Cabrera and Willis Gone

Fish no more.

Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis are no longer Marlins. Arguably one of the best hitters of his generation, Miguel Cabrera was working real hard on getting back into shape when the deal was made. As for Dontrelle, he was on vacation in Mexico when he got the news.

Neither player netted a familiar name in return, which was to be expected. The Marlins are in survival mode and unfortunately, this deal will fall on a few, concerned ears. Most Marlin fans checked out after the '03 ticker tape parade and won't be back until the next one.

The Marlins brass, although reportedly netting a pretty sizeable amount of young talent in return is leaving the PR department with a lot of work to do.

The Tigers would send outfielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and minor league pitchers Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop to the Marlins, ESPN reports.

Maybin has been turning heads and drawing comparisons to a certain Griffey, Jr. If that is the case, the Marlins may have started to break even in this deal. But remember, it was an unknown Dontrelle Willis the Marlins acquired for Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca several years back - a deal back then met with much reservation and protest.

A full report is on the way.

Cabrera Leaving? ARod Returning?

Right now, we should be asking ourselves, is it really in the best interest of the Florida Marlins to trade Miguel Cabrera? How is the franchise with the lowest turnout and impending stadium issues going to communicate that it is here for the long haul?

By trading Cabrera?

The obvious answer is no. But if the scenario is painted correctly, perhaps not - let's dare to dream a bit.

Let's say Cabrera is dealt for a starting pitcher and a young stud center fielder. You fill two voids in the lineup but create another one. We need a third baseman and Matt Dominguez is a few years away.

Is there any real possibility that the Marlins sign Alex Rodriguez?

There is a very faint rumor - and it is probably just that - that ARod would not only be given the salary he is looking for (upwards of $30M) but also a stake in the franchise.

Let's examine that possibility. That would mean not only the likely AL MVP would be playing for the Marlins, not only be their team leader, but also he would return home and would have a vested interest in the franchise being successful. Local boy makes good, brings hope to the millions and puts a face with the organization - with a possible chance at competing for years to come.

It is viewed as a longshot right now, but so where the 2003 Marlins.

Yet, could ARod actually return to Miami? There is enough here, believe it or not, to persuade him to do so. We have lots of young talent in Miami, and it just needs a leader to congeal the team. This void of leadership is evident from the way Fredi Gonzalez runs this team - he seems to require a veteran roster to fit his managerial style. With a player of ARod's stature, that need would be met. Not to mention the Marlins would now compete as a draw and its PR campaign would mirror the Heat's with its star players Shaq and Dwyane Wade drawing international attention.

All of this, of course, hinges on the Marlins trading Miguel Cabrera and possibly even Dontrelle Willis to free up some space in the treasury to sign a guy like ARod. And surround him with young (cheap) talent to compete. Maybe that would be enough to get Marlins fans and los politicos to push for a stadium solution.

Or maybe trading Cabrera and DTrain is a prelude to contraction.

Either way you look at it, both possibilities are long shots as of right now. But there could be some good in entertaining the idea of trading Cabrera as a catalyst to positive change for this franchise.

Wiley Returns to Marlins

In a long anticipated move, the Marlins re-signed Mark Wiley, their pitching coach they let get away after they relieved Jack McKeon of managing duties.

When the Marlins hired Joe Girardi, Girardi brought on board Rick Kranitz - the Cubs minor league pitching coordinator. Things looked good last season - while the talent of Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, Scott Olsen and Ricky Nolasco blossomed. Even though Girardi was fired, the Marlins managed to retain Kranitz despite suspicions of his real value.

This season, despite the injuries, seemed to show Kranitz's weaknesses as a coach and instructor and the Marlins, although they couldn't outright fire him, esteemed his value at a bit less than Kranitz did. So he walked. And now, the Marlins welcome back an old friend who is not only coming from a championship caliber organization, but also a mentor to Dontrelle Willis.

Now, the immediate challenge for Wiley is getting this pitching staff pieced back together and getting Dontrelle Willis' confidence back again. Welcome back, Wiles.

Marlins Win Big on Opening Day 2007

The Florida Marlins got a good start to the 2007 season with a 9-2 win over the Washington Nationals, who were very hospitable to their guests serving up a couple of home run pitches for the Marlins to crash the opener.

Two mammoth home runs, one from Miguel Cabrera and another from Dan Uggla, assured the Marlins victory while Dontrelle Willis worked the plate to keep the Nats from threatening. For Dontrelle, that is 6 IP with 3 K's, 1 BB and allowing only 7 hits in his 2007 debut for the win.

This is also a win for the managerial debut of Fredi Gonzalez, the former farm hand for the Marlins that caught on with the Braves and Bobby Cox's staff in Atlanta. Surely it will be one for him to remember.



The Marlins also got some pretty good performances from Hanley Ramirez, and rookie centerfielder Alejandro de Aza. Ramirez went 4-6 with 1 RBI and 4 runs - he is looking to build upon his ROY campaign of last season.

De Aza was a shock in spring training, as he continued to hit the ball and play an excellent CF while also displaying his lightning speed. Donning #7, the first positional player on the Marlins to do so since Pudge Rodriguez, he put together a great display going 2-4 with a triple and scoring 2 runs.

This was the first opening day in Washington, DC since 1971 - and the Marlins made the best of it.

Marlins Update 3.23.07

The Marlins defeated the Cards yesterday 2-1. The biggest news being LaRussa's arrest the night before and his subsequent apology. That aside, the Marlins have some promising developments coming out of that win.

Dontrelle Willis is going to be the Opening Day starter and he showed why going 6.2 innings of shutout baseball against the World Champs. He struck out 5, allowed 3 hits and 2 BBs. Not a bad way to get tuned up for the coming season.

Also, de Aza continues to surprise. He went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI while setting the table for the Marlins lineup. He is batting .387 on the year.