Five Marlins Podcasts That Get My Seal of Approval

I figured for this next post, I would introduce five podcasts currently available on itunes for us Marlins cans. Each can be listened to by accessing podcast section of the itunes store. So, in no particular order, here are my favorite five FREE baseball podcasts!

1. ESPN: Baseball Today
This daily podcast is hosted by ESPN Insiders Eric Karabell and Seth Everett and covers the latest baseball news. Each podcast is usually just over a half hour, and contains rich baseball analysis. This is a podcast for all of Major League Baseball though, and is not specific to the Marlins. However, in the 7/29 episode, they interviewed Marlins' catcher John Baker to get his views on the Marlins' playoff chances.

2. Baseball America
This weekly podcast is hosted by various Baseball America analysts, and focuses not only on what's happening in the Major Leagues, but also in the Minor Leagues. Because this is a weekly program, they do not get into too much detail in the half hour (usually) show. This is more geared toward a serious fan though, with their rich analysis of all baseball leagues.

3. Baseball History
This weekly podcast is hosted by many different ex-Major League players, such as Minnie Minoso and Bert Blyleven. Each episode is dedicated to a certain historical baseball topic. These can include focusing on an era, players or famous historical events. No matter the topic, each episode is fascinating because we can hear from the players themselves and know what REALLY happened!

4. Florida Marlins Audio Minute
This daily podcast is devoted solely to the Florida Marlins. Each mini episode is only about two minutes long, but it highlights what any Marlins fan needs to know in a short period of time. It usually involves a quick game recap from the night before, as well as sufficient analysis and previews for the evening's upcoming game.

5. CBSSports.com Baseball Podcast
This almost daily podcast covers many baseball rumors that circulate throughout the season. This can include prospective trades, minor league call-ups and signings. This podcast is most useful now because of the fast approaching trade deadline. Much of their discussions recently have been about the trade rumors circulating around Marlins' 3B Jorge Cantu, which has come to light today with him being sent to Texas for two minor league prospects.

These are my five favorite baseball podcasts that discuss Marlins' matters the most. There are others out there, but these, in my opinion, offer the most reputable facts and sources. I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do!

Go Marlins!

Things I Learned This Week

It is only natural that someone will learn something when they engage themselves in the subject they are covering. This past game's experience is another example of this. Although I have been to MANY Marlins games dating back to when I was eight years old, this experience is one of my favorites not only because of the game, but because I was able to document it with my photographs. I have never taken pictures at a Marlins game, but after this experience, I learned how much fun it can be!

But besides learning about the joys of sports photography, I also learned just how difficult it can be, especially during a night game. The difficulties in this photo shoot included timing action shots from a distance. Getting the timing down when taking a picture of somebody swinging is very difficult, but I learned how to properly time it so that I can take the photo at contact. I also learned how difficult it is to get good quality at night. A much more advanced camera, where I could better control the aperture, shutter speed, zoom and focus would have been ideal for this type of photography. For instance, if I could have controlled the shutter speed, I could have more crisp pictures of hitters swinging by increasing the shutter speed and opening up the aperture.

Something else I learned is that when you use a digital camera and zoom in heavily, you can really lose a lot of clarity in your photograph. This is where a better zoom would have improved my photos, along with a greater amount of pixels. However, for the purposes of this assignment, the photos were more than adequate. I'm not intending to blow up these pictures any time soon.

All in all, this was a very informative assignment and I certainly learned a lot. I look forward to applying these lessons more throughout the class!

Walk-off Homerun!!

Last night was, by far, one of the most exciting Marlins games I have ever attended. The game went back and forth, with amazing clutch home runs by both the Rockies and the Marlins late in the game. I still have not come down from that cloud, and I would love to share my experience with you!

When driving to work, I heard on the radio that Ubaldo Jimenez was going to pitch against the Marlins. Immediately, I called my dad to see if he wanted to go to the game, which of course he did. He then called his season ticket partner, who was able to give him a voucher to get the best seats available. So, after work, I met him in front of the stadium and decided to kill some time before the first pitch going through the souvenir shop, which was a blast. They have just about every Marlins item you can imagine, and more. However, I didn't buy anything because, let's face it, I'm broke.

Our seats were first row, right on the field, next to the Marlins' dugout! So before the game, I was able to talk with Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross, and watch them warm up. It was then that we had a server, no kidding, come and give us our ordered food! This is a perk I can totally get used to.

Once the game began, both the Rockies' Jimenez and Marlins' Sanchez were throwing the ball well, keeping the game close through 5 innings, when mayhem struck. Up 3-2, Sanchez gave up a two run double to his counterpart, Jimenez, down the right field line to give the Rockies a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Mike Stanton hit one of the hardest balls I've ever seen hit into the blue seats in left center field off a low-outside pitch for a 3-run home run. Needless to say, this brought the entire crowd to their feet to cheer on the rookie phenom.

The Marlins would later score another run in the bottom of the 7th inning on a 2-out push-bunt single by Hanley Ramirez, bringing home Emilio Bonifacio, to give the Fish a commanding 7-4 lead going into the top of the 8th inning. In the top of the 8th, Ian Stewart hit a solo home run, followed later by a 2-out, 3-run home run by Jonathan Herrera, the first of his career. This blow all but knocked the wind out of the entire stadium, players and fans, as the Rockies stole an 8-7 lead late.

But little did we know that there would be an unsuspecting hero waiting to get his chance in the bottom of the 9th! With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Dan Uggla drew a walk to bring up pinch hitter Donnie Murphy, who had been called up just three weeks earlier from AAA. As he was announced to the crowd, my dad and I were commenting that the Marlins had no depth, because bringing up such an inexperienced player spells almost certain doom. After Murphy took the first pitch for a ball, Huston Street tried to squeeze a 1-0 fastball on the outer half, and Murphy knew exactly what to do with it! Murphy delivered a 2-out, 2-run home run to right field for a walk-off win, keeping the Marlins' playoff hopes alive!

Afterwards, he, of course, was interviewed. As many fans expected, Marlins pranksters Cody Ross and Emilio Bonifacio snuck behind Murphy during his post-game interview, and covered him with shaving cream! Welcome to the Marlins Donnie.

Often times, these are the types of wins that can carry a team for the rest of the season. These games can be the spark that sets off a contagious chain reaction of winning that can land a team in the playoffs. Currently, the Marlins are six games shy of the National League Wild Card, and closing quickly. Perhaps if the bullpen keeps their end of the bargain, with a little health and luck, we can still be in contention come September!

GO MARLINS!

A Great Marlins Showing

As if they had anything to prove, both Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson had stellar All-Star performances this weekend in Anaheim. Many Marlins fans had little doubt that these two would shine, but the rest of the baseball world got a first-hand look at the bright future of this organization.

It all got started Monday night at the Home Run Derby where Hanley Ramirez belted 26 total home runs, good for second place to Boston's David Ortiz, a notorious power hitter. Ramirez outhit many of the game's biggest names, including Miguel Cabrera and Matt Holliday. Although Ortiz won the Derby, many believe that Ramirez stole the show because of his unique style of home runs. Unlike Ortiz's high arcing fly ball homeruns, Ramirez hit nothing but laser shot line drives all over the park, including right field! This performance might have been the stage for Ramirez to make his mark as one of the Majors' premier talents.

During the All-Star Game, Josh Johnson came in relief of Ubaldo Jimenez in the 3rd and 4th innings and was nothing short of spectacular. In two innings of relief, Johnson refused to allow a hit as he retired all six batters he faced in order, striking out two. This feat is remarkable considering the caliber of batters he faced, but still isn't what had most fans excited. Johnson lit up the radar gun by throwing 99 MPH on a couple occasions, making him nearly unhittable.

Our two all-stars represented the city of Miami well this past week, but what really counts is the remaining time left on the season. The Marlins are still clearly in contention, and with rumors swirling about potential trades and Minor League promotions (Logan Morrison), the Marlins can continue to make their presence felt. But how far we go will depend upon our leaders, our captains, our All-Stars, and if this past is any indication, our season is in good hands.

Additional Resources

- The Official Site of the Florida Marlins
- Florida Marlins Wikipedia Article
- Florida Marlins History and Reference
- Local Marlins Analysis
- Looking Forward to the Second Half?

The Deep Web

When looking at the article entitled "Josh Johnson is putting up some historic numbers of his own," the first thing that I decided to to in order to verify its legitimacy was to analyze the URL. Because the URL made sense and it is not someone's personal page, so far so good.

The next step in this process involved researching the writers of this blog and determining how often it is updated. The article is run by MC3 Sports Media, which also runs other similar website for other sports. The website is updated daily with various baseball articles pertaining to players, teams, coaches and management issues. The article is written by an ex-scout of 34 years, Blake Kearny, which gives immediate impressive credentials. There are links located throughout the blog that can help a reader visualize players stats that really help the overall content of the article, as well as links to other related articles posted recently, on the right of the page.

Currently, 44 other sites link to this website, which ranks 1,180,537 in the world in traffic. The links that send users to this website all have generally favorable opinions of this website, which is understandable considering that many of their writers are former Major League scouts. Who is better at analyzing baseball players for a website than those who do it for Major League clubs?

Looking back at all this, I have to say that I have a very favorable impression of this website. The writers are experienced professionals, other reputable sites reference this website and it is updated daily. These are very positive signs that the website is a trustworthy source of information. I will use this website, although generally obscure, to potentially influence my own views of various subjects pertaining to baseball.

Josh Johnson: Underappreciated?

As we head into the All-Star Break in the next couple of days, it's only natural to reflect on the first half's stats with an open mind in order to re-evaluate what we think are truths. Often times, there are some surprises that jump out at you, and this year is no exception.

Throughout most of the first half of the season, one of the hottest topics has been the pitching strength in the National League. Some of baseball's premier arms have showcased their stuff so far, garnering the respect of fans and players alike. Among the most discussed pitchers include Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Adam Wainwright. Each is having an admirable year in their own right, and have combined for two no-hitters (one perfect game) already. However, perhaps the best pitcher in this group might be the one that is only now beginning to garner national attention, is our very own Josh Johnson.

Johnson is currently leading all of Major League Baseball in ERA, second in WHIP and third in K's. He has been among the league leaders in most major pitching categories, displaying a consistency rarely shown, even among elite pitchers. So, this begs the question. Is Josh Johnson the best pitcher in baseball right now? Based on the numbers and consistency he's shown in his career, despite his young age, he at least needs to be in the discussion. At 26, he might have the highest up-side of any pitcher in his generation. He is a tall, powerful righty with a 96 MPH fastball and a killer slider that he uses to put away betters late in the count. Johnson's only weakness revolves around his ability to remain healthy.

Three years ago, Johnson underwent Tommy John surgery in his right throwing elbow, causing him to miss much of the 2007-2008 seasons. However, he has been healthy ever since he returned late in 2008, and his health should not be a major concern.

Looking forward to the All-Star weekend, one can legitimately make a case for Josh Johnson being the starting pitcher over Ubaldo Jimenez. If this is the case, he will be the first Marlin in history to be the starting pitcher in an All-Star game. Hopefully, he will make us proud and represent South Florida and the organization well.

Go Marlins!

Google Sites

This is an assignment for class, not an official part of my blog.

Marlins Maniacs

Chances are, if you're reading this, you watch as many Marlins games as you can and are very familiar with their history and situation. Assuming this, I will focus my language in future posts to those who are familiar with not only the game of baseball but the Marlins team as well. If anyone is reading this who is not familiar with either, questions or comments are very welcome! But first, let me tell you who I am, my relationship with the Marlins and a brief history of the team.

I grew up in Fort Lauderdale as, ::gasp::, a Braves fan. For the first eight years of my life, all I did was eat, sleep and breathe Atlanta Braves baseball. That is, until a 45 year old knuckleballer threw out the first pitch in Marlins' history against the Dodgers on April 5, 1993. From that point on, the Marlins have been a very large part of my life.

The early days weren't easy though. My family has been season ticket holders since day one, so I got to see many of those early year struggles as the Marlins fought to find an identity. However, through it all, I bled nothing but teal. After getting through what I affectionately call the "Chuck Carr Years," then-owner Wayne Huizenga decided to invest money into building a winner and the Marlins won the 1997 World Series. This was, however, before he became a pariah by gutting the team the following year.

The years in between 1997 and 2003 were rough to say the least. The Marlins were the doormat of the NL East and rarely put together a solid stretch of wins. However, the young core that was created amid the 1998 disaster began to mold together and develop. Finally in 2003, the Marlins won their second World Series. But, alas, history would repeat itself and the core of the team was gutted once again. In recent years, young players have begun to grow up together and compete for the NL East crown.

This is where we stand now, and the future cannot be any brighter. The Marlins are ready to mature and make some noise in the division. A new manager and young talent is on the verge of becoming something great. A new, state-of-the-art stadium is currently being constructed to house this Marlins revival. And best of all, I will be with you to enjoy it together!