $410,000 B Emilio Bonifacio $430,000 B Gaby Sanchez $420,000 B Jorge Jimenez $420,000 B Ronny Paulino $2,000,000 B Brett Carroll $1,000,000 (likely Super 2, 2.004 days of service time so even if he's up and down, if he's up 2/3 the season he gets it) SP Josh Johnson $7,750,000 SP Ricky Nolasco $6,000,000 SP Chris Volstad $430,000 SP Andrew Miller $3,750,000 SP Sean West $420,000 RP Leo Nunez $4,250,000 RP Reynel Pinto $1,750,000 RP Brian Sanchez $430,000 RP Dan Meyer $430,000 RP Rick Vanden Hurk $430,000 RP Ryan Tucker $410,000 RP Anibal Sanchez $2,500,000 $46,730,000 < - Basically matching 2010 payroll Uggla next year, is costing approx. $11 million. Cody will break into the mid $6 millions. Cantu will walk as a free agent, so will Helms. And that's everybody. Petersen/Morrison are surely going to be MLB ready as they are already in AAA, so they'll be up, so the questions come down too: 1. Keeping Stanton in AAA for awhile longer, retaining Cody and letting the kids all fight over the "other" corner OF slot. 2. Keeping Dominguez in AAA for awhile longer, signing a stopgap 1 year veteran as we have no one else in the organization. Depending on the quality, this could range. Mike Lowell and Brandon Inge are probably the top free agents post 2010 that would be on the 1 year veteran train. 3. Potentially upgrading Gaby/Jimenez/Carroll on the bench with a veteran, which would add $1-2 million or so to each of them. 4. Are you keeping all those pitchers? Miller hits arbitration, and since he had a MLB contract out of the draft, will rocket up fast. Nunez will have two years racking saves. Pinto will start increasing, Anibal will start making sums, and Nolasco will be on the brink of huge pay days. Of course, they all need to show up in 2010 as well to do this. I mean, if it's $50. Adding Uggla on top blows this past any reasonable expectation. But if you finally give up on Miller or Anibal, refuse to pay your closer $4+ million, etc, maybe you can fit him in? But do you really want/need a 2B, when the three most glaring holes offensively above are third base (Dominguez is least ready of everyone), right field (stanton is next least ready), you want to delay arbitration for both of them so it's beneficial to keep them in the minors until June 2011 anyways, and then left field (Petersen/Carroll platoon) is the next weakest spot. If I'm spending more money, and I have low 50's payroll, I'm doing this. C John Baker $420,000 1B Logan Morrison $410,000 2B Chris Coghlan $430,000 3B Mike Lowell/Brandon Inge 1 year Free Agent Type $3,500,000 SS Hanley Ramirez $11,000,000 LF Bryan Petersen $410,000 CF Cameron Maybin $420,000 RF Cody Ross $6,500,000 B Emilio Bonifacio $430,000 B Gaby Sanchez $420,000 B Jorge Jimenez $420,000 B Ronny Paulino $2,000,000 B Brett Carroll $1,000,000 SP Josh Johnson $7,750,000 SP Ricky Nolasco $6,000,000 SP Chris Volstad $430,000 SP Sean West $420,000 SP RP Leo Nunez $4,250,000 RP RP Brian Sanchez $430,000 RP Dan Meyer $430,000 RP Rick Vanden Hurk $430,000 RP Ryan Tucker $410,000 RP $47,910,000 I have somewhere from $2-7 million dollars to spend (payroll could also be closer to $49 if I am underestimating cumulatively Nolasco, Ross, Nunez, Paulino, and Carroll who are the arbitration cases) on a SP and two RP. If Miller ($3-4 million), Anibal ($2.25-3 million), or Pinto ($1.75-$2.25) show up in 2010, I'm going to keep them. If not, I'm going to find a veteran starting pitcher to eat innings with all that money, and then Im going to keep playing the RP carousel with Leroux, Wood, Ceda, Jones, MILB FA, etc. Then in June, god willingly, I'm calling up at least Stanton from the minor league corps and sending someone from Petersen/Gaby/Jimenez to AAA. Sure, you can cut Cody from this team, add Uggla, then go with "young pitching" and get to the same salary level, but does that make sense with Coghlan and Bonifacio on the roster, and your potential problem areas as the corner OF slots and 3B? I guess you can shift Uggla (or Coghlan) over to 3B, and then go all youth in the OF, but you really want to devote 1/5th of payroll to Dan Uggla? I just don't see that happening in any scenario. Payroll is going to go up with or without him as everyone is getting farther along and Hanley takes the double digits jump next year. Plus, Uggla is your best trading chip and despite it not happening this year, someone is eventually going to need a slugging 2B and the Marlins will relatively get what they want when that happens. Add in surefire Type B compensation for Cantu, maybe Type A, then after 2010 you get more draft picks for Ross, that's adding a nice heap of talent with what we already have. I get the building momentum into the park thing, but let's say you grab Mike Lowell, which is a headlines move, and keep Nolasco, Ross, Nunez, and let's say one of Miller/Anibal/Pinto, that's pretty damn good. Payroll is over $50 million, and that's going to be a good team entering the park in 2012. Where you then have the cash to keep nearly everything and sign a big ticket free agent for $12+ million a year for some part of the field. More than likely a corner OF or a SP. Quite a few things I have problems with Lou. First and foremost is even predicting a 2011 payroll right now. Let's wait til this season is over with first. How this team produces this year is going to have an effect on how many more season ticket packages are sold for 2011 (a good barometer of what payroll will be) besides the ones sold for the obvious reasons of securing seating for the new pond. I do agree that Uggla is not in the long term plans. It's not reading between the lines to see that. But trading him is going to be even tougher next off season than it was this off season, if he produces this year. And that's regardless of what the economy does. That would put him in the price range of just a real minority of teams. That's if he is even here come August. I could see a blockbuster trade happening by July 30th. Second the agreement was to "continue to comply" with the terms of revenue sharing. No amount was given that I ever read. Samson did come out and say JJ was going to be signed and that he was the one behind the 3 year deal until Loria called him and said to ink the 4 year deal (PBP's Friday article). To paraphrase Loria's comments to Samson, "I appreciate you trying to save me $$$ and I don't accept it. Get the deal done. JJ will be on this team for a decade and will enter the HOF as a Marlin." Samson also said the intent was there to ink a deal with Uggla for the 2010 season. To me that means 45-50 mil was always the plan. BTW, did anyone but me notice that this year there never was a figure put out by the team of what payroll was going to be like in years past? Some of these guys you have predicted for the 2011 season I just don't see being here at this point. Most notably a fan fav Baker. Of course if he shows a very noticable upgrade to his defensive skills he very well could be around. And most likely would. But I have been losing hope in that happening. Of course just like saying what guys are going to develope in the minors to the point of being ML ready for next season is the same thing, a wait and see.
January 24, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous.
January 25, 201016 yr and with the crazyness of the mets...i think we are on par with the phils and braves...we will be in the race come september
January 25, 201016 yr I think it was a no brainer that payroll would be going up this season, and it will be going up for 2011 and beyond until the marlins find the dollar amount that works with the miami market. My guess is 5-6 mil more than this coming season for 2011. Its what makes sense business wise and also to stay in good eyes with the union. Yeah, you are right about them not giving a payroll estimate this offseason. I think this is because they knew it was going up, but announcing it publicly would have brought such a shock to the baseball world they didn't want to be responsible for heart attacks. hehe I know this was said in jest, but I see other reasons and they fit more into my beliefs of what transpired with that "new agreement" between us and the union/MLB. When conversations were going on between the three, all sides knew that payroll would be going up to the $45-50 mil range. This was a concerted effort between the 3 to send a message to other low payroll teams, with the Marlins being the obvious choice of the ones under "double secret probation" (or the scapegoat if you prefer) because of our past. Like one MLB official (I believe, it could have been a union official instead) actually saying this was a "shot across the bow" to other teams. In other words, all 3 sides worked together to get the message out and the Marlins gladly complied because of the help MLB gave with the stadium talks.
January 25, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. You always look to upgrade, decide where those upgrades need to be, and act on them. This is all contingent on his skills behind the plate this year, or maybe even just in ST. If he has greatly improved his game in that regard, it is all mute. If not, think with your head and not your heart. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the three biggies the Marlins look for. Exactly where does Baker fit in there? (Darned if this dosen't sound exactly what was being said last ST and alot of the regular season about a couple other board favs. Learn from the past.)
January 25, 201016 yr and with the crazyness of the mets...i think we are on par with the phils and braves...we will be in the race come september Ya gotta wonder about the Mets. What the heck is going on over there? On that note.....We went to FunFest in Jupiter again the year, arriving a couple hours before the ticket windows opened as we always do. It's fun, and interesting, to stand in line talking to fans of many different teams in both leagues. Every Mets fan I talked to wanted a complete overhaul of their team. Every single one of them, no exaggeration. From ownership down to the club house attendants. Theirs is an org and fan base in total disarray. I think we are ahead of the Braves and trying to catch the Phils. It's going to be interesting to see how well, or even if, our system of doing things accomplishes that task. But you hinted at it and I agree, you worry about your division first and let the WC race fall where it may.
January 25, 201016 yr and with the crazyness of the mets...i think we are on par with the phils and braves...we will be in the race come september Ya gotta wonder about the Mets. What the heck is going on over there? On that note.....We went to FunFest in Jupiter again the year, arriving a couple hours before the ticket windows opened as we always do. It's fun, and interesting, to stand in line talking to fans of many different teams in both leagues. Every Mets fan I talked to wanted a complete overhaul of their team. Every single one of them, no exaggeration. From ownership down to the club house attendants. Theirs is an org and fan base in total disarray. I think we are ahead of the Braves and trying to catch the Phils. It's going to be interesting to see how well, or even if, our system of doing things accomplishes that task. But you hinted at it and I agree, you worry about your division first and let the WC race fall where it may. I agree. We'll probably be a better team than the Braves, and have gotten closer to the Phillies. What I'm most concerned about was that huge group of good teams that the NL West came up with out of nowhere last season. People are saying that the Rockies are the favorite to take the West. I know the Giants have improved, but what about the Dodgers? One of those teams falling out could be vital. Needless to say, it's too early to discuss anything but what's on paper.
January 26, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. Ronny Paulino?
January 26, 201016 yr and with the crazyness of the mets...i think we are on par with the phils and braves...we will be in the race come september Ya gotta wonder about the Mets. What the heck is going on over there? On that note.....We went to FunFest in Jupiter again the year, arriving a couple hours before the ticket windows opened as we always do. It's fun, and interesting, to stand in line talking to fans of many different teams in both leagues. Every Mets fan I talked to wanted a complete overhaul of their team. Every single one of them, no exaggeration. From ownership down to the club house attendants. Theirs is an org and fan base in total disarray. I think we are ahead of the Braves and trying to catch the Phils. It's going to be interesting to see how well, or even if, our system of doing things accomplishes that task. But you hinted at it and I agree, you worry about your division first and let the WC race fall where it may. i agree...and while i think halladay will once again be a dominant pitcher...is what he will offer that much better than what they had two years ago with cole hamels or this past 2nd half with cliff lee? behind halladay are every bit the question marks the marlins have with Nolasco (who i believe will pitch alot closer to his 2nd half) and then x, y, z (in the combo of volstad,miller, sanchez, west, rvh, or so on)...because brett myers is far from reliable, hamels was a mess by the end last year and happ i believe is a wildcard as much as any pitcher mentioned... im worried about having to piece together a bullpen but we have done it in the past so i at least i have faith it can be done...but id say the position by position, the phils arent thaaaaaaaaaat much better than us...and over the long season, an injury could kill a team one way or the other...i mean we won the season series with the phils and we had some games at home that we just threw away to them...so i really think we will be in it and with the mandate of increased spending being made...i would think that loria and co would be more willing to go out and get a piece to help the team whether it be pitching or hitting is anyone's guess i just really hope that volstad returns to 08' form and anibal can stay healthy and i think the rest will let the talent i havent mentioned speak for itself and we will be in the running without a doubt
January 26, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. You always look to upgrade, decide where those upgrades need to be, and act on them. This is all contingent on his skills behind the plate this year, or maybe even just in ST. If he has greatly improved his game in that regard, it is all mute. If not, think with your head and not your heart. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the three biggies the Marlins look for. Exactly where does Baker fit in there? (Darned if this dosen't sound exactly what was being said last ST and alot of the regular season about a couple other board favs. Learn from the past.) Luckily we don't have that problem.
January 26, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. Ronny Paulino? As an every day catcher? Not so sure. Maybe the wild card in all this that is already on the team is Brett Hayes. But it would take an outstandingly good ST to make that move for this year. I just don't see that happening. With the way things are right now it would take an injury for him to get a shot, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I would think we start this season with what we have and make a decision as the first half of the season progresses.
January 26, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. You always look to upgrade, decide where those upgrades need to be, and act on them. This is all contingent on his skills behind the plate this year, or maybe even just in ST. If he has greatly improved his game in that regard, it is all mute. If not, think with your head and not your heart. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the three biggies the Marlins look for. Exactly where does Baker fit in there? (Darned if this dosen't sound exactly what was being said last ST and alot of the regular season about a couple other board favs. Learn from the past.) Luckily we don't have that problem. Are you saying you are happy with the defensive abilities of our catching duo, or that we have the $$$ (and/or trade value) to pursue better?
January 26, 201016 yr Never ceases to amaze me what some of you complain about. We're so lucky to have our catchers.
January 26, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. You always look to upgrade, decide where those upgrades need to be, and act on them. This is all contingent on his skills behind the plate this year, or maybe even just in ST. If he has greatly improved his game in that regard, it is all mute. If not, think with your head and not your heart. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the three biggies the Marlins look for. Exactly where does Baker fit in there? (Darned if this dosen't sound exactly what was being said last ST and alot of the regular season about a couple other board favs. Learn from the past.) Luckily we don't have that problem. Are you saying you are happy with the defensive abilities of our catching duo, or that we have the $$$ (and/or trade value) to pursue better? I'm saying that he's not holding our team back because of his defense. I say that because his offense, combined with Paulino's offense, being the 5th best offense duo in the league last year made it okay.
January 27, 201016 yr Never ceases to amaze me what some of you complain about. We're so lucky to have our catchers. Oh, I see. So we should be happy even tho Baker's defense is below standards. No need to better our overall game if the player in question is a board fav. FYI I'm not complaining about him. I see flaws and would just like things to get better. I've already stated, if that's him making the improvement then that's more than fine with me. If he can't improve his defense, there needs to be a change. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the recipe the team goes by, not just mine.
January 27, 201016 yr Even if John Baker doesn't improve his defense, you don't get rid of him when he's still making the minimum. That's ridiculous. You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. You always look to upgrade, decide where those upgrades need to be, and act on them. This is all contingent on his skills behind the plate this year, or maybe even just in ST. If he has greatly improved his game in that regard, it is all mute. If not, think with your head and not your heart. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the three biggies the Marlins look for. Exactly where does Baker fit in there? (Darned if this dosen't sound exactly what was being said last ST and alot of the regular season about a couple other board favs. Learn from the past.) Luckily we don't have that problem. Are you saying you are happy with the defensive abilities of our catching duo, or that we have the $$$ (and/or trade value) to pursue better? I'm saying that he's not holding our team back because of his defense. I say that because his offense, combined with Paulino's offense, being the 5th best offense duo in the league last year made it okay. Another of those things we will never agree on. Just gonna have to hope he improves his defensive game or I doubt he is around much longer. I don't know why some have such a problem with bringing in a catcher with a very good glove and a decent bat instead of sticking with one that has a decent bat and mediocre defensive skills.
January 27, 201016 yr You don't keep a player that is holding the team back because of his defense when the $$$ will be available (one way or another) to improve in that area. Trade him for the best deal you can get to someone that can use his bat but isn't concerned with his defense and spend the $$$ to bring in a catcher that has a decent bat and very good defensive skills. You always look to upgrade, decide where those upgrades need to be, and act on them. This is all contingent on his skills behind the plate this year, or maybe even just in ST. If he has greatly improved his game in that regard, it is all mute. If not, think with your head and not your heart. Pitching, defense, speed. That's the three biggies the Marlins look for. Exactly where does Baker fit in there? (Darned if this dosen't sound exactly what was being said last ST and alot of the regular season about a couple other board favs. Learn from the past.) Luckily we don't have that problem. Are you saying you are happy with the defensive abilities of our catching duo, or that we have the $$$ (and/or trade value) to pursue better? I'm saying that he's not holding our team back because of his defense. I say that because his offense, combined with Paulino's offense, being the 5th best offense duo in the league last year made it okay. Another of those things we will never agree on. Just gonna have to hope he improves his defensive game or I doubt he is around much longer. I don't know why some have such a problem with bringing in a catcher with a very good glove and a decent bat instead of sticking with one that has a decent bat and mediocre defensive skills. Decent would mean it's an average bat. Him and Paulino combine to have the 5th best bat in the league for the position. That's not "decent", that's fantastic.
January 28, 201016 yr Decent would mean it's an average bat. Him and Paulino combine to have the 5th best bat in the league for the position. That's not "decent", that's fantastic. Talking about what they do together to make a whole? That's nice. I guess nobody else could team with Paulino and give the same, or better, results. It has to be Baker or Paulino falls flat on his face. Sorry. Don't see it. Look at it the other way. If Paulino isn't here next year will Baker fall flat on his face? Sorry. Don't see that either. Baker has a decent bat with barely acceptable defensive skills so far. And folks would not want to replace his bat with at least the equivalent while upgrading the defensive aspect? I just don't understand that. Other than I have yet again committed a board sin by not falling all over a board fav and instead pointing out his flaws. Like I have continuously stated....If his defense is better this year, then all is good. If not, then an upgrade at the position would be welcome. Key word there is "upgrade". Board fav or not.
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