"I don't know about the word 'disappointment,'" Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said after the Marlins failed to sign Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. "We wanted to add another quality player. We tried on Pujols. We tried on C.J. Wilson. We tried on Cespedes.

Yes, the Marlins tried to sign Cespedes, and yes, for just a second, half of the league thought he would be batting against pitchers within baseball's premier pitching-loaded division. However, early in the week, manager Ozzie Guillen said that Cespedes was "no sure thing", and that you "never know what is going to happen". Not being afraid to express his opinion and make his voice heard, Guillen thinks the team he has today is good enough to compete with just about any of baseball's toughest opponents.

-New Marlins' minor league hitting coordinator Barry Moss has also spent some time in Hollywood, recently playing the role of a scout in "Moneyball". Moss was able to interact directly with most of the main characters throughout the film. Moss has said that his "first love was always as a hitting coach".

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The Miami Marlins, and for that matter most teams in baseball, have very little going on the last few weeks. Spring training is close now. And for the team that still has not figured out what kind of roster they want to have going into the new season, I would assume they are better off letting things develop. Not only are there few free agents left on the market, teams will make moves within spring training. That happens every year. Moves to cover an immediate need, or moves to create more opportunities at a certain position (for example when there is a log jam of outfielders).

- The Marlins potentially might make a move with one of their young starting pitchers. Sean West has not done much here. But he is still young, and more importantly, he is left handed. Plus, he is out of options. So as teams look around baseball to cover this particular need, expect the Marlins to listen to offers. The team's starting rotation is settled. And there are plenty of spot start candidates in the minors. The ball club did a great job this off season of adding names that could come in at any time (Gaudin is one example).

- This Saturday tickets go on sale for the upcoming exhibition games against the New York Yankees. Expect these to sell quickly. Especially when you consider there are only 1,000 tickets left to opening day against the Cardinals. On top of that, the list of people that have signed up for an on line lottery to bid on these 1,000 seats is now up to 52,000. The odds are against all of us.

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The Miami Marlins are back in the news. If its not Jose Reyes and his locks, Cespedes and his decision, or the homerun celebration thing out beyond centerfield, the team is making noise. Earlier today the biggest news was Emilio Bonifacio. He beat the team he plays for in arbitration. And while I will leave the specific details to the beat writers who follow the team on a daily basis (he'll make $2.2 million next season instead of the $1.95 million salary targeted by the team), I'm glad for the guy because he stood out last year as team's best player.

- Bonifacio does so many things well for the Fish. He hits, he steals, he defends many positions, he brings excitement, and it is common to see him out there smiling and having a great time. The guy is a utility player. But at any moment can become an everyday player because he is so talented. I remember when the ballclub counted on Alfredo Amezaga in the same way. Rarely do fans ever complain about what these guys give. Its a luxury to have Bonifacio, and again, I'm glad he is going to get paid a little more not only for what he did last year, but for what he will do for the team going forward.

- The unique sculpture that fans will enjoy when a Marlins player hits a home run will be great. I love it when people are quick to judge and bash something without even giving it a chance. At first I had my reservations when I saw the images on-line. But now I am behind the project and the idea of it fully. I can't wait until Sportscenter shows it during their nightly recap of Marlin home games. Plus, did you know the event lasts about 27 seconds after a home run is hit? Roughly the amount of time it takes Mike Stanton to round the bases after hitting a big blast. Read more details about this project here.

- Could Steve Cishek be the best reliever in the Marlins bullpen? Sounds a bit crazy since we only have one season of stats to go on. Jonathan Mitchell however did an excellent job breaking down what Cishek did last year. And the numbers don't lie. Cishek should not just be used nightly. The Marlins might also want to use him in huge spots. He could be that good.

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The Miami Marlins have been quiet for the time being as we slowly but surely approach pitchers and catchers reporting. Of course, there is at least one thing in which the Marlins are very involved.

- Of course, we are talking about the Yoennis Cespedes sweepstakes. All signs point to the two sides being favorable to a deal; Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald says that Cespedes likes Miami, and Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel reports that one source thinks the Fish are the favorite. Yesterday evening, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported via Twitter that David Samson told him that the Fish may have an offer ready by the lunch and ballpark tour today. As a blogger for the Marlins, I am more than interested in a potential Cespedes signing, especially since the Marlins were the first team to visit with him and could end up being the last.

- But those are potential future happenings with regards to the Marlins' payroll and talent, but two moves recently occurred regarding the team's current talent. Both Anibal Sanchez and Emilio Bonifacio won their respective arbitration cases. This does not represent a significant blow to the Fish, as the team probably lost out on $1.3 million in these cases. This should not affect any of the Marlins' potential future moves.

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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.

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Imagine for one minute Dwyane Wade getting hurt and missing action (wait that already happened this season). Or Jason Taylor at his best having to miss time. Regardless, of the injury or the situation, the one thing you can count on with these players is that whenever they return, they will be alright. Actually, they will be better than that. They are in the end, special players with superior talent.

Brings me to Hanley Ramirez, who is coming back from injury. While I realize the torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder did not happen until late in the 2011 season, it was still a serious enough injury where he required surgery. And with all the news this offseason about a possible move to another team, his reported disappointment with switching positions on the field, or further questions about his attitude and drive, one thing we don't have to worry about is him not being able to produce on the field because of injury.

Because Ramirez is still in his prime, I am also confident we will never see a batting average like the one he finished with last season. He is to good and to dominant a player to finish under .250. In fact, with the new supporting cast around him, he doesn't have to overdo it. Reyes and Bonifacio will be on base when he comes up. Stanton and Gaby Sanchez should be able to bring the former shortstop home. The crowd will totally be into it this season at the new ballpark. And Ozzie will take the focus off of Ramirez post game (unless he's not hustling).

All in all, Hanley should be great this season. And more importantly return to his former self. Check out what Roto Hardball predicts for Hanley this upcoming 2012 season: .297 avg, 25 HR, 97 RBI, 106 runs, 32 SB and 147 games played. Sweet. Hanley can definitely do this.

- Sooner or later, Anibal Sanchez is going to get paid. He is a candidate to receive an extension according to MLB Trade Rumors. In fact, the club already offered him an extension towards the end of last season. And while Sanchez and his group did not accept it because they were looking for a little more money, eventually this will get done. Just remember what the Marlins were prepared to offer to C.J. Wilson. Even though that did not work out, if Sanchez goes out this season and pitches just as good as he did last year, the Marlins will lock him up.

- Are you still having a hard time adapting to the new Marlins colors and jersey? I know this will help. Check out these stud pictures of the Marlins in their new uniforms. Fox Sports Florida shot these for the purposes of promotional materials. Players in this spread include Buehrle, Johnson, Sanchez, Ramirez, Reyes, and Buck. Go ahead and get your uni!

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Boy, the season cannot start quickly enough. The offseason has been a blast, but Spring Training will alleviate some of that uneasy dullness that precedes what should be an exciting season.

- Of course, there may still be one more thing to do for the Miami Marlins, and that is to sign Yoennis Cespedes. Cespedes is coming to visit this week (H/T Baseball Nation), and hopefully that meeting does enough deal-sealing to get him in Miami and working with us. It certainly is a risky move, but the Marlins have little to lose if they will be paying him $8 million a season; that is the equivalent price of a league-average player. If the Marlins fail on this transaction, they won't be risking the $20-plus million a season it would have taken to pursue one of the big-time free agents from this offseason.

- Meanwhile, the new stadium is filling in nicely for the Fish. The Marlins have chosen the food vendors for the stadium's outer plaza. The one that interests me the most is Holiday Bakery, which is supposedly a Cuban-style bakery. Among the indoor vendors includes a pork sandwich place that also sounds delicious.

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