Archive for the 'Baseball' Category

February 4, 2008
  • Got a chance to make it out to the BAC on Friday night for the return of Roberto Luongo and his crazy father in law. The BAC was in a frenzy all night long. 17,000+ fans showed up for the matchup and the free TV giveaways. I didn’t win a TV but I did lose my voice and argue with some silly Canadians. Such fun! Check a few pictures below taken from my iPhone.

Crazy Canadians Oh Canada From the Seats

  • George Richards from the most entertaining and informative blog on Miami Herald gives us an update on our walking wounded. According to JM, Radek Dvorak has two broken bones in his hand, will be out four to six weeks. I spoke to Radek after Saturday’s game, he was optimistic he was going to be OK. Apparently that’s not the case.
  • Did I mention earlier the Patriots lost? Check some Pats fans reactions here, here and here. KSK is also priceless today.
  • Last week the Marlins signed Dallas McPherson. The Mets signed Johan Santana. I’d say we balanced each other out.

January 31, 2008

So we couldn’t put any money towards signing Miguel Cabrera but we have no problem paying guys like Luis Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg. What a novel idea. This should get fans out to the park this season. Ken Rosenthal is reporting Luis Gonzalez has decided to leave AZ and help the young Marlins. From FoxSports

Free-agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez has reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract with the Marlins, according to a major-league source.

The deal, which is likely to include a guaranteed salary of approximately $2 million and incentives worth up to $1 million, is contingent on Gonzalez passing a physical.

Wonderful.


Guess Who’s Back

Author: JD
January 28, 2008

White hot???

By now I’m sure many of you have removed SporTech Matter from your feed readers, bookmarks and safe email recipient list. We didn’t die, we just multiply! I’ll be honest, South Florida Sports had me down and I needed a little getaway from the daily nuances that were associated with covering this god awful section of the country that has 4 professional sports teams. Combine that with extra stuff to do at work and just the fact I needed more of a life besides blogging and work, and you have the downtime for posting at SporTech Matter. Nevertheless I am back and ready to fire on all cylinders. Or as Chad Johnson would say…”Just give me a call Bill Parcells, stop playing around already!” Lots of stuff went down while I was away so let’s catch up with the most recent notes…

  • Today one of the more intriguing rumors came up regarding the Dolphins and the number one overall pick in the draft. Oh I bet you didn’t guess it had to do with the Cowboys? The Boys two 1st rounders and Marion Barber for the 1st overall pick. Apparently the groundwork is in place. Will the Tuna get it done? Ronnie and Marion? What a combo!
  • Heat Win! Heat Win! The embarrassment of having Dwyane Wade on your team and possibly breaking the expansion Heat’s record for most consecutive losses in a season would be the icing on the cake for this season. Hey guys guess what??? We haven’t even reached the All Star break yet!
  • The Cats have been a feisty bunch lately. The injury bug has bit hard and forced the Cats to call up top prospect Shawn Matthias, the chip they acquired in the Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit deal last season. Shawn spent a little over a week up with the big club and netted 2 goals during his stay. Such a fun kid to watch on the ice.
  • Huge ruckus was made the last week or so about the yearly Olli Jokinen trade rumors. Somewhere Mike Keenan is sitting in a dark room writing Mr and Mrs Mike Jokinen on wedding stationary as we speak. Reports said Olli demanded a trade, other reports refuted it. The Cats are at the break sitting in good position to take the divisions. They are notoriously better after the All Star break so things should start to get interesting. Head out to the BAC. They are giving away 20+ Sharp Aquos TV’s this weekend!

Hope everyone has been enjoying the New Year. Should be getting a steady dose from now on. One last note. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before I am an absolute music nut. If your a member of LAST.FM add me as a friend so I can get an idea of what kind of music my readers enjoy.

Thanks for sticking around during the downtime.


January 4, 2008

It appears the Marlins are set on stockpiling 3B talent to replace Miguel Cabrera’s power. The Marlins inked Jose Castillo to a contract in December and now have inked Jorge Cantu to a deal as well to compete for the starting gig. MLB is reporting…

MLB.com has learned from a Major League Baseball Players Association source that the Marlins reached agreement on Thursday with Cantu on a one-year contract worth $500,000, plus incentives that could tack on another $100,000 based on plate appearances.

The deal is expected to be announced today. I have no problem with this deal. Why not get as many options as possible to replace one of the greatest hitters in franchise history. No sense settling on a guy like Castillo.


December 26, 2007
Whether it’s proper English or not Dontrelle Willis has been doing a bang up job on his Yardbarker blog sharing his personal stories with his new home in Detroit or just dropping holiday wishes to all the little people. It’s a must read. (Dontrelle Willis Blog)
December 25, 2007

While no one is going to come in and replace Miguel Cabrera’s offensive production, the Marlins have begun the search of finding his replacement. At this point it looks like any warm body who can somewhat play is going to get a chance. After reading about a rumor of the Marlins signing both Jose Castillo and Jorge Cantu from a reader on MB.com, I became skeptical. As of yesterday, it was official. The Marlins signed ex Pittsburgh Pirate utility infielder Jose Castillo to a one year contract. Here’s Rotowold’s take…

Castillo is a solid choice for a rebuilding team, as he still has some upside, but the Marlins will want to add one more infield option, perhaps Dallas McPherson or Jorge Cantu, to battle for the starting job at third base. The soon-to-be 27-year-old Castillo is a career .256/.297/.380 hitter. He’s currently at .370/.395/.591 in 181 at-bats in the Venezuelan Winter League.

The signing of Castillo places Florida’s 40-man roster at 39. Happy Holidays!


December 20, 2007
ESPN is reporting that the Tigers and Dontrelle Willis have agreed to a three-year, $29 million contract. (ESPN)
December 18, 2007

If your keeping tabs in the stadium post, item #2 which allows the money allocated for the Orange Bowl renavation is now “Marlin Money”.

The stadium has yet to be discussed and the city and county have to agree on all the issues pertaining to the new stadium. Hopefully Item #1 will be voted on after lunch.

Thanks to everyone providing updates from the live feed. Keep em coming!!

You can tune into the live feed here.

More updates over on The Marlins Ballpark News.


December 18, 2007

At 10:30 AM EST the County Commissioners will meet to vote on the Global Agreement/Ballpark deal. This could be the final step for the Marlins getting a stadium deal. The Marlins Ballpark News has all the coverage and details behind the special meeting.

Feel free to stop by The Marlins Ballpark News. He does a great job of keeping everyone up to date with the ballpark happenings.

Click here to watch the meeting live.

LIVE BLOG for those who can’t get the video.

NEW streaming link here. Agenda here.


December 17, 2007
Dallas McPherson could be a possibility for the Marlins. He’s hardly a sure thing at this point, but his considerable upside and low cost makes him a great gamble for a non-contender. (Rotoworld)