There has never been a more exciting time to be a Marlins fan that over the last five days. Between two major signings being confirmed earlier this week for Heath Bell and Jose Reyes and the potential of a third major signing, the buzz around this team has been tremendous. I can't recall a time when Fish fans were more vocal and were not winning a World Series.
With that in mind, here are some Fish Bites for the week that was and the various signings that were and may be.
- As I linked to earlier, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs thinks it won't take much for Reyes to be worth his deal with the Marlins.
- Keith Law, on the other hand, says it is a risky deal and says it is unlikely Reyes will be a viable player at the end of the deal.
- Of course, I pointed out that, even if Reyes ages as others of his kind have done in the past, he should still come close to being worth his deal, even if he ends up being a bench player by age 34. By my calculations, the Marlins may have overpaid by $15 million.
- The big problem with all of this is that there are rumors that Hanley Ramirez does not want to move to third base (Spanish link) to accommodate the Reyes signing. Enrique Rojas initially broke that story for ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com. His article stated that Ramirez would rather be traded than move positions, but Joe Capozzi has confirmed that a Marlins official said that Ramirez has not asked for a trade. It seems the team has talked to him about this before and will continue to talk to him about it, with Ozzie Guillen playing an integral role in making everything work out.- Then again, ESPN's Chris Singleton just tweeted that Ozzie Guillen Jr mentioned that Ramirez has no problem with the move. Conflicting reports abound.
- Moving on to Pujols, the Marlins have apparently made their last offer to the free agent first baseman. Three teams may be on Pujols, with the St. Louis Cardinals and a "mystery team" that is apparently neither the Angels nor the Cubs. Jayson Stark says their offer will include provisions that will keep him tied to the team after retirement; this is presumably to replace a no-trade clause.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs mentions that the impact of Albert Pujols filling just one slot on the team can better helpmake a team into a contender. If the Marlins had a choice to spend on just Pujols over extra parts, there'is added incentive to put all those wins into one player.
- If talks fall off between Pujols and the Marlins, expect the Fish to target Mark Buehrle for a contract, but don't count out C.J. Wilson, with whom the team may have gone six years.
- For some non-free agent news, the Marlins will tangle with the SEC for the next year, as they are being probed for their stadium dealings. Field of Schemes has a breakdown of the subpoenas the Fish have received.
At Fish Stripes
- We did a lot of discussion at Fish Stripes this week, and much of it was aimed at free agents. First, we reacted to the Jose Reyes signing, with an overwhelming amount of positive reader reaction (coupled with some disappointed Mets fans).
- Then we moved right from Reyes to Pujols, as the news came out that the Marlins were going to offer Pujols (along with incumbent reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo) new deals.
- Then the Marlins made a ten-year contract offer to Pujols, and the rampant speculation began.
- Before all of that, however, we had a quiet weekend that included two new additions to the site. First, we introduced the Fish Stripes T-Shirt Store, complete with three original designs to fit your "old school" Marlins desires. Since then, we've introduced six new shirts, including two designs for you Ichthyomancy fans. I think they look nice, and would be a great way to support the blog. Go buy one today!
- Also, we introduced a call for new writers on the site, and the response has been tremendous. For now, we're not looking for too much more, but if and when we are, I know there will be folks who are excited to write for Fish Stripes, and that's always a plus.
- We also featured two FanShots, including an overlay of the new stadium's dimensions over those of Petco Park and a new name that has been thrown into the ring for the shortstop job.