The Miami Marlins are establishing a new identity for the franchise in 2012. Gone are the "Florida" moniker and friendly confines of Sun Life Stadium as they have been replaced with the title of "Miami" and Marlins Park built on the hallowed grounds of the Orange Bowl. The Fish make it seem like all is new but this is not entirely true. Whether "Miami" or "Florida" the Marlins name has been synonymous with baseball in South Florida since 1956. What intrigues me however are the aesthetic features of the teams like logos and uniforms. Uniforms can make or break the identity of a team in the eyes of regional and opposing fans. Some teams make iconic looks through greatness like the New York Yankees, other teams through longevity like the Chicago Cubs, and some teams are a rotating door of looks like the Houston Astros. The Marlins have not been as radical however and I'd like to take a journey through the past to document the look of the Fighting Fish!

Continue reading this post »

It is a sad day when our freedom of speech has become so curtailed that remarks about Castro (or
anyone else, for that matter) are dictated by the views of one community and the individual
punished for expressing his views.
Historically, people today forget why the Cuban revolution occurred and what the conditions
were in the country at that time. I neither defend nor criticize Castro other than to say that by that
act he secured his place in history, which the revisionists of Little Havana may try to erase but
cannot. Creating that revolution WAS an act of greatness. But his failure since then is another
matter and most of the world recognizes the pain of the Cuban people under him.
To suspend Guillen for voicing his opinion, however distasteful to some, is a dark day here.

Please, someone who is smarter than I am, create an Android app that shows the home run display as an animated wallpaper, or an animated caller ID. I call it the Electronic Vomit, but you can call it whatever you like. As long as I can proudly show off my Floridian-ness to everyone I meet... LOL It should be a nice clean display of the stupid thing, every single time my phone rings or a text comes through.

At least according to Ken Rosenthal and his "sources." Personally, I've never trusted a man that's under 5' 6" and wears bowties, but Ken is normally pretty spot on and I like his reporting. With the Braves off to a terrible start in Spring Training (1-10) and their epic 9.5 game collapse in the playoff race last season, it does seem pretty logical that he would on the hot seat, but I would have sooner thought in the off-season, not now.

Continue reading this post »

Everyone that's been on here awhile knows by now that I'm awfully opinionated and should probably bite my tongue a little more... however, this time, it seems David Samson's the one that should be getting that advice.

Continue reading this post »

So did anyone win? The stats were apparently absurd between the amount of people who entered and the amount of people who got picked. I'd assume many of the entries were people like me, who entered in their regular email, their work email, etc... but still pretty staggering numbers.

Continue reading this post »

Hey Bloggers,

Looking for one (or all) of the main authors from this site to come on The Baseball Page podcast and help me preview the 2012 Marlins. I'd do it myself but being a Mets fan I wouldn't be very fair....let me know if any of you guys or gals are interested. You can contact me by clicking on my avatar or at the address below.

Thanks,

phil at thebaseballpage dot com

With all the renewed excitement around the Marlins this year, it would be great of the small (?) contingent of fans that live in the New York City area had one particular restaurant/bar to go to watch games with other fans.

My guess would be there is no established "Marlins bar" right now, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be! Does anybody know of a bar that would welcome fans to come and watch games as a group? Does the bar even have to be on board, or can we just show up as a group and take it over?

It would be great to have a place to cheer on this new, improved team with other Marlins fans. If anyone has any insight on how to establish this tradition, it would awesome and appreciated.

Mike Stanton, rightfielder for the Florida Marlins, turned 22 years old on November 8th, 2012. His age belies his prowess. As a 20 year old rookie, he hit 22 home runs. Additionally, he hit 21 home runs @ Triple A, striking out only one more time than he walked. In 2011, at just 21 years of age and despite battling leg & eye injuries, he hit 34 home runs to go w/87 rbi, a .356 obp, & a .537 slg. Mike '' The Unnatural '' Stanton may well be on his way to being the prolific home run hitter of his time. Last year, '' Moonshot '' Stanton hit the longest home runs of any Major League player @ four different stadiums. According to Hit Tracker Online, Stanton belted 15 no-doubt home runs, the most by any player in the National League in 2011.

AT 6' 5'' & 240 lbs., Mike Stanton is a monster in size & yet to see him he appears to be svelte like a deer. He patrol's right field at a gold glove caliber level. While he has only stolen 10 bases in just less than 1 2/3 seasons, some believe that he has 30 stolen base potential. In watching his short career closely, I believe that he comes to the ballpark everyday w/a great attitude & a love for the game; two very important intangibles. I believe that we are watching a future 5 tool HOF ballplayer. Swing and a long one ...

Until next time, so long everybody ..

Lee [ Cowboy ]

This is a topic I brought up on the excellent Florida Panthers SB Nation site, Litter Box Cats, and wanted to get a baseball take on it.

I have walked out on my favorite team before, the Florida/Miami Marlins, usually out of pure disgust for their play or when facing a beatdown by the opposing team. Some may deem me a bad fan, even though I sat through the longest game in Marlins history (6 hours, 10 minutes) that wound up being a loss, so one can't assume that because people leave means they are lousy fans. They may be the most die hard supporters ever, so much so that it pains them to watch a horrendous showing and they just gotta get away.

So what have you, Fish Stripes crowd? Have you ever walked out on the Marlins or any other sports team? Love to hear the horror stories...