Playing Pepper 2009: Florida Marlins

As the players start getting themselves ready for another season, I thought it'd be a good idea to do the same. I contacted a blogger for each major league team and posed to them five questions. This is the result. You can find the tentative schedule of teams here and today's main post is right here.

The Marlins have had a lot of boom and bust in their 16-year history. Two World Series titles in that time, coupled with numerous last place finishes and sub-.500 records. The current batch of Marlins, though, have been more competitive while not actually winning the whole thing.

I talked to Craig over at Fish Stripes about where the stadium deal stands, Hanley Ramirez, and the upcoming season.

C70: Exactly where does the new stadium stand right now?

FS: We will know more after Feb. 13 since that is the date the City of Miami and Miami-Dade vote on the ballpark agreements.  If the agreements are approved by the city and the county, the county is iffy at the moment, all parties have the option of pulling out of the deal until June 30.

So I guess the short answer, we will know for sure on July 1.  If the deal isn't killed before that date.

C70: How much fun is it watching Hanley Ramirez on a daily basis?

FS: It is a pleasure to watch him hit and really almost stunning.  Hanley is a natural hitter and there are so few of those in the league.  Y'all are Cardinals fans and know the pleasure of the watching a natural hitter on a daily basis.  The really amazing thing is how easy they make it look.

While Hanley is getting better on defense, he still has some work to do.  Let's just say, on occasion, he puts the thrill back into the routine ground ball to short.

C70: Is there hope among the fanbase that the Marlins are on the right track?

FS: Yes.  The young starting rotation is excellent when healthy.  The position players have a nice mixture of speed and power.  Given the relative youth of the players, the Marlins haven't mastered the art of small ball when the situation calls for it.  However, they do have that swinging for the fences part down pat.  Also, the Marlins minor league system is one of the best in the game today.  In fact, it was rated the second best by Baseball America.

However, until the Marlins move into a new stadium, the organization plans to continue trading players once they become arbitration eligible for prospects.  So for the next few years, the revolving door will continue to spin.

C70: What's the general opinion of management/ownership?

FS: I assume this question is about the non-baseball management.  If so, this is an easy one, most fans feel they are a bunch cheapskates who would choke the life out of the team for a buck.  Some of that is richly deserved, some isn't.  But that is how the fans feel.

C70: Can the Marlins imitate the Rays and play into October this year?

FS: Imitate the Rays!? Being a Marlins fan I will have you know the Rays were just imitating the Marlins.  The Marlins have won two World Series in the last 11 years while the Rays have only made it there once and then couldn't bring home the trophy.  (It's a Florida thing.)

Now biases aside, yes, the Marlins could easily, well maybe not easily, make it to the post season in 2009.  It will require, like it does for all teams, for the players to stay healthy throughout the year and everything clicking at the right time.  The talent is there both on the pitching staff and on the offense.  But as all fans of talented, promising teams will tell you, getting it all together is a hard thing to do.

Of course, that is what makes a year in which a team wins the World Series so special for the fans, because it doesn't happen often.

My thanks to Craig for taking some time to answer the questions. The Cardinals will get very familiar with the Marlins in spring training, what with sharing a complex and playing what seems like 722 games against them. We may be able to judge early what this team is made of.