Originally published Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Baseball | Marlins' park plan gets boost
A key legal obstacle was removed Friday for a new downtown Florida Marlins stadium, and the team will now determine whether the ballpark...
MIAMI — A key legal obstacle was removed Friday for a new downtown Florida Marlins stadium, and the team will now determine whether the ballpark can open for the 2011 season.
Marlins president David Samson said the months of delay caused by a lawsuit challenging the ballpark's financing package might push the completion date to 2012.
"We're evaluating the significance of that delay. I hope we will have an announcement here within a week," Samson said.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri Beth Cohen issued formal, final orders ending a lawsuit filed by auto dealer Norman Braman against the proposal. The $515 million stadium is a major piece of a $3 billion public works package that includes a tunnel for the Port of Miami, a museums park and a downtown trolley line.
Braman, a philanthropist, art collector and former owner of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, argued the project financing was an unconstitutional diversion of money intended to cure urban blight and should have been submitted to voters for approval.
The Marlins have played at Dolphin Stadium — home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins — since their inception in 1993 but have pushed for years for a baseball-only home, threatening at times to move to another city if one wasn't built. The Marlins regularly rank last in attendance among 30 major-league teams, averaging 16,688 this year, but won World Series titles in 1997 and 2003.
Piniella looks ahead
Lou Piniella hasn't spoken to any of the Chicago Cubs since the season came to a stunning finish seven weeks ago at Dodger Stadium.
But his silence has nothing to do with the loss or the way the Cubs looked during Los Angeles' three-game sweep in the NL Division Series. It's simply Piniella's way of giving back.
"I usually leave the players alone during the winter," he said with a laugh. "They see enough of me from spring training and the summer. When this thing was over in Los Angeles, I thanked them for a really, really nice season. Look, we won 97 ballgames and we played good baseball, and all of a sudden in the postseason, things didn't go real well.
"But I thanked them. It was a real nice season. We just didn't finish. That's over with, and now our focus is 2009, and basically we're going to have another good team and give ourselves another chance. I like the nucleus of the team. I like the chemistry of the team. [GM] Jim Hendry is working hard to try and improve it."
Notes
![]()
• Boston RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka is ready to help Japan defend its title at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
"I'll accept the offer if I'm asked to play," said Matsuzaka, the MVP of the 2006 tournament. "I'll pick up the pace of my training in December so that I won't have to scramble at the last minute." The right-hander went 3-0 in the 2006 WBC with a 1.38 earned-run average.
• Ace pitcher Yadel Marti and star outfielder Yasser Gomez have been thrown off the Havana Industriales, Cuba's top league team, for "a grave act of indiscipline," likely ending their hopes of playing in the 2009 WBC. Two people close to the team said the action came after the pair was caught trying to defect to the United States.
• The Chicago White Sox have reached a tentative agreement with Cuban star Dayan Viciedo. The 19-year-old infielder/outfielder must pass a physical for the contract to be finalized, according to the player's agent. Viciedo had 36 homers and 162 RBI with a .287 average over four years in Cuba's top league while playing 327 games.
• Junichi Tazawa, 22, enhanced his prospects of playing in the U.S. by pitching a shutout in the quarterfinals of Japan's corporate league championships, with several major-league scouts in attendance.
Boston and Cleveland are among the teams that have expressed interest in Tazawa, who asked Japan's professional teams not to select him in this month's amateur draft so that he can pursue a career in the U.S.
The Chicago Tribune
contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
Baseball | Milwaukee Brewers buy out pitcher Braden Looper
Mariners bullpen coach John Wetteland taken to Texas hospital
Ichiro claims Silver Slugger award
Ichiro thrilled that Ken Griffey Jr. is back for another Mariners season

Girls Soccer: Mercer Island vs. Glacier Peak
Mercer Island defeats Glacier Peak, 2-1, in a 3A state playoff quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 14.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks
- Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
- Razor found in muffin an accident, 'mortified' baker says
- Suspect's family shaken by slaying of police officer
- Mountlake Terrace woman reports razor in muffin
- Man says he will protest city's gun ban by carrying gun into community center
- OSU game thread
700 - Seattle man to pack a pistol into community center to protest mayor's ban
358 - NYC trial for 9/11 suspects poses risks
136 - Kent man challenges Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' gun ban
134 - Band of advocates, activists now McGinn's likely insiders
109 - Licata looks at boosting traffic-ticket revenue
90 - Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
77 - A politically correct — and dangerous — delicacy about the Fort Hood shooting
67 - Belmont game thread
63 - Huskies no match for Oregon State, fall 48-21
63
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- An 802.11n upgrade could make a big difference
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Washington in race for federal education funds
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Charles Krauthammer / Syndicated columnist | A politically correct — and dangerous — delicacy about the Fort Hood shooting





