• Photo by Flickr user SporTech

  • The Uggla-est Birthday

  • Happy 28th birthday to the best Rule 5 draft pick up ever Daniel Cooley Uggla!

    Bugs & Cranks said it best:

    For being an All-Star as a rookie, for launching 58 homers in two seasons at second, for knocking in 178 in two seasons at the keystone, for topping 100 runs in each of his seasons, for slugging along at a .479 clip — again at second base and for teaming with Hanley Ramirez to form one of the better middle infield pairs the game has to offer; B & C salutes Dan Uggla and wishes him a very happy 28th birthday!

    Update: The birthday boy celebrated with his first home run of the spring against the Dodgers.

  • News
  • Photo by Flickr user Eleventh Earl of Mar

  • Braman Sues To Stop Ballpark

  • Former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman has filed suit to challenge the $3 billion public works project that includes the Marlins’ ballpark.

    Braman is suing to stop Miami’s so-called ‘global agreement’ in its tracks, contending it was illegally hatched in secret and improperly uses money intended to cure urban blight and help poor people. Braman wants voters to decide projects of such magnitude, rather than politicians.

    ‘Taxpayers in this town have been ripped off constantly over the years,’ Braman said in a recent interview in his downtown Miami office.

    ‘It’s time that as citizens of this community that we say enough is enough — that we’re not going to put up with this any more,’ he added.

    Braman has a history of fighting various tax-based initiatives including blocking the renovation of the Orange Bowl in the 1980s. He also has a history of running the Philadelphia Eagles into the ground and of course didn’t mind a public handout when he was looking to build a new stadium in Philly. And lets not forget that Braman owns car dealerships and any funds that go to support mass transit or development of urban areas may impact his ability to sell cars. Changing South Florida from a car-based sprawl to a more urban-centric layout (as you see in other major metropolitan areas) is not in his interest.

    Anyway, Braman is rich and well connected (check out his bipartisan political giving history). Clearly he has influence, time, and money to try and ruin it for the rest of us.

  • Marlins Park

  • What We Noticed in Recent Articles

  • We noticed a few interesting quotes in recent articles about the Marlins:

    • We are kindly reminded by The NY Daily News that Jeff Loria really really really hates Joe Girardi:

      Said Loria Saturday in Marlins camp: “With the exception of last year, when we had the chain of injuries primarily hung over from the year before when there were decisions made that were not great decisions, this team has always been formidable.”

      Translation: I put out a great product and Girardi broke it.

    • Staying with Loria, while others focused on his payroll comments we thought the interesting quote was this:

      “There will be a complete change [of uniforms],” Loria said. “Nothing has been designed yet. It will be different. It will be fun. It will be something we can all grab on to and call our own.”

      Are we the only ones worried about “fun” uniforms? This Fish already have traditional looking uniforms. Don’t want to end up looking like an expansion team… again.

    • Hanley tells us something we should all appreciate:

      “I think [the Marlins] treat me good from the bottom all the way to the top. I feel comfortable here.”

      Reminder to all those “fans” who criticize the ownership and management for the way they treat players: Hanley knows what he’s talking about; you don’t.

  • News

  • One Down, One To Go

  • Sorry for the light posts but I just got married and I’m sure my wife would kill me if she knew I was blogging about baseball on my honeymoon (actually, I just sent her for some spa treatment so I think I’m in the clear).

    Anyway, Spring Training is here and the ballpark just received the City’s approval. County is up next. One more vote, that’s it.

    Update: It’s done! County approved the deal by a 9-3 vote. A few open issues, but we can now say that the Miami Marlins will have a ballpark in 2011.

  • Marlins Park
    • craig
    • RETWEETED
      18 years ago

    • Congratulations on the marriage! I wish the best for the both of you.

  • Marlins, County and City Agree on Stadium Deal

  • Speaks for itself:

    The Marlins, Miami-Dade County, the city of Miami and Major League Baseball reached agreement late Friday to finance a $515 million ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl, according to a source.

    The agreement was not released, but was expected to be distributed to county and city commissioners, who will need to approve it. The city has scheduled a special commission meeting to consider the deal at 9 a.m. Thursday; the county commission is to meet at 1 p.m. that day.

    The deal calls for the county and city to contribute $360 million mainly in tourist taxes and a $50 million general obligation bond Miami-Dade voters approved in 2004 to renovate the Orange Bowl, but which will instead be moved to the ballpark project.The Marlins are to contribute $155 million.

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  • Hell To Freeze Over in Three Weeks

  • We kid, of course.

    Miami-Dade County is losing its cool over the constant delays in the ballpark negotiations. Honestly, this is becoming a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both sides so they need to start compromising. The longer the wait, the easier it is for this thing to collapse.

    Anyway, the County is giving the negotiations three more weeks. Then what? Who knows.

  • Marlins Park
  • Photo by Flickr user SteelYankee

  • It’s All About the Parking

  • Miami Today tells us that the snag in the ballpark negotiations is all about parking.

    A preliminary agreement in December gave Miami the responsibility to build a 6,000-space garage near the stadium at the Orange Bowl site and find 6,000 more spaces nearby. But city officials, including Manager Pete Hernandez, have maintained since last month they plan to provide only the 6,000 garage spots.

    There is no doubt that infrastructure was one of the biggest issues surrounding the Orange Bowl location. The same thing happened with the DC ballpark and they ended up tabling the issue to get it done. If this is really the final hurdle then maybe MLB drops the issue to make it happen. More

  • Marlins Park