The Florida Marlins first three games are probably indicative of how the season will go. You can expect that Marlins to get blown out in two of the three games, managing to squeeze out an iffy win in for the third game. Yes, I’m predicting that Florida will win just a third of its games, and it’s hard to argue against that.
There isn’t a single pitcher on the Marlins starting rotation right now — not included the injured ones — who would be in the starting rotation of any other team in the league. The bullpen is really the star attraction, and that’s pretty sad.
It was reported earlier this week that A-Rod is making more than the entire Marlins roster. It’s true. It’s also true that while the average league salary just topped the $3 million mark this season, there isn’t a single player on the Marlins payroll who will get paid that much. What do you expect with the league’s worst payroll?
In years past, the Marlins were able to offset the low salaries because they got great cheap players in return for their expensive ones. However, is there any Marlin save for Hanley Ramirez — and perhaps Dan Uggla — who would start on another ball club? In the end, this is shaping up to be the year in which the Marlins get what they pay for.
Media reports are buzzing about the potential retirement, trade, or release of Jason Taylor. Over the weekend, Bill Parcells emphasized that JT was not on the trading block, but that obviously doesn’t preclude #99’s retirement. One of the joys of being a Miami Dolphins season ticketholder for 20 years has been seeing the joy that JT brings to the young fans.
Every game, at the end of the pre-game warmups, Jason is the last player to leave the field. with football in hand, he heads out to the tunnel in Section 156, heaving the ball to a young kid in attendance. I was fortunate enough to film this scene from my seats of Jason going through the pre-game ritual reward before the final game of this past season against the Bengals.
I’m hoping it’s not the last time I get a chance to film this home game occurence. What do you all think?
Well, we’re getting closer to the Marlins finalizing a deal to play in a 37,000 seat stadium where the Orange Bowl rests. The media is eating it up, but am I the only one wondering if it will pan out as planned? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see something come of that space, but I’m also realistic:
The venue’s location is a traffic logistics nightmare. Say what you will about Dolphins Stadium, at least it has exits pouring right into it off I-95/Turnpike. The 836 exit isn’t enough to handle the flow of cars. Sure, it did it during Hurricanes games but that was just 6 games a year, on weekends. Baseball means weekday night games just as everyone else is trying to getback home on that 836 gridlock.
Parking is going to be another concern. Yes, there will be a garage, but I can only imagine how that will be a bowl of standstill exhaust after Marlins games. All of the neighbors who look forward to this as a way to collect $10 a game by letting folks park on their lawns may not realize that the gravy train has sailed since nearly everyone will park inside the complex itself.
Short of the American Airlines area, every stadium in Miami is far from the picturesque coastal facade that Miami likes to show off. It just would have been so much easier to buy into this as a downtown park with Metrorail access. No matter how pretty the park itself is, this won’t have the allure of a Camden Yards.
My last point is that a new stadium won’t solve the probelm that Miami will NEVER be competitive with the salaries that the New York and Los Angeles teams pay. Miami is blessed to have won 1997 and 2003 World Series titles — and in the 2003 season with a relatively modest payroll — but it’s unlikely to happen again during this generation. Miami will continue to trade away its best players, continuing to serve as a farm system for the Yankees, Tigers, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox, etc. Maybe I’m wrong, and by the time Hanley Ramirez is up for hefty pay hikes in arbitration that it will be the Marlins that decide to pay up for a long-term contract. I just think fans who feel that a new stadium in 2011 will make the team competitive are naive.
Two months ago, I would’ve taken Derrick McFadden over Dorsey/Long/Long. With the Pats owning the San Fran pick, I feared that THEY would take him, making them unstoppable for several more years.
Then:
1. San Fran started winning late, dropping that pick down in the first round, to the point where McFadden won’t be available.
2. Lawrence Maroney began running like a beast for them, making them unlikely to upgrade at RB as a priority.
3. Ronnie Brown began to heal ahead of schedule.
However, I still think McFadden is the best pick, if only because the rumors teams trading up — Cowboys and Bengals — would do so for the sake of taking McFadden. It’s like when the Chargers drafted Eli Manning with the #1 pick, knowing he could be dealt to the Giants. Don’t get me wrong. Dorsey is a stud. Either Long would upgrade their lines respectively. However, McFadden is the ticket to trading down.
Besides, if McFadden sticks around, would it be so bad? Look at what Minnesota accomplished with Adrian Peterson. In one fell swoop, Beck or Lemon become better passers because teams have to stuff the box against the run. Besides, Ronnie Brown is injury-prone after getting hurt in both seasons. Let him heal slowly, playing the role of Chester Taylor. Even if the defense took a huge step back last season, it was mostly injuries to the secondary that depleted the unit. Skilled position players is why Miami won just one game last year. A stud like McFadden only comes around once every few years. On paper, he’s even better than All-Day.
It was fun while it lasted. The one thing to go right in South Florida — the surprisingly strong start for the University of Miami Hurricanes in basketball — was just undone after a loss to Boston College. Coming up short in its first ACC test, the 21st ranked Hurricanes will probably slip out of the Top 25 in next week’s poll. Sure, you can’t win ‘em all, but this was starting to become a great feelgood story in a very sad sports town.
Waist-deep into a horrific season, the Miami Heat finally gets a break. A do over. The NBA realizes that Atlanta scorers messed up last month when they booted Shaq from a tight game with 51.9 seconds left. It was just his fifth foul. Not his sixth. So for the first time in 25 years, a team has a second shot to reverse the course of history. Miami was down by just 1 point at that time. It wound up losing the game by 6. It’s unlikely to win. The Hawks will start at the line. However, a healthy D-Wade and a team that knows it can change history may find it in their hearts to do something special with this chance.
The “mini game” will take place in March. Lucky Hawks fans! They’ll get two games for the price of one. Now the Heat needs to kick its 9-game losing streak so it actually has more to play for than pride come March. Man, it’s been hard to be a South Florida sports fan lately!
Our seats are in the tunnel where the players go in and out, providing a behind the scenes glimpse that you just don’t see on TV for today’s final game of the season.
In this clip, you’ll see:
- Miami Dolphins wrapping up their pre-game warmups, with Jason Taylor tossing a football into our section. He does this at every home game.
- The Bengals coming out, with T.J. Houshmandzadeh showing my camera some love after some playful ribbing. I also dig into Carson Palmer for sinking my fantasy football team (he goes on to throw several TD passes).
- The first points of the game. A field goal into our endzone. The net was slow to come up. If Jay Feely had put some more oomph into it, the ball would’ve gone into the seats.
- Palmer with one of his 3 TDs.
- Halftime at the gift shop (30% off sale, so it was packed) and the cheerleaders dancing.
- John Beck’s first career NFL TD.
- Miami losing - again - 38-25, putting a merciful end to this horrendous 1-15 season.
Watching last night’s Miami Heat game against the Orlando Magic was painful. Where was D-Wade in the overtime period? I keep telling myself that slow starts are never a problem. Last year also started slow before the team picked it up, however, now that Miami is several games behind the 8th and final playoff slot, I’m starting to wonder if that sweet 2006 championship will be a fleeting taste circa the Dolphins in 1972 and 1973.
So I’ve got lottery ping pong balls on my mind — but didn’t we trade next year’s first rounder for Ricky Davis? Is there a provision for that pick NOT to be a first rounder if we wind up with a lottery pick? I don’t have the heart to even look that up, afraid of what I may find.
Shaq, where art thou? My son got a retro gift — a Super Nintendo console complete with a few of those 8-bit, 16-bit games. Ahhh, the old days. One of the games? Shaq Fu. Did you even know that the Big Aristotle put out a video game way back when. I guess he really IS that old if we’re talking third generation video gaming when we are now entering the seventh generation. Alonzo Mourning Pong anyone?
It’s hard to imagine anyone more despised in South Florida than Nick Saban and his wife Terry. Really. Sure, the politicos sipping cafecitos at Versailles will be quick to chime in with Fidel Castro, but as far as actual local sport celebrities, it’s hard to imagine anyone more loathed than the two-faced Saban. Even my wife was willing to stomach a Hurricanes loss, as long as Alabama found a way to come up short on the same Saturday.
Anyway, here is a gem that was just posted on YouTube of Nick and Terry dancing at some Alabama booster shindig. At least that’s what it appears to be. I have nothing against Tuscaloosa. I almost went to Bama for college before sticking with my Canes. Still, you’ve got to love how Saban can’t wipe that painted-on expression as he cuts a rug here. Someone posted that the coach has got some moves. My response?
Saban’s got moves but we already knew that. Just ask the moving truck company out of Louisiana two years ago, Miami this year, and Alabama by the end of next year.