Fish Bites
By Michael Jong
What’s going on everyone? Here are you mid-week links just prior to Thanksgiving!
– Miami Today reports that there was a large price range in offers to build the new stadium’s parking garage. The city commission still has to vote to support the contractor hired, but there will be new faces in the coming months, so we’ll see how that turns out.
– Mike Silva of New York Baseball Digest says that Florida (both south and Tampa) does not deserve baseball. Now, I don’t like Mike Silva, because he’s your typical loudmouth radio host, but he has a point here. Neither team can draw, and the hope of a new stadium for either team may not be enough to draw fans. I think Marlins fans could do best by going to the games the first two seasons in south Florida.
– What sparked Silva’s disdain? News that the Marlins are planning on playing a series in Puerto Rico this season. Remember, the Montreal Expos were doing the same thing before they moved. Of course, it’s not the same situation, but it shows that the Marlins feel they have the same attendance problems.
– Via MLBTradeRumors, did you know the Marlins don’t actually have a set policy on no-fourth-year for pitchers? Then are we still just not planning on extending Josh Johnson? This team frustrates me.
– Did you know that Miguel Cabrera is available to the highest bidder? Matt Klaassen (aka devil_fingers) of FanGraphs talks about his (non-existent?) trade value.
– Over at Twinkie Talk, Fetch wonders about our very own Josh Johnson’s trade value and wonders if the Minnesota Twins can build a trade package for him. He and I agree that they probably cannot.
– Here Wally Fish of Kings of Kauffman starts talking about ERA+ and the Cy Young award, but stops when he realizes it’s more typical than he expected. I’ll never fault Wally for trying though.
– Taylor over at SodoMojo reflects on how different the Seattle Mariners organization is now compared to three years ago. It’s the difference between Bill Bavasi and Jack Zduriencik, no surprise.
– Justin Klugh over at That Balls Outta Here is disgusted at the sight of Rob Quinlan (and yes, still at Eric Bruntlett), and I wouldn’t blame him.
– Finally, as a good lesson to all you aspiring sabermetrician-types, Kincaid over at 3-D Baseball breaks down FIP with regards to pitching to contact. An absolutely excellent must-read.