February 8, 201214 yr wtf? it has to be some crazy incentives or something. it's not like they're going to build a statue of the f***ing guy
February 8, 201214 yr wtf? it has to be some crazy incentives or something. it's not like they're going to build a statue of the f***ing guy Or will they??? The park is still nameless :exercise
February 9, 201214 yr His visit went "well"... MIAMI -- For several hours on Wednesday, Marlins officials met with Yoenis Cespedes. They showed him around Miami, and gave the Cuban native a tour of their new ballpark. Overall, the visit went well. Still, the Marlins are in a wait-and-see situation as to if they will actually sign the 26-year-old outfielder. "It was good to see him again," Marlins president David Samson said on his weekly segment of The Dan LeBatard Show on 790 The Ticket. "We hadn't seen him since he was in the Dominican. He's still not a free agent officially. "But he was able to be in town for some appointments, I guess. He wanted to come and see the ballpark, and we're always happy to show people the ballpark." Cespedes recently gained temporary residence in the Dominican Republic. He received a travel visa, and arrived in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. Cespedes and his agent, Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group, met with Marlins' officials on Wednesday. They took a tour of Marlins Park, located in the Little Havana section of Miami, in the afternoon. "First of all, I need to play good baseball, wherever I go," Cespedes said through a translator on Channel 7 WSVN. "If I get to play where there is a Latin community, it's that much better." Despite being declared a free agent by Major League Baseball on Jan. 25, Cespedes has not been legally cleared by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Currently, the outfielder remains "blocked" by the OFAC. Until Cespedes is unblocked, he can negotiate and even reach agreement with a team. The signing, however, won't become official until after he is legally cleared. Samson said Cespedes did not take a physical on Wednesday. The Marlins have aggressively pursued Cespedes for months. A contingent of at least 10 employees, including team owner Jeffrey Loria, attended a Cespedes workout in the Dominican Republic in November. Multiple sources consider the Marlins the frontrunner to signing the Cuban sensation. The Marlins, Tigers, Cubs, Orioles, White Sox and Indians all have expressed interest in Cespedes. There is optimism that he will be cleared to sign with a team before the start of Spring Training later this month. With Miami's large Cuban influence, the Marlins feel Cespedes is a natural fit. His impact could be felt on the field and at the ticket gate. The Marlins project him as a center fielder. But even if he signs, it is likely, he will open the season at Triple-A New Orleans. Emilio Bonifacio is the frontrunner to be starting center fielder on Opening Day. Samson said on his radio show that exactly how many tickets a player like Cespedes would sell is hard to measure. "It's hard to know," Samson said. "Everything has to hit at the right time. I think if we have this new ballpark and we win, that is the key, much more than anything else. "Having Cespedes on our team would be great. But we don't control it. We'll try to come to a negotiated deal. If we can't, we can't. That's ok. The team is always more important than any individual. And we've got a great team right now. We just have to go out and prove it." http://mlb.mlb.com/n...iliate&c_id=mia
February 9, 201214 yr Not sure if this was posted before but Cespedes said yesterday that he "hopes" he could play for the Marlins. Well, if he really wants to play for the Marlins he could just accept whatever offer were willing to give him, even if that means turning down more money from another team...After all, that's how the Heat got their big 3... "It would be good (to play here)," Cespedes told reporters at Miami International Airport Tuesday. "There are a lot of Cubans and they would support me a lot. Hopefully I can play for the Marlins." http://espn.go.com/c...ins-source-says
February 9, 201214 yr Had lunch at Smith & Wollensky... Cespedes says hes been following all of the Marlins' moves this off-season and thinks we could compete for a World Series. But as much as he wants to play on the Marlins it seems like he's just going to sign with whoever offers him the most money... PS: He should have bought MLB.TV if he really wanted to watch MLB games in Cuba...Guess he'll have enough money to buy the package sometime in the next few weeks... MIAMI — It has been 16 years since the Marlins signed Livan Hernandez, a young pitcher who had fled Cuba. It wasn't long before he helped them win their first World Series in 1997. Now the Marlins are trying to sign another Cuban defector whom they hope could be the final piece of a championship roster. Right-handed slugger Yoenis Cespedes, 26, has never played professionally in the United States. But the Marlins on Wednesday continued their intensive efforts to persuade him to be their center fielder this season. Team officials treated Cespedes to an oceanside lunch at Smith & Wollensky in Miami Beach and then gave him a tour of their new $515 million ballpark in Little Havana. "Obviously as a Cuban playing here in Miami, it could be an interesting situation,' baseball operations president Admin Beinfest said after leading the 30-minute ballpark tour. Beinfest would not say whether the Marlins made Cespedes a formal contract offer, as the team did earlier this off-season when free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Albert Pujols visited the stadium. At least four other teams - the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, Detroit and Baltimore - have expressed serious interest in Cespedes, who could command a multi-year contract of up to $60 million. His agent, Adam Katz, said he was "hopeful" his client would sign a contract in time for spring training. The Marlins will hold their first full-squad workout in less than three weeks, on Feb. 26. Beinfest also acknowledged a certain level of risk in offering a lucrative contract to Cuban position player with no professional experience in the States. But the Marlins believe Cespedes has the ability to emulate the success of others such as Los Angeles Angels first baseman Kendry Morales, White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez and Kansas City shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. "We have looked at all of that. You never have played in the major leagues until you play in the major leagues. It's the highest level in the world and it's not an easy thing to do,' Beinfest said. "You have to go off your evaluation and your gut and do all the homework you possibly can and after that there still are no guarantees.' Beinfest said the Marlins aren't concerned that Cespedes hit just .143 in the most recent Dominican Winter League. They also know he hit .333 with 33 homers and 99 RBI in 90 games last season for the Cuban national team. Since defecting last summer, Cespedes has been living in the Dominican Republic. Beinfest and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria flew there in November to watch him in a private workout. Cespedes said Wednesday that he didn't get many chances to watch Major League Baseball on television while living in Cuba. But he said he has followed the Marlins' off-season moves with interest. "I've watched the players the Marlins have signed lately and I think this club can compete for a World Series,' he said through a translator. He is believed to have meetings scheduled with other teams Thursday and Friday before returning home. "It's a process,' he said, "but I would like to be here because there are so many Cubans here.' As of now, Emilio Bonifacio has the edge to start in center field. Bonifacio won his arbitration case Wednesday, getting a $2.2 million contract instead of the $1.9 million offered by the Marlins. The ruling now gives the Marlins $96.185 million in contractual commitments to 16 players in 2012. http://www.palmbeach...ns/2160362.html
February 9, 201214 yr Quote from his twitter: Today I was very impressed ... As I said before is a desire to be a marlin. We aver. \ .. suppor fo fans than u. !
February 9, 201214 yr Quote from his twitter: Today I was very impressed ... As I said before is a desire to be a marlin. We aver. \ .. suppor fo fans than u. ! Do we actually know what is his real twitter?
February 9, 201214 yr Quote from his twitter: Today I was very impressed ... As I said before is a desire to be a marlin. We aver. \ .. suppor fo fans than u. ! Do we actually know what is his real twitter? What does the last sentence in his twitter post say?
February 9, 201214 yr Quote from his twitter: Today I was very impressed ... As I said before is a desire to be a marlin. We aver. \ .. suppor fo fans than u. ! Do we actually know what is his real twitter? What does the last sentence in his twitter post say? We will see. And then I (mystikol) don't know that last part
February 9, 201214 yr Here's a video of the media bugging the crap out of him (asking him what he thought of the stadium, etc.) when he came out from touring the stadium... Sheesh! Could they give the guy some space? Must be annoying walking around with a bunch of microphones right in your face...But maybe that's just me. Some people would probably love all of that attention... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX6a7wMXvs0
February 9, 201214 yr He might be heading back to the Dominican Republic today. For some reason his agent (Katz) declined to say whether he met with any other teams besides the Marlins while here in Miami even though it was said clearly before that they would & he even said himself that there are several other teams in the mix. It seems pretty obvious that he met with other teams, I just really don't understand why he couldn't admit to it straight out. Whatever... Yoenis Cespedes, who met with the Miami Marlins and toured their new ballpark on Wednesday, could head back to the Dominican Republic as early as Thursday, said his agent, Adam Katz. "Nothing is scheduled for now," Katz said when asked if he and Cespedes plan to meet with other teams before the 26-year-old Cuban outfielder departs. He declined to say whether Cespedes had met with other clubs besides the Marlins since he arrived in Miami on Tuesday. Cespedes had lunch Wednesday with Marlins president David Samson, executive vice president Admin Beinfest and general manager Mike Hill, then got a firsthand look at the Marlins' new park, which is located in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood and is set to open in April. "We had a good meeting," Katz said. "They made a very impressive presentation. Discussions are ongoing and productive. But there are several other teams in the mix." Katz wouldn't disclose whether the Marlins had made Cespedes an offer. And Marlins president David Samson declined comment Thursday. "We're just going to let the process play out," Samson said. Tuesday, Samson said the club has been "negotiating aggressively" in its pursuit of Cespedes, but drew a distinction between Miami's interest in Cespedes and its signings of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell earlier in the offseason. He said the Marlins view Cespedes as a signing that could "put the cherry on top" of a feverish offseason, but have already established clear limits on their bidding for a player with no track record in professional baseball. http://espn.go.com/c...sday-agent-says
February 9, 201214 yr Ohhh...He wants us BAD... “There is no doubt that I would like to play in front of so many Cubans in Miami. I will not deny that I would like to play for the Marlins.� http://www.miamihera...mi-marlins.html
February 9, 201214 yr Far fetched and a stupid business decision but maybe he met us and didn't want to talk to any other teams.
February 9, 201214 yr Hopefully we see tomorrow, "Cespedes signs with Marlins for 6 years and $18.00." Yes, 18 dollars.
February 9, 201214 yr Hopefully we see tomorrow, "Cespedes signs with Marlins for 6 years and $18.00." Yes, 18 dollars. We traded $1.00 for Wes Helms one time after all.
February 9, 201214 yr Hopefully we see tomorrow, "Cespedes signs with Marlins for 6 years and $18.00." Yes, 18 dollars. We traded $1.00 for Wes Helms one time after all. See? Cespedes is EASILY worth 18x more than Helms.
February 9, 201214 yr Ohhh...He wants us BAD... I think I want you, bad. :panic EDIT: That's me running AWAY from you (not TO you).
February 9, 201214 yr Ohhh...He wants us BAD... I think I want you, bad. :panic EDIT: That's me running AWAY from you (not TO you). I see you're running in place. My never-used in-floor treadmill has finally paid off.
February 9, 201214 yr He might be heading back to the Dominican Republic today. For some reason his agent (Katz) declined to say whether he met with any other teams besides the Marlins while here in Miami even though it was said clearly before that they would & he even said himself that there are several other teams in the mix. It seems pretty obvious that he met with other teams, I just really don't understand why he couldn't admit to it straight out. Whatever... That's actually a negotiating tactic to say 'I have other options'. So... if they're not stating with who... it seems pretty obvious that they don't like what's being put their way outside of Miami.
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