In 8 days the full compliment of Marlins’ pitchers and catchers will arrive at the team’s spring training complex in Jupiter, FL to begin their quest for that elusive NL East crown. In the franchise’s 16 year history, they have never won the NL East division, although they’ve twice made the playoffs via the NL Wild Card. We all know the team’s playoff history, two trips, two World Series titles. So what chance do the Marlins have of building off their 84-77 record and 3rd place finish from last season?

The Marlins face a moutain the size of Mt Everest in their quest for an NL East crown. The NL East division may turn out to be the MOST improved division in all of baseball by the time all is said and done in 2009. The top two contenders, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, both rearmed themselves to chase a division title. Even the bottom feeders of late in the division are in search of redemption. The Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves are making efforts to improve their squads in an attempt to avoid finishing last in the division.

The reigning World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies made sure to resign all their top talent in the offseason and will be no easier to deal with this year than they were last year. The New York Mets went on a spending spree to fix their biggest weakness, the bullpen. The Mets brought in the single season save leader in Francisco Rodriguez and got reliever J.J. Putz. Late game (and season collapses) may be a thing of the past in Queens with Rodriguez in the Mets pen.

The Washington Nationals may find themselves finishing somewhere other than 5th place in the NL East for once, though not much higher. The Nationals got Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Fish, and the addition of Olsen in particular lends some experience and potential to their starting rotation. The Atlanta Braves, though not nearly as successful as their division opponents, have certainly been looking to spend the money to improve as they went after Rafael Furcal of the Dodgers (who backed out last minute to return to LA) and SP Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres. The Braves’ starting rotation was rocked late last season and in the offseason. SP’s Tim Hudson and Tom Glavine may not return until late 2009 (if at all in Hudson’s case) and John Smoltz left town for the Boston Red Sox.

The Marlins for their part, resigned some key players, parted with others, and have yet to settle with others. Dan Uggla is arbitration bound at the moment, Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham, Matt Treanor, and Mike Jacobs have moved on, and Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco have signed contracts to remain in Miami for the time being. The Fish will be looking to do what they do every year, get the most out of youth as they possibly can. Youngsters Cameron Maybin and Gaby Sanchez are the top two players to keep an eye on, a lot will be expected of these guys, but how much can they deliver?

Odds are that come September we’ll see the Phillies and Mets battling for the NL East crown, but don’t count out your Fish. Sure, the Marlins don’t have the star power or bank roll of either team, but last September the Marlins were nipping at the heels of both teams and there isn’t much reason to think they can’t do the same this season. Sure, the departures of Olsen, Jacobs, Willingham, and Treanor looks demoralizing, but Olsen was inconsistent at best after May. Treanor and Willingham weren’t the most productive hitters and spent a lot of time on the DL. Jacobs was productive but strikes out, A LOT.

I would not be surprised to see the Marlins push the Mets and Phillies in the NL East race, finishing no worse than 3rd. The Braves and Nationals are likely to just switch spots in the standings, with the Nationals finishing 4th and the Braves 5th. At some point in the season the Marlins are going to have to step their play up to an All Star level if they want to overtake one or both of the top two teams.

The Florida Marlins took a drastic step to protect their projected starting pitching rotation for 2009 by filing papers with MLB to block RHP Anibal Sanchez from competing in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The team filed papers late last week to prevent Sanchez from pitching for his native Venezuela in the WBC, citing medical reasons. Sanchez, who is currently healthy and good to go for the Marlins in 2009, understands the decision made by his team to block his participation.

The Marlins’ concerns are not unfounded. Sanchez broke on the scene in 2006 as a rookie and went 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 18 games, 17 of which were starts. Sanchez was a non factor in 2007 as he was out from June on after undergoing right shoulder surgery that kept him out until mid August of 2008. Sanchez was limited to 10 starts in 2008.

Normally when a team so blatantly exercises control over a player, treating them more as a commodity than a human being, there is cause for uproar. All too often we see players who sign big contracts that have stipulations preventing them from living a life outside of their sport. Restrictions are put in place to prevent their participation in activities that could sideline them from their sport and make them useless to their team. This time however, the Marlins are acting based upon a history of injury to Sanchez’ right shoulder. It should be noted, Sanchez has not complained about the team’s move and seemingly agrees that the Marlins 2009 season should be more important than the WBC right now.

The Florida Marlins’ dreams of their own, baseball specific stadium in Miami will soon be resolved. The final vote by Miami city and Miami-Dade county commissioners is set to be held on February 13th. The vote on the Marlins’ new stadium will be the culmination of a decade long struggle to find a permanent home for the Marlins in South Florida.

Everything is at stake in this vote, the future of the Marlins and the future of Miami on the national sports stage. Whether people like to admit to it or not, a cities image on the national stage is greatly improved by having professional sports franchises. That image is even more powerful if your city has a team in each of the nation’s major sports leagues, the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB. Miami is one of a few regions of the country that enjoy the luxury of 4 professional sports teams along with the likes of Boston, New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, the Twin Cities, Dallas, the Bay Area, Chicago, and Phoenix.

The Marlins’ future, at least in the eyes of its ownership, is also at stake. Should the city and county block the new stadium and either set it back further or lead to its demise, the Marlins’ days in South Florida could be numbered. Marlins’ fans have for years had to put up with talk of their team being contracted or moved to a city more loving of baseball. No one should assume current Florida owner Jeffrey Loria wouldn’t consider this a viable option if it can make his wallet fatter.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of all this is that a vote in the Marlins favor on the 13th doesn’t guarantee them their new stadium. Critics question whether the city and county will be able to move forward with the project from a financial standpoint. The current economic crisis and credit crunch are going to make borrowing money tougher for the city and county, and could possibly delay construction as material costs rise. Both the city and county are looking at a cost of around $10 million each for road improvement and the movement of power lines at the Little Havana site. Another $1.7 million is expected from both governments to keep the site “green”.

As it stands now, the total for the stadium comes to $609 million. Miami-Dade county is putting up 2/3 of that total, the city of Miami is donating the land for the stadium, and the Marlins are putting up $120 million up front and will repay the county another $35 million through rent. Upon moving into their new ballpark, the Marlins will change their name to the Miami Marlins and will be required (via lease agreement) to remain in the new stadium for 35 years.

In the end, if this stadium deal were to completely fall through for the Marlins, it will be the city of Miami that pays in the end. The Marlins aren’t going to disappear as a franchise all together. If they continue to be stuck playing in Dolphin Stadium and are not as profitable as ownership would like to see, don’t be surprised to see the franchise pack its bags and head for greener pastures. The Marlins, in the short history, have proven successful and look perched to make another run at success with their young, talented group of players. The Marlins’ 2 World Series titles in their history make them just as successful as the Dolphins, and more successful than the Heat and Panthers combined.

In many ways the future of the relationship between Miami and the Marlins will be drastically altered on February 13th. The two sides will either be linked together for several decades (which can hopefully be beneficial to both parties) or they can move farther apart, perhaps ending in the departure of the Marlins from South Florida someday. As a huge Marlins fan myself, I hope the City and County see fit to get this deal done and get the Marlins a new home.

Obviously the Florida Marlins are very anxious to get the 2009 MLB season underway. Anxious to build off of last years surprise success, the Florida Marlins’ pitching staff has already reported to the team’s Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Florida.

Florida’s projected starters in the pitching rotation are among the players already in camp and going through light through drills in addition to working on conditioning. Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad, and Anibal Sanchez, all prospective starters, have been joined by relievers Logan Kensing, Jose Ceda, Dan Meyer, and Taylor Tankersley.

Andrew Miller, a starter early last season before patella tendinitis in his right knee sidelined him, is expected to arrive in camp early this week. Miller is expected to be the final piece of the starting rotation, assuming his knee can hold up this season. The 23 year old has been receiving treatment on his knee throughout the offseason and has been going through throwing programs in the offseason as well.

The Marlins’ pitching staff is likely to be the backbone and strength of this team in the 2009 season. Last season the starting rotation in particular was a key reason for the Marlins strong performance. Finding an ace of the staff will be important, finding that pitcher you turn to in a tight spot. Ricky Nolasco was a defacto ace last season experiencing the best season of his career. Josh Johnson’s outstanding return from injury and surgery however make him a front runner to be the ace. Figuring out the back end of the pitching staff (relievers and closers) will be critical too as that was one of the Marlins weaknesses last season.

The Florida Marlins ensured their pitching rotation would retain its best returning starter on Tuesday by signing Ricky Nolasco to a 1 year, $2.4 million deal. Nolasco and the Marlins were not seeing eye to eye on money for the contract until yesterday, they were previously $200,000 apart from each other. Getting a deal done with Nolasco yesterday helped the team avoid going to arbitration with him.

Nolasco’s return ensures that the Marlins keep a key piece of their rotation, and perhaps the best member of the rotation. Nolasco will likely be at the top of the rotation, followed by Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, and Chris Volstad.

Nolasco really found his form in 2008 achieving many career firsts and snapping several team records. Nolasco was a career best 15-8 in 32 starts last season over the course of 212 1/3 innings pitched. He had an ERA of 3.52 and struck out 186 batters while walking only 42. Nolasco set teams records for the most strikeouts in a month with 51 and threw the Marlins first complete game in 301 attempts by Florida starters. Nolasco also threw his first career complete game shutout.

The Marlins were very smart to make sure they did what was necessary to keep Nolasco. Though he is far from being an ace that would have dominated a huge salary elsewhere, he would have made a solid #2 starter for any team in baseball. Keeping Nolasco ensures the Marlins have their most seasoned pitcher returning and provides an anchor to their pitching rotation.

The Florida Marlins dreams of a new ballpark are again on hold as Miami city and Miami-Dade county officials have delayed a vote on the park. Officials have said the vote has been delayed in part due to the holidays and the presidential inauguration.

The Marlins have been playing in Dolphin Stadium since their inception in 1993, and have had dreams for at least a decade now of getting a new, baseball only ballpark. In the recent months the deal for a new ballpark seemed to have gained unstoppable momentum, especially after the major remaining lawsuits against the deal were shot down by judges.

Now, the Marlins must again wait for a vote on construction of their new ballpark. The Marlins’ new park is suppose to be built on the site of the now demolished Orange Bowl and is a part of a grand scheme to revitalize the area. Jeffrey Loria is not exactly one of baseballs better owners, running the team with extremely tight purse strings. Hopefully this will be the last delay this project sees, because the longer this process takes, the less faith Loria will have that his team will get its own stadium. Loria is not a man to be trusted and is not above moving the team elsewhere.

Websites, newspapers, and fans in Miami were abuzz over the weekend after an ESPNdeportes.com story that suggested veteran right hander Pedro Martinez may be in the midst of negotiations to join the Florida Marlins as a free agent for the 2009 season. I don’t know that I speak for many in saying this, but Pedro, thanks but no thanks.

Marlins officials and sources have been quoted as saying no such deal is in the works. Speculation abounds as to whether or not the story is true though. Some believe a deal really is/was being worked on but that Florida either can’t afford Martinez or he isn’t really interested. Rumor has it though that the Marlins are Martinez’ first choice to play for in 2009.

The Marlins are in NO need of the services of Martinez in their starting rotation. On top of that, the price tag he would bring would ruin the Marlins ability to go after any other players (young or not) that could actually help the team. Martinez would bring veteran leadership and playoff experience to a starting rotation lacking both qualities. However, Martinez is 37 years old and in the last 3 season he played with the New York Mets, he managed only 48 starts due to injuries and was 17-15 with a 4.74 ERA.

The Marlins are better off with their stable of young, talented starting pitchers. There is no reason for the Marlins to waste money bringing in a guy who will probably get injured midway through his first appearance in a Marlins uniform. I for one don’t believe the Marlins have even entertained the idea of bringing Martinez aboard.

As expected, with several Marlins player headed for arbitration this season (and big salary increases as a result) the team was going to be active as usual in the offseason, altering their roster to meet team finances. We’ve already seen Mike Jacobs, Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham, and Kevin Gregg depart Miami, so who will be next?

As far as big names are concerned, Dan Uggla remains the lone question mark in the offseason. The Marlins are already blessed with a plethora of infield players in Jorge Cantu, Hanley Ramirez, Dallas McPherson, Gaby Sanchez, and Emilio Bonifacio (acquired via trade this week). With this depth and the acquisition of Bonifacio, Uggla becomes even more expendable. With Jacobs gone, Cantu likely will play 1st, leaving 3rd open to McPherson, Ramirez will be at SS, and 2B will be competed for between Sanchez, Bonifacio, and Uggla (assuming he stays).

The depth of the Marlins infield, combined with financial limitations of the team, makes Uggla expendable. Uggla would make good trade bait for the Marlins as he’s a solid young player who, despite issues in the field this season and a pension for Ks at the plate, has tremendous upside and would be a good addition to any infield in baseball. Don’t be surprised if Uggla is moved soon.

The Marlins search to lighten their wallet in the offseason continued today as one time closer Kevin Gregg was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a minor league prospect, 21 year old relief pitcher Jose Ceda. Gregg’s departure will likely bring more sighs of relief to South Florida than it will concerns.

Gregg was due to make roughly $4 million this season through arbitration, and while this move appears strictly money driven, it is not. Gregg had 61 saves for the Marlins during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but became more of a liability than a sure thing in ’08 as he tied for the Major League lead with 9 blown saves. Gregg was going to be gone this offseason whether he was due $1 million or $4 million this coming season, this much became clear at the end of the ’08 season as he lost his job to Matt Lindstrom.

In return, the Marlins get one of the Cubs top pitching prospects, 21 year old Jose Ceda. Ceda was 2-2 with a 4.80 ERA in Single A last season and 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 22 relief appearances in Double A. Ceda is an imposing figure on the mound, standing 6’4″ and 275lbs. Ceda isn’t going to be asked to carry the Marlins bullpen, but will be a nice addition and should he live up to the hype, will be a solid addition in the future.

Money or no money, Gregg needed to go. If the Marlins could have the 9 games back that Gregg blew, they could have made the playoffs in ’08 and continued their magical season. The fact of the matter is, Gregg has good heat and a great slider, but he lacks control over said slider which proved to be his downfall as closer. This deal is win win for the Marlins as it frees up even more money for managment to make one GOOD deal in the offseason and spend some cash to bring in a solid performer.

The Florida Marlins have made another offseason deal to trim costs and try to improve on a roster of players that just missed the playoffs in the 2008 season. On Monday the Marlins worked out a trade that sends OF Josh Willingham and SP Scott Olsen to the Washington Nationals in exchange for 2B Emilio Bonifacio and a pair of minor league prospects.

Unlike the trade that sent Mike Jacobs to Kansas City, this deal was much more financially driven. Both Willingham and Olsen are due hefty pay raises through arbitration this year, a blow the Marlins wanted to avoid. That being said, the trade is not a terrible decision for the Marlins, assuming management lives up to its promise to spend more this offseason.

Willingham and Olsen were loyal soldiers for the Marlins in their time in Miami, but in the long run were not going to be the best players to build the franchise around. Olsen has 4 seasons under his belt, his best coming in 2006 when he went 12-10, since then however he is an unimpressive 18-26. Olsen has started strong most seasons but fades quickly and is wildly inconsistent. Willingham is a good power hitter, but cannot hit for average and has had problems recently with back injuries that have shortened his seasons and decreased his effectiveness at the plate.

The Marlins biggest problems last season were defensive errors and relief pitching. The team has already begun the process of rebuilding their bullpen and filling the team with guys that can get on base. Bonifacio is young, 23, and though relatively inexperienced he brings great speed and a solid glove on defense.

Though it may feel sad to see Willingham and Olsen depart the Marlins, the only team they’ve ever played for in MLB, in the long run it will serve both parties best. The Marlins starting rotation is healthy enough, it can survive the loss of Olsen and Willingham’s production can be replaced by young guys like Cameron Maybin. Mangement however is still on the hook, they need to make the most of this trade. By dumping both these guys, the Marlins lose not only their current drag on the payroll, but also avoid a huge hit through arbitration. It is management’s turn to show Marlins’ fans they are going to live up to their word. The team needs to go out now and secure either a big bat or a good starting pitcher through free agency or trade, and spend BIG in the process. It is time to show your committment to a city and region that has shown you theirs.