Funny quote from Dontrelle Willis in the above video from ESPN calling himself a throw-in in the trade. ESPN has finally decided to shower Miguel Cabrera with love now that he’s not with the Marlins. For all the accolades about him accomplishing new things in Detroit, I will remind them that in this team sport, he has already achieved the top goal — a championship — with the Fish.
The Marlins are finalizing their roster by sending Josh Johnson, Sergio Mitre, Henry Owens, Harvey Garcia, and Anibal Sanchez to the DL.
Looks like we’ll have to wait to see Cameron Maybin. The Marlins just optioned him to AA meaning Alejandro De Aza is our starting CF. I hope this was a tough choice because Maybin looks like he’s almost ready for the bigs. Either the team feels he would be harmed by playing in the majors right now or they really have aggressive goals for the season and think that De Aza and Cody Ross will allow us to compete for this elusive goal. Don’t feel bad for Maybin, he doesn’t turn 21 until April 4th.
Update: Cody Ross will actually start on opening day because we will be facing a lefty (Johan Santana).
A few news and notes:
The San Francisco Giants claimed Jose Castillo.
Joe Frisaro is reporting that there are grumblings in the clubhouse that Jose Castillo will not make the team.
It’s clear that Jorge Cantu had a great Spring and Dallas McPherson is injured. I’m wondering whether the Fish think Cantu and Alfredo Amezaga will play 3rd and then have Jason Wood backup first. Regardless it’s a bit surprising.
Update: The Marlins just placed him on waivers; we will have to wait and see if someone picks him up; for now he’s still with the team.
MLBTR speculates that the Marlins are looking to trade for another starter. We know Sergio Mitre is out and Scott Olsen is slow to recover but is it worth trading away Mike Jacobs or some younger talent to get one of these guys?
potentially available starters include Kyle Snyder, Kei Igawa, Dave Bush, Claudio Vargas, Jason Marquis, Daniel Cabrera, Matt Morris, Woody Williams, Matt Belisle, Justin Germano, Anthony Reyes, Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, and Gustavo Chacin.
BTW, I don’t buy the salary argument. If the Fish found a meaningful starter who has a multi-million dollar salary, I’m sure ownership would make it’s infamous one-player salary splurge.
Well, it’s now available on a t-shirt in the official Marlins/MLB store: Link
I received one of these t-shirts as a gift. They are awesome.
I would really like to purchase one of these. I have made several attempts but they are always sold out. My finance is a huge baseball fan. He has played his whole life, coached college teams and now coaches at the high school level. Can you help?
Jennifer Greene
If you thought Spring Training would help answer many of the questions about the Marlins, think again. Here are some of what we believe are the lingering issues: More
If this report is true, and you must believe that at this point it should be, the Florida Marlins will honor Jeff Conine with an appropriate retirement act:
According to a source, Jeff Conine, one of the most popular players in Florida history, will sign a one-day contract on March 28, and then retire as a member of the Marlins.
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The team also plans on honoring Conine during an on-field ceremony before their March 31 season opener against the Mets.
While it doesn’t appear as if the team will retire one of Jeff Conine’s numbers (18 and 19), we hope that changes one day (remember that Mike Lowell also wore 19, making it hard to retire it).
Fans and observers like to criticize team management for not caring about the team, its players, and the fans. But this event, should it happen, suggests that some are quick to judge (and perhaps carry and unfair bias). This is an honorable move that reminds us that there is some good in the game and that there are many good people in it.