Fish Bites: Wednesday

With all the buzz locally surrounding the Miami Heat and their quest for the championship, personally I cannot wait until we can all turn our entire sports focus to our favorite little baseball team. Not only are the Marlins contending for first place in the most difficult division in baseball, they have come out of a slow start to turn things around completely. They deserve more credit. Remember, for this initial first season in Marlins Park, it is like a circus is following the team at all times (Showtime is filming The Franchise series). In other words, with all the distractions that have hit the team already, and the ones to follow, the organization should be ecstatic of where they are at this present moment. Go Fish!

- Austin Kearns is set to come off the DL this week. He did not require any extra time to recuperate from his injury. Read a few more details here.

- Even the Marlins relievers are fond of the Clevelander bar at Marlins Park. Initially, a few of them said it was real loud. But now that they are used to it, they feel like its part of home. Read more here.

- More Clevelander photos of Marlins Park for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

- Wondering what kind of affect Andrew Heaney could have on the Marlins? According to Joe Frisaro, it could be huge. Since he is already 21, and he excelled in college (conference pitcher of the year), we should expect to see him up with the big league club by 2014 if all goes well in his development.

- The Marlins drafted a guy in the third round who used to be called "Pig Pen." No not because he smells, but because his uniform is always dirty. We're talking about shortstop Avery Romero out of St. Augustine. Regardless of how the jersey looks, Romero comes across as a guy that will do what it takes to help the team. In that case, I say he has the right approach. Read more about this young guy here.

- Just in case you have been living in a cave and decided to come out for a refreshing breath of polluted air, Giancarlo Stanton was named the player of the month in the NL for May. See his final May numbers here.

Around the League

- Josh Hamilton has decided against participating in the Home Run Derby this year. He put this out there early to make it easier for team captain Robinson Cano, who has to choose three other players to represent the American League. Read more here.

- Unbelievable story on how it was Bob Selig that convinced Tommy Lasorda to visit a nearby hospital while the two were at the MLB draft this week. At the hospital, Lasorda found out he had suffered a minor heart attack. It may have even have saved his life. Read about it here.

- The John Lannan story is not sad, its boring. Here is a guy who had a chance to prove to the world how good he is. And instead he is pitching to the tune of a 5.62 ERA in the minors. Oh well.

At Fish Stripes

- Plenty of draft coverage this week as our team breaks down all of the Marlins picks, while also providing insight into what the Marlins might have been thinking as they made these picks. Click here and read Mr. Evans follow up.

- Our poll this week asks what you thought about the Marlins first round draft pick, Andrew Heaney? We like the pick a great deal even though the team displayed a different draft strategy compared to past years. Please vote below.