Not only was the pitcher caught spitting on the baseball in the second inning against the Phillies, he didn’t even try to hide the act. In fact, the spitball was so obvious, it appears like he almost wanted to be caught.

Check out the animation below.

Animation via Baseball Nation

The team has announced they will be closing the upper bowl of recently built Marlins Park to reduce stadium capacity from 37,442 to about 27,000. According to the Miami Herald, the upper bowl will be closed for six dates during the team’s nine-game homestand that begins next Tuesday.

Marlins Park is just a year old and was built for $634 million, with the team paying for $160 million of that and taxpayers saddling the rest of the burden. The stadium features a retractable roof, aquariums behind home plate, a swimming pool in a bar and a ridiculous home run sculpture.

Check out the photo below of Marlins Park during a home game on April 15 against the Nationals.

Photo via Twitter/@Cbaranik

Giancarlo Stanton

According to CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury, the Phillies over the last several months have made “multiple” inquiries to the Marlins about Stanton’s availability, but they were told that he’s not available.

The Marlins have been adamant about Stanton not being available at this time. However, the Fish have a tendency of hosting fire sales, and they’re currently in the midst of another tough season. Salisbury reports that there’s a feeling around baseball that Stanton will become available at some point, and the Phillies have made it known that they’d like to speak with the Marlins if and when that happens.

Stanton is currently dealing with a hamstring issue that could keep him out until June, and he’s only hitting .227 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 20 games thus far. Stanton’s numbers have risen each of the last three seasons, though, and his raw power is something to marvel at.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

According to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox had conversations with the Marlins about acquiring both shortstop Jose Reyes and pitcher Josh Johnson — and were also willing to take on utilityman Emilio Bonifacio if necessary. However, the Sox reportedly were unwilling to talk further because of the likelihood that top prospect Xander Bogaerts would need to be included in such a deal.

The rest is history. Reyes, Johnson and Bonifacio were dealt — along with Mark Buehrle and John Buck — to the Blue Jays in what was a huge offseason overhaul for both Miami and Toronto. The Red Sox, meanwhile, brought in a number of mid-tier free agents.

Johnson told WEEI.com that he had his wife on high alert during the 2012 season, sensing that a trade was possible. Once the trade deadline passed and the season eventually ended, though, Johnson didn’t hear trade rumors, so he was caught off guard a bit by the news that he was headed to Toronto.

Johnson admitted that he did ask around in 2012 about what it would be like to play in Boston. The man he turned to was old friend Cody Ross, who spent the 2012 season with the Red Sox before signing with the Diamondbacks in the offseason.

“I had a good buddy on the team, Cody Ross. Just talking to him, he said I would love it,” Johnson reportedly said. “We went to dinner when [Boston] was in Miami. There was just small talk, joking around, like, ‘You would like it here.’ Stuff like that.”

The Red Sox and Blue Jays obviously find themselves on complete opposite ends of the spectrum to begin this season. The Sox enter Thursday’s game with a 19-8 record, while the Jays are in the basement of the American League East with a 10-18 mark. Johnson has struggled mightily in four starts and Reyes has been on the disabled list.

Surely, the Red Sox have no regrets with their decision to hang up the phone.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

Photo via Facebook/Jose Reyes

Not only has the team’s miserable production on the field (5-17 as of Friday, the worst mark in the majors) caused fans to avoid state-of-the-art Marlins Park like the plague, Loria’s seeming desire to control every aspect of his organization is continuing to cause problems in the clubhouse.

In the latest instance of micromanagement, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan cites multiple sources saying that Loria forced first-year manager Mike Redmond to start rookie Jose Fernandez in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in Minnesota rather than Ricky Nolasco – the team’s highest-paid player — in order to allow the top prospect to pitch in warmer temperatures.

It actually ended being colder for Fernandez’s start (38 degrees) than for Nolasco’s a few hours later (42 degrees), but Loria’s decree was reportedly not received well in the Marlins locker room regardless.

When a team plays twice in one day, it is usually customary to allow the more veteran player to choose which game he would like to start. Redmond insisted that the move was “an organizational choice,” but his players seemed to believe that the call came from up top.

“He was embarrassed,” one of Passan’s sources said of the manager. “He tried to fight it. He had nothing to do with it.”

Loria, though, denied to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that he had anything to do with the rotation rearrangement.

“I had nothing to do with the decision,” he told Rosenthal on Friday. “I was informed of the decision by the baseball department. I told them it was their call.

“I don’t make decisions on who to pitch and when, how to go about it — that’s not my role. Sometimes they call me and tell me what they’re doing. But I don’t call them up and say, ‘This is what is going to happen.’ That’s not true.”

Over the offseason, Loria made a bad team worse by jettisoning Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson — all former All-Stars — to Toronto in a move that was viewed by most as nothing more than a salary dump. The team, which finished last in the NL East in 2012, has struggled in every area since the trade, ranking dead last (30th) in the majors in runs and team batting average and 27th in team ERA.

A promising farm system is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise floundering Marlins organization. Fernandez, who is ranked as the team’s No. 1 prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America, is at the forefront of that youth movement, and two players from the Toronto trade (outfielder Jake Marisnick and left-hander Justin Nicolino) are expected to get their shot at the majors before the end of next season.

What happened after that hit, he may try to forget. Fernandez struggled mightily when putting on his warmup jacket to wear running the bases, to the point that the first base umpire got involved. Luckily, with the aid of the ump and his first base coach, Fernandez was finally able to figure the pesky windbreaker out.

Check out the hi-jinks in the video below.

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria embarrassed himself and the team’s fan base with one of the worst salary dumps in the history of Major League Baseball just months after opening a new stadium and acquiring half a dozen big-name free agents last year. Miami fans have shown their displeasure in a variety of creative ways, so it could only be expected that more disgruntled Marlins rooters would be out for the home opener Monday night.

That’s exactly what happened, and, adding another black eye to a team that collects them in buckets, the Marlins responded in a way that is sure to roil the fan base even more. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post reports that several fans who showed up to protest the Marlins on Monday night were kicked out of the game — for good reason or not.

One 25-year-old fan came to the game wearing a shirt that read “Marlins baseball: Helping other teams get better since 1998.” He and his friends hung out in the concourse with anti-Marlins signs, talking about the “selfishness” of the team in its roster dismantling. They also had unkind words about Loria.

Capozzi and another reporter were talking to the fans and then moved on to cover the game. About an hour later, Capozzi says, he got an email from the fans saying they had been ejected from the ballpark.

“They kicked us out,” the fan told Capozzi when Capozzi called to ask him about it. “We didn’t even make it to our seats.”

The fans said they were told their signs were blocking the view of others, and that the Marlins wanted them to leave.

After the game, Marlins president David Samson said the fans were kicked out not for the signs but rather for not complying with officers after they were approached about the signs. He said the fans had been asked for ID, and when they did not produce it, they had to leave, as is “standard operating procedure.”

“They were walking around just trying to create a, there’s a police term for it that I am not familiar with,” Samson said. “It has to do with disturbance, creating a disturbance. I don’t exactly know what it means, but it is [the police's] job to make sure everything is safe for everyone.”

Yes, but whose job is it to make sure Miami is safe for baseball?

But it is a little shocking to see how bad things are in Miami. Radio station WPLG Miami bought Marlins tickets from a broker — they were his first sale of the season — and a $5 Little Caesars pizza and went around asking residents of the city which they would prefer. The majority of the fans chose the pizza.

Last season, due to the new stadium, new look and new players, Miami drew 27,400 people per game — good for 18th in the league. Attendance is expected to drop massively this season after the team traded Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio to the Blue Jays in a salary dump.

Loria has taken heat from fans around the league after using publicly funded money to build Marlins Park. The Marlins are no strangers to signing big-name free agents to get support for short periods of time just to dump them all at once. The same happened after the then-Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1997 and 2003.

The Marlins have started this season 0-1 after losing to the Nationals 2-0 on Opening Day. They don’t play at home until Friday night against the Mets.

The Tampa Bay Rays had the league’s lowest attendance last season at 19,255 per game. We’re willing to bet it’s going to be an in-state battle for that “honor” this year.

Check out the video below to see just how bad the state of Marlins Nation is entering the 2013 season.

Photo of the Day

Carson Palmer is the happiest anyone has ever looked to be a Cardinal.

Tweet of the Day

It’s nice to have baseball back.

Nobody describes the texture of a baseball for a half inning like Vin Scully

—
Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo) April 03, 2013

Video of the Day

It looks like Shaq and Kobe buried the hatchet.

Final, Marlins 5-1:

Miami scored three runs in the seventh, and then added two more in the ninth to secure a 5-1 win at JetBlue Park.

The Red Sox couldn’t stage much of a rally in the ninth. Pedro Ciriaco singled into left field, but in a shocking turn of events, Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded into a double play. Bradley finished the game 1-for-4 plus a walk, and his spring average is now .431.

Daniel Nava walked with two outs in the ninth, meaning he reached safely four times — three walks and a single. The Marlins squashed any further threat, though.

The biggest thorn in Boston’s side on Wednesday was Daniel Pertusati, who went 2-for-3 and drove in four of Miami’s five runs. Pertusati hit a two-run double to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead in the seventh, and he added insurance with a two-run single in the ninth.

The Red Sox’ lone run came on a home run by Jonny Gomes in the second inning. It was Gomes’ third blast of the spring.

Jon Lester got the start on Wednesday, and he capped off his impressive spring by twirling four scoreless innings. The next time he’ll toe the rubber will be on Opening Day in the Bronx.

Andrew Miller, Andrew Bailey, Daniel Bard, Junichi Tazawa and Ryan Rowland-Smith followed Lester on Wednesday, and the pitchers had varying degrees of success — or lack thereof. Miller, Bailey and Tazawa each pitched a scoreless inning, while Bard surrendered three runs and Rowland-Smith gave up two.

Bard’s rough outing puts his spring ERA at 6.75, and it now seems all but certain that he’ll begin the season at Triple-A Pawtucket. The hard-throwing righty might find himself in Boston before long, but it’s clear there are still some things that need to be worked out.

The Red Sox will be back in action on Thursday, when they host the Twins in the first of three straight games between the Mayor’s Cup foes. The three games will close out Boston’s 2013 spring training slate.

Thursday’s game is set for 7:05 p.m. ET, and Clay Buchholz will get his final tune-up before the regular season. Coverage of the game can be found on NESN, so be sure to tune in, but also feel free to stop by here and show me some love.

Take care, everyone.

Mid 9th, Marlins 5-1: Boston’s task now seems a bit more insurmountable, as Miami tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth.

Ryan Rowland-Smith came on for the Red Sox, and the first two batters reached, setting the tempo for the inning. Chris Valaika singled, and Casey Kotchman reached on a field error by first baseman Mauro Gomez.

After Kyle Skipworth popped out and Wilson Valdez grounded out, Daniel Pertusati again proved to be a thorn in Boston’s side.

Pertusati, whose two-run double gave Miami a 3-1 lead in the seventh, delivered a two-run single into center to extend the lead.

Chris Coghlan ended the inning by striking out for the third time.

Pedro Ciriaco, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Daniel Nava are scheduled to bat for Boston in the ninth, and they’ll need four runs or else we’re done playing baseball for the day.

End 8th, Marlins 3-1: The Red Sox sent some powerful bats to the plate in the eighth, but there was nothing doing.

Will Middlebrooks popped out and Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out swinging. Salty is now 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in this one.

After the two quick outs, Jonny Gomes did his best to stage a rally by singling into right field. It proved fruitless, as Ryan Sweeney flew out to left field to end the inning.

Mid 8th, Marlins 3-1: Junichi Tazawa provided a quality inning in the eighth.

Adeiny Hechavarria and Justin Ruggiano each grounded out. Tazawa then struck out Austin Kearns.

The Red Sox made some additional changes as well. Brock Holt, Mauro Gomez, Pedro Ciriaco and Ryan Sweeney have come in. Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli, Jose Iglesias and Mike Carp have exited.

This will be Ciriaco’s first game action since March 14. He’s been dealing with back spasms.

End 7th, Marlins 3-1: The Red Sox put a couple of runners on in the seventh, but John Maine kept the Marlins’ two-run lead intact.

Jose Iglesias walked, and Jackie Bradley Jr. came up representing the tying run, but Bradley anticlimactically grounded into a force out.

Daniel Nava kept the pressure on by working a walk of his own. It also marked the third time he’s reached base in this one.

Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli each flew out, however, and Maine escaped the jam unscathed.

Junichi Tazawa will work the eighth for the Red Sox.

Mid 7th, Marlins 3-1: Daniel Bard has been vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster, but this outing likely ends his bid to start the season with the big club.

Bard gave up back-to-back singles to Austin Kearns and Chris Valaika, immediately putting himself in some trouble to begin the seventh.

Casey Kotchman moved both runners up, and then Koyie Hill lifted a sac fly to left field to tie the game.

With Wilson Valdez batting, Jarrod Saltalamacchia was charged with a passed ball that allowed Valaika to move from second to third with two outs. Valdez threw salt on the wound by working a walk.

That’s when disaster struck.

Daniel Pertusati smacked a two-run double into right field to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead.

With the rough outing, Bard’s ERA balloons to 6.75. The hard-throwing righty has been making some strides, but he’s looked shaky of late. He also allowed three earned runs against Baltimore on March 19.

Bard was one of the major topics I addressed in this week’s mailbag. There has been plenty of talk as to where he’ll start the season, but as I noted, Triple-A seemed like the most logical destination. This outing all but ensures that fate.

Click here to read more about Bard’s spring >>

End 6th, Red Sox 1-0: John Maine replaced Kevin Slowey in the sixth. Maine had some control issues, but he ultimately kept the score the same.

Maine struck out the red-hot Mike Napoli before issuing back-to-back walks to Will Middlebrooks and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Maine ensured the free passes wouldn’t come back to haunt him by striking out Jonny Gomes, who homered earlier in the game, and getting Mike Carp to pop out to short.

Daniel Bard will pitch the seventh inning for Boston.

Mid 6th, Red Sox 1-0: Andrew Bailey gave up a double in the inning, but he was otherwise solid.

Bailey struck out both Daniel Pertusati and Chris Coghlan swinging to begin the inning.

Adeiny Hechavarria picked up his second hit of the ballgame by doubling to left field, but Justin Ruggiano flew out to Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field to end the threat.

Bailey has now gone seven straight outings without allowing a run.

End 5th, Red Sox 1-0: The Jackie Bradley Jr. watch continues, so let’s get to that.

Bradley worked a one-out walk off Kevin Slowey in the fifth. He wouldn’t come around to score, though, as Daniel Nava popped out and Dustin Pedroia struck out to end the inning.

Prior to Bradley’s walk, Jose Iglesias — another guy who’s playing well — reached on a single. Iglesias was picked off, however, and that’s something he’ll need to clean up, as it isn’t the first time the slick-fielding shortstop has been nailed at first base this spring.

Andrew Bailey is coming on to pitch for Boston.

Mid 5th, Red Sox 1-0: The Red Sox went from one lefty to another and saw similar results.

Andrew Miller, who is also having a very nice spring, got Casey Kotchman to ground out before giving up a single to Koyie Hill.

After that, Miller buckled down, and he got Wilson Valdez to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.

The one rarity of Miller’s outing — assuming he pitches just one inning — is that he didn’t strike anyone out. Miller struck out at least one batter in his last seven spring appearances. He struck out more than one hitter in four of those outings.

Overall, Miller has 12 K’s through 8 1/3 Grapefruit League innings.

2:48 p.m.: That will, in fact, do it for Jon Lester, and the book is officially closed on his 2013 spring training.

Andrew Miller will take over for Lester, who was solid yet again.

Lester threw 50 pitches (38 strikes) over four scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, didn’t walk anyone and struck out four.

The next time Lester takes the mound, it will be in the Bronx, with the game counting for real. Get up!

End 4th, Red Sox 1-0: While the hashtag #JackieBradleyFacts started gaining steam on Twitter, the Red Sox threatened to add a run.

Mike Napoli, whose fly ball back in the first inning was victimized by the wind, doubled to center to kick off the inning.

Napoli is now batting .350 this spring, and him and Will Middlebrooks will really pose a dangerous 1-2 punch early on if they can carry some momentum into the regular season.

Middlebrooks followed up the double by walking, putting runners at first and second with no outs.

Kevin Slowey figured things out from there, though. He struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and then got Jonny Gomes to fly out and Mike Carp to pop out.

Now, back to that #JackieBradleyFacts hashtag. What do you all have for me? Send them along on Twitter (@TheRickyDoyle). I like being entertained.

Mid 4th, Red Sox 1-0: The top of the fourth saw more solid work from Jon Lester.

Lester retired the Marlins in order, bringing his spring ERA down to 0.75.

Justin Ruggiano lined out to Dustin Pedroia at second base for the first out. Lester then struck out Austin Kearns, and Chris Valaika flew out to Mike Carp in left field to end the frame.

That might actually be it for Jon Lester in this one, and it would cap off a fantastic spring training. In addition to the minuscule ERA, the lefty owns a 0.50 WHIP.

End 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Jackie Bradley Jr. experienced a rare strikeout in the third. Oh, the horror.

In addition to that strange sight, Daniel Nava singled into right field, marking the second time he’s reached safely in this one.

Nava’s single came with two outs, as Jose Iglesias grounded out to third prior to Bradley’s strikeout. Dustin Pedroia ended the inning with a fly out to center.

Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Chris Coghlan must have taken offense to my little jab earlier. That’s the only explanation.

Coghlan, owner of a sub-.300 on-base percentage over the last two seasons, singled off Jon Lester with two outs. It didn’t matter, though. Lester bounced back to retire Adeiny Hechavarria on a ground ball back to the mound.

Before Coghlan’s hit, the recently signed Wilson Valdez grounded out to third and Gorkys Hernandez struck out swinging.

End 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Jonny Gomes makes it two straight games with a home run.

Gomes, who homered during a 12-9 slugfest on Monday, took Kevin Slowey deep to left field in the second inning.

The blast is Gomes’ third of the spring, and he’ll be heavily relied upon to keep providing pop, especially during the early part of the season with David Ortiz sidelined.

Before Gomes went deep, Will Middlebrooks flew out to center and Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out.

Middlebrooks has been swinging a hot bat. His 17 hits are second behind Jackie Bradley Jr.’s 25, and the third baseman’s average now sits at .354.

Mike Carp, who is still playing for a job, ended the inning with a ground out to second.

Mid 2nd, 0-0: Jon Lester must be getting bored.

Lester continued his spring dominance in the second inning by retiring Chris Valaika, Casey Kotchman and Koyie Hill in order.

End 1st, 0-0: Jackie Bradley Jr. started his day off in typical Jackie Bradley Jr. fashion.

Bradley smacked a line-drive single into center field to get the inning going. He’s now batting .455 (25-for-55) this spring.

Daniel Nava followed up Bradley’s hit with a walk, putting runners at first and second to begin the game.

The Marlins would gain two quick outs, though, when Dustin Pedroia grounded into a 1-6-3 double play, which moved Bradley over to third.

Mike Napoli flew out to right field to end the inning.

Mid 1st, 0-0: Jon Lester is expected to pitch around four innings. The hope is to get the lefty between 60 and 70 pitches in his final tuneup before Opening Day.

Lester worked around a one-out single in the first inning to keep the Marlins off the board.

The always dangerous — and yes, I say that sarcastically — Chris Coghlan struck out swinging to begin the game, and Adeiny Hechavarria followed up with a single to the right side.

Hechavarria would later put the wheels in motion. After Justin Ruggiano struck out swinging for the second out, Hechavarria swiped second base with Austin Kearns at the plate.

Kearns couldn’t knock in the run, though. He grounded out to Jose Iglesias at short to end the inning.

1:38 p.m.: The action is under way in Fort Myers.

1:30 p.m.: It’s almost that time. You’ve still got a few minutes to fasten your seat belt, though.

11:42 a.m.: The lineup cards are in, and Red Sox fans will get another glimpse of Jackie Bradley Jr. This time, the hot-hitting outfielder will lead off for the hometown club.

Bradley didn’t record a hit on Tuesday, but that’s simply because the Red Sox had an off-day. Otherwise, Bradley probably would have been good for at least a couple. (If the rest of the spring is any indication.)

Bradley enters Wednesday’s game hitting .444 (24-for-54) with two homers, a triple, four doubles, 11 RBIs, 10 runs and eight walks. His average ranks third among Grapefruit League qualifiers, and his .523 on-base percentage is tops.

Bradley’s 24 hits this spring are far and away the most on the Red Sox. In fact, Will Middlebrooks holds the second-highest total, and he has 17. Over the last nine spring trainings, the only Red Sox player with as many hits as Bradley’s 24 was Chris Carter, who recorded 27 in 2009.

Yet, despite all of Bradley’s success, it’s still unclear whether or not he’ll make the Opening Day roster. He’s certainly done everything he could to earn a roster spot, but the debate rages on, although it’s becoming extremely hard to defend starting him anywhere other than the majors.

I wrote earlier this week about how Bradley’s spring performance will truly test the business of baseball. You can have a look at that by clicking the link below.

Click here to read about ‘The Decision’ >>

Not interested? That’s cool. But at least check out the lineups.

Red Sox
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Daniel Nava, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Mike Napoli, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Jonny Gomes, DH
Mike Carp, LF
Jose Iglesias, SS

Jon Lester P

Marlins
Chris Coghlan, CF
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
Justin Ruggiano, LF
Austin Kearns, DH
Chris Valaika, 3B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Koyie Hill, C
Wilson Valdez, 2B
Gorkys Hernandez, RF

Kevin Slowey, P

11:15 a.m.: The Red Sox made a few roster moves on Wednesday, further trimming their big league squad as we head toward Opening Day.

Ryan Lavarnway has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, while Anthony Carter and Jose De La Torre have been reassigned to minor league camp.

11 a.m.: Here’s a shocker: Jon Lester has been named Boston’s Opening Day starter.

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Lester will toe the rubber when the Red Sox open up against the Yankees in the Bronx on April 1, but it has finally been confirmed. I guess it makes sense to announce the decision on a day when Lester is pitching.

This will be the third straight Opening Day nod for Lester, and it’s the third time overall that he’s been named Opening Day starter. Lester will be the first Red Sox lefty to make three straight Opening Day starts since Mel Parnell (1952-54). Babe Ruth is the only other left-hander to make three straight Opening Day starts for the Red Sox (1916-18).

Lester will be followed in the rotation by Clay Buchholz, Ryan Dempster, Felix Doubront and John Lackey.

8 a.m. ET: The Marlins will call the state of Florida home all season, but the Red Sox are nearing the end of their time in the Sunshine State. After Wednesday, all that separates Boston and the regular season is a three-game stretch against the Minnesota Twins.

Jon Lester will take the ball for the Red Sox on Wednesday as they try to exact some revenge against the Marlins. The Fish earned an 8-7 walkoff win against the Sox on March 11.

Lester has been lights out this spring. He owns a 0.90 ERA (two earned runs in 20 innings), and he has 16 strikeouts to only four walks. The left-hander last pitched in a minor league game with Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday. He threw 100 pitches (59 strikes) over six innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven.

Lester is scheduled to be followed by Daniel Bard, Andrew Miller, Junichi Tazawa and Andrew Bailey.

The action at JetBlue Park will start up at 1:35 p.m. ET, so why not keep it here for the duration of your afternoon? I’ll try to make it worth your procrastination.

The 19-year-old was drafted with the 127th overall pick last year out of Parkway High School in Elm Grove, La. He hit .286 with 14 doubles, no homers and 34 RBIs last year for the Gulf Coast League Marlins and .227 in six games with Jamestown of the Class A New York-Penn League.

His suspension, announced Tuesday, will start at the beginning of this season. He is on the roster of Batavia of the New York-Penn League.

There have been eight suspensions this year under the minor league program.

Stanton was drilled in the head by a fastball from former first-round pick Jose Fernandez. Stanton walked off the field immediately after the plunking, according to the Miami Herald.

“Stanton didn’t appear to be seriously injured or bleeding, but he was taken to the team clubhouse via golf cart by assistant athletic trainer Mike Kouzak minutes later for further evaluation,” writes the Herald’s Manny Navarro. “Stanton appeared woozy but still signed autographs for a few children as he walked over to get into the cart.”

Check out the video below.

Valverde is close to signing a one-year deal with the Marlins, according to ESPN.com’s Enrique Rojas.

Valverde, who is a three-time All-Star, has reached the 40-save plateau on three separate occasions, leading the league in every instance. He put together a fantastic campaign in 2011, saving all 49 of his chances while donning a 2.24 ERA. He regressed a bit in 2012, though, which has the 34-year-old still seeking employment just prior to spring training.

Valverde — who also owns one of baseball’s better nicknames in “Papa Grande” — saved 35 games for the Tigers last season and sported a 3.78 ERA in 69 innings.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

According to Peter Gammons, before signing Overbay, the Red Sox had an NL team offer to get them Chris Coghlan from the Marlins as part of a three-way trade.

Obviously, this news doesn’t mean a whole lot, as it’s unclear if those talks ever went anywhere or whether Coghlan is someone the Red Sox would be interested in pursuing even in the wake of signing Overbay. If nothing else, though, it shows that some team over in the Senior Circuit was trying to set Boston up to fail.

Coghlan, a former first-round pick of the Marlins, has been in a downward spiral since earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2009. The 27-year-old hit .140 with a .393 OPS in 93 at-bats last season before the Fish had enough of his woes and sent him down to Triple-A in June for the remainder of the season.

It should be noted that Coghlan has never played first base in his big league career, although he would have represented a potential left-handed bench option for the Red Sox. Overbay, on the other hand, fits both of those descriptions and doesn’t stink, which is always a plus.

Before signing Lyle Oberbay, Boston had an NL team offer toget them Chris Coghlan from Miami in 3-way. .850-.595 4-yr. OPS scary.

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) February 1, 2013

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.

Photo via Facebook/Chris Coghlan

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Matsuzka’s next team could be the Indians, Marlins or Mets, according to Gen Sueyoshi of Japan’s yakyubaka.com.

Matsuzaka, who inked a lucrative six-year deal with the Red Sox back in 2007 after enjoying success while playing in Japan, has battled injury problems in recent years. The 32-year-old had Tommy John surgery in June of 2011, and he was limited to just eight appearances that year and 11 in 2012.

The Japanese product went 50-37 with a 4.52 ERA in 117 appearances (116 starts) over the course of his six years in Boston. While he battled injuries most of the time, Matsuzaka did go 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 29 starts in 2008, which was good enough for fourth in AL Cy Young voting.

Of course, whichever team gambles on the underwhelming righty will be hoping that he can at least regain some of that ’08 form. At this point, though, it’s hard to envision such a scenario.

松坂、移籍先絞った！インディアンス、マーリンズ、メッツの３球団！：ＭＬＢ：スポーツ報知 hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/mlb/news/20130… Daisuke Matsuzaka down to Indians, Marlins, Mets

— Gen Sueyoshi (@gwynar) January 17, 2013

Giancarlo Stanton

Stanton, who has been the subject of trade rumors amid Miami’s fire sale, understands there isn’t a whole lot he can do about the club going in a much different direction than last offseason, when the Marlins dished out $190 million to field what they hoped would be a contender for their new ballpark.

“All of the spotlight was on us last year,” Stanton told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “This year, it will be like all of the other previous years.”

The Marlins have drawn a lot of criticism this offseason for their radical approach. Despite their spending spree during the 2011 offseason, the Fish have shed $242 million since July, most of which came during a blockbuster deal with the Blue Jays. Miami sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio to Toronto. The Marlins also traded away Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez in the middle of last season.

All of these deals immediately led to questions about whether the Marlins would look to move Stanton, although he’s widely considered to be one of the franchise’s cornerstones. Stanton tweeted shortly after Miami’s trade with Toronto that he was “pissed off.” The 23-year-old outfielder admitted Tuesday that he’s still angry about what transpired.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” Stanton reportedly said. “You deal with what you got. You realize that’s the business side.”

Stanton was apparently unwilling to come out and say publicly that he wants to be traded, instead opting to focus on developing further.

“My preparation will be the same,” Stanton said, “so there’s no difference for me.”

Stanton, while unhappy, made clear that he’s tuning out the rumors, saying that “people take everything out of proportion.” For now, he’s hoping to further solidify himself as one of baseball’s bright, young stars, and his first crack at doing that in 2013 will be for Team USA during the World Baseball Classic.

Photo via Facebook/Giancarlo Stanton

But despite all of the talk about whether or not the Marlins will consider trading Stanton, a source reportedly told The Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer flat-out that the Fish “are not moving him.”

Stanton, who is entering his fourth big league season in 2013, has developed into one of the game’s most feared power hitters. The 23-year-old has an amazing amount of raw power, and he’s still developing, which means the Marlins would probably have to be blown away if they were to go ahead and deal the slugger.

Spencer reports that the Marlins haven’t even discussed a Stanton trade internally. They originally planned on Stanton occupying the cleanup spot in Miami’s lineup, and those plans reportedly have “not changed at all.” This news comes on the heels of a report from the San Diego Union-Tribune stating that the Padres had talks with the Marlins regarding the outfielder.

Stanton, who has 93 home runs through his first three seasons, was unhappy about the Marlins’ firesale earlier this offseason. So while the team might not have any intention of moving him now, don’t expect the rumors to go away, especially with a full-blown rebuilding process going on in Miami.

That has only made 23-year-old power-hitting Giancarlo Stanton stand out all the more.

While the Marlins have said they now want to rebuild around Stanton and incoming prospects, plenty of teams are hoping Miami will choose to deal the youngster instead. Prospects don’t always pan out, but Stanton has already shown that he’ll be a force in Major League Baseball for years to come. He had a .290 average, 37 home runs and 86 RBIs in 2012.

Gordon Edes of ESPN now reports that the Marlins may be willing to give up Stanton, but the price will be steep. Miami wants three top prospects, according to Edes.

The Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in Stanton, who would obviously be a great fit and long-term option for their outfield needs. But Boston’s strength in offseason maneuvering lies in the free agent market, where it has plenty of money to spend, not in trades, where the club is loathe to give up its prospects. General manager Ben Cherington has said repeatedly that the Red Sox don’t want to trade young players.

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A poll published by the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald on Sunday revealed as much, with Loria posting a paltry 6 percent favorability rating. To put in perspective just how low that is, similar polls showed Cuban dictator Fidel Castro holds a 1 percent rating in the same community, which boasts a large Cuban population.

The survey was made up of 400 baseball fans in South Florida, with 89 percent of the respondents describing themselves as Marlins fans before the trade of Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to Toronto. Of that majority, 10 percent no longer identify themselves as Marlins fans.

Some other interesting results of the survey:

• 95 percent of those surveyed thought the trade was a fire sale, not a genuine attempt to improve the team.
• 89 percent think Loria has no moral obligation to field a good team because the new stadium was built mostly with public funds.
• 18 percent think that Bud Selig should have blocked the trade.
• 85 percent think the trade will benefit the Blue Jays more than the Marlins.

Perhaps the most damning result of the poll was that 61 percent of those surveyed who identified themselves as season ticket-holders would support a boycott if it would force Loria to sell the team.

With a new ballpark this year and a new-look team coming in next year, maybe what the Marlins really need is a new owner.

Photo via Facebook/Force Jeffrey Loria to Sell the Marlins

After sending Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson to the Toronto Blue Jays for a plethora of prospects, the Marlins’ lone star in Miami is Giancarlo Stanton. Now his stay in South Beach may be limited, too.

The Marlins have had numerous teams inquiring about their budding superstar, including the Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles and Cubs, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.

Stanton himself was shocked to hear the news of his (former) teammates being sent north of the border, tweeting his displeasure toward the trade soon after it happened.

Alright, I'm pissed off!!! Plain & Simple

—
Giancarlo Stanton (@Giancarlo818) November 13, 2012

But, as Cafardo points out, the Marlins will be closely watched in all future deals by commissioner Bud Selig, as he had to approve the first trade after “thorough examination.”

As the hot stove heats up, the Red Sox have put their names in the hat for multiple players, including free-agent catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli, who visited Boston over the weekend. Cafardo also points out that the Sox have been in contact with free-agent outfielder Nick Swisher.

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The left-hander, who signed a four-year contract a year ago, was part of the blockbuster trade that sent Buehrle, All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes, right-hander Josh Johnson and two other players to the Toronto Blue Jays. With the deal, the Marlins pared $146.5 million in future payroll.

“I’m upset with how things turned out in Miami,” Buehrle said in a statement issued Wednesday through his agent, Jeff Berry. “Just like the fans in South Florida, I was lied to on multiple occasions. But I’m putting it behind me and looking forward to moving on with my career.”

Team president David Samson said the Marlins didn’t lie to Buehrle but instead were compelled to make drastic changes after a disastrous season that included a last-place finish and disappointing attendance in a new ballpark.

“I’m as sorry as he is that he was traded,” Samson said during his weekly radio show on WINZ-AM. “There was no way we could have envisioned what happened, both on and off the field.”

Buehrle signed a $58 million, four-year deal with the Marlins during their unprecedented spending spree a year ago. Part of the lure was the chance to pitch again for Ozzie Guillen, who had been Buehrle’s manager with the Chicago White Sox.

The Marlins then finished last in the National League East at 69-93. Guillen was fired, and owner Jeffrey Loria ordered a dramatic reduction in payroll.

Miami fans were outraged because team officials had said the taxpayer-financed ballpark would ensure higher revenue and payrolls. Samson said spending reductions were necessary because 2012 attendance fell short of projections.

Berry said he and Buehrle were wary of signing with the Marlins because of their history of rapid roster turnover, and because of the team’s longstanding policy against no-trade clauses.

“Throughout the recruiting process, the Marlins made repeated assurances about their long-term commitment to Mark and his family and their long-term commitment to building a winning tradition of Marlins baseball in the new stadium,” Berry said in a statement. “At the same time, given the Marlins history, we were all certainly aware of and voiced concern about the lack of no-trade protection. This is unquestionably a business, and signing with the Marlins was a calculated risk. Mark held up his end of the bargain; unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the Marlins.”

Buehrle was one of the few Miami players to perform up to expectations this year. He exceeded 200 innings for the 12th consecutive season and went 13-13 with a 3.74 ERA.