Beetle

Excellent choice.

I think they're awesome.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 02:53 PM) Was. Back in the 87 and 91 World Series there wasn't a place that was louder. Now you can't get 25,000 people to a game there... Clearly, you need people to make noise. However, my understanding is that we're talking about the building, not the fans. All things being equal (amount of fans, etc.) -- for noise resonance, the acoustics of the HHH can't be beat.

The HHH Metrodome is, by reputation, one of the loudest if not THE loudest ML ballpark.

Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins high-A). I attend regularly; about 8-10 games per year.

Josh Johnson. To add to the ones already mentioned.

I'm not pro-Loria. I just don't think it's fair to put all the blame for the Marlins' situation on him. As I pointed out, the problems were there long before he arrived. In fact, I have plenty of criticism for our current owner; most significantly putting his stepson David Samson in charge of the business. Samson is a very un-charismatic man -- incompetent as a team president, horrible as a spokesperson, and with an infuriating tendency to rub everyone who comes in contact with him the wrong way. He is, in short (no pun intended), living proof of why nepotism is wrong. I also don't believe (and never have) that he wants to move the team. Neither does MLB, for that matter. But, he had to give the relocation tactic a try; after all, it did work in the past for other teams seeking stadiums.

QUOTE(BFirebird @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 01:53 AM) The Marlins have been most impressive and seem to really understand how to develop young talent much like the Braves have over the years. Obviously not at the same level as the Bravos yet but they seem to draft, trade for, pick up and develop young talent with the best of them. Credit goes to Larry Beinfest, probably the most underrated GM in baseball, and his assistant Mike Hill. Their track record since day one has been outstanding. We're very glad to have them here (in Florida). QUOTE(beautox @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 01:57 AM) I agree their FO is talented, but their owner sucks. Jeffrey Loria is not at fault for the Marlins' problems; former owner H. Wayne Huizenga is the true culprit. Huizenga screwed the team and its fans in '97, and he continued screwing them after he sold the team, by forcing the new owners to sign a lease for use of the stadium (which Huizenga still owns) that's not only one of the highest in the business, but also one of the most constricting. Luxury suite rentals, parking, advertisements, concessions, even a percentage of all merchandise sold -- all that money goes to Huizenga, not the team. Even during the '03 postseason run, HWH made a killing off the Marlins by making Loria pay extra to open the extra seating sections necessary to accomodate the masses. That is why things happened the way they did last winter. We need our own stadium to escape the suffocating grip of Huizenga (and his cronies in the local media and goverment).

I've met a few well-known musicians in my day, mostly from the jazz and latin varieties. The biggest in my opinion was probably the lovely Diane Schuur, whose concert I helped organize back in the mid 1990's. The most recent was last year, when I made the acquaintance of Obie Bermudez, a fairly well-known latin pop singer; one of my best friends plays in his backup band.

Thanks for visiting our site, beautox. Baseball fans from all teams are welcome at 'MB'. With the uncertainty surrounding our quest for a permanent home, it's hard to predict what's going to happen; however I'm of the opinion that Willis and Cabrera will not be traded anytime soon, for PR/Marketing reasons if nothing else. If they are, though -- I have absolute confidence that Larry Beinfest will get our money's worth. Speaking for myself, I couldn't be happier with what we got in return for Beckett, Delgado, Pierre and others this postseason. Sure, the team struggled at first, and they're still a work in progress; but, the stuff we've seen from them -- especially this last month or so -- is extremely encouraging. This year, my mind, and that of most fans and the front office, is on the Stadium. Getting a stadium deal done is the key to our success in the coming years. I feel that if an agreement is reached this year, come next season, the Marlins will be a legitimate threat in the NL.

As a fellow 'forum banner' artist (I do the graphics for MarlinsBaseball.com, among others), I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up. Nice work.

I wish your mom a speedy and complete recovery.

The Marlins. Of course.

Many of us in Florida were also confused by his strange behavior. On one hand I'm glad it's finally been explained; on the other hand, I'm saddened to find that it was worse than everyone thought. Not only trying to work with this disease, but knowing that his WIFE and his KIDS had it as well, is enough to make anyone fall apart physically and mentally. My heart goes out to Billy and his family and I hope doctors can find an effective treatment soon.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 10, 2005 -> 10:50 AM) That might be their angle.. but not the angle of any self-respecting White Sox fan. Right. You (obviously) and I know enough about the White Sox to recognize that, and even find it ridiculous. All I'm saying is that media folks will pander to the avarage joe, who usually doesn't know better, by using and re-using gimmicks that have proven to be popular in the past (e.g. Boston's Bambino Curse). So if, say, the Seattle Mariners reached the WS, they would have gone and rambled on about the Upside-Down Trident curse, etc. But, anyway, my point was I believe the White Sox have a better chance of getting extra Championship goodies than the Marlins did (for the reasons mentioned in my first reply); and I really hope you do, because even I (as a Fish fan) felt short-changed in' 03.