Justin Miller and his infamous tattoos get some ink in Inked Magazine (including photos).

Interesting New York Times op-ed by former Chicago Cub Doug Glanville:

With contributions coming from all sources — including the Chicago Police Department — it was obvious that we had been anointed.

The problem was, the Florida Marlins thought the same thing.

They had their own reasons for feeling that way. Their manager, stodgy, cigar-smoking Jack McKeon, had been brought in at mid-season to right a wrong ship, and as the most senior manager in the league had shown a lot of whippersnappers that he knew how to run a young team. The Marlins barreled their way to the wild card berth in the playoffs fueled by fire and brimstone.

So what happens when two forces — destined, tired and playing awfully good baseball — collide in Wrigley Field?

Here is a collection of links to articles written by various papers covering their local prospects who were chosen by the Marlins in the 2008 Draft:

• Kyle Skipworth: L.A. Times
• Brandon Turner: Clarion Ledger and Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Johnny Dorn: Grand Island Independent
• Tom Koehler: CSTV
• Skyler Crawford: Californian and Monterrey Herald
• Andy Loomis: Northwest Indiana Times
• Robert Taylor: Arkansas Sports 360 and Kerrville Daily Times
• Brandon Todd: Ocala.com

Here is what Deadspin’s Purple Prose has to say about the Fish.

For the record, here are some of the nicknames in the write up:

• The Marlins: Miami entrant in the Senior Circuit, Spearfish, Swinging Swimmers, Briny Ballers, Santiago’s Sluggers, Pelagics
• Marlins Fans: Ye Fans of the Fishes
• Marlins Bullpen: Sunshine State Pen Men
• Wayne Huizenga: Gaseous trashman
• Jeffrey Loria: Angry art dealer
• Dan Uggla: Owl, Swedish Surprise, Ugg-Boot
• Scott Olsen: Shiner
• Alfredo Amezaga: Double-A
• Logan Kensing: French Kiss
• Wes Helms: Daily Show
• Jeremy Hermida: May-retta Masterstroker
• Renyel Pinto: Lemon
• Kevin Gregg: Mild-Mannered Reporter
• Hanley Ramirez: The Reconstituted Rajah, Double-R, Valiant of VORP

Link:  The Briny Ballers Achieve A Left-Columner

Juan C. Rodriguez brings up some great points in his latest blog post. He talks about:

Little breaks not going our way:

At the very least, that well of little breaks the Marlins were dipping into during their seven-game winning streak appears dry. It happens to every team.

Missing injured players:

One thing that struck me Tuesday was how the Marlins may be starting to miss Mike Jacobs and Josh Willingham.

And potential to add another veteran:

Jacque Jones was placed on release waivers Tuesday and could be a free agent by Thursday.

We encourage you to read the post.

The 7-game winning stream may be over but it seems like everyone suddenly likes us:

• Low budget hasn’t taken fight out of these Marlins (USA Today)
• The Rise of the Marlins - 79 Style (Sporting News Blog)
• First place to Marlins: What are you doing here? (CBS Sports)
• On Deck: The Marlins!? (AOL FanHouse)

Let’s all welcome Bright Orange Seats to the ever-growing family of Marlins websites.