Fish brooms

Update - 2:15 p.m.: The sweep is complete. Marlins win, 6-4.

The Florida Marlins look well on their way to the season's first sweep.

Emilio Bonifacio continues to look like the leadoff man manager Freddie Gonzalez envisioned. In the third, Bonifacio singled, stole second and forced an errant throw leaving him at third base. John Baker singled him home. Then Florida busted it open in the 5th with a three run double from Dan Uggla.

It's 5-2 Florida over Washington in the 6th. Jim Thome said yesterday that championships aren't won in April, but these feisty Marlins look primed to play ball in 2009.

Bonifacio wins Marlins third base job; McPherson cut

Emilio Bonifacio not only won the third base job in Florida, he's the Marlins only option after they released fellow third baseman Dallas McPherson.

On Monday, the Marlins sent rookie first baseman Gaby Sanchez to the minors, leaving Emilio Bonifacio, acquired from Washington in the offseason, as the team's starting third baseman and Jorge Cantu as the first baseman.

One month ago, the question was where Cantu would play. After first baseman Mike Jacobs was traded to Kansas City, the options were Cantu at first base and McPherson at third, or whether it would be Sanchez at first and McPherson at third. The prevailing thought was that the team's defense would improve from 2008, a stated goal of team officials, under either scenario. Now they have turned to Bonifacio, a natural second baseman who is still learning to play third and has struggled at times this spring.

Yes, but he can run. With Sanchez and McPherson out of the way, Florida is making a commitment to the corner combo of Bonifacio and Cantu. The Marlins would love to have the speed-burning threesome of Cameron Maybin, Bonifacio and Hanley Ramirez to terrorize opponents at the top of the order.

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio can fly. Just search his name on Youtube and you'll see. He's stolen 61 bases in a minor league season, and he's likely to get a slot near the top of the batting order. If he can hold down third base, expect a light-hitting burner who can get you 40-plus steals and score 75 runs.

Bonifacio the Burner

In a matter of several months from late last season into the offseason, Emilio Bonifacio went from the Diamondbacks to the Nationals to the Marlins in a pair of trades. Now he's emerging as a probable starter for the Marlins at third base.

Bonifacio is building a strong case to be on Florida's Opening Day roster.

If that comes to fruition, the Marlins will have the chance to place three burners in their lineup -- Bonifacio, Cameron Maybin and Hanley Ramirez.

Nothing in terms of the final roster is official yet, but Bonifacio is on a path to make an impact from the time the season opens on April 6 against his former team, Washington.

"I like him. I like him in that lineup, someplace," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He has made unbelievable improvement at third base, a position he didn't play [before]. He's been learning under the gun a little bit. He's done a terrific job learning that position.

"We know he can play the middle of the diamond, and we know he can play the outfield a little bit. We may run him out in the outfield and get a little more flexibility."

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio might have been a minor option if he was coming off the bench, but now that he's going to get an opportunity to start, watch out! This is a player who stole 61 bases in the minors in a single season. He can fly, if he can get on base. While his OBP climbed to .361 in two minor league stints last year, his career OBP stood at .338 heading into last season. In the majors, Bonifacio managed to reach base at a .300 clip.

We're intrigued to see what he can do for the Marlins this year. He's hitting .266 with an OBP of .309 this spring. He has the potential to become a player with the upside of Chone Figgins or the unreliability of Michael Bourn.

Loria keeping positive on Marlins stadium

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria popped up at Sunday's spring training game and says his club's plight to build a new stadium couldn't come at a better time.

''The timing for the stadium could not be better and to get this stadium built now is the perfect time,'' Loria said. ``Our nation is embarking on its largest public/private partnership. . . . People need jobs, people need paychecks and the time to get it done is now.''

Asked about the opposition he encounters in trying to get the stadium built, Loria said: 'I don't want to hear about the naysayers. There's plenty of them around. They are the ones who always look back and say, `You know what? You guys did the right thing.' . . . There will always be people who are opposed to progress. This is a positive thing for Florida. This is a positive thing for the nation and certainly for the thousands of people that need the work.''

Loria added he is optimistic about the stadium deal passing and does not ponder if it were to fail.

''I never think of what if,'' Loria said. ``I am a positive thinker. Our ballclub I think positively about. I'm thinking positively about the stadium. . . . There is no other way to think.''

Optimist is putting it lightly, Jeff. The city of Miami votes on Thursday on a new stadium at the site of the old Orange Bowl. We'll see how optimistic Loria sounds after the vote.

Marlins Stadium troubles

The new stadium hopes of the Florida Marlins continue to take hits.

Apparently the revenue from three separate taxes the county was going to use to help finance the stadium have fallen off more then 19%. The County had projected just a 2% decrease in these three tax revenue streams.

It seems yet again that this project cannot get off the ground.

I wonder if this is significant enough an issue to scrap the whole project.

Tampa at the brink

According to Tampa Bay principal owner Stuart Sternberg, the Rays pushed their payroll to the absolute limit this offseason in fine-tuning the 2009 roster.

"We, quite frankly, can't really afford what we've got on the field this year. But at least we were able to spend the money on a lot of value, we think, and pieces that will give us the opportunity to grow the franchise over the long haul and give us the best opportunity for success this year."

The number of season tickets sold and the Rays' attendance as a whole this season could impact the ultimate decision on that front.

Sternberg said season-ticket sales are up from last year (single-game tickets go on sale this week), but the Rays expect only one major-league team - the Marlins - to sell fewer season tickets this season.

The Marlins happen to be the only team to also underspend the Rays on their roster last year. Tampa spent $43,820,597 on personnel in 2008. Florida's players cost $21,811,500.

Making just one major signing in Pat Burrell this offseason, the Rays will have to hope the Yankees and Red Sox aren't that improved. If the World Series runner up struggles to get competitive in ticket sales and payroll, how long can they stay at the top? Tampa's relative youth would seem to offset any precipitous downfall, but downward trends are certainly more likely the harder it is to compete financially.

Fundamentals discovered in Florida, Chicago

In developing news regarding things every baseball team should do, the Florida Marlins continue to encourage their pitchers to learn the changeup while the Cubs realize the benefits of a balanced lineup. Seriously? We're just figuring this stuff out in 2009? Way to go.

One note, however, from the Cubs story. If Alfonso Soriano, in fact, doesn't end up hitting leadoff for the Cubs this year, Ryan Theriot won't be fighting for the role.

"I hate leadoff," Theriot said. "I just want to hit third. I think 'D-Lee' should hit leadoff."

D-Lee, a.k.a. Derrek Lee, who has primarily batted third his entire career, was sitting in the middle of the Fitch Park clubhouse, calmly reading the newspaper when Theriot tried to oust him from his spot.

"No," Lee said, shaking his head.

Lee's home run numbers have dropped the last two seasons -- he hit 46 in 2005 and 20 last year -- but Theriot doesn't seem a likely fill-in. The shortstop hit one home run last year. One.

"How about fourth?" Theriot said, knowing better than to argue with the 6-foot-5 Lee.

I think the Cubs are in trouble with their leadoff spot. Soriano's on-base average was just .344 last year and only .329 for his career. If Theriot's not interested in the job, he's really the only good option with an OBP that reached .387 last year. Mike Fontenot would be the left-handed choice, but he's never had a starting spot, let alone hit from the top of the order. The Cubs still might need to acquire a table-setter late in the year.

No Marlins deal, so Pedro to Mets?

Pedro Martinez will not be pitching for the Florida Marlins in 2009.

On Saturday night, a report on ESPNdeportes.com stated the Marlins had discussions with agent Fernando Cuza regarding Martinez. The report added Florida may have begun preliminary contract talks, and that the two sides were expected to continue talking this week.

As of late Sunday afternoon, the Marlins were not considered a possible fit.

Martinez has a home in Miami, and he has expressed privately a desire to pitch for the Marlins. On Monday, Cuza is expected to have discussions with the Mets about a possible return to New York. The right-hander also is expected to test the free-agent market.

Hampered by injuries last year, Martinez was 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts. He threw 109 innings.

It's either Pedro was asking for too much, or Florida doesn't believe he's healthy, because they need some help in the rotation. Sergio Mitre is out for 50 games, and that means the Marlins can use a live arm. Maybe Pedro doesn't have one, or at least not enough of one.

Florida On My Mind

ESPN lists what to watch in MLB for 2009. The list is a good one, but perhaps the best item on it is the Florida Marlins and their pitching staff.

I can't get Bobby Cox's words out of my head. It was the last week of September. And here's what he said: "You know who's got the best starting pitching in our division? It's the Marlins. And it's not even close." Nobody, of course, was saying that about that team a year ago, when the Fish were getting ready to roll out a rotation that had won a total of 23 games the year before. But now, they have Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez and Andrew Miller lined up.

They have a collection of supersonic bullpen arms. They have Cameron Maybin moving into center. And Logan Morrison is just over the horizon, with the minor-league teenage home-run champ, Mike Stanton, right behind him. So despite all the Marlins' questions and inexperience, this is one dangerous team. I'm not sure if an 84-78 team qualifies as a "surprise" the way, say, the 2008 Rays did. But when a franchise with a sub-$40 million payroll looms as a major contender, that's always a "surprise" in my dictionary.
-- Jayson Stark

What team reinvents itself year after troubling year like the Florida Marlins? I think back to James Earl Jones soliloquy about America and baseball in Field of Dreams.

America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.

So have the Marlins, and they're still coming up with ways of reinventing themselves.

Marlins stadium will be ready in 2012

The new Marlins stadium will not be ready for the 2011 season, and the team says it must be started by this spring and completed in time for 2012 to be economically feasible. This must be a very scary time to be building a new ballpark. They way they're talking, I wonder if the plan will be scrapped altogether.

Jacobs dealt to KC

The Marlins traded slugging first baseman Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for right-handed reliever Leo Nunez. Jacobs can rip, but can he make contact?

Jacobs, 28, set careers highs with 32 homers and 93 RBIs last season, but his on-base percentage was just .299 and he struck out 119 times in 447 at-bats.

Jacobs also could have received a big raise in salary arbitration, an unpalatable scenario for the spendthrift Marlins, who must deal with a whopping 17 arbitration-eligible players this winter.

So much for that $40 million bubble the Marlins will spend toward this offseason. They'll probably throw a fair amount of it at players they already have on the roster.

As for Jacobs, he gives the Royals what Billy Butler couldn't: a lot of pop. He won't give them or your fantasy team much else. Treat Nunez as a middle reliever. He doesn't project as anything else at this time.

Fish wallets open wide(r)

It won't compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers or Cubs, but the Florida Marlins will open the books (a little bit) in 2009. Owner Jeffrey Loria is backing a team payroll of up to $40 million, nearly doubling the Marlins' spending for 2008.

Such a hefty increase over the $22 million the team spent this year would represent an 82 percent hike. Increased revenue sharing, along with the expectation of a new ballpark as soon as 2011 and the World Series run of the low-budget Rays, have emboldened the Marlins to open their wallet again.

That doesn't mean there won't be significant alterations to the roster that won 84 games and finished third in the NL East this season. But it does mean the Marlins probably won't be in the position of dumping salary for that purpose alone.

Deposed closer Kevin Gregg is readily available, as is power-hitting first baseman Mike Jacobs. Lefty Scott Olsen could be dealt as well due to a surplus in the starting rotation.

Gregg, Jacobs and Olsen are all expendable, and the Malins will still have to get creative to compete with the big boys. Still, it could be an entertaining offseason in South Florida.

Marlins building new building

The Florida Marlins will go ahead with their plan to be in a new stadium by 2011 despite a sagging economy.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on financial issues facing many of the new stadiums across American sports. The newspaper considered the Marlins new stadium to be in jeopardy.

Rays flash in the pan?

Are the Rays the next Florida Marlins, a good young team that wins a World Series but can't afford to keep its players?

For every projection of a Rays dynasty, the specter of the Marlins lurks. The Marlins, reminiscent of the old Montreal Expos, represent everything the Rays should fear: talent-rich, economically challenged, the team that develops winning ballplayers but is unable to keep them. Despite having won as many championships as the Red Sox over the past 12 years, the Marlins do not have any more solid a hold on their future. They are struggling with local politicians for a new ballpark and are flirting with that exotic baseball location -- San Antonio -- if negotiations crumble. A massive, publicly financed stadium during a national financial collapse is not an endeavor voters are likely to view enthusiastically.

It's not out of the realm of possibility, but the Rays were smart to lock up Evan Longoria this year. They have at least one piece to build around if, that is, they can afford to pay Longoria, too.