Fish Bites: That Did Not Take Long

I was talking to someone today and they told me they actually think the suspension to Ozzie Guillen is a blessing in disguise. They think it would have done the Marlins manager more favors if he was suspended for the entire upcoming home stand. That way the focus could be taken off of him and turned to playing baseball. This person is probably right. The Marlins and their high level people (Loria and Sampson) could not have had a more difficult PR situation to deal with. Its almost as if this was eventually going to happen at some point. There was just no way to predict this would happen not even one week into the season.

- If the Marlins players want to help their coach, they can have a huge next two days in Philadelphia. The team is sending its ace to the mound tonight to face the Phillies ace. And as we have seen across all of baseball early on, the biggest name teams (Yankees, Red Sox, and Phils) have gotten off to rough starts. So the Marlins could indeed take some pressure off their coach by sweeping Philadelphia, and then coming home to a fan base that is not too happy. I believe the media will help out when they start writing on how the NL East is there for the taking now that the Phillies do not look as impressive as in the past. We'll see.

- How big has the Ozzie words on Fidel Castro gotten? The Wall Street Journal reviews his situation here. Its not as if the Journal is afraid to touch a sports topic. A traditional topic would have to do with a teams profits. But this is obviously bigger than a conversation on the new stadium and the revenues it is bringing in.

- In case you haven't been to the new Marlins Park yet (which I am sure is most of us since there has only been one regular season game there up to this point), Marlin Maniac does a good job of giving you a heads up on the rough patches at the new stadium. Right away they dive into parking.

- There is a young couple embarking on a 152 day trip across this great nation to see 119 ballparks. Not only see the stadiums, but also view a game in each one. The trek will take them all the way from Florida to California. In fact, the first ballpark they visited was the home of the Marlins Double A affiliate, the Jacksonville Suns.

- Even though its early on, the Zephyrs relievers extended their scoreless-innings streak 19 2/3. In fact, the team beat Memphis on Monday in the 13thinning. Great to see the relieving core is off to a good start. Stay on your A-game Heath Bell!

- Giancarlo Stanton missed Monday afternoon's win against the Phillies due to left knee pain. Actually it was not known that he would not play until 40 minutes before first pitch. Austin Kearns started in his place and hit a home run off of the new Phillies closer, Jonathan Papelbon. As a reminder, this is the same knee that gave Stanton trouble last year. The team did not rule him out playing Wednesday night.

Around the League - Contract Extensions

- Brandon Phillips and the Reds have agreed to a six year, $72.5 million contract extension. This will keep the second basemen in Cincinnati until he is 36 years old. With the extension of Joey Votto last week, the Reds right side of the infield will stay in-tact for a long time.

- Another second basemen agreed to a major extension on Tuesday. The Rangers and Ian Kinsler have come to an agreement on a six year deal. This is one of the Rangers best players. Very consistent even. Great move.

- The Indians locked up one of the best catchersin baseball, Carlos Santana. The deal is for five years, $21 million. The team did not overspend for a guy they think could turn out to be the next Mauer or Napoli in terms of offensive production.

At Fish Stripes

- Want to talk stolen bases? Read this article from Mr. Jong by clicking here. It describes what the stolen bases could mean to the success of the ball club this season.

- Have you checked out Full Count yet? You won't be disappointed. Click here to read about Yahoo! and their exciting baseball page addition for this season.