Archive for the ‘Florida Marlins’ Category

Scott Olsen Busted for a DUI - Beaten by Police

Saturday, July 21st, 2007

Ichiro SuzukiFlorida Marlin’s troubed 23 year old pitcher Scott Olsen’s troubles just took a turn for the worse Friday night following a 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds when he was arrested for a DUI. Olsen was booked into the Miami Dade county jail on charges of driving under the influence, resisting an officer with violence and fleeing and eluding a police officer. That was after he was stun gunned by the arresting officers he tried to resist.

More Details Here

Olsen has had trouble controlling his outbursts and had just returned from a two game unpaid suspension after a confrontation with teammate and fellow pitcher Sergio Mitre. Olsen received a black eye last season from his friend and former teammate, reliever Randy Messenger, in an off the field confrontation in St. Petersburg. Olsen also got into dugout disputes with teammate Miguel Cabrera and then-manager Joe Girardi, who grabbed him by the jersey during a discussion.

Regardless, the kid shows huge potential, and as a Marlins fan it’s a shame to see him throwing his potential away because he can’t control his temper.

Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox

Sunday, May 20th, 2007

Josh BeckettAlthough he’s been put on the 15-day DL as of May 14, 2007 with an injured right middle finger, The Boston Red Sox pitcher extraordinaire, has once again been ripping it up. In this 2007 season Beckett has posted a 7-0 record with a 2.66 ERA and 50.2 innings pitched and has been leading The Boston to a commanding 9.5 game lead over their competitors in the American League East (It is worth noting the BoSox are a full 10.5 games up on the New York Yankees in the division).

Josh Beckett was a 1st round (2nd overall) draft pick by the Florida Marlins in 1999, and became the first high school pitcher to be selected in the first round by The Florida Marlins, bypassing college baseball and moving straight into Single-A ball. Josh was named Marlins Rookie of the Year by the South Florida chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America after going 2-2 with a 1.50 ERA (4 ER/24.0 IP) in 4 starts for the Marlins after a September 1 promotion from Double-A Portland.

In 2003, he posted a career-best 3.04 ERA, with a 9-8 record in 24 games (23 starts), recorded an impressive 152 strikeouts in 142.0 innings (an average of 9.6 strikeouts per 9 innings) for the Marlins before turning in an MVP performance in the World Series to help the Marlins to the World Championship. Josh Beckett was named MVP of the 2003 World Series and went 2-2 with a 2.11 ERA (10 ER/42.2 IP) with 2 complete-game shutouts in the 2003 postseason, including a complete-game 5-hitter for a 2-0 win in Game 6 of the World Series against the New York at Yankee Stadium to wrap up the championship. It was the first World Series complete-game shutout since Randy Johnson turned the trick for Arizona against the Yankees October 28, 2001 (editors note: Darn, seems like all those records are against the Yankees).

To the dismay of many Marlins fans, Josh Beckett joined the Boston Red Sox for the 2006 season and set career highs with 16 wins, 33 starts and 204.2 innings pitched, reaching 30 starts and pitching for more than 200.0 innings for the first time in his five years in the majors. He led the Red Sox in wins, starts and innings pitched and on July 19 The Red Sox announced a 3-year contract extension with Beckett with a club/vesting option for 2010.

Although I’m a diehard Florida Marlins fan and a fan of the Cleveland Indians, I must admit that Josh Beckett is my favorite MLB player, and to the guy in my Yahoo League who keeps trying to trade me for Curt Schilling, if you want Schilling, you’ll have to trade me Beckett.