Get 'em While They Last....

Whoo hoo. The Marlins are holding thier second fire sale in the last decade, and this time it's even better than the first. Deciding, in more of an indictment against the fans in South Florida (and thier horrible lease), that they cannot take another year of heavy losses the Marlins have given the go-ahead to completely dismanteling thier 2004 team. Unlike 1998, when they sold off everything immediately after thier World Series win, they actually waited an two extra seasons. Lets take a look at the starting lineup last season for the fighting fish and what their immediate futures are:
C Paul LaDuca - On the Trading Block
1B Carlos Delgado - On the Trading Block
2B Luis Castillo - On the Trading Block
SS Alex Gonzalez - Free agent not returning
3B Mike Lowell - On the Trading block
LF Miggy Cabrera - Moving to 3B
CF Juan Pierre - On the Trading Block
RF Juan Encarnacion - Free agent not returning

SP A.J. Burnett - Free Agent not returning
SP Josh Beckett - On the Trading Block
SP Dontrelle Willis - Chillin'
SP Al Lieter - Released During Season
SP Ishmael Valdez - Whereabouts unknown

Closer Guillermo Mota - Became setup man, then injured, now on Trading Block
Replacement Closer Todd Jones - Free agent, may return!!!


Of the 15 players listed here 7 are on the block, 3 are free agents (two definently not coming back), 2 players were released, and 2 are coming back for next season. Let me repeat, ONLY TWO ARE COMING BACK NEXT SEASON. I know that even when this team is winning that no one shows up to watch, but this will drive the fan base even further into the ground. Next season the fish will most likely start 4 players in thier rotation with less that one year expierience and another 4 in the field. Eight rookies in starting positions, give me a break.

Last time the Marlins did this it allowed them to re-tool and actually come back 6 seasons later and ruin my october by actually winning another World Series. This cannot be discounted as it was a major accomplishment to strip everything and come back in a few years to win it all again. And now they're destroyin it all again. Even in the slim likelyhood that they actually win a title between 2009-20012 is it worth it to go through this same process? Everytime players become good enough to make money they have to ship them out because the team cannot get enough money out of thier stadium lease(easily the worst in MLB) because they cannot build a new stadium and the fans won't approve a new stadium, but won't go to the current one because its a piece of junk and the team keeps losing its best players. Whether its a perpetual circle or a self-fulfilling prophecy I do not know, but I do know that things will not change until the marlins are hooked by another City in these United States. Vegas would be a good fit, and Portland wants a team bad, so we'll see what happens. Untill then look for alot of sub 10,000 crowds at Pro-Player next season. But before that happens, it's time for...

The Start of the Action....

After toying the Rangers around for a week and finally getting thier top pitching prospect out of them, the Marlins have gone ahead and traded Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell plus some cash to the Boston Red Sox for minor leaguers SS Hanley Ramirez, SP Annibal Sanchez, and another minor league pitcher yet to be named. The key to the deal is the extra minor league pitcher as the Marlins wanted the BoSox top pitching prospect Lefty Jon Lester but they refused, instead giving up Sanchez and another prospect. Sanchez, a right-handed starting pitcher, will most likely step into the rotation next season amid a wash of other rookies joining him there. Ramirez will be named the new starter at SS when spring training breaks out, it will be his job to lose.

The Rangers offer of top SP prospect John Danks and 3B Hank Blalock was denied by the Marlins as I guess they feel the Boston prospects are better than Danks plus anything they could have turned Blalock into. The Rangers also dilly-dallied for a while thinking about whether they should include Danks, but it turned out to be too little, too late.

If Florida really is intent on busting this party up like a high school kegger, then they could have done a lot worse than this deal, and probably not much better with the prohibitive contract of Lowell included. Lowell is coming off his worst offensive year as a pro, although he did win the Gold Glove, and will make $9 million in 2006 and '07. Boston also gets the top of the rotation guy they need to go with Curt Schilling next season, if he's healthy, in Beckett. Sanchez could develop into a solid middle of the roation guy and Ramirez is supposedly a 5-tool prospect, and Boston's best. However he was blocked by Edgar Renteria and with the BoSox going to Dustin Pedoria at 2B he had no where to go. These two players will be cheap and will develop well while filling spots that needing filling on the team for Florida, while Boston gets thier Ace and a solid glove man at 3B who could put up some good numbers in right-handed friendly Fenway, thus making this a pretty good deal for both teams involved.

Some quick predictions on where everyone else on Florida will end up:
Delgado - Baltimore
LaDuca - Colorado
Castillo - 50/50 Remain with team/Mets
Pierre - Cubs
Mota - Yankees


Obligitory Brian Giles Request....

It's better to sign Giles this offseason as this upcoming draft is supposed to be weak, but since the Cubs finished in the bottom half of the league we get to keep our first round pick if we sign a type 'A' free agent, which Giles is, meaning we only have to give up a 2nd rounder. But who cares about that because the draft is supposed to really suck next year. LET'S DO THIS THING.