Fish Bites

There has been a lot of activity in recent weeks with regards to the Marlins, so there is a lot of news and links to discuss. Let's take a look at a few of the Marlins links that we have seen so far this week.

- Yesterday we found out what the Marlins' offer was for Jose Reyes and discussed its ramifications. Today we found out from Yahoo's Tim Brown that the Marlins offered a nine-year deal to free agent first baseman Albert Pujols. Also, apparently the Marlins went hard after Pujols according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. No dollar values have yet been heard, which is fine at the moment. No one expects Pujols to sign immediately anwyay, but we are all waiting eagerly, even those of us who think a Malrins Pujols signing would be unlikely.

- I'm not usually someone who makes fun of Bleacher Report (outside of Twitter), but this author who writes that the Marlins signing Pujols would be "the worst thing for MLB" is just begging for it. I mean, come on, look at this:

This is a team that needs to be contracted. This team has done more to hurt the sport of baseball than any team in any sport ever has.

Baseball is doing just fine with the Marlins around. I'm not sure I follow.

But now, after another several years of doing everything possible to avoid spending money, the Marlins actually have the nerve to offer one of the best players in the history of the game a contract?

His anger comes from the fact that the team held fire sales on both championship teams from 1997 and 2003. Of course, not being a Marlins, he had no idea that the Marlins held onto almost all of their players from the 2003 team, save for Derrek Lee (who was traded in a legitimate deal) and Ivan Rodriguez (who chose to sign elsewhere) for two more seasons before the sale in 2006. And of course, he seems to blame the team for "buying" the 1997 championship even though the Marlins only acquired two players (Bobby Bonilla and Moises Alou) prior to the 1997 season.

More misguided anger about the Marlins because fans of other teams have never watched them. Sigh.

- Speaking of Marlins haters, Yahoo's Jeff Passan is at it again, saying the Marlins haven't changed despite their new colors. His pessimism (HATE HATE HATE) is understandable, I get it. But at the same time, you get the feeling from his previous work that there is nothing Jeffrey Loria and ownership can do that would change his mind, which seems extremely close-minded of him.

- In complete opposition to the tone Passan takes, this Forbes piece by Mike Ozanian praises Loria for doing good business and getting the stadium he worked to get from the city of Miami after all these years. I wouldn't necessarily claim that this was a good thing for every party involved, but rather an achievement for Loria and Loria alone. In addition, it remains to be seen whether all of these moves will even get Marlins fans to actual watch baseball games.

- The Marlins logo and the Maroon 5 logo are very similar. In other news, no one cares.

- Speaking of new uniform and logo designs, SCWS has his long-winded but very objective take on the new uniforms on Marlins Daily. Uni Watch also had their own take. If those two like it, then who am I to complain? Don't forget, read Fish Stripes's own Ted Hill's take on the jerseys as well.

- You want to know why Hanley Ramirez struggled in 2011? Part of it may have been that he stopped having funbecause he was trying to be a "team leader" and "face of the franchise." That just goes to show you that chemistry and morale cuts both ways; forcing a role onto a player who doesn't want it and a situation that doesn't need it can negatively affect players too. Of course, it could have been the other way around; he played poorly and thus stopped having fun. Who knows?

- A couple of players were missing in the big uniform unveiling, and one of those players was non-tender candidate Chris Volstad. He wasn't happy about it. Dave Hill of Marlins Diehards has an appropriate response.

- I did a two-part Q&A with The Nats Blog's Ted Youngling, and the first part of the Q&A can be found here. There, I talk primarily about how I got into the business of blogging. Part Two will be coming tomorrow, during which I will discuss actual baseball.

- Marlin Maniac debuted three (!) new authors this past week on their site, and one of them is a friend of the (former) Maniac, Cory Eucalitto. Check out Cory, Will Privette, and Will Stanifer in their opening posts! By the way, shout outs to MM Editor Ehsan Kassim for a spiffy new link dump name, Marlins Way. I like it!