Fish Bites: The Grass is Greener on the Other Side

This past weekend, Miami Marlins General Manager Michael Hill discussed the new ball park on 790 The Ticket.

"We hope it is going to play fair", Hill said of the new stadium that is 94% complete. "We want guys to hit it out, but we don't want the cheap shots getting out either. We don't want to make it too challenging, we just want to make it fair", Hill explained.

Marlins Park has already recorded two official sellouts. The high school baseball game, along with the March 6 exhibition game against the University of Miami, are both sold out. Limited tickets are available for the March 7 exhibition game against FIU. Crowds of 5,000, 10,000, and 15,000 will enter the new stadium over a span of multiple nights. On opening night, Marlins park will be completely filled up, with all 37,000 seats and standing room areas expected to be occupied.

-Yesterday, the first strips of grass were place down at Marlins Park. The stadium is nearly 97% completed, and will only need a few finishing touches within the next few weeks. The grass, known as "celebration", will be grown longer than the grass at Sun Life Stadium in order for the Marlins to utilize the speed at the top of the lineup (via infield hits). The grass will take three days to insert.

-Team President David Samson has said that the Marlins are "aggressively negotiating" a contract with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Samson also said that there is "no way of knowing" if the Marlins will be considered a high bidder.

-Earlier in the week, Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel said that if "you look at it on paper, the Marlins are clearly the biggest threat". Manuel views the additions of Reyes, Buehrle, Bell, and Zambrano key for the Marlins.

-Samson also answered multiple questions about other Marlins players yesterday at Marlins Park. Samson predicted that Juan Carlos Oviedo (Leo Nunez) will most likely not start the season with the Marlins. Samson also said that third baseman Hanley Ramirez has been taking batting practice in the Dominican Republic and "feels good". Lastly, Samson said that the team is not negotiating a contract extension with pitcher Anibal Sanchez.

-The aquariums at Marlins Park have been installed and now contain coral. Marine life will not be added for a few more weeks. Gaby Sanchez reportedly threw a baseball "as hard as he could" at the glass, and it did not "make a mark".

Around The League

-The Seattle Mariners have signed infielder Carlos Guillen to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

-The Washington Nationals have beaten lefty John Lannan in arbitration. The Nationals also improved their rotation by signing Edwin Jackson to a one year contract.

-Dustin Richardson, a lefty reliever that pitched in the minors for the Marlins next season, was suspended 50 games for the use of drugs. Richardson was acquired from the Red Sox.

-Jose Reyes' dreadlocks, which will be cut off live on MLB Network tonight, will be donated to the Make-A-Wish foundation, according to sources.

At Fish Stripes

-Vote now, for who you believe was the best corner outfielder in Marlins history.

-With Josh Johnson a key part of the team's success, he will have to be healthy for them to compete in 2012.