Have any of you watched MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential? If there is a baseball show on that network to watch, it is that one. It is an analytics based show using advanced stats to tell stories and analyze the game, just the sort of thing we here at Fish Stripes really enjoy. Furthermore, it is hosted by former ESPN broadcaster Brian Kenny, who is well known for being saber-friendly and more than interested in the numbers. They could not have picked a better host and a better topic for today's baseball world. Sabermetrics is more important than ever in the evaluation of players at the front office level, and it is really coming to the forefront.

One place sabermetrics has not necessarily penetrated is the managerial world. We have all screamed at our team's managers in past for making dumbfounding moves, and it is not surprising. So many managers are stuck in the old school ways of managing that it seems they are not open to new ideas that the data has shown to be significant. It was evident in the World Series when Texas Rangers' manager Ron Washington intentionally walked like a million guys, and it again was evident a few nights ago with the Miami Marlins' own Ozzie Guillen.

A few nights ago, Clubhouse Confidential brought in Mitchell Lichtman, a.k.a the (in)famous MGL, to the broadcast. He was there to discuss some of the findings that were highlighted in The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, one of the best baseball books one can find. These findings include the absence of a "clutch hitting" skills, the most optimal batting order synthesis, and the way that National League teams can avoid giving away runs.

Overall, it was an excellent segment from both MGL and Kenny, as they both played their roles well. Because of the environment and the nature of the questions, it seemed MGL was more calm than he usually would be if he were dealing with a typical baseball blowhard on television or radio. This is totally worth a watch.

Of course, what interested me a little more is the response that Ozzie Guillen gave on Twitter.

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Earlier this week, Ehsan Kassim of Marlin Maniac asked a very interesting question, one that seems very pertinent to the 2012 season.

The Marlins will need a fully healthy Josh Johnson in 2012 for any chance to compete. My question is for you guys, do the Marlins need Johnson to go all out and throw 200 innings or should the Marlins be conservative with the oft-injured hurler?

Of course, we are not certain about what this question means. What does he mean by "conservative" versus a more aggressive 200-inning approach with Josh Johnson? But I believe the general point is a good one to bring up. The Marlins' 2012 season hinges on a successful campaign from Johnson, but is pushing him as much as we can without innings limits beneficial or deterimental to the team's short- and long-term chances?

From the team's standpoint, this is not even a question: the Marlins should get all they can from Josh Johnson. Provided there is not anything overtly wrong with his arm and shoulder, the team should value his current production over his future health.

Disappearing Asset

Obviously, the Marlins care about Josh Johnson and his health for reasons beyond the team's immediate success. He is a part of the team and, as a result, a part of their family. As a player and a person, he is clearly a valued member of the team. But if you take away the aspect of his relationship with the team, the Marlins have a very important asset to the team's immediate success. That asset is not only very important now, but it may not be as important in the near future.

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If you are a Marlins fan and saw this article from SB Nation's own Al Yellon, you would probably have opinions ranging from "mad" to "ugh." And that's kind of how I felt when I read it. Yellon is the editor over at Bleed Cubbie Blue, our awesome Chicago Cubs blog. This must have something to do with it, as Yellon admits that he isn't particularly happy with the Marlins' 2003 vanquishing of the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, among other things. But it seems Yellon is just mad because our team is, well, tacky.

Then there's this affront to baseball logos:

And this affront to humanity:

Seriously, what are these people thinking? That's right: "tired lounge act." As if that's not enough,the team's marketing department regularly taunts the Chicago Cubs whenever they come to town...

Yellon then goes on claim that the acquisitions of players like Carlos Zambrano and Ozzie Guillen as manager are leading to a circus-like clubhouse atmosphere. So three of the four complains were due to the tacky nature of the ballclub, and only one had anything to do with something legitimate, which was the sleaziness that is Jeffrey Loria.

And you know what? Marlins fans would probably agree with all of that. The logo is odd, though it has grown on me enough that I have been looking for a cap at a local store for some time. The home run piece is, well, words cannot describe it really. The clubhouse will be an interesting one to manage, though if there is someone to do it, it is probably Ozzie Guillen. And you would be hard-pressed to find an owner less liked by his team's fans than Loria.

And you know what? None of that really matters. Because deep at the heart of it all, it is not really about any of those things. People just hate the Marlins, and there's no real rhyme or reason to it.

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This has been a slow Miami Marlins week for the most part, aside from the ever-present rumors that Hanley Ramirez is (or is not) on the trade block. Manager Ozzie Guillen said in a recent interview (Spanish link forthcoming) Ramirez knew and did not express unhappiness with the idea after shortly discussing this with the front office. Of course, Guillen's job is to put a positive spin on the situation, so it would not surprise me to hear that Ramirez really is upset about a move to third base after all the rumbling we have heard in the rumor mills.

Rumors and speculation are one thing, and analysis is another thing. Ken Rosenthal threw his hat in the very opinionated ring and said that the Marlins should trade Ramirez.

No, this is a player who occasionally flashes a selfish, petulant side — and frankly cannot be trusted to graciously make way for Reyes, his fellow Dominican.

Ramirez’s trade value is lower than it once was because of his shoulder, his sub-par performance last season and the $46.5 million remaining on the final three years of his contract. Some teams also believe that he is not a winning player.

But c’mon, he’s Hanley Ramirez.

Now, you heard my take on this matter earlier this week, and I have a strong feeling like the average Fish Stripes reader knows that the Marlins are better with Ramirez than with a trade package coming back. Ken Rosenthal thinks otherwise, and that is fine. He has every right to have that opinion, just like I have the right to have mine. But then Rosenthal stepped into the analysis booth by offering six trade possibilities that were poor at best and laughable at worst.

We'll get to the actual trades offered in just a little bit, but here was my response to Rosenthal via Twitter, in admittedly full-on snarky blogger mode.

I went to lunch shortly thereafter, and when I returned, it seemed Mr. Rosenthal was not very happy with my comment.

MRJManiacMichael Jong

Love @Ken_Rosenthal's rumor work, but this article on Hanley Ramirez trade possibilities shows why he isn't an analyst http://t.co/eOzBfPWm

Dec 13FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @MRJManiac↑

@Ken_Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal@MRJManiac Oh stop. Ideas aren't set in stone. Point is they should trade him.
Dec 13 via Twitter for MacFavoriteRetweetReply

I was more starstruck than insulted, and I made this sarcastic comment.

He did not seem to get my sarcasm either.

MRJManiacMichael Jong

I go to lunch and all of a sudden @Ken_Rosenthal responds to my bashing his trade ideas. BIG TIME

Dec 13FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @MRJManiac↑

@Ken_Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal@MRJManiac You are BIG TIME. And I am idiot! Have a good lunch, brother.
Dec 13 via Twitter for MacFavoriteRetweetReply

Now, no fists were thrown, but I asked Rosenthal legitimate questions afterwards regarding why the Marlins should trade Ramirez when there has not been indication from him or the team that they could not handle the situation internally, nor does the team lack the leverage to entice Ramirez to fall in line. He did not respond to that query, and I do not blame him, since I'm just a lowly blogger and he's Ken Rosenthal and has some more rumors to dig up.

I, however, would like to get into the trade ideas he did propose and see if any of them are indeed up to snuff.

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We're now over 36 hours after the long anticipated unveiling of the new Miami Marlins logos and uniform set. That amount of time elapsed now allows one to take an objective look at the set and give some opinions. Let's get right to it.

So I don't have to link everything, please check out this post on the Colorwerx blog that has the graphical version of all the logos, wordmarks, and jersey name/number styling. I'll try to add some links throughout the post with photos of the real jerseys.

Logo/Cap Insignia

These leaked a while back and despite Samson and Co. saying they weren't entirely accurate, they pretty much were. As with much of the set, it was a good idea, just not executed very well. The 'M' with the minimalistic marlin is pretty nice. When in a no color format, as you can see in this t-shirt in the team shop, it looks very nice..

There are two ways in which things went awry . First are the color choices for the Marlin. The top half of the fish with the fin is orange, while the bottom half is blue. It should be the other way around. That's actually how a real Marlin looks, and it would have been cool for it to be pretty accurate despite having a minimalistic look. The other miscalculation is the splotch of yellow. There either needs to be more of it, or none at all. It's like they just added it in because they forgot it was one of their colors. If they had put a splash in the Marlin it would probably look better

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Remember, remember, the eleventh of November,
Free-agent season and... uh...

Okay, that really wasn't going anywhere.

When I decided that starting an article with a reference to V for Vendetta was a good idea, I had a reason. The reason was to make a point, and the point is the following: the following couple of weeks are going to be very memorable for every Marlins fan out there, for reasons far beyond "hey, new stadium!"

Let's start with the obvious. The Marlins today feel almost completely indistinguishable from the Marlins that we felt we knew so well earlier this year. That is, of course, great news, as we've all been trying really hard to forget this past season as it is. The news coming from every direction is the sort of thing that's unheard of to Marlins fans far and wide. We are, of course, used to giving away our good players, not being in talks to bring some of the better ones over. More importantly, we're thinking of actually spending money. Real, actual money, the kind of money that we continually complain the front office of being so stingy with.

Let's be real for a moment. If you'd told me earlier this year that the Marlins were seriously considering adding Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle to the team, I would've probably looked at you like you were an alien from another planet. Yet here we stand today, with all three of these players visiting Miami at some point or another, potentially taking a nice little walk through the about-to-be-finished Miami Marlins stadium. And that's just the beginning.

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