Florida Marlins Blogs

Following Andy Pettitte’s retirement announcement last week, the New York Yankees are left with a big hole in their starting rotation.  CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are the team’s top three starters, while the last two spots are up for grabs.  Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre are options for Joe Girardi, but their limited experience in The Show may hurt their chances, as the Bronx Bombers tend to go with more established pitchers.  That leaves Freddy García (35) and Bartolo Colón (37), both of whom will try to prove they are not washed-up.

Continue reading "Yankees look to fill Pettitte’s ..."

Trevor Hoffman, Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader, announced his retirement this week after an illustrious 18-year big league career.  The seven-time All-Star finishes his career with 601 saves, a 61-75 record, a 2.87 ERA, and 1,133 strikeouts.  In 1089.1 innings pitched – spanning 1035 games – he surrendered exactly 100 home runs.  Hoffman spent the bulk of his career with the Padres, with whom he won four division titles and one National League pennant.

Continue reading "Trevor Time calls it a day"

Postseason sweeps are great if your team comes out victorious, but for the fan who just wants to see a good series because his team is already done for the year, sweeps make October less exciting.  The Phillies and Yankees outplayed their first-round opponents so it was no surprise that the Reds and Twins failed to win a single game, but the other two division series were more fun to watch.  Additionally, the League Championship Series in both the AL and NL will last a minimum of six games, which is how it should be.  A postseason series that features one team in complete control over the other is like a boxing match in which one fighter KO’s the other in the first round, but then fights him again the next night and does it all over again.  A series that goes the distance (or a game shy of it), on the other hand, is good for ball.

Continue reading "Longer series are good for ball"

Thank goodness Joey Votto (.314/.422/.589 with 22 home runs) was elected to the National League All-Star team via the Final Vote.  Billy Wagner, Carlos Gonzalez, and Ryan Zimmerman are great players and were all worthy of roster spots, but Votto should have been the NL’s starting first baseman over Albert Pujols, and it would have been a travesty had he not made it in the end.  Votto leads the NL in both On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage and is tied for the lead in home runs; if the season ended today, he’d likely be voted the league’s Most Valuable Player.  It’s too bad, then, that Votto went 0-2 and did not make an impact in the game.  (Each of the other first basemen on the National League side – Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Adrian Gonzalez – went 0-2 as well.)

Continue reading "All-Star Game thoughts"

Julio Franco may be the oldest player in Major League history to hit a home run (he also holds a number of other oldest player records), but Jamie Moyer has established himself as the game’s new Ageless Wonder.  In throwing a two-hitter against the Braves on May 7th, the 47-year-old became the oldest player to throw a complete game shutout.

Continue reading "Jamie Moyer: baseball's new Ageless Wonder"

As if Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter was not enough excitement for one day, the Mets and Cardinals took part in a marathon contest, playing a 20-inning game Saturday in St. Louis.  If that does not…, the most remarkable part of the monumental occasion was that the two teams went scoreless through the first 18 frames!  That’s like back-to-back shutouts being thrown by both teams!  In a game that took nearly seven hours and featured an astounding 18 pitchers (two of whom were actually position players that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sent to the hill), three Met hitters – Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, and Jeff Francoeur – went a combined 0 for 21.  That is an ugly line in the box score for three of the team’s four best offensive players.

Continue reading "Oh, what a night!"

As it stands right now, the Colorado Rockies are 4.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card race. The Rockies have been a bit of a surprise team this season, after an unimpressive '08 campaign and the loss of Matt Holliday during the offseason. They've thrived after the firing of Clint Hurdle, as Jim Tracy has pushed the right buttons, rarely ever taking a misstep.

Continue reading "Have the Rockies locked up the NL Wild Card?"

  The Giants desperately need a number five starter, and have apparently filled that void with today's waiver acquisition of former Dodger and Marlin Brad Penny.  After a brief stint in Boston, Penny was released after 24 starts, and cleared waivers.  The Giants were one of at least six teams interested in the one-time all-star; who won 16 games in back-to-back seasons with the Dodgers in '06 and '07.  

Continue reading ""Giants Have Reportedly Signed Brad Penny""

In the last week, baseball fans have been exposed to a number of unfortunate incidents that involved big-name, All-Star players.  My thoughts on each of them follow.

Kevin Youkilis charging the mound: Youk let his emotions get the best of him on Tuesday night after getting plunked in the back for the second consecutive night.  The Red Sox need Youk’s bat in the lineup and his glove in the field.  Now they have neither for five games.

Continue reading "Poor behavior on and off the field is Bad for Ball"

It's still not too late to vote for Pablo Sandoval, in fact, it's not too late to vote 1,000 times for Pablo before Thursday's "unlimited" voting deadline!  I guess it depends on how much extra time you've got on your hands, but in this quick-click society, what's 10 (or 100) votes over the course of the day.  I must admit, I've voted for Sandoval and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers 40 times since Sunday, and feel very good about my contribution.  However, let's not get too carried away this process.  If everyone had just one vote, or maybe 10 votes?  That, to me would be a better indicator of who is deserving for the final roster spot.   What I REALLY think is that the players should vote for that final spot, and have it over and done with when the main rosters are announced in the first place.  Why drag it out?  Oh...I forgot, the "Mid-Summer Classic" has become a crucial match-up between leagues in JULY, to determine home field advantage in October.  That sure makes sense Bud Selig - brilliant idea!   I think the players (or coaches) would see the value of Pablo as a multi-positional option later in the game. Extra Catcher? Extra third baseman? Extra first baseman? Hello?? As for Wednesday's finale with Florida, the Giants were shutdown 7-to-0 by Marlins' right-hander Chris Volstad, who tossed a complete game five-hitter.  Easily his best effort of the season, improving to 6-and-8, Volstad (zero BBs and Six Ks in 105 pitches) helped Florida avoid the three-game sweep at the hands of the Giants.   The "Big Sadowski," Ryan Sadowski didn't have his best control with four walks allowed, as well as his first two earned runs in three starts.  Sadowski worked five innings, gave up five hits, three runs (two earned), walked four and struck out four. Sadowski has posted an ERA of 1.00 with only today's two runs allowed in 18-total-innings of work.  The bats were completely silenced by Volstad, while Merkin Valdez in relief served-up a three-run bomb to Dan Uggla, his 16th homer of the season.  As appealing as Uggla may be in a possible trade scenario, I would have to say that he strikes out way too much and needs to think more about his batting average (.223 after today) and on-base percentage, (around .332) rather than his home run count. Hey, I'll take two out of three over the "fish," but it sure would have been fun to see super stud short stop Hanley Ramirez.  Ramirez, an all-star starter, missed his fourth consecutive game with a hip injury.  Oh well... The Giants are 26-and-15 since Memorial Day, and welcome San Diego for a four-game weekend series.  The Padres are a team on the ropes and already willing to trade some of its pieces, including Scott Hairston to the A's.  Tim Lincecum gets the ball Thursday night, and looks to match fellow all-star Matt Cain with 10 victories.

Continue reading ""Have You Voted For Pablo Sandoval ..."

It's still not too late to vote for Pablo Sandoval, in fact, it's not too late to vote 1,000 times for Pablo before Thursday's "unlimited" voting deadline!  I guess it depends on

Continue reading ""Have You Voted For Pablo Sandoval ..."

  Congratulations Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain!  The Giants' pitching staff, for a second year in a row, have two representatives on the National League All-Star team.  Third Baseman Pablo Sandoval did not make the roster today, but is one of five finalists that can still be voted in by the fans.  Go to sfgiants.com or mlb.com to log your votes for Pablo, and from what I understand, there is no limit on how many times one can vote.  The deadline to cast your ballot is Thursday. Here's a look at Pablo's competition for the final roster spot:

Continue reading ""Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are very ..."

Dateline: last season. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada injures his shoulder. He ends up needing season-ending surgery leading to a Pudge Rodriguez summer rental. Fast forward to this season. There is no doubt his shoulder's gotten better. It just seems like every time I turn on the Yankee game on TV, some baserunner is trying to steal 2nd and the throw from Jorge is...........IN TIME! He's caught a couple stealing in last week's series against the Washington Nationals. I remember him catching somebody stealing against the Marlins. I believe it was Hanley Ramirez and if I remember correctly Ramirez was perfect so far this season until he got caught by Posada. Cool, huh? There is no doubt that Jorgie is back to form before the injury. Throw in a couple of home runs here and there and you've got yourself one of the most exciting Yankee players to watch. I love it! Every time he throws the ball to second and catches a baserunner stealing, it shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there who think he's coming off shoulder surgery and he's an easy stolen base. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think he's done. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think the Yanks should have kept Pudge. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Ivan Rodriguez. Congrats Pudge on beating Carlton Fisk for most appearances as a catcher. I have a lot of respect for him. He's just too clutch against the teams I root for and a straight-up dud when he plays on teams I root for. This frustrates me just a little bit. Let Pudge be a journeyman going from team to team making history. I'll just stick with Jorgie, the best catcher in baseball as a staple on the New York Yankees.

Continue reading "Posada's shoulder holding up nicely ..."

Boston Red Sox; Rainey Night Costs the Sox!!

J. Lester started last night for the Sox and has been outstanding, winning his last 3 games in a row, 2 were almost no hitters and allowing only 1 run in the other and 11 strikeouts in all 3 games--Sick!!! So I expected Lester to come out last night and do the same thing as he has been doing.

Continue reading "Rainy Nite costs Red Sox"

The New York Yankees have a 3-game series this weekend against the Florida Marlins. One of the pitchers they could be facing is Chris Volstadt. An interesting little article in the MLB Insider section of the May 18 issue of ESPN the Magazine shed a little light on his background. His dad was a golf tutor to Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. This was a great help to Chris when he was in little league growing up in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He had a very awkward delivery. As a favor to his dad, Jim Palmer gave him some tips. The result: Chris Volstadt grew up to be 6'8". He's got a killer sinking fastball that causes opposing batters to hit a lot of ground balls. Through the month of April, he had an ERA of 2.67. How's will he fare against the Yankees? Well, since April his ERA ballooned to 3.46. His last start was against the Cardinals. He gave up a career high 6 runs in 5 2/3 innings in the Florida Marlins loss to them. I believe if the Yankees end up facing him at some point this weekend, it's going to be straight up domination. If the Cards can jump on Volstadt like that, so can the Yankees. Don't miss out on this upcoming series this weekend.

Continue reading "Scouting the Opposition: Florida ..."

The Florida Marlins' 2009 season got off to nothing short of a dream start back in April. Two full weeks into the season the Fish were 11-1 with the best record in baseball and a wide lead in the NL East. Sure it was early in the season, but it was the best start in team history and it energized South Florida with prospects that the franchise was finally ready to see its youth movement served with a strong post season run. Then the team hit a bit of a road block. After their fast start the Marlins would finish April on a 3-7 run, dropping their record to 14-13. At this point the team still had a winning record and had finished the month with a 3 game win streak against strong opponents, perhaps the 7 game slump was just a hiccup. The month of May however would prove it was no hiccup as the Marlins went from bad to worse as the Marlins went 9-20 and won back to back games only twice. So far in June the Marlins appear to have only leveled out as they are on a current stretch of 13 games in which they’ve won back to back only once and typically win one night and lose the next.

Continue reading "Florida Marlins' crippled by inconsistency"

These days, going to a baseball game isn't what it used to be. Seldom will a pitcher throw into the 7th inning; the score is usually 7-6 or 10-9; and your favorite slugger is likely to hit one, if not two balls, out of the park. The game is shamelessly jacked up on HGH, and its obvious. The best hitter (Bonds) and pitcher (Clemens) of our generation used it, and more players are getting busted by the day (A-Rod, Manny). However, most fans don't care. They still go to the ballpark. That's because baseball, and pro sports in general, is merely another form of entertainment.

Continue reading "Rampant Steroid Use Brings Up Issue ..."

The National League has four legitimate contenders for the World Series, and two of those clubs reside in the NL East. Along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, the New York Mets and incumbent champion Philadelphia Phillies are the league’s elite. The Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves should have respectable seasons while the Washington Nationals battle with the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates for the label of most horrendous team in the league.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's 2009 NL East Preview"

The first domino - and a hefty domino it was - in the free-agent pitching puzzle fell this morning, with the announcement that C.C Sabathia took a seven-year offer from the Yankees. And with it came news that the Red Sox, apparently, are "very much involved" in discussions with former Marlin and Blue Jay hurler A. J. Burnett.

Continue reading "Burnett to Boston? Thanks, but no thanks"

Part Four:  The Maestro

           Has Omar Minaya been a good general manager of the New York Mets?  Well, for one, he didn’t trade Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano.  No, when he traded the Mets’ top prospects, he got a much better return—Johan Santana anyone?

Continue reading "In The Aftermath Of The Collapse ..."

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

    When Pedro Martinez allowed a home run to Jody Gerut on the first pitch of the game, it already didn't look good.  Then, when he allowed another one just two batters later, it looked like it was definitely going to be a long day for Pedro and the Mets.  But Pedro settled down beautifully and allowed just two hits the rest of the way in his 6.1 innings pitched Wednesday night.  His curveball and change-up were both working well, forcing San Diego hitters to hit ground balls or pop up, as they were regularly off balance.

Continue reading "Wright's Lapses Contribute to Mets' ..."

    The Mets limped home from a disappointing 1-5 road trip with a slew of injuries.  Marlon Anderson and John Maine were put on the DL over the weekend and Billy Wagner joined them today with a strained left forearm.  Ramon Castro is still shaken up from the bizzare home plate collision on Saturday, and is listed as day-to-day with a sore ankle.  Rather than make any external moves, the Mets have turned to their farm system for help.  Although for the time being Jerry Manuel says he will use a bullpen by committee in the ninth inning, Eddie Kunz, the heir apparent to Billy Wagner, is on the major league squad and may get some looks in the closer role over the next two weeks while Wagner is out.  Daniel Murphy, who was a third baseman in the minors but requested some work at second base and the outfield--a smart move, considering David Wright isn't going anywhere anytime soon--is getting the start in left field tonight agains the Padres.  The Mets really love the way he hits, so he could be a fixture at the major league level for the remainder of the season and perhaps into the future.  And rumor has it that the Mets are considering calling up Jon Niese to make a few starts in Maine's stead.

Continue reading "Mets Look to Bounce Back at Home"

    When the bullpen blew the game after Santana's eight stellar innings on Tuesday, fans and media types alike griped that the ace should have finished the game.  Saturday night's 14-inning marathon necessitated a long outing from Santana, and he answered the call, this time by pitching a complete game six-hitter, to put the exclamation point on the Mets' 9-1 win in the rubber game of the series against St. Louis.  The lone blemish on his masterful performance was Albert Pujols' seventh inning solo home run, but as Aaron Heilman learned early Sunday morning, you sometimes just tip your cap when that man hits one out.

Continue reading "Santana Goes the Distance, Mets Stay Hot"

This weekend, I was invited to a mini-high school reunion/get-together in south Florida. One of my best buddies and future subject of tennis elbow surgery, Mario A, invited me down a day early for a Florida Marlins game. (Mario and I once played tennis alongside the Swedish national team featuring Mats Wilander and a young Stefan Edberg, bombarding them with newly released, over-sized tennis ballsa�� but that's a story for another time). As it's unlike me to refuse a free ticket to a sporting event of any kind, I cordially accepted his invitation and off we went to Dolphin Stadium to see Florida take on the NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks.

Continue reading "The Lost Art of the Complete Game ..."

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

I watched the All Star game last night. 15 innings. It was at times boring, at times exciting, and for the most part, it reminded me of the Dodgers. With the exception of great defense and you know, having more than one “honorary” all-star on the team. Pitching, at least on the National League side of things, hasn’t been at a premium the last few years at the game, but this year, the NL pitched like a group of Saitos, Broxtons, and Wades. Runners remained stranded, even though the NL was in constant trouble in the late innings. Both teams hit like the Dodgers, constantly getting on base with nobody out, and then being left exactly where they were. The biggest threat being if an opposing batter ever tried to, I don’t know, not swing at every pitch (where was this Aaron Cook in the world series last year?) thrown in their direction. Dan Uggla (whose name sounds like the reaction you have when you step in something of solid and liquid form) struck out 3 times in 4 at-bats and was the Matt Kemp/Andruw Jones of the game. Russel Martin played the Russell Martin roll, coincidentally, but seemed to play it as if he was amped up on something, with the defensive abilities of a superman out there. It was so noticeable that Tim McCarver and Joe Buck spent a good 20 min “Alyssa Milano-ing” him (verbally of course). The prowess of Russell Martin on his knees was extolled by them for all to hear. I also worry that he was pumped to actually play with good players, and this gave him a taste of what it is like to play with players who are actually quite awesome. Unfortunately, there was nobody old or crotchety, enough to play the Jeff Kent roll, but you take comparisons where you can get them.

Continue reading "IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY 07.16.08: ..."

I'm an old man (35) so when I went to bed last night, the National League was up 3-2, and I figured I knew how it was going to turn out.  I left the room mentioning to my friend that I was happy for Dan Uggla.

Continue reading "Poor Dan Uggla"

    Another day brought another win for the Mets this afternoon, as they ran their season-high winning streak to six straight.  Fernando Tatis snapped a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning with his fourth home run of the year, and his second go-ahead shot in the last five days.  The bullpen was lights out for the third straight day and hasn't allowed a run since almost giving back a 10-1 lead on Monday in Philadelphia.  The sweep of the Giants was the Mets' first such feat since they took three straight from Washington from April 15-17, unless you count the three-game series at Yankee Stadium that was started in May and finished in June.  The Phillies rebounded from a 2-0 loss in St. Louis on Tuesday to beat the Cardinals in two straight, so the Mets are currently 1.5 games out of first place heading into a three-game series against Colorado this weekend.

Continue reading "Dust Off Your Brooms, Tatis Comes Through Again"

With the addition of Rich Harden to the Cubs roster, the National League's best record just put themselves over the edge as the National League's best team.  A top 4 rotation of Carlos Zambrano,

Continue reading "The Rich Get Richer...But That's ..."

C.C Sabathia is officially the newest member of the Brew Crew! The Milwaukee Brewers have decided to put there foot down and compete immediately. With the addition of Sabathia the Brewers now have a formidable rotation led buy the lethal one-two punch of Sheets/Sabathia. But, just like a beautiful SL 500 from Hertz- don't get too attached...it's just a rental.

Continue reading "Rent-A-Club is Here!"

It's that time of year again when every other commercial on television promotes the All-Star Game, and ballparks around the majors are stocked with ballots. So keeping with the theme, I’ve decided to name players to my inaugural All–Star team and I’ll start with the National League. So far there have been the usual suspects putting up solid first halves, and also some surprises that have shocked everyone with success.  So far in 2008, the season seems almost as a Bizarro season to steal Sports Illustrated’s mantra. The Rays and the Cubs have been pace setters, and the defending National League Pennant winners are at the rear of field, lost somewhere in the ice cold Rockies.  So keeping with the spirit, here are my National League All-Stars with a few surprises and few old schoolers.

Continue reading "Mic's National League All-Star Team"

                Although baseball has a long and cherished history, the thrill of going to a baseball game is the chance of seeing something unique and unexpected.  Last night the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium saw the Dodgers win despite recording no hits, and broadcaster Vin Scully claims that in his fifty-plus years calling baseball games he’s never seen such an occurrence (though with the way his memory is aging these days, he might’ve years and years ago). However, seeing such unusual history only takes on meaning when contrasted with the everyday normality that is the slog of a six-month baseball season. The extraordinary only becomes noticed when compared to the ordinary.

Continue reading "Dodgers Wallop Three Singles Off ..."

Last winter the Florida Marlins put the slugging third baseman Miguel Cabrera on the market, fearing they wouldn’t be able to afford him when it came time to show him the money. In return for such talent, the Marlins demanded top prospects or young big-leaguers. The Dodgers, among other teams, balked at the prospect of giving up players such as Matt Kemp, James Loney or Clayton Kershaw. The Detroit Tigers, however, did not, acquiring Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis for five prospects, including Cameron Maybin, Burke Badenhop and Andrew Miller.

Continue reading "Dodgers Lose to Tigers, Make Yesterday's ..."

Yep, the injury bug now has bitten one of the Braves' youngsters.

According to some reports on the Web this afternoon, Jair Jurrjens injured his ankle while leaving Wrigley Field last night and will not make his scheduled start tonight against the Cubs.

Continue reading "New starter for tonight's game"

Willie Randolph should tell the New York Mets to take his job and shove it.
He's unappreciated by ownership. His own players won't take the chances presented to them to defend him. The fan base has turned against him, booing his every pitching change at Shea Stadium. And his general manager, the overrated architect of this team and its collapsing players, refuses to commit one way or the other about Randolph's future, leaving his manager in perpetual limbo.

Continue reading "Randolph not alone in Mets mess"

The Sox ended their road trip woes late last night as Jacoby Ellsbury made his major league debut in his hometown city; perhaps the cheers of all of his family & friends helped Bartolo Colon pitch seven innings of one run baseball. Dustin Pedroia ended the Sox offense slump with a 2-out ground rule double in the 8th inning followed by single from both Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell.

Continue reading "End to the road trip skid..."

Here are some stories I've dug up. Always nice to get another perspective on things 

MLB

Mariners woes continue as Putz blows lead vs Yanks
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2004438030_webmari25.html

Continue reading "Link Day: 5/26"

Doubleheader Loss-Giants now 20-32...Giants dropped two to the Florida Marlins, 8-7 & 5-4.  The good news was:  Omar Vizquel, the seemingly ageless shortstop, tied and broke the record f

Continue reading "Giants Drop Two to Marlins; Vizquel Sets Record"

Extra, extra, Barry Zito (1-8) gets his first win of season...Yes, the 125 year record is safe...No Giant up to now has begun the season with an 0-9 record as Barry Zito finally got his first win

Continue reading "Barry Zito gets 1st Win!!!!!"

For many baseball fans, last night wasn't a great night to watch baseball, as blowouts predominated early on. But, because of the beautiful game that is baseball, only three of them continued in their lopsided fashion, with the best of them highlighted by a homer from Micah Owings, the best-hitting pitcher in baseball, whom teammate Conor Jackson said had the "best pop" of anyone on the team. And all of them showed something about the winning and losing teams, proving that any baseball game is worth watching, even when it doesn't seem exciting.

Continue reading "The Night of the Blowouts"

I never thought I'd be part of the blogging community...journalism's ugly cousin. For my first blog EVER, let's talk current MLB standings. Assuming mostly NY fans will be reading this, is there anybody out there smirking when they scan over these low budget teams that are earning talking points on ESPN and other sports news? It's fun to see new blood leading the way, but in the back of your mind you figure it will be the same clubs gunning for the playoffs. So the question -- like every year -- is, "What teams are for real?"

Continue reading "Here Goes Nothin'"

The Detroit Tigers are looking like the Tigers of 2003, and not like the Tigers expected to be a playoff team. They currently sit at 0-7 and are in a deep hole that keeps getting deeper. Obviously through seven games it is impossible to tell who will and who won't make the playoffs, but an 0-7 start is clearly not the way a playoff caliber team should start.

Continue reading "Problems ahead for Detroit Tigers"

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/pedro_martinez_to_miss_46_week.

The three-time Cy Young winner started Tuesday's game against the Florida Marlins. From AP-

MIAMI -- Pedro Martinez will be sidelined four to six weeks with what the New York Mets said was a mild strain of his left hamstring.

Continue reading "Pedro Martinez to miss 4-6 weeks ..."

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/arod_makes_more_than_entire_ma.

Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez's 2008 salary: $28 million

The 2008 Florida Marlins roster salaries total: $21.8 million.

Continue reading "A-Rod Makes More Than Entire Marlins Roster"

Next up on my preview of the 2008 Major League Baseball season is the National League East. Like before, these are the key questions facing each team.

Atlanta Braves

How much do Tom Glavine and John Smoltz have left?

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: National League East"

We are four and a half weeks away from first pitch of the new Major League Baseball and I have a lot to cover until Josh Beckett faces Joe Blanton in Japan.  This is the first of a seven part series of my MLB 2008 preview.  In the first six parts of the series I will discuss each division, break them down by team and give my predictions for the upcoming season.  The first division I will take a close look at in the NL East.  I see a tight three-team race here between the Mets, Phillies and Marlins.  Just kidding, of course the third team is the Braves.

Continue reading "First of a Seven Part Series-NL East Preview"

 Stadium talk highlights FanFest

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080210&conte 

Continue reading "No One Cares About the Marlins"