Joe Frisaro covers the Larry Beinfest press conference.

State of Marlins update

Hayden Penn?!  Really?!  Look, I don't care who the Marlins look at it, heck, they could invite me to camp.  Sure, I would be cut before lunch on the first day of workouts in the spring, but so what.  However, do they really think Hayden Penn is going to crack the starting rotation?  Maybe I am missing something here.

In other news, as long as the front office believes they can sign Josh Johnson to a long term contract, he will remain with the Marlins.

Click on the link and read the whole thing, which should take you the better part of a minute.

Baseball America publish their December rankings of the major league farm systems and the Marlins slipped a bit.  Here is what they had to say.

Marlins: Still thin on arms, but Florida's bats, led by OF Mike Stanton, still impress.

Last season the Marlins were in a virtual tie for first.  Now the farm system has slipped down to number 8.  There are a few reasons for this, due to circumstances the Marlins brought up some young pitchers and frankly most had haphazard performances, which is very common for the move to the majors. I wouldn't read much into the drop, but it is true the Fish are a little light on arms in the minors.  But given the team's history, that won't last long.  Or at least I hope not. 

If you are anywhere near Homestead this weekend and are missing baseball, do we have the event for you.

Venezuelan winter baseball league teams Lara Cardinals and Zulia Eagles will leave familiar environs for an important late-season series.

In an effort to showcase Venezuelan baseball outside its borders, the Cardinals and Eagles will play a two-game regular-season set Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Homestead Baseball Complex.

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Oropeza said former Marlins pitcher Vladimir Nunez is the Cardinals' scheduled starter for Sunday's second game of the series.

The teams are managed by former MLB players Luis Sojo (Cardinals) and Eddie Perez (Eagles).

Both games will start at 1 p.m. After each game, there will be concerts featuring Venezuelan musical groups.

Tickets range from $30 to $50. For information, call 1-877-733-3136.

 

Kinda a bit pricey, but it is high quality baseball.  Check it out if you get the chance, of course that is assuming the check that your Grandma sent you for Christmas clears the bank.

The Florida Marlins, et al, keep trying to win over the community which will soon be their new home.

Miami, FL- The Florida Marlins and the Florida Marlins Community Foundation, together with Hunt/Moss, A Joint Venture, will be donating 100 Christmas Trees to families in Little Havana onFriday, December 4, 2009 from 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. at 1600 NW 4 Street in Little Havana.

The families have been chosen based on financial need by the Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET) of Little Havana. Families will have an opportunity to join Billy The Marlin in a day of fun, music, giveaways and much more. Christmas trees are provided by Winn-Dixie.

"We understand how important it is to build relationships with our neighbors," said Angela Smith, Florida Marlins Community Outreach Director. "We care about the families and hope this event will impact their lives this Holiday Season."

One lucky family will receive Holiday cheer Marlins style, with a special visit by Santa Billy and his crew for a one-of-a-kind Christmas tree extravaganza.

This tidbit about Ricky Nolasco came to my attention and it was a cause of some concern.

While Rizzo declined to talk about players Washington would like to acquire in a trade, a baseball source indicated that the Nats have interest in Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who won 13 games this past season.

My first reaction was, this has to be a joke.  I mean, I have an interest in being a billionaire but that doesn't mean it is going to happen.  Then the darker side took over me and I thought, won't we have to throw in Cody Ross also in order to get  Bonifacio, Jr.?

After awhile I couldn't stand it anymore and I emailed Ricky's agent, Matt Sosnick, and asked if the Marlins were shopping Nolasco, here is what he was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to say (via email):

I haven't heard anything about that, but I believe that he is going to have a monster year in 2010.  He is the most underrated player that I represent.

First things first, if the Marlins were indeed shopping Ricky, one would think Mr. Sosnick would know.  Since he can't confirm the rumor, I will sleep better.  I hate the offseason.

Second things second, I completely agree that Nolasco is in line for an outstanding 2010.  Ricky has the stuff to be dominating, that has been proven.  And if you want an explanation for the rough patches early on last season, you don't have to get real fancy.  In 2007, Ricky had elbow problems and only threw 21.1 innings for the Marlins.  In 2008, Ricky was great but threw 212.1 innings.  Generally the acceptable increase, especially for a young arm, is 30 innings over the previous year.  Now, everyone knew he was going to throw more than 50 innings in 2008 but over 200 is a ton for coming off elbow problems.  So it wasn't surprising when at times he wasn't as sharp last season.  But last year he only threw 185 innings, so there wasn't an increase in stress on his arm.  Meaning, he should be good to go.

Photi at Fish Chunks gives us the breakdown of the Marlins record during certain cycles of the moon.

Full Moon News

As the title implies, the Marlins are a full moon team.  Check it out.

Once again didn't mean for this to become a regular feature, but so what, it is the offseason.  So today, we check in on Chris Resop.

Free-agent major-league pitcher and 2001 Barron Collier graduate Chris Resop will be signing autographs Saturday afternoon at Beyond Motion Studio, 11985 Tamiami Trail N., Naples.

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Resop played four seasons in the major leagues with the Marlins, Angels and Braves. Resop played last season in Japan. Resop has compiled a 3-3 record and 5.89 ERA in 57 career relief appearances.

For more information, call 254-9300.

 

 If you are like me and tend to miss your exit in S. Florida and for some reasons unknown end up in Naples, go by and say hi to Chris.

Dave Van Horne is once again up for the Ford C. Frick Award.

Starting Tuesday, baseball fans can nominate their favorite broadcasters for the Hall of Fame's prestigious Ford C. Frick Award.

Voting begins at 10 a.m. ET on the Hall of Fame's Facebook page, facebook.com/baseballhall, and concludes at 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 31.

Fans will have the opportunity to select from more than 200 eligible broadcasters, and the top three selections will appear on the final, 10-name ballot for the 2010 award. Bios of each candidate will be available at www.baseballhall.org.

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Established in 1978, the Frick Award honors excellence in baseball broadcasting and is given to an active or retired broadcaster with a minimum of 10 years of continuous Major League broadcast service with a ballclub, network or combination of the two. This year's winner will be selected by a 20-member electorate, which will announce its choice in early February.

 The voting electorate features Kubek, five historians and the 14 other living Award winners -- Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Denny Matthews, Dave Niehaus, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff.

 

DVH will win this award at some point and maybe this is the year.  So click on the link below and vote away.  DVH will be one of the finalist, but maybe, just maybe, if everyone votes, it will persuade the panel that this is the year it should happen.

Oh, Rich and Tommy are also on the ballot, so throwing a little love to them can't hurt, but there is no way they are going win.  Not they shouldn't be in the running, it is just that haven't been doing it long enough to qualify.

But in the meantime, go vote for DVH.

Ford C. Frick voting

The Marlins finished first in the MLB salary rankings, well sort of.

The largest percentage of increase from 2008 to 2009 for average salary came by way of the Florida Marlins who increased their average from $868,261 in 2008 to $1,327,968 for 31 players in 2009, an increase of 52.95 percent.

It is kind of like scoring a 10 out of a 100 on the previous test and improving to a 15, sure you are still failing but hey, you are showing improvement.

Actually this is more parking garage news.

A week before they were scheduled to sell the bonds on Wall Street, Miami city leaders are postponing a planned bond sale designed to finance a new Florida Marlins stadium parking garage -- though City Manager Pete Hernandez says the city could have gone forward now.

Miami's financial accounting practices were recently harshly criticized by Auditor General Victor Igwe, and The Miami Herald reported last week that the local office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing City Hall.

Neither of those developments were the reason behind the bond sale being postponed, Hernandez said Tuesday. Instead, the city manager said, Miami will wait until February or March to issue the bonds because the city is switching to a different competitive-bidding process for the parking garage.

 Oh sure, the same SEC that turned a blind eye to the obvious Ponzi scheme being run by Bernard Madoff now turns its attention to a parking garage.  Man, you guys are the best. 

The parking garage will be built, now whether it has 5,000 parking spots or less, remains to be seen.  But the truth is, even if it is not built, the community of Little Havana is very efficient at handling crowds of a larger size than the capacity of the stadium.