Florida Marlins

2007 Record: .438 (71-91), Last place in NL East

2006 Record: .481 (78-84), 4th place in NL East

Who’s Out: Marcos Carvajal (P), Aaron Boone (1B), Miguel Olivo (C), Dontrelle Willis (P), Miguel Cabrera (3B)

Who’s In: Luis Gonzalez (OF), Mark Hendrickson (P), Dallas McPherson (INF), 6 prospects in return for D-Train and Cabrera

Notes: It seems like just yesterday that the Yanks painfully lost to this team, but those days of glory are in the past at this point. They are apparently trying to set a record for lowest payroll in the history of organized sports (I believe my nephew's little league team has surpassed them simply by providing the kids with shirts and helmets); the Willis/Cabrera trade will save them many millions of dollars. Money, of course, cannot be used as a perfect indicator of a team's eventual success (just ask Big Stein), but it is not the lack of salary that will leave this team out of the running again but the lack of mature talent (well, with the exception of Gonzo, who fancies himself to be a man capable of extreme influence). They have focussed their efforts on stockpiling players in their minor league system, which, judging by the kids they have scouted out and traded for, will likely prove fruitful in the not-so-distant future. Hardcore Marlins fans (5 of you? 6, max) will have fun monitoring the farm and anticipating the eventual arrival of all of these prospects - and likely a return to out-of-last-place-ville in a few short years!

Labels: 2008 team previews, other teams