Spring Training Odds and Ends

[Party]

Chris Volstad is throwing from the leftside of the rubber this spring.

[HUGG]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuf0ixPTAbc[/ame]

[Bobbob1313]

Chris Volstad is throwing from the leftside of the rubber this spring.

That could be a euphemism for being gay.

[Bucklin12]

• Marlins closer Leo Nunez has been working on a slider to complement his fastball and changeup. The other day, Nunez threw a spinner so well that after the half inning, home plate umpire Angel Hernandez -- who is not often moved to chatty conversation -- walked over to tell Rodriguez that Nunez's slider was among the best he had seen.

Javier Vazquez has regained some of the velocity he didn't have with the New York Yankees last year; pitching for the Marlins, he's been clocked in the 88-91 mph range.

-- Olney http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?...ter&id=6186872

There's also a little write up on Hanley's maturation, but it's just fluffy.

[Ralph]

Marlins’ Jeffrey Loria exerts influence

Look behind the scenes into how our four pro sports owners operate, and one difference is especially striking. The Heat’s Micky Arison (one of sports’ model owners), the Dolphins’ Stephen Ross and the Panthers’ Cliff Viner set financial parameters but do not pick the players.

By contrast, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria picks some of them and signs off on every notable personnel move. And the Marlins roster you will see in Friday night’s opener against the New York Mets has been shaped by Loria more than you might imagine.

Loria, who raised the Opening Day payroll to $56 million (more respectable than in past seasons but still in the lower-quarter of Major League Baseball), has always been involved in personnel decisions but has been even more involved this past offseason, multiple baseball officials said. He is reluctant to discuss it, saying only, “I have one of the best front offices in sports. They come forward with their ideas and we make decisions as a group.”

But for fans who must assign credit or blame, know this: It was Loria who told his front office to sign catcher John Buck and reliever Randy Choate and ordered that other bullpen upgrades be made. It was Loria who wanted to trade Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller because he ran out of patience with both. It was Loria who initiated the re-hiring of infield coach Perry Hill and signed off on an extension to Ricky Nolasco.

It was Loria who called for trading Dan Uggla because he didn’t want to give him a fifth year on a contract and didn’t want to lose him for nothing next winter. It was Loria who recommended Mike Dunn to his front office more than a year ago; Larry Beinfest requested and got Dunn when he made the Uggla/ Omar Infante deal in November. It was Loria who wanted Javier Vazquez so much that he gave him $7 million for one year.

As owner, Loria is entitled to have major say about his roster (as Al Davis and some others do), and he knows the game well. But by doing so, the belief here is that he’s more accountable than, say, Ross.

Loria doesn’t call other teams; he leaves that to Beinfest — who initiates many moves, with Loria’s approval — and Michael Hill, who both have been given long-term deals and accept the owner intervening.

So whatever happens in 2011, don’t simply credit or blame the Marlins’ “baseball people”, because Loria made several of these moves. And if Uggla has a big year, you can question the Marlins for trading him, but also know that no other team besides Atlanta offered major leaguers for him. Toronto dangled prospects.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/3...#ixzz1I6DG0LoJ