• Not Everyone Wants Jacques Jone

  • Bugs & Cranks takes a different approach towards the Jacque Jones rumors:

    Florida Marlins, do not view these clubs as your peers. You have something they don’t from the 21st century: a World Series championship. So what if Josh Willingham’s health is suspect at this point? Call up Cameron Maybin! He needs a reason to get those braces off, why not make it a cup of coffee in the major leagues? Don’t stoop to the levels of lesser organizations. I tried really hard to write that with a straight face, it didn’t work. Give Cody Ross more playing time. Throw Wes Helms out there, he’ll do anything for those spicy nachos. Why settle for what another team with a bad record doesn’t want? Florida Marlins, you’re the team with the great record, so have some pride! If you want to bring in a veteran whose production at this point is suspect, I don’t know, try the guy sitting on your bench. The Albatross himself has got to be good for something.

    Link:  Pump the Brakes!!!

  • News

  • Talented Mudcats Start Season with Win

  • Nice article in the Rock Mount Telegram about the Carolina Mudcats and the impressive line up we have in AA. They played their opener against the Montgomery Biscuits (I kid you not).

    Eight of the top 11 prospects in the Florida Marlins organization are with the Double-A team, and it was easy to see why this group is thought of so highly.

    Starting pitcher Chris Volstad was efficient, giving up one run in six innings.

    Cameron Maybin, the crown jewel of the system, might have struck out twice, but he had a pair of singles and a stolen base.

    Shortstop Manuel Mayorson hit a double and scored, stole a base and took several hits away from the Biscuits.

    Chris Coghlan, the best hitter for average the Marlins have in the minor leagues, was 3-for-4 and as impressive at second base as Mayorson was at short.

    The Mudcats won 7-1.

  • Minor Leagues

  • In Case You Wondered: The Marlins Proposed the Trade

  • We’ve all wondered how the trade happens and in this Detroit-loving article by Jason Stark, we discover that after the Tigers rejected the Marlins’ Cabrera for Miller and Maybin offer, the Marlins came back with the 8 player lineup (meaning: included Dontrelle) and Detroit said yes.

    Also, the Marlins wanted Mike Rabelo because bench coach Carlos Tosca had managed him before and liked him.

    Oh, and one bit of commentary. Trading away your entire minor league system and spending millions on free agents doesn’t make your GM a genius. For every good GM like Dave Dombrowski there is an incompetent GM like Omar Minaya.

  • News

  • Post Trade Hangover

  • Now that we’ve all had a day to digest the big trade, here are some of our thoughts:

    Most Marlins fans are angry. We traded away the best hitter and the best pitcher in franchise history. Both likable, both marketable, both young. Most people haven’t heard of any of the guys we got in return.

    The more we read, the more it sounds like Andrew Miller is the real deal. Tall and powerful with a slider and a cutter.

    He’s only 20 years old, but you have to wonder whether Cameron Maybin is nothing more than another Preston Wilson or even worse Reggie Abercrombie

    Dallas Trahern may end up being a diamond in the rough.

    What did we get for Dontrelle? We should have received Miller, Maybin, Rabelo and probably one of the other pitching prospects for Cabrera alone.

    It’s Hanley’s team now.

    Who’s on third? I say Uggla and lets find a good defensive second basemen. Pitching and defense wins games.

    We all know the payroll is very low so would the team consider a one-year “special” deal for Andruw Jones?

    And about that payroll issue: The Marlins are profitable with this kind of payroll. It may not be as high as Forbes estimated, but it should be quite a bit. The Marlins can do themselves a great benefit if they come out and tell us that they are setting aside all this money to help build a ballpark. Miggie and Dontrelle for a new ballpark? I’d accept that deal.

    Finally, whatever happened to Dave Dombrowksi? He used to be a genius at acquiring great young talent. Now he’s collecting former Marlins and trading away his entire farm.

    Optimism from DeadSpin: “it wouldn’t surprise us in the least to see that collection of Florida cheap youngsters do one of their patented annoying wild-card runs to the World Series in a couple of years”

  • Opinion
    • Sashimi
    • RETWEETED
      16 years ago

    • Oops, just saw that you already reported that! Sorry for the redundancy!

    • Sashimi
    • RETWEETED
      16 years ago

    • It was reported that the Tigers turned down a proposal that included both Maybin and Miller for Cabrera alone. Willis was required to get both in the deal.

  • Photo by Flickr user wizardkitten

  • Some Positive Spin on the Deal

  • ESPN’s Christopher Harris summarizes the deal and has some positive views on the new Marlins:

    Check out this haul: Florida got prized centerfielder Cameron Maybin, should’ve-been-top-pick lefty starter Andrew Miller, middle-of-the-rotation prospect Dallas Trahern, possible future closer Eulogio De La Cruz, major-league backup catcher Mike Rabelo and another starting prospect, Burke Badenhop.

    More

  • News

  • Tigers Acquire Cabrera and Willis

  • Wow, the blockbuster deal just happened.

    MLB.com is reporting (and Peter Gammons is confirming) that the Detroit Tigers have acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. In return, the Marlins will get outfielder Cameron Maybin, left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo, right-handed pitcher Eulogio delaCruz, right-handed pitcher Dallas Trahern and right-handed pitcher Burke Badenhop.

    It’s not official yet, but:

    The deal was all but finalized as of late afternoon at the Winter Meetings.

    Here is who we know we’re getting:

    Maybin and Miller were both first-round Draft picks of the Tigers, Maybin in 2005 and Miller in 2006. Both have tasted the Major Leagues.

    Maybin, 20, made his debut in August and appeared in 24 games, hitting .143 with one home run in 49 at-bats. However, he made a rapid rise through the Tigers system, batting .304 with 10 homers in 83 games for Class A Lakeland before making a brief stop at Double-A Erie.

    Miller, 22, made 13 starts for Detroit last season, going 5-6 with a 5.69 ERA. In 78 Minor League innings in 2007, he allowed 71 hits and struck out 61 batters. He was drafted out of the University of North Carolina.

    Looks like Dave Dombrowksi is serious about bringing as many former Marlins to the Tigers as possible.

    Links:  

  • News

  • NPR’s Coverage of the Florida Marlins

  • I hopped in my car last night just in time to catch the segment about the Florida Marlins marketing tactics on NPR’s All Things Considered.

    They call the Marlins marketing team the best in the game and spend quite a bit of time with the Marlins Manatees (accurately described as “fat guys with no dance experience”). Marlins VP of Marketing Sean Flynn also makes an appearance, highlighting all the marketing initiatives the team undertakes including the player autographs, the Marlins Mermaids, Super Saturdays and more. Flynn describes it best by saying (and I paraphrase): We’re not selling baseball… We are an entertainment property with core property of baseball.

    Listen to the segment and enjoy the brief attention. They seem to downplay the two world championships and describes our trades resulting in “lesser and cheaper players” making it sound like Hanley and Cameron are nothing more than scrubs. It concludes with the question of whether a dozen fat men can change the team’s fortunes. But, as Marlins fans know, 25 athletic and talented men haven’t been able to change it either.

  • Fun & Games