SB Nation User Blog: Fishcrazy

Marlins rumored to be shopping for closer

Fishcrazy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:51:35 -0000

From Sports Illustrated's John Heyman:

The Marlins inquired about closing stars Heath Bell and Joakim Soria in hopes of filling their relief openings. Injuries to closer Matt Lindstrom (elbow) and Kiko Calero (shoulder) have left them shorthanded at a time they are challenging for the NL East division lead. For now, both the Padres (Bell) and Royals (Soria) are saying neither reliever is available.

Talk about aiming high. Certainly this could all be crap, nothing more than a couple cold-calls Beinfest had an underling make just to test the waters in case of a ridiculous bargain.

But if it's true, it's noteworthy that the Fish would seem to be deviating a little from their standard business model of acquiring reasonably priced, unheralded veterans or trying to coach up prospects. I say "a little" because even though they're premiere closers, both are affordable.

Soria's in the second year of a three-year, $8.75 million contract, which is do-able even for the Marlins. Bell's only making about $1.255 million this year on a one-year contract (he'll cash in next year). So even though the Fish apparently were rejected on both players, it does show the parameters of what the team's looking for in terms of talent and salary.

And of course, it strongly indicates Fredi and the F.O. have soured on Lindstrom as a closer . You don't go after a guy like Soria and keep him through 2010 if you believe Lindstrom's a bona fide closer, or that Nunez would be ready next year.

Makes you wonder who the team would give up to get a Bell or Soria. Ryan Tucker? Logan Morrison? Gaby? Some other relief prospect? They wouldn't think about trading Stanton, would they?

SI names Loria 4th-worst owner in baseball

Fishcrazy — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:19:12 -0000

I'm digging this fanpost thing!

Sportsillustrated.com has ranked the 5 best and 5 worst owners in each of the four major sports. Unsurprisingly, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria made the "worst" list, coming in at number 4. Ted Lerner of the Nationals was 5th (boteman could've told you that), while David Glass (Royals), Tom Hicks (Rangers) and Peter Angelos (Orioles) were the top three.

Here's what it said about Loria:

<blockquote> The art dealer turned a nation of fans against him with his first team, the Expos, before forcing their move from Montreal and selling them back to Major League Baseball. He then took control of the Marlins and watched his exciting team shock the Yankees in the 2003 World Series and then became Miami fans' worst nightmare: the second coming of Wayne Huizenga. The Marlins slowly have been rebuilding themselves with more young talent, despite the lowest cash outlay provided by any owner, and could be turning a corner soon. That is, until Josh Johnson and Dan Uggla are shown the door like Josh Beckett, Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera. </blockquote>

I'm kind of torn about this. I'm not a reflexive Loria hater. It's like Loria is two owners. There's the owner who put us through the 2004/2005 firesale abomination, but also the owner who's willing to add salary and pull the trigger on deals to make playoff runs (Urbina, Lo Duca, Rhodes). He's not a baseball tourist; he's a real fan who attends the games (ask Joe Girardi) and invests heavily on scouting and development. There's the owner who shamelessly destroyed the Montreal Expos and then skipped town, but also the owner who maintained an even keel every time the new Marlins stadium was shot down over the last 5 years.

Having Loria as an owner is like having a dog with a bad temper. Much of the time, the dog is loyal and good to you. But you know it's bitten you in the past and you never fully trust it, even in the best of times. What do you guys think?

As for the rest of the "woest list," Angelos is an undersandable pick for #1, having infamously meddled in his team's affairs to the point where a team on the rise in the 1990s in a glorious new park is now a completely adrift perennial loser.

I take issue with Hicks, though. Yes, we all know about A-Rod's contract, and there's been other major contract blunders over the years. But overpaying for free agents doesn't make you a "bad" owner. At least he's actually <i>paying</i>. I'd bet half the league would love to have a deep-pocketed owner like Hicks.

Maybin sent to Triple-A

Fishcrazy — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:03:00 -0000

In case you didn't already know this, and not seeing it on the front page yet, I regret to inform you that Cameron Maybin has been sent to Triple-A New Orleans.

Courtesy of Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel:

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The struggling Maybin, who did not start for a third consecutive game Sunday, will report to Triple-A New Orleans where the Marlins hope he’ll continue polishing his game. At no point this season did Maybin achieve any offensive consistency. He hit .202 (17 for 84) with five extra-base hits, three RBI and struck out 31 times.

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The writing was on the wall before Maybin got caught in a rundown between second and third base as the tying run in a one-run game yesterday. Maybin had been on the bench the last few games, and was only used as a pinch-runner Sunday, and obviously didn't do that very well, either.

After hitting an even .500 during last season's extremely encouraging September call-up, Maybin was primed for big things this year. But, much like Bonifacio, the big splash wore off quickly. By the end of April, Maybin was almost an automatic out who looked completely overmatched. So back down to the minors it is to get his head right again:

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We’re looking for him to get some at-bats and regular time, and polish his game," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We always talked about right from the very beginning was the confidence level and we don’t want a guy to get buried. As a staff and as an organization we felt he was getting close to that.

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Maybin remains a premiere prospect, so the Fish were careful to give him some encouraging words as he heads to the minors:

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''We just want to send him down, get some AB's, and regain some confidence,'' Marlins general manager Mike Hill said. ``He's tremendously talented, has a bright future ahead of him. He's still a baby.''</blockquote>

(Via the Miami Herald.) You don't want your top prospect to feel like a failure simply because he needs some more seasoning. I have no doubt he'll regain his swagger and reclaim his spot in center soon enough.

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In Maybin's place, the team called up John Koronka, who was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA at N'Awlins. Koronka was a former mediocre reliever who was converted into a starter this year and has become pretty darn good at it (at least in the minors). Here's hoping that he'll capably fill the gap until Sanchez and/or Miller return.

And last, this would appear to mean that Chris Coghlan has claimed left field for now, with Ross taking over for Maybin in center and Hermida sliding to right. I could be wrong about this, but I don't think they called up Coghlan to have him sit behind Ross Gload. If anyone has any other insight into this, comment away.

(Sorry for the lack of block-quotes; this is my first FanPost and I can't figure out the coding.)