Miami Marlins Trim Down to 42; Fishing Ensues

Mar 9, 2013; Melbourne, FL, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Chone Figgins (1) against the Washington Nationals during a spring training game at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins announced today that they have released veteran utility man Chone Figgins.  A long-time pal of Juan Pierre, Figgins is an 11-year MLB guy whose performance inexplicably fell off of a table in Seattle.  Going 8 for 26 with 6 RBI in 11 games wasn’t enough to earn a roster spot.  Cutting Figgins brought the roster to 42, with a little over two weeks of spring training left.  It’s probably reasonable to expect the last two cuts to be the toughest decisions to make. While he brought the same  stabilizing/mentoring experience to the clubhouse as Pierre, he simply didn’t have the defense or the wheels necessary to offset the age and mileage.

It’s tough to speculate who else will be trimmed off of the 40-man roster in the next two weeks.  A quick poll of the Maniac staff ( I had to actually get up from the massage table here at Marlin Maniac HQ and head down to the executive Writer’s Bar to get my answers…the lengths we go to for a story!)  shows Austin Kearns (.071 and 10 strikeouts) and Chris Valaika (.200 and 5 SO) as being the most likely headed to the unemployment office.

On the lighter side of the game, the warm weather here in Jupiter, plus the 5-mile proximity to the Gulf Stream, has prompted Steve Cishek and Nick Green to take up a little extracurricular activity.  Based on Cishek’s Twitter feed, it looks like a few of the boys have been blowing off steam with rod and reel instead of club and ball.

Here are a couple of pics from the promising closer (reportedly working on a changeup as a treat for the lefties he’ll face this season).  Gotta admire Chris Hatcher’s rod holder ingenuity: