Marlins and Tiger and Fins, Oh My!

I'll start of with hockey. I know it's not in the title, but it didn't fit into my snazzy, uber-catchy, rolls of the tongue title. Now that I'm done patting myself on the back, on with the post!

I love the Florida Panthers, just about as much as I love the Dolphins. They continue to be, in my opinion, the best ticket in town in terms of a live sporting event. There is nothing like a live hockey game. However, we are coming up on a decade since the last time they reached the playoffs. In their defense (or defence for my Canadian brothers), they had an over 90 point season last year, but in a stacked Eastern Conference, it wasn't good enough. For years, we have had excellent defense and goaltending, but no threat on the net. Not since Pavel Bure anyhow. They have a good young nucleus of offensive talent (let's see if they keep them around), but it still wouldn't hurt to have a veteran scoring presence to help mold these young guys. Now, things may have been different this year had David Booth had not missed 60 or something games stemming from a dirty hit against the Flyers early this year. As foul as that hit was, it came from him not keeping his head up and plowing forward full speed, something a veteran would've pulled him aside and informed him of. In short, I still remain hopeful of the future of this team. I think they have a good coach in Pete Deboer, but patience is running thin with the fans.

My thoughts on Tiger:

He's baaaaack! Tiger took to the course for the Masters, the first tournament since the revelation of his massive infidelities. He received a standing ovation on his first tee, and I'm actually glad for that. As egregious as his actions were, I am still of the belief that it is NONE OF OUR FREAKING BUSINESS! We have much more important things that we need to be informed of, that carry a hell of alot more weight than Tiger's "little black book". The only thing that we should be concerned with is his golf score, if you even care about that.

Marlins:

Baseball is upon us once again, and there is reason to believe in the Marlins. They have actually stepped up their payroll by about 20 million, and have shown a commitment to retain their promising prospects for the first time in a few years. They are loaded with starting pitching talent, which is also the youngest rotation in baseball. The offense/defense is pretty much identical to last year, which set franchise records for Home Runs, and scoring. The big question is still the bullpen. Already in the first 2 out of 3 games, they have blown big leads. The first game, Josh Johnson left the game down 2-1, a manageable deficit, until Pinto (as usual) came in and opened the flood gates for a 6-1 loss. The second game wasted a masterful outing by Ricky Nolasco, this time leaving with a 6-1 lead, and can you guess who ruined it? It took extra innings, to win the game 7-6, but a win is a win. They will not survive if this keeps up. In last nights game, we may have seen our best reliever, Burke Badenhop with a nice pair of 1-2-3 innings to set it up for Leo Nunez's first save. Unless they plan on using Badenhop over 200 innings as a reliever, this may be a horrible trend all year.

On a positive note, with last year's NL Batting Champ, Hanley Ramirez, Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, Dan Uggla, and Jorge Cantu, we can slug it out with anyone in the batter's box. Can you imagine if prospects Cameron Maybin, and Mike Stanton work out?

Dolphins:

Let's start with the obvious. Jason Taylor may be a New York Jet. I'd hate to even say it, but I think it may happen, and I just threw up in my mouth a little. The Dolphins have shown him little love if any, and the Jets are closer to being a serious contender than we are, (now I actually threw up). I don't blame him one bit, he would fill an obvious position of need for us, and his leadership and wisdom for the younger players is valuable beyond his salary cap number. I have a bad feeling that , in the Jets defense he will thrive, and most likely come back to haunt us. There is no loyalty in sports anymore, especially not from the organizations, but that's a whole post by itself.

Anyhow, the draft is coming up soon, and I think our most glaring needs are on defense. There were too many games last year, that we scored enough points to get the job done, and the defense caved. Most notably, right up the center, starting with the Nose tackle position, Middle Linebacker (which they may have solved with Karlos Dansby), Outside Linebacker, and Free Safety. Way too many times we gave up chunks of yards, usually right over the top of our Safeties. Teams were able to come back with ease in the second half.

That being the case, there is one glaring need on offense, a true #1 Wide Receiver. There are no sure things in the draft when it comes to receivers, but I would take a chance on Dez Bryant at #12. He's the only one worth that high of a pick. There are plenty of others to be had in the second to third round.

One good thing is, we can simply take the best player available at that spot. No one position would upset me with that pick (unless they draft a QB, which is not going to happen).

With that in mind, I'm going to rank a few players by order of need vs. projected availability:

1. Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee - Fills an immediate need for a true 3-4 Nose tackle. He'll absorb blockers and let the Linebackers run wild.

2. Rolando McClain - LB, Alabama - Pass rushing specialist that we need. Well coached (by Nick Satan), and a very intelligent player. Which is what this group of coaches likes.

3. Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State - With size and good "football speed", would be a great addition to a corps full of excellent complimentary receivers.

4. Earl Thomas, FS, Texas - Has 4.37 speed in the 40 yard dash, ridiculous for a safety, and will not get burnt deep by a Tight End or slot receiver.

Those are the only players I would spend a #12 pick on. If none of these are there, I'd trade down. This is a draft that is deep at alot of positions, not necessarily top 10 guys, but plenty of solid football players that can play right away.

This is this regime's 3rd draft, it's time to see some major progress.