Gotta send some love to my boys! They have gotten off to an amazing start, considering that most people had written them off as a fluke last year. Their starting pitching just seems to get better, and I have to say that IMO their hitting has improved. Love to see what Cabrera is doing with an extra year under his belt, and Choi seems to have more pop in his bat than Derrick Lee did (although we definately miss Lee's glove at first.)
Their bullpen seems to have come together of late, and now they have the best record in baseball! Could be another fun summer in Miami!
GO FISH!

Looks like the D-Train has come out of the station at full speed this year. OMG, can you believe the game he had Wednesday in San Juan?! 0 ER, 3-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI. He's perfect to start this season, 0.00 ERA, 1.000 batting average. Going back to his last at bat last season, he's hit in 7 consecutive ABs.

This is getting scary. The Marlins were a "surprise" last year. This year they are acting like they own the world. I think the only question now is just how many wins will this team get? 110 maybe?

That would be sweet! I cannot believe D-Train! .000 era, AND going 6 for 6 at the plate! eek!

[ April 15, 2004, 04:14 AM: Message edited by: MiamiSpartan ]

Dontrelle "Whatch U Talkin About" Willis is a terrific all-around athlete! What he did yesterday is simply amazing!! He should player of the month for what he did yesterday alone.

So who do you give Player of the Month to? Dontrelle with his amazing performances, or Miguel Cabrera with his major league leading HR total? :confused:

Its too early in the month! I'm still waiting on Pierre to start stealing bases.

...and they win again today with yet another shutout! What an amazing start for such a young team! Gotta love Choi coming up with the big bat today...

Kansas City started 9-0 (and 17-4) last season. By last June 3rd they were 27-28. Remember, it's still very early. wink

Well, not to take anything away from KC, but not only is Florida 8-1, but it is the way that they have won, that is simply outstanding! Do you all realize that nine games into the season, they have only given up a miniscule total of 13 runs! That is just unbelievable! And this is from one of the youngest, if not the youngest, MLB team. They have given up no runs in the last 30 innings! What else can you say?

Very true! But was Kansas City the defending World Champion last year? The Marlins have proven that they can win any place at any time of year. They have confidence in themselves. They are playing BETTER than they played last year.

The Yankees might be able to buy the best players in baseball, but George Steinbrenner will never match the heart and soul of this team. I know its a cliche, but its very true. You have to have the HEART of a champion to win.

This team could win the next four World Series and still not get the attention that the Red Sox and Yankees enjoy.

I really think that is the key to the success of the Marlins. They thrive in obscurity. There is no pressure because there is no media to put pressure on them. They are underdogs. Even as defending World Champions nobody expects them to win. They use that lack of respect as a source of strength. They play the game as much for FUN as they do for the money.

And that's how Dontrelle Willis, with his $350,000 salary is, at this point in the season, not only a better pitcher, but a better HITTER than anyone playing in the Bronx.

But they aren't really in obscurity anymore. They ARE the defending champs and the other teams AREN'T taking them as lightly as members of the public and media may be.

Things are considerably tighter after the results of this weekend's games.

Yes they are. Looks like the three game series in Philly this weekend will be about as big as they get this early in the season. Can the Marlins brush off what happened in Atlanta? Will the domination of the Phillies continue? Will Rod Serling, err Thome, be standing at the on-deck circle as the game ends??

Meanwhile, Bonds just hit his second home run of this game with the Dodgers...the guy is not human!!

The way the Marlins started out of the gate this season they looked unbeatable. So I was kind of surprised that they could be swept by anyone with their pitching. I guess the Marlins really are human. I hope the upcoming series with the Phillies is more competetive from the Phillies point of view.

In my opinion, it's not whether they're obscure or not.

The main reason for the Fish getting into the playoffs and winning the World Series is Pudge Rodriguez. He was without a doubt, the MVP of the team, the best player on the team and the heart and soul of the team.

Without Pudge, they're gonna find that it's a long way to go before the end of the season.

saw them this weekend. Gotta say that some of the team looked real good. But still, none of that compared to Chipper bending over to touch his toes about 2 feet away from me at the on-deck circle. Him and Giles. Hoo baby! all I could do to not reach over and tweak something.

And something for Jim Allen: I had switched over to the Marlins-Braves in between innings of the Phils-Expos, and heard a voice near a microphone on the field -- don't know if it was a teammate, coach or fan -- yelling support to the Braves' Mark DeRosa: "Come on, D-RO!!!" wink That's right, they totally disregard his first name.

Joe, during the Marlins/Braves game, you probably heard Bobby Cox yell out to D-Ro, especiallu if he was at the plate. I watch many of the Brave's games and always hear Cox yell out support. His encouragement of his players is definately one reason I like him as a coach.

Looks like the cure to the Marlins' recent woes was to play Philly again! Mike Lowell goes deep 3 times and they beat the Phillies once again, and still have the best record in baseball.

[ April 22, 2004, 03:59 AM: Message edited by: MiamiSpartan ]

Why can't we play the Phillies every day??? Lowell goes deep one more time, as the Fish sweep Philly again, and still have the best record in baseball!

The latest on attempts to get a new stadium:

Most people here still seem to think something is going to get done with the ballpark, although the extra state funding seems to be dead this year...There is more optimism now than there has been in a long time. I still think a cruise tax would make the most sense.

The new ballpark by the Orange Bowl was approved by the County Commission, which means it was one more step to reality. The target for ground breaking is October-November....

What other steps have to take place to get approval before groundbreaking begins?

The "old" Miami Arena has to sell, freeing up moneys for the park. There is a buyer in place already. A sales Tax rebate of $30 million needs to go through by the state. It was already turned down for this year, but all things are pointing to them going ahead with construction and trying for it again next year. The land is owned by the city already, the park will be owned by the county with the team controlling all revenue sources, which they currently get none, since it still all goes to the Evil One. (Huizinga)

...and Willis gets his pitching back in a 2-1 gem over the Mets. You gotta know that Met fans are peeved that Benitez got the save against them! He has been our savior this year!

...and the Fish pull out yet another 1 run win! Nice to see the pitching is back after a bit of a dry spell. Mike Lowell wins it with a HR. Don't know where he gets his power, 'cause is isn't all that big....
So with the Phillies loss, that should give the Marlins a 3 game lead!
GO FISH!

It's two games, actually.

Met fans know Armando well enough to know he'll disappoint when you truly need him come the latter part of the season. I guarantee you we've had our fill of him no matter what he may do elsewhere. He lead the league or was among the save leaders many years for the Mets just as he is doing now. Philly fans take comfort in knowing if you're close come August, the Phish will phade!

Unless the Phillies have to play us, and they have proven then cannot beat us...
sorry for the math error....
and the Marlins SWEEP the Mets!

Don't get too hyped about that Miami- they have no offense and have been fortunate to have won as many as they have. Things may improve if Reyes comes back and Floyd stays in the lineup for a change. I guess you're without Beckett for a few weeks which may keep you from building on this good stretch of ball.

Wow this sounds familiar. The Giants, Cubs and Yankees all thought much the same thing last year. The Marlins are already way ahead of where they were last year around this time. The Marlins were under .500 and won the World Series.

They've only proven they couldn't win the first 6 games. There are 13 games left.

Timber, I was talking about the Mets, who have been woeful on offense (and defense- many who said Piazza should be at first are having second thoughts and Kaz has shown he's not used to real turf). Florida's a good team, but the National League seems weaker this year overall- right now I think I'd choose Cincy to be the NL champs.

No offense? We have three players (Choi, Lowell, and Cabrera) among league leaders in HR's. We have perrenial hits leader Pierre back among the league lead. We have people near the top in almost every offensive category, which we did not have last year.
We now have AJ Burnett back at pitcher, who was actually our best pitcher last year before being injured. You forget that the Marlins still have a very deep team, and can absorb some injuries without having it affect them (unlike the Cubs).

[ May 31, 2004, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: MiamiSpartan ]

By the way, don't expect Floyd back too soon. He is always injured. We were not all that upset when he left us, because of that....

Again, I was talking about the Mets having no offense and not the Marlins. Is Burnett down for a while? Their success will mostly be determined by whether or not their pitching is still among the elite come the end of the season. And perhaps whether or not Benitez starts grooving them in big games down the stretch.

Unfortunately, the offense HAS in fact gone south, but they did beat the Rays last night to crawl back into first.....Carl Pavano is always good for a win. It was nice to see AJ Burnett pitch well two nights ago, in the close loss to the D-Rays...