• Marlins, County Reach Deal; Vote Scheduled for February 13th

  • The Florida Marlins have reached agreement with Miami-Dade County on 5 contracts (read them here) which were necessary to close the deal for the new ballpark. The agreements will face final approval by both the County and the City of Miami on February 13, 2009. Among the concessions made by the Marlins:

    – If Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria sells the team in the seven years after the agreement has been reached, the county would almost double its share of any profits.

    – The ball club’s $2.3 million a year in rent will go up by 2 percent each year.

    – Extra costs due to scheduling or problems between the contractor and subcontractors will now be paid by the Marlins.

    And, we get the first official renderings here and here.

  • Marlins Park

  • Insight Into the Olsen/Hammer Deal

  • Mike Berardino of the Sun-Sentinel provides some thoughts and insights on the Olsen/Hammer deal:

    About that payroll dump so far:

    the Fish have removed roughly $7 million from their books for 2009.

    On what we got in return:

    In return, they have brought in a cheap young setup man (Leo Nunez), a light-hitting second baseman with Gold Glove potential (Emilio Bonifacio) and a couple of decent low-level prospects who just finished their first full pro seasons (RHP P.J. Dean and IF Jake Smolinski).

    More

  • Opinion

  • Marlins Wrap Up 3rd Best Season in Franchise History

  • For all the ups and downs of the 2008 season, the Florida Marlins posted a record of 84-77, the third best record in franchise history. The team posted incredible offensive numbers lead by the historic home run power from all four of the starting infielders. As we start looking forward to a busy off-season and hopefully a successful 2009, here are some thoughts, observations, and links: More

  • Opinion

  • Manny-Mania

  • Yes, the media is exploding with rumors of Manny Ramirez being traded to the Marlins. Best source I can find is MLBTR which has been updating these rumors regularly.

    Marlins GM Mike Hill had to cancel his appearance on tonight’s broadcast so let the speculation continue.

    Update: Of course, Mike Berardino says NFW

    Update 2: So the Red Sox want Jeremy Hermida, Ryan Tucker, and Mike Stanton (Jason Stark / ESPN). Two good prospects sounds expensive for a rental player.

    Update 3: My take on Ken Rosenthal’s latest update that the Fish will not include Stanton: The Marlins are seriously talking about acquiring Manny Ramirez.

    Update 4: Here is what was supposudly submmited to the Commisioner’s office for approval:

    Marlins get Manny Ramirez, one prospect (BOS), and cash (likely Ramirez’s remaining salary)
    Pirates get Jeremy Hermida and three prospects (two FLO, one BOS)
    Red Sox get Jason Bay and John Grabow

    Update 5: Nice dramatic feel in this writeup by the Palm Beach Post.

  • News
    • Dave
    • RETWEETED
      18 years ago

    • I really don’t know how I feel about this, I feel like it could seriously disrupt the locker room, and take the focus off staying in the pennant race…

  • The Long Road to Oaktown

  • The Marlins visit the lovely East Bay city of Oakland this weekend and the Fish@Bat crew will be there too document this historic meeting. We’ll be somewhere in the lower deck — just look for the guys in the Fish@Bat shirts.

    Of course, since at least one of us is a photographer in his spare time, we will be posting some photos soon thereafter.

    Random Trivia: Did you know that Oakland is the 8th largest city in the US and claims to have the best weather in the US?

  • Fish@Bat
    • Fish@Bat
    • RETWEETED
      18 years ago

    • We’re everywhere…

    • Dave
    • RETWEETED
      18 years ago

    • Oakland? What are Marlins fans doing in Oakland??