What is everyone's predictions for the opening day line up?
I think it should go like this:

Coghlan LF

Ross CF

Hanley SS

Cantu 3B

Uggla 2B

Sanchez 1B

Baker C

Carroll RF

Johnson P

Thoughts?

I got Ross in CF and Carroll in RF- I think they need to go ahead and give him a shot now. Maybin is still struggling and i think day-to-day BC could be a very productive player.  He is already the best outfielder we have and he has proven if given AB's constantly he is going to produce.  Look what he has already done in spring training with a chance to hit a few days in a row. 

Hey guys, I'm a regular poster over at Amazin Avenue, I've posted here before but mostly I lurk here from time to time.  So I wrote up this John Sickels-style Smackdown and figured you all might be interested.  Enjoy.

With so much of the talk during ST revolving around rising stars, I thought the time was ripe for another Prospect Smackdown.  And where better to focus than first base, with 3 teams in the NL East nearly ready to graduate young first base prospects, all of whom are big, athletic lefties with similar profiles, figuring to anchor their respective lineups for years to come.  As usual, I'll try to be as impartial as possible here.

Prospect Smackdown: Ike Davis vs. Freddie Freeman vs. Logan Morrison

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Hello Marlins Fans!  My name is Michael Herrick and I've been an SBN member of various sites for 5 years now.  Those of you that frequent John Sickels minorleagueball.com will probably recognize me from running the Community Prospect list this year.  I recently partnered with three other long time SBN members(JD Sussman, alskor, mrkupe) to start a website, Bullpen Banter.  

About Us from our site:

The Bullpen Banter Team is dedicated to providing outstanding baseball analysis from various points of view. Our website hosts both a chat room and a forum so our readers can constantly interact with a knowledgeable and vibrant baseball community. Each writer represents a different area in the country which provides a unique ability to gauge the thoughts of both the mainstream media and the fans in the region. Additionally, we are always open to new ideas and voices, so feel free to submit a guest piece.

We are currently previewing each team by division, starting with the NL and AL East.  Our Marlins preview is up, where we examine the outlook for 2010, the best and worst moves, and prospects to watch in 2010.  We take a round table approach to topics giving us differing viewpoints on the same article.

Here is a peek at the Prospect to Watch section of the preview:

Michael Herrick: A 2nd round pick in 2008, Brad Hand showed strong K/9 numbers in the Sally League and he pitched a bit better than the surface numbers indicate as his 4.23 FIP vs. 4.86 ERA shows.  He needs to tighten up his control a bit as the walk rate wasn't ideal last year, but he's from Minnesota and cold weather players can take a little longer to develop.  Keep an eye on the walk rate and how his other peripherals hold up as he moves to the FSL.  Being a pitcher's league anyway, we need to see some marked improvement not just incremental advances to know if we're looking at a breakout year or just a pitcher friendly boost to the stats.

Al Skorupa: Apparently 3B Matt Dominguez's stock has fallen... for a reason I can't discern. He was still #52 overall on my personal top 100. I completely buy his bat and his defense is fantastic. I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see him go out and kill the ball this year, skyrocketing up the prospect lists.

We also have our Top 25 Prospects for 2010 posted with the rest of the Top 100 to follow over the next couple of weeks.  

Here is a sample for Mike Stanton:

Notre Dame High School has produced its fair share of notable baseball players. The most famous include Cy Young winner Jack McDowell, 1968 first overall draft pick Tom Foli, and the general manager of the '92,'93, & '08 World Series champions, Pat Gillick. Giancarlo Cruz- "Michael" Stanton has the potential to be among those names with his combination of athleticism and elite power. Stanton is young but relatively polished for a former football star who didn't concentrate fully on baseball until being drafted by the fins 79th overall in 2007. Stanton has deposited 68 baseballs over the fence in first three seasons and is arguably the fourth or fifth best player today from his draft class.

Steve Kuperman: Grade A easy for me, No. 4 on my list currently. If he had played in the FSL the entire year nobody would be asking questions, as he managed to absolutely crush the ball in one of the worst hitters' parks in the minors while cutting his strikeouts substantially. The guy gets tons of praise for work ethic.

JD Sussman: I disagree with your point on Stanton's contact issues. While he has been great thus far, I foresee his contact issues and poor pitch recognition limiting him offensively. What keeps him ranked so highly is that he should have solid defensive value in both his arm and his range. For me, he has the highest bust rate of any player int he top 10. If those issues really hurt him, in a years time he could be pretty far down the list, despite his accomplishments at a young age. I have him slightly lower at 9.

Michael Herrick: I can understand you knocking Stanton down a few spots due to the contact/strikeout issues, JD.  I know the High A stint is a SSS, but his K rate wasn't horrible there.  I think as long as he's not rushed too far, too fast the plate discipline can improve some, at least into a somewhat manageable "less than 30% K rate" type of range.  I guess I tend to see him as more of a .260 hitter in the bigs as opposed to something in the .230 range.  That power is just such a valuable tool though, I really can't see him lower than 5.

Al Skorupa: Strikeouts a concern? Yes. Special bat despite that? Absolutely.

His 80 power is something that we can be fairly certain will come with him to the majors. He does enough other things well to still project as an offensive force despite some questions about his contact ability, patience and strikeouts.

Stanton is plenty athletic and a good fielder. He could very easily end up the best major leaguer out of the top 5 prospects, but I'm not ready to bet on that just yet.

So if you have a chance, stop by and let us know what you think.  If you're interested in a guest writing spot, contact us and we will give you that opportunity.

Thanks for your time,

The Bullpen Banter Team

Marlins fans, now is the time to get excited.

We have a great, I repeat, GREAT young baseball team. Our lineup should be solid all the way through, our bullpen is loaded with guys who can be very effective, and we have seven starting pitchers with serious potential.

In 2010, the Florida Marlins can absolutely challenge for the whole enchilada. Let us compare the Marlins with last year's champ, the New York Yankees.

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2010 NL East Fan Projections: SPs

This is a link to a post I did over at the Braves blog Talking Chop about some of FanGraphs' 2010 fan projections, including projections for the Marlins' starters.  I thought it would be relevant to you guys, so head on over to take a look if you're interested.  There are lots of cool graphs, too.  (The Marlins rotation ranks as the 3rd best in the division by these projections.  Feel free to comment if you disagree--I'm trying to get fans of other teams to give their opinions as well.)

Well, this week has been one of the most revitalizing weeks. Since October, I as a Marlins fan have had to sulk and be content with religiously checking the trades, the blogs, and the speculation. I have also watched in disgust as Johnny Damon has been playing a fool, Hideki Matsui not being resigned by the Yanks and the Marlins not signing any major leaguers. But, this has all the promise of being a competitive year in every division, instead of the manslaughters that are usually found. I only have one thing to say:

Let the games begin.

A few selections as well as this nifty link to my facebook album.

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Today, to fit in with the Valentine's Day theme, ESPN Classics ran four baseball games that they thought were the four greatest "heartbreakers" in baseball history. The four games were

1973- One-game playoff between Red Sox and Yankees

1997- World Series Game 7

1986- World Series Game 6 between the Red Sox and the Mets (the famous "ball between the legs" game)

2003- NLCS Game 6

Of particular note, the Marlins were on the winning end of two of these games. Naturally, the Steve Bartman incident is here, but I was wondering why the 1997 World Series game was included as well. Yes, the Marlins tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, and later won the game, but is that really one of the most heartbreaking moments in baseball history? Do you think the Marlins have a reputation as "heartbreakers" considering two of these games involved the Marlins?

Florida Marlins 15th annual fan fest! Saturday February 13, 2010, Tomorrow! You really got to be there. Come out and enjoy a fun day at Sun Life stadium and our favorite baseball team! Weather should be good and nothing beats a nice day with the Fish.

 Are any of you going or planning to go?

I hope to be there, and would love to see some of my fellow FishStripers there as well. I'll be in my Marlins gear and hat. Haven't been to one in a while, so I'm really excited about it.

Hey everyone this is Brandon C. from SB Nation's Yankees Blog Pinstripe Alley. I was wondering if anyone would like to join our standings prediction group. The group is open to any SB nation writer or reader and you get to compete with everyone in SB Nation and see who makes the most accurate pre-season predictions.

You can sign up here http://www.fan-exchange.com/signup.asp

You can join the group here http://www.fan-exchange.com/my/headtoheadadd.asp

The Group ID is 8

The Group Password is mlbsbnation

Please make your username your SB Nation name

Good luck and hope to see you there!