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4 hours ago, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

As always, so much information for the Fish Followers. Appreciate it.

I heard that Siri wasn't popular, so a trade seemed imminent.

The "even" money television deal is narrowly good to hear, but the lack of a long-term commitment contributes even more to the already high reluctance to commit to ostensibly affordable free agents. 

Nick Martinez at S21m. I guess it was a crapshoot, especially for the Reds. It will, of course, be another miscalculation because baseball is afraid of its own shadows. Groupthink and fear of loss rule the roost. 

The Fish seem to always have short term deals with TV networks. Along with in person attendance, the number of households in South Florida that tune in to watch their games needs improvement. 

From the list of former Marlins being HOF eligible, I'd say the only lock is Ichiro. I'd be surprised if he weren't selected unanimously. His first 11 seasons couldn't have gone any better for a player with Hall of Fame ambitions. Unfortunately, the other former Marlins listed don't really have the numbers worthy for the Hall. 

6 hours ago, Stanley J Makowski said:

This is a good time to add this old fool's thoughts to the above theme. I must commence by differing with nearly everything that is presented.

Let's start with a few facts as I see them:

1) The park is huge which is detrimental to power in general.

2) As stated above, power hitters are more expensive, and this runs contrary to our owner's very being.

3) Also as mentioned above, the park is conducive to seeing increased base hits from singles to triples.

4) Speed here is a definite essential on both offense and defense.

5) If defensive positioning was lacking during this past year, that reflects poorly on the coaching staff.

6) One could make a reasonable argument that several players were playing defensive positions for which they are ill suited. Again, we must look to the coaching staff as well as the manager.

Considering all of the above, can added power have a positive effect?

Rather this protagonist would advocate a nearly opposite approach:

1) First and foremost, a competent hitting coach is critical. These uppercut swings must be better controlled. The terrible toll that results from "taking" called third strikes must be addressed. The almost universal inability to be able to bunt at all should be addressed next Spring.  Many Marlin players can hit adequately with no one on base, but their performance in "scoring" situations is dismal. 

2) My goal would be to seek players with good to excellent OBP. 

3) There is speed on this team already, but it was generally underutilized. 

4) An abundance of speed can disrupt the opposing players and sometimes visibly knock them off of their own game.

 

Would all of my ideas lead to a better winning percentage?

Yes, and for one very pertinent reason. THIS TEAM WILL HAVE EXCELLENT PITCHING NEXT YEAR. It would be hoped, and should be expected, that it will take fewer runs to win a game.

After all of the above, I damn sure better have some proposals for consideration:

1) Put Edwards where he belongs at 2B.

2 Leave Fortes alone. He is a fine defensive catcher who has an excellent record of putting his bat on the ball. If he can already do that, then we come back to a competent hitting coach. He showed marked improvement during the season's second half, so build on it. Remember how critical the pitching will be, let's not muck that up with some new guy who knows nothing about them.

3) Bride seems to be an asset to the team. However, he hits more like a 3rd baseman than a 1st baseman. So put him there and get Norby far away from that bag where he certainly doesn't belong.

4) Norby has shown enough potential to be a right-hand platoon outfielder. Put him in LF along with either Conine or a player picked up in trade and let him run! But by all means, dump Stowers.

5) I read nothing of substance about little Sanoja, but to my way of thinking, he can be a critical piece to the overall puzzle. The guy has hit (a la our ballpark) wherever he has played, and he can run, run, and run some more. But where to place him? Could he play SS on a ML level, or CF for that matter. Either would make a critical difference.

6) And now for Otto Lopez. Could he play the short field? If not, out he goes to RF to platoon with Sanchez. The shortstop situation is still probably unresolved under my ideas, so this might be the place for a trade. Nonetheless, I think this would be a winning team, even in our division, and with our damn owner spending very much money, which let's face it, he won't do anyway. 

I totally agree with you. If our starting pitching staff can remain healthy for the most part, then our team ERA and runs allowed will go down significantly. I wouldn't want the team to just rely on the pitching and not focus on scoring runs, but yes, the lineup wouldn't always be pressured to score each inning if our starter still has us in the game. Having Eury Perez and Sandy Alcantara back could give us an extra 10-15 wins next season. 

I definitely want to see more stolen bases next season. Otto Lopez, Jesus Sanchez, and Xavier Edwards have all proven that they can be dangerous on the basepaths, but I believe we can get other players on the team to step it up in that category as well. 

Our power has certainly been lacking for the past few years. Jake Burger is the only player on the roster that's guaranteed to probably hit 20-30 home runs next season. 

On a side note, I wish we'd open our roof a little more often during late afternoon/night games! Do you have any thoughts on this? I remember being at games when the roof was open, and you could feel the breeze outside. 

Since this was Sherman's 2nd time in the last couple of years interviewing managers, it felt different this time as if he was being careful with who to select for the job. 

I'm confident our ballclub will turn things around and be successful for the long haul. We have our manager now and he'll bring in the right team of coaches to develop our prospects. 

Let the Clayton McCullough era begin!

Hopefully, he's the guy for the job. One of the main focal points for the Marlins to be successful for the years to come is to have a manager that'll be around in the long-term. Our longest tenured manager was Don Mattingly, and we only made the playoffs or even had a winning record once during his time, so I hope our new manager can stick around for just as long. Only this time, we have more playoff berths. 

On 11/16/2024 at 5:25 PM, One Regend said:

To me, a manager's job is to put players in the best position to succeed in. Skip Schumaker did a masterful job at this in 2023, even in spite of how extremely flawed that roster was. And while 2024 was a complete and utter failure, I don't think any other manager would have done a better job with the roster Schumaker had. That team was a total trainwreck no matter who managed the team. Could've had Prime Whitey Herzog manage the team and that team still would have lost 100 games.

The question is, can this team catch lightning in a bottle twice in a row? Because filling Schumaker's shoes is going to be a tough follow-up act. I have a feeling McCullough might be able to do it, but I do have my concerns, still.

I agree that Schumaker was a great coach. He won me over during the 2023 season. We had minimal expectations with that roster and yet he was able to bring us to the Wild Card. I truly thought we could've signed a couple more free agents and then be in contention for the NL East title in 2024. 

I was actually surprised that no other team took a chance at him to be their manager next season. I'm sure a good season or two for him in the Rangers front office will attract some teams in a managerial role setting. 

Filling any coaches' shoes will be tough but since Schumaker was already a "lame duck" manager last season, the locker room would just have to easily adjust to McCullough. He's coming off a title run so I have a feeling that the players will at least feel some sort of momentum to compete. 

On 11/16/2024 at 7:06 PM, Ely Sussman said:

The Miami Marlins are in agreement with utility player Ronny Simon on a minor league deal that includes an invite to spring training, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. Simon is the first known free agent that they've added this offseason.

The 24-year-old Simon has no MLB experience, but he spent the full 2024 season with Tampa Bay's Triple-A Durham affiliate, slashing .283/.356/.429 (106 wRC+) with 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 130 games. Second base has been his primary position throughout most of his professional career, but he also made 40 starts in left field this season. He has plenty of familiarity with third base and shortstop as well.

A 5'8" switch-hitter, Simon has historically put up similar numbers from both sides of the plate. His best skill is making contact on pitches outside the strike zone. He has still struck out in about 20% of his career MiLB plate appearances (better than average, but not by much).

A native of La Romana, Dominican Republic, Simon is playing winter ball in the DR for the fourth straight year. He won the league's MVP award during the 2023-24 season.

The Rays had Simon in spring training as a non-roster invitee each of the last two years.

This news breaks exactly one year to the day of Peter Bendix's first free agent signing as Marlins president of baseball operations. On November 16, 2023, Bendix inked infielder Tristan Gray, another ex-Ray. Gray played seven games for the Fish in 2024, but he's no longer with the organization.

 

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We need a second baseman that resembles Luis Castillo. One that can hit for contact, score runs, steal bases, and have great fielding abilities. 

Dee Gordon was the closest thing we had in those regards, but he only lasted 3 seasons here. 

Here we go again. Another offseason that will probably result in the Marlins being frugal and not doing much. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the winter meetings came and went with the Marlins not doing anything at all.

Our biggest needs would be finding a centerfielder as well as even a corner outfielder. Jesus Sanchez is the only lock to be an Opening Day starter at this point. We really need a power hitter at one of these positions to fill up the hole that has remained here since Jorge Soler left. 

Another area of need again would be a middle infielder. Xavier Edwards has clear potential with the bat and while on the basepaths. The concern with him is his defense. The Fish may try to move him over to second base which leads me to believe that they may look to pursue a shortstop again this season who has better fielding abilities.

Also, I think it would be beneficial for us to look to upgrade at the catcher position. I think we have to take a good look at Nick Fortes as a player at this point and notice that his batting line over the past 4 seasons just doesn't add up to what you'd want from a catcher. However, the market doesn't look good for this position so I see him as out starting catcher for the next year. 

Chris Coghlan was an example of a player that had potential, whether it was hitting for contact or getting extra-base hits, but never really progressed after his rookie season with the Fish. Back and knee injuries early on in his career played a role in terms of him becoming the player we hoped he'd turn out to be. 

On 11/6/2024 at 5:27 PM, Isaac Azout said:

The first base coach of the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers has become the 17th manager in Marlins history. 

The Miami Marlins have hired Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as their next manager, as first reported by ESPN's Alden González. McCullough replaces 2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker, with whom the Marlins agreed to part ways on September 29.

On Monday afternoon, the Marlins officially announced McCullough as the 17th manager in franchise history.

McCullough, who turns 45 in December, has an impressive player development background. The son of a scout, he began coaching after a four-year playing career (2002-2005) as a minor league catcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He spent one season as a volunteer assistant coach for his alma mater, East Carolina University, then managed for seven seasons (2007-2013) with the Rookie and Class-A affiliates of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was a minor league coordinator for Toronto in 2014.

Next, the Los Angeles Dodgers hired McCullough as their minor league field coordinator in 2015. He joined their major league coaching staff as first base coach entering the 2021 season.

During Miami’s managerial search two years ago, McCullough was interviewed for the position before the team ultimately hired Schumaker. Following their postseason appearance in 2023, the Marlins and then-general manager Kim Ng, who hired Schumaker, mutually decided to go in different directions. After that, it became highly unlikely that Schumaker would remain with the team beyond 2024.

In addition to the Marlins, the White Sox, Mets, Brewers, Guardians and Royals all had McCullough under consideration for managerial jobs over the last couple offseasons. 

The Marlins interviewed several candidates for their open managerial spot after the regular season. Sources told Fish On First that Tigers bench coach George Lombard, Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and former Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta were each interviewed virtually over the past couple of weeks. 

The Miami Herald then reported that Albernaz and Rangers associate manager Will Venable were the finalists for the Marlins position. Venable took the White Sox gig instead, and a few days later, Albernaz decided to remain with Cleveland. 

Fish On First learned of the Marlins' intent to interview McCullough on October 23. He later met with team officials in person during the first couple days of November in advance of the GM Meetings, according to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson.

Sources told Fish On First that Diamondbacks pitching coach Mike Fetters and Red Sox coach Andrew Bailey both declined to interview for the Marlins managerial position.

Once McCullough arrives in Miami, he’ll find a familiar face in assistant GM Gabe Kapler. Kapler was the director of player development for the Dodgers from November 2014 until October 2017, overlapping with McCullough. After managing the Phillies and Giants, Kapler was hired by Miami a year ago. 

McCullough will look to lead a 100-loss Miami team back into contention and hopefully bring about continuity at the Marlins manager position. Previous to this hire, during the club's 32-year history, Miami's 16 managers have averaged roughly two seasons at the helm. The New York Yankees, for example, have had just four managers in the same time frame (Showalter, Torre, Girardi and Boone).

 

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I’m usually skeptical anytime the Marlins hire a first time manager but I feel like this one could be different. McCullough is coming off a World Series win with the Dodgers that was powered by their offense. I feel like he’s a good offensive guru that should be able to bring in the right guys under his coaching staff. Most importantly, he needs to bring in a good pitching coach because Stottlemyre Jr played a key role in developing some of our young pitchers. McCullough is also known for being good at developing players so this feels like the right choice since Bendix is trying to rebuild the roster at the same time. 

7 hours ago, 1993 fan from start said:

my understanding last check Rays sale 16,000 tickets per game.

move to a a stadium with 11,000 seats.   rays may lose money in 2025.

marlins vs rays should been move to marlins stadium/ loan depo park .

and im i the only upset Citrus Series was only 4 games in 2024 ? 

would  like to see at lest 6 games a year..   or what would have ? 

I don't think they'll have issues selling tickets at a minor league ballpark, especially one that can fit their average attendance per game (16,500). Also, the field is in Tampa which would make it easier for people in the metropolitan area to commute to rather than having to drive an additional half hour across the bay. 

The main issue for the Rays is that they'll definitely be losing money in ticket sales next season and also the climate issues they didn't face at the Trop due to the roof. They'll have to deal with rainouts and hot summer games.