Really?

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Basically I just want to put 2 polls in here, but I'm not sure how to do one, so this could be interesting. 

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I'm not sure if this is going to work at all, because I've never tried to post from excel to here.  ANYWAY, work is a bit slow today so I tried to figure out, based on past performance this season, how the teams that matter to us most right now will finish up.  It is no secret the Giants have the hardest schedule and the Marlins not necessarily the easiest.  The Rockies have the way paved with gold as the easiest schedule.

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That is the question.

As of 12 noon tomorrow Billy Wagner will clear the waiver wire.  He is expected to do so because of the amount of money left on his contract and the buy out after this year.  He will then most likely pitch in the Mets game at night to showcase his abilities. 

Several scouts that have seen him rehab have said that he could surely help a team making a playoff push.

I think, if the Fish can get him at a cheap enough price, we should do it.  I think a late innings rotation of Kiko, Sanches, Nunez, and Wagner is absolutely sick, leaving pinto (ugh) and Meyer as lefty specialists.  The Hopper of course would be the long reliever we have come to know and love. 

Thoughts?

I was perusing my ESPN inside account this morning and found this tidbit on the marlins acquisition of Nick Johnson and the effect that it had on our ability win, essentially, because it removed Bonifacio from the every day lineup (curse you carlos zambrano).  It also factored in dropping Miller to the minor leagues and Lindy getting activated, apparently.  Sorry if this is too big of a block quote craig:

The team that had the biggest change in its expected winning percentage however -- a 42-point gain, well over twice what the Cardinals added -- is the Florida Marlins. Their only trade was to bring in Nick Johnson from the Nationals, but he essentially replaces Emilio Bonifacio in the lineup, meaning you're replacing a .220-ish EqA with a .300-ish EqA. The picture is complicated by internal changes in the pitching staff that happened at the same time -- ditching Andrew Miller for now, getting Matt Lindstrom back from the DL -- that also helped to inflate their expected win total. Still, having the best win-percentage increase only gets them a four-point gain in their playoff odds, from just three percent to seven percent, which was also the fourth-largest improvement by any club. The system still likes the Phillies and Braves a lot more than it does the Marlins, and it doesn't see many opportunities for outdoing those two teams.

Basically copying my reply to another post:

I don't think we come back and win the division.

With the Phils and Dodgers battling it out for best NL record, the Marlins would be bound to play LA for the first round of the playoffs since inter-divisional games are a no-no in that set.  If the Marlins got destroyed in 2 games, or 3, there's no way we are buyers.  We showed we could beat the most likely first round opponent though, with what we have, so now we are buyers or standing pat.  I think the decision ends up being based on asking prices of relievers and possibly a bat.

So now developing that further....

We all read who people would trade... Some Uggla, all Boni, a lot of Hermida.  Maybe Miller and some of the higher up prospects, though Stanton and Morrison have been called untouchable.

We'd all like a closer, and a replacement for Boni.  Maybe an OF, maybe a SP.

Let's be realistic though.  Name some players you'd like to add, and try to keep it to people that are being shopped...

I for one, would have liked to see DeRosa, but since he's off the market, I will go with:

Freddy Sanchez

Justin Duscherer

George Sherrill

My 4 year old Dell Inspiron 9400 crashed last week and I need to replace it. My budget for the computer is up to $850, but the cheaper the better. I want something with at least 250GB Hard Drive, 14" screen minumum, and Intel processor, WiFi capability build in. The OS doesn't matter though I'd prefer XP. I am open to a Mac if it is at the right price. If it has bluetooth capability that is a plus, but I know the chips can be bought for $30 so am not too worried.

I have focused my search on Macs, HPs, and Lenovo IdeaPads). I also can't find many reviews for the IdeaPad's so am not sure how they are in terms of functionality and service.

Any help, suggestions, or tips would be great. I have no clue what speed processor, Ram, screen, graphics are good these days, but just use the computer for basic home work with Office, some minor photoshop, and web surfing.

Thanks!

Call it a parting gift?  Or a thank you for all those stellar outings he had as a Marlin?  Or revenge?

After last night's very Jorge Julio-esque performance by none other than Jorge Julio, and not the collective Marlins bullpen for a change, Jorge Julio was released by the Milwaukee Brewers.  Sad story... NOT!

Here's the link to the story... They called up their Brian Sanches to replace him it appears.. I wish him luck, except in this series.

Courtesy of MLBTradeRumors.com, this gem, reminding us all that it is never too early in the season to start a firesale:

On this date 11 years ago, the Marlins traded Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson and two others to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. Piazza's tenure with the Marlins would last five games in which he was 5-18 with a triple and 5 RBI. Seven days later he was traded to the Mets for Preston Wilson and two minor league pitchers that would combine for 5 career appearances.

CJ isn't 2nd on my list of favorite Marlins (Mike Lowell #1, Conine #3, Pudge #4, Chuck Carr #5... and the list goes on).  Also, Piazza should go into the HOF as a Marlin, just as a slap in the face to the Mets... hey, it's an annual, last game of the year tradition anyway...

So, as many of you know, Chris Coghlan hit his first carrier homerun yesterday, which also accounted for his first 2 RBIs of his Major League carreer.  Happiness was inspired by the Coghlan family and Marlins fans alike.

As a 23 year who attends more baseball games than I can afford, I could not help but notice the gentleman that caught the ball seemed noticably older than me.  I played baseball for several years, have worked at stadiums, and am generally a fan of the game.  Most importantly for this conversation, I do not bring a glove into the stadium.

As the game went on, sadly, the happiness dissapated like too many games this year, Jeremy Hermida continued to be terrible at life, and Nolasco continued to look, as Tommy would say, "uncomfortable on the mound."

I was in much less of a positive mood as Craig Minervini interviewed the friend of the fan who caught Chris' HR ball.  Again, I was struck by his age, but this time more so by the fact that "ballhawking" is a past-time, and almost a job to him.

This interview was followed by Craig interview the "Happy Youngster" himself, who touted his "ball-hawking" abilities, and had very reasonable demands for trading over the ball.  No foul there, however, his apparent age pushed my disappointment to anger when I found out how often he does such things.

So, I checked out his websites here and here.  Much to my dismay, this fan brings multiple outfits to games, shows up before batting practice, is 29, married, and has 2 kids.  His family shows up at the regular game time to meet up with him, though he does not let this interfere with his "ball-hawking" duties.  He claims to give away meaningless balls, but has pictures on the blog, in empty stadiums after games with his pockets over-filled. 

I do not understand how a grown man, with a wife and family, that is a police officer, a) does this but more imperatively, b) still brings a glove to a game. 

So, fellow fishstripers (obviously I'm still stewing about the loss), I ask you... how old is "too old" to still bring a baseball glove to games?  Do you thing the "happy youngster," who is not too young, is sane?

You know where I stand...