Miami Marlins Can Flounder With the Worst Of Them

AP Photo

I wrote articles late last year and earlier this
year that I felt the spending by the NEW Miami
Marlins was a reach on their part, and that the
players they were targeting would not be a panacea
for their woes, and now the standings reflect just
that.

I know I'm not the only one that has been saying
this, but I still felt confident in saying it.
Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell were some
of the names they got, and Albert Pujols was one
more they were after, and now even though those
names still remain, other key players are either
gone or on their way. Josh Johnson is on the
trading block, yes trades can still happen after
July 31st, Heath Bell is too, boy that marriage
was short lived. Gaby Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez
will be spending their playoffs with competitive
teams.

There was no way Jeffrey Loria was going to sit
back and watch anymore of his money disappear for
more bad baseball, not when the taxpayers have
already paid for his shiny new stadium. I would
say get used to it Marlins Fans, but you should
already be used to it by now. You've have had
plenty of training.

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Ozzie Guillen Finds Out That "Freedom" Of Speech Has A Price

AP Photo

This is nothing new, and you've heard it hundreds of
times before; "There is no such thing as a free "lunch",
and when it comes to freedom of speech I guess it
applies there as well. It is true however, ask a
veteran, or someone who ancestry descends from those
that where involved in the revolutionary or the
writing of the constitution, their is always a price.
Always.

Ozzie Guillen has been abusing this right for a very long
time now, and it's been chalked up to him sticking his
foot in his mouth or just "Ozzie being Ozzie". Well
this time the Cuban descendants that live in S Florida
want little to nothing to do with Ozzie's sort of BS.
What Ozzie said, may to some be blown out or proportion
or even misconstrued, but to those who have a personal
stake here, nothing could be further from the truth.
When it's your blood, and your sacrifice, it always
stings more, and that's what the Cuban descendants in
South Florida and across the country are feeling.

Ozzie Guillen did the right thing today, he offered a
heart felt apology that not only seemed sincere, but
authentic, and honest as well, but that may not be
enough.

He's also been suspended for FIVE games in a season
that isn't more than five games old, and has also given
bad publicity to a team that need badly to gain fan
support, and increase fan attendance in a stadium that
can't afford to fail. The Marlins tried to add a little
more latin flavor into their team this year with the
acquisition of Jose Reyes and the hiring of Guillen,
and though that may not have been their only goal, I'm
afraid all of this has backfired and will not help the
cause of their team.

With all that's at stake for the Marlins and Owner Jeffrey
Luria I can't see Ozzie surviving this. You can expect to
see him dismissed or resigning before the season is over,
no matter how sincere he is. So much for Ozzie being Ozzie.

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Jose Reyes Gone, Mets Not To Blame

Krupa/AP

I am speaking as a Jose Reyes fan who lobbied for
the Mets to keep him all year, and still wish they
had, but at this price, I can't agree. The Miami
Marlins made a play that they are not going to be
able to handle. They are attempting to spend like
drunken sailors, and it won't work for them, you
will see this come to fruition sooner rather than
later. Jose gets hurt too often, Ozzie Guillen
will eventually run out of patience for that, and
Guillen and owner Jeffrey Luria will be at each
others necks before you know it. Expect Reyes
to be on the trade block no later than the third
year of his six year deal, and expect Guillen to
be out in Miami at about the same time or sooner.

New Stadium does not equal instant success, it
just doesn't, and this concoction of new players,
plus current players, plus new manager, and
owner will show that soon enough. I love Jose
and the way he plays, but he has his downfalls,
and they aren't worth close to $20Mil per year.


Tweet Thank You Al Davis !

Are The Miami Marlins Really Fishing, Or Are They Nuts?

Courtesy: Ball Park Chasers

The question here is pretty simple: Are they serious?
About what they have done, and offered these past few
days I mean, or is it simply just to drum up publicity?

In the last few days they have made offers to Jose Reyes
for 6 years at 90 million, which is not crazy by any
means, but a number the New York Mets can easily match,
and may match. They have offered Albert Pujols a 9 year
deal at about a little under 200 million, which again is
a number St. Louis would gladly match and has been tied
to in the past, and they have met with Chicago White Sox
free agent starting pitcher Mark Buehrle twice, and are
rumored to be making a strong push for him as well.

This is a team that at one point last year during a single
admission doubleheader drew approximately 250 people,
and they don't normally do much better at other times
either. They have actually had bad attendance numbers
even in years after they have won the World Series if
memory serves me correctly. So where do they think the
people are going to come from? Is this all smoke and
mirrors or do they really thin that a new stadium is
going to make people magically appear?

"If you build it they will come?" Maybe, but if you
suck, they will stop. They may not suck if they sign
all three of these players, but it's no guarantee they
will win either (See the Miami Heat, Philadelphia Eagles)



Tweet Thank You Al Davis !

Jose Reyes, John Lackey, And The Goods

So people are crying over how Jose Reyes cheaped
out on winning the NL Batting title and how Ted
Williams wouldn't have done that. Well let's
look at this shall we. Jose Reyes is no Ted
Williams, Uh Duh, No Friggin Kidding, I'm not
sure I would want would him to have his head
frozen for eternity once he passes away either.
Now I know that those two tiny points won't
satisfy the masses, but they weren't meant too,
they were just meant to state two facts, however
let me elaborate on another thing that may or may
not compare to sitting out when you have the
"goods" well in hand. How often to do you see
an NFL team nurse a lead by simply sitting on the
ball and run out the clock. They won't throw,
they won't look for big plays, nothing. Don't
think it's the same?, you're right it's not,
but they are sitting on the win, and that is.
How about the Yankees not throwing Mariano Rivera
in the last game of the season against the Rays
when Mr Automatic could have sealed the deal, but
they chose not to. They sat on it, they had
nothing to gain, neither did Jose, NOTHING.
Don't think it's the same?, you're right, but
nothing is, and he's not Ted Williams either.
I could go back an research how many other guys
have done this, and I assure you I would find
a treasure trove, but it's just NOT worth it.
Believe what you want to believe, most of you
do regardless of what I write, and would continue
to even if in your own minds where convinced
beyond a shadow of a doubt that I might have a
point. The truth is that I don't agree with him
sitting it out, but I hate that teams run out the
clock at the end of games too, even in the biggest
of games, and the Super Bowl.

As for John Lackey, I don't give a rats ass about
his text messages, his possible divorce, or
whether he is media savvy or not. Truth is he
is robbing the Red Sox blind with his 26-23
record so far into his contract and his above 6
ERA, so why not let his wife rob him in the same
way? You think he might actually find a way to
pitch well in a big spot before they ship his
arse out of town?


Tweet

He Can See ! He Can Seeeeeeee!

Al Bello/Getty Images

Well, at least it appears that Sandy Alderson
isn't that blind after all. I was getting to
write a piece about how the Mets got to about
3 games over .500 while David Wright was out
of the lineup, and how now they are 7 under
with him in the lineup when up comes a story
from Troy Renck of the Denver Post on how
the Mets earlier this month put David Wright
on waivers. I can see full well that Wright
hasn't lost all these games on his own, but
I feel confident in saying he hasn't won many
either, and even less at Citifield. It is
time for the Mets to cut their losses and hope
that some team makes them a reasonable offer.
Alderson, I hope is preparing for a Jose Reyes
bid to stay here, because it is quite evident
how much more competitive they can be with him
in the lineup, and Mets fans should be glad
Jose is out. The reason you ask? One they
got to see a David Wright led Mets team, and
they got to see a Jose Reyes Mets led team,
and there is no comparison, and secondly,
the injury made Jose more affordable to the
Mets. Contrary to popular belief Jose is not
injury prone, he plays hard and it seems that
way. Sandy, pull the trigger.

Unfortunately You Must Trade Carlos Beltran

Courtesy: NY Daily News
I am a BIG NY Mets fan, but in short here is
the reality of the situation. The NY Mets,
started the season 5-13, and have gone 44-37
since that time, or seven games over .500.
That being said, it is not far fetched to
believe that the Mets can go seven games over
.500 for the remainder of the season, which
would be 35-28, for a final record of 84-78.
That is NOT enough to win the NL Wildcard,
yes stranger things have happened, but you
can't depend on that. Michael Moraitis was
a guest on my show yesterday, and said one
thing that made too much sense. Reyes,
Beltran, and Wright were their when the
Mets suffered some of the biggest collapses
in baseball history, what leads you to believe
that they can be any different this year?
It's a point you can't ignore.

It's also funny how life works sometimes, in
that today may have been Carlos Beltran's last
appearance in a Met uniform at home, and it
happened against the St. Louis Cardinals, the
team that all Mets fans will always connect
Beltran with for never taking the bat off of
his shoulders on a call third strike to end
the Mets playoffs hopes just a few short years
ago. It's inevitable, they MUST trade Beltran,
as much as it pains me to say it.

David Wright or Wrong?

Since David Wright went on the DL the NY
Mets are 3 games over .500 at 21-18,
they were 4 games under with him, and
though you can make the case that the
Mets are doing this without Ike Davis
as well as any sort of real fire power
from the bat of Jason Bay, it is clear
the Jose Reyes is making a real case
to receive a "Carl Crawford" type offer
from someone this off season. In this
writers opinion it's also becoming more
and more clear that perhaps that can
survive without David Wright, and should
consider using him as trade bait as soon
as he starts to show he's healthy.
Jose Reyes has more stolen bases and hits
in his first 1000 games than anyone except
Ty Cobb, yes even more than Ricky Henderson,
and you can get more for Wright who has a
1 1/2 left on his contract as opposed to
just a few months for Reyes. Just Sayin'.

NY Mets: Is Trading Wright Wrong?

Aristide Economopoulos/Star-Ledger

The short answer is, NO. Lots of talk this
past off season and season has the NY Mets,
making trades, starting over, and not being
able to sign Jose Reyes, but the truth of the
matter if they wanna save money is quite
simply this: Unload Jason Bay the minute he
becomes a commodity again, and he will.
Carlos Beltran's salary comes off the books
this year, so there you can go youth, and
David Wright can get you more in a trade than
Jose Reyes can right now, and Thank God for
that! Wright has one more year after this
left on his contract and that will make the
team that wants to acquire David much more
open to giving you more of what the Mets may
ask for as opposed to give you lots for the
possible rental of Jose Reyes for the
remainder of this season when Jose becomes
a very valuable free agent.

Yes the Mets have money problems, we all know
that, but one cure for that ill is bringing
fans to the ballpark with wins, and let's
face it, Jose Reyes is a much better player
than David Wright, that's RIGHT, much better.
David has been a disappointment for quite a
bit now, and his strikeouts just keep on
coming. As evidenced by today's 4-2 loss
to the Dodgers, Jose Reyes triples, and gets
and RBI in the bottom of the ninth, and David
Wright strikes out to end the game.

Next year Wright is set to earn over 15 million
dollars, but since 12 million from Oliver Perez,
6 million from Luis Castillo, and 1 million from
Gary Matthews Jr. (yes they are still paying him)
come off the books, it is simple to see that you
can afford to pay Jose to stay and use that money
and payroll still goes down. Fourteen million just
by those numbers alone, if the rumored 20 million
that Jose is supposed to earn is true, and he just
might give you a hometown discount if he really
feels wanted.

David Wright's legend has now reached a point where
it is bigger than he is. His numbers keep getting
worse, and his clutch(ness) is stuck in first gear.
Just look at what he's done the past three seasons
alone, while it's clear that Jose is that Carl
Crawford type of player teams were drooling over
this past off season. Look at recent history and
you can also see that Jose's numbers are on the
rise as opposed to decline. He's six months
younger and definitely more dynamic, and honestly
I just can't bear to watch Wright throw another
ball away. The errors were supposed to get better
once Ike Davis became the 1st baseman, but he
isn't a magician you know.

With whatever you get back from a David Wright
trade, Ike Davis, Jose Reyes (re-signed), and
a bit of youth that continues to mature, the
2012 Mets will definitely benefit from the
departure of David Wright and his monotone
excuse filled voice that has all the leadership
of a mating Panda bear. Time to move on !