Nice piece on former Florida Marlins infielder Alex Arias in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (West Virginia). The 39-year old Arias is now managing the Bluefield Orioles who are the Baltimore Orioles’ Rookie League team.
Alex has some good things to say about his career with the Marlins: More
I’ve been thinking about trust lately.
It all started when I read Ethan Skolnick’s commentary on trusting South Florida General Managers. He correctly points out that South Florida fans can trust Larry Beinfest of the Florida Marlins and Pat Riley of the Miami Heat no matter what they do, while being very suspicious of anything coming out of the Dolphins and Panthers organizations. Larry may have screwed up the Jorge Julio trade, but we give him a pass because Byung-Hyun Kim has done well and Armando Benitez had a few good outings (and a few terrible ones too).
Trust is very important these days as we read that Dontrelle Willis is the subject of many trade rumors.
I personally would prefer if the Marlins kept Dontrelle. He is a great guy, a pretty good pitcher, and will probably earn less next year. Keeping him tells the average fan and the media that the Fish are committed to winning and we’re just one ballpark away from spending money like the Yankees spend on bad pitchers. But I also trust that Beinfest will make the right choice if he goes the other way. I will be the first person to say one or all of the following:
No matter what, we trust Larry.
If you didn’t think Hanley Ramirez deserved to an All-Star, then don’t read this post.
The Marlins terrific shortstop, who happens to be the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, was named the National League’s Player of the Week after hitting .520 with 12 hits, 3 HRs, 1.087 slugging percentage, 4 doubles and 6 RBIs. He’s hitting a mere .331 with 14 HRs and 27 stolen bases while playing shortstop every night.
If Hanley wore a Red Sox or Yankees uniform while dropping that terrific RBI bunt in extra-innings to beat the Dodgers last week, I’m sure ESPN would have named him the player of the century (maybe they would have sent Pedro Gomez to cover him full time).
Interesting note from MLB.com:
The individual awards are starting to pile up for the Marlins. Florida now leads the NL with three Player of the Week winners this year. Miguel Cabrera took home the award in the season’s opening week and the week of June 4.
I think it’s fare to say that the Marlins are 4 healthy starting pitchers away from dominating the National League.
At least the Florida Marlins are getting some attention at this year’s All-Star festivities.
The Palm Beach Post is reporting that the MLB brass is disappointed at the Marlins ballpark situation:
“The commissioner is very upset,” MLB President Bob DuPay said before the All-Star Game. “We really thought we were going to get something done this year and we spent a lot of time down there and we had a lot of reason to think we were gong to get something done.”
Sounds like MLB thought everything was going well but for some reason seemed surprised when the Florida Legislature didn’t act for the millionth time. Also, as we mentioned yesterday, the Orange Bowl and University of Miami situation has been a huge distraction and has knocked everything off course.
“We had a great downtown site and all of a sudden the news developed that the Orange Bowl might be vacated and the commissioners got very concerned about a vacant Orange Bowl and a white elephant, so people turned their attention back to the Orange Bowl site,” DuPay said.
The good news is that both MLB and the Marlins are bullish on the South Florida market and probably realize that there is nowhere else for the team to go. The bad news is that for some reason UM is seen as a higher priority than the Marlins.
Oh, and one more thing. We now know that MLB’s disappointment and anger is worth less than $60 million since they could easily help finance that number and resolve this alleged economic obstacle.
The Miami Herald chimes in with more unproductive ballpark news:
Just when MLB thought something was close, the stadium deal is again on indefinite hold, exasperating MLB executives determined to keep a team here. Though the Marlins want a downtown site, Miami city manager Pete Hernandez said the city won’t deal with the Marlins issue until UM decides whether to move to Dolphin Stadium. (There’s no timetable for that.)
Once again, the Marlins have to play second-fiddle to the Hurricanes who play 6 games a year in front of 30,000 to 60,000 fans. No one can deny the University of Miami’s importance to the South Florida sports market, but unlike the Marlins they do not bring major league events and money into town. The Marlins can bring the World Baseball Classic, the National League playoff series, the World Series, and the All-Star game (in addition to 81 dates a year).
Now we hear the noise that the >Dolphin Stadium lease may not be extended beyond its 2010 termination. Wayne would love to build a roof over his palace and add other elements around the parking lots to make the facility some kind of magical convention site.
Marlins president David Samson said in recent months, a Huizenga Holdings official reaffirmed Wayne Huizenga’s earlier written notification that the lease would not be renewed.
There is no doubt that Samson is trying to put pressure on Miami, but Wayne has publicly said this too (and we know he has no interest in helping the Marlins’ cause).
[Huizenga:] “I don’t want to do anything to hurt the Dolphins’ chances of winning. We miss field goals on dirt. [Still], we’re the family that brought the Marlins here, and the last thing we want to do is hurt the team.”
So what does this all mean?
Miami needs to get its act together and the Marlins need to decide if they are ready to contribute a bite more. If this, as we’ve been told, comes down to $60 million, then the parties (including MLB) need to step up and make it happen. MLB should understand that it will not get another DC sweetheart deal and that they can help close this by, once again, “lending” money to Loria and the Marlins.
Also, lets not underestimate the negative distraction caused by some people’s obsession with the Orange Bowl site. We know the Marlins will take whatever they can get, but everyone involved would benefit from a downtown site. Maybe the best way to close the gap and solve everyone’s problem is having UM buy the Orange Bowl.
It’s been tough to read between the tea leaves when it comes to the Miami-Dade/Marlins ballpark discussions. The lack of news could be good or bad. That being said, you have to think that the recent resolution passed by the Miami-Dade County Commission is a positive step.
The resolution, adopted on June 5th, calls for the following:
RESOLUTION DIRECTING MAYOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO INCLUDE AMONG TERMS TO BE NEGOTIATED BY AND AMONG COUNTY, CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA MARLINS, LP, AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW BALLPARK A NAME CHANGE TO MIAMI MARLINS AND AGREEMENT TO PLAY MARLINS’ SPRING SEASON GAMES AT HOMESTEAD BASEBALL COMPLEX
This tidbit is not new, but we did want to point out a funny note from the Committee Hearing on this resolution:
Commissioner Moss noted, for the record, he was misquoted in the May 17, 2007, “Miami Today.” He clarified that he did not call Homestead a “sloppy, back water town” but said Homestead was not the “sleepy, back water town” it was viewed as in the past.
The somewhat irreverent baseball blog Bugs & Cranks slapped its keyboard on the Marlins today for their latest and season-long performance. They take shots at Fredi and the team for inconsistent play and sometimes illogical actions. For example, Josh Willingham‘s game winning hit in the 10th inning was a no brainer — yes, on paper you bunt in that situation — but Josh was 4-4 in the game and is the team’s best run producer. Willingham’s post game comments suggested that he assumed Fredi would call a bunt but since he didn’t get a sign he went ahead and swung at the pitch.
Regardless, the article does have a few “high points” including this money quote:
The game that Gonzalez is seemingly surprised to have won displayed the essence of the 2007 Marlins: talented, but bumbling; competitive, yet indifferent; heroic while squandering.
That could summarize our season so far. It’s no coincidence that you could also say that about Miguel Cabrera.
Link: Bugs & Cranks: Andy Warhol: “The Florida Marlins Are Weird”
The Marlins have been befuddling this season. Just when you think they’ve got it figured out, they slip again. The good news, as it were, is that they aren’t regularly beaten, but rather they give away games through errors and weird decisions. Hopefully they’ll manage to get something going in the next few games and then get a running start after the break. They need to get past that .500 hurdle…
It’s been a Marlins fest on TBS today. First, the Fish nearly blew a game against the Braves, ultimately winning on Josh Willingham’s 5th hit of the game. Now, we find out that Miguel Cabrera, will join Fredi Gonzalez on the 2007 National League All-Star team. The fans screwed up in voting for David Wright over Miguel to start the game. Miguel is the better player and is having a much better season. Miguel makes his 4th All-Star game — a Marlins record. With limited roster spots and every team needing a representative, deserving Fish like Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez were snubbed. Of course, with our record, you can understand why this may of happened.
While we’re at it, lets recognize the former Marlins the made the team: Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Pudge Rodriguez, Derrek Lee, Brad Penny, and Jim Leyland (AL Manager).
The game will be played in San Francisco on July 10th.
Update: Cody Ross said it best: “I’m boycotting the All-Star Game. I’ll watch Miggy, then I’m going to turn it off.”
With the all injuries this season, we’ll start July with some positive news:
First baseman Aaron Boone, placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a sprained left knee, is off crutches and riding a stationary bicycle. He won’t see any action on the practice field for another three days.
And…
Right-hander Ricky Nolasco, on the 15-day DL with elbow inflammation, will begin throwing five times a week in Jupiter.
Wait, there’s more…
Center fielder Alejandro De Aza, who was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL on June 16 with a hairline fracture of right ankle, will begin jogging next week.
Maybe one day this season we’ll actually have most of our players healthy.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez will be on Tony La Russa’s staff at this years All-Star game. Willie Randolph of the Mets needs surgery so Fredi was asked to take his spot. Now that we have our rookie manager in, lets hope Cabrera, Uggla, and Ramirez get their deserving call.