Mother's Day Matinee -- LIVE from D.C.

WASHINGTON -- Everyone seems to be doing the Fish once more, South Florida's pro baseball team doing quite well in case you haven't heard.

The Marlins are winning games on the field and making winning deals off it, locking up Hanley Ramirez to a six-year deal. Good feelings about the deal in the Marlins clubhouse on Saturday, players saying they are happy to see this organization make a commitment to the future.

Sure this news also quiets some of the low payroll talk these guys face in every city (including Miami Gardens) they visit. The Marlins are playing well right now, helped along by a favorable schedule, sure. But, as a guy who covers the Florida Panthers can attest, wins early in the season count just the same as ones in the final weeks.

The Fish are eight games over .500 and they have the pitching and the offense and right now even the defense to keep up these winning ways. You have to think the Marlins are going to win a good portion of their next eight (today with Olsen throwing against the Expos, four games at WKRP in Cincinnati and three at home against the KC Royales with Cheese) before the NL West leading D-Backs come to South Florida.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves. No local television on today's game, and not sure if you can catch it at your local watering hole on Center Ice, err the MLB Package, or not. If not, catch Dave Van Horne and Glenn Geffner on the radio and remember to check back here throughout the day. Will be working Fish Bytes old school for those without a radio but with a laptop handy.

-- Come on, call your Mom. Tell her we all send her our best.

-- Fish Bytes and On Frozen Pond send out congratulations to San Diego's Greg Maddux for getting his 350th career victory last night. Think he's a Hall of Fame candidate now, or does he need to do more?

-- Do you realize the Marlins .611 winning percentage coming into today is second only to the D-Backs in the National League, and third overall (Boston is at .615). Florida's 22 victories rank them fifth in baseball. That's pretty heady stuff there.

-- Couple changes on the lineup today. As planned, Alfredo Amezaga back in center, leading off. Mike Rabelo also behind the plate (Matt Treanor played past three games and it's a night-day dealio). For the Expos, old pal (unless you're a Red Sox fan) Aaron Boone starting at first and batting fourth. He pinch-hit last night and was robbed thanks to a terrific catch in left by Brett Carroll.

THE LINEUPS

Florida: CF Amezaga; RF Hermida; SS Ramirez; 3B Cantu; 2B Uggla; LF Gonzalez; 1B Helms; C Rabelo; P Olsen.

Montreal: SS Lopez; 2B Belliard; 3B Zimmerman; 1B Boone; CF Milledge; LF Pena; RF Dukes; C Flores; P Hill.

-- Here are some bonus quotes on the Hanley Ramirez signing from yesterday:

Manny Acta: “He’s special. He’s one of those few guys that you can say that. Hanley can do whatever he wants int the game. It’s that simple. He can hit a home run. He can bunt and steal second and third and score on anything. He’ll take a walk. He’ll hit over .320, almost guaranteed. He can do everything he wants in the game. He’s one of those legit five-tool players. there are a lot of guys a lot of people throw the five-tool guy at them and they’re not. This guy is a five-tool guy – legit.”

Dan Uggla: “I think it’s a great move. He’s going to be one of the best players in the game for a long time. He’s a winner and I think it’s really smart on their part. I’m real excited for Hanley. He plays his butt off.’’

Josh Willingham: “Fans want to be familiar with their players and they want to know the team is going to be commited to them. For him, to know he’s going to be around for a long time, maybe that’ll bring more fans out. I don’t know. It is good.’’

Luis Gonzalez: “It shows people that this organization is committed with the stadium coming. In the past, they’ve had to make moves to accomidate things because of the lack of fans coming out. By agreeing with Hanley, that shows there’s a commitment there where we’re going to do what we have to do to keep players like that and lock them up long time. That’s a commitment to the fans.’’

Fredi Gonzalez: “He’s one hell of a player, a good player. We’ve hit him third the past six, seven days and he gets on base, drove in some runs, walks, steals. His game hasn’t changed from being leadoff now that he’s in the three hole. If he gets on, he’s a threat to score.’’

-- Other news from today: Mike Jacobs still out, could play in the Natti. Josh Willingham will not do anything today, Fredi G saying his back was bothering him in BP yesterday. Willingham will travel with team to Ohio, maybe get in some BP there before getting his minor league rehab assignment.

-- About to get started here at Nationals Park, a number of the Marlins sporting some kind of pink today as park of baseball's annual Cancer awareness day. Some guys are wearing pink sweatbands (good luck breaking a sweat today), cleats or batting gloves. A good number of pink bats coming out as well. The Nats are giving out white caps with the Walgreens W in pink with the Cancer ribbon on the bill.

GAME TIME -- GAME TIME -- GAME TIME

-- First pitch from Shawn Hill (not the former Panthers defenseman) at 1:36 p.m. Alfredo Amezaga took a ball, did not hit the first pitch over the left field wall like Cody Ross did Saturday night...

Ironically, Sean Hill the hockey player is from Minnesota; Shawn Hill the baseballer is from Missasaugua, Ontario (which is outside of Toronto, home of the airport and, more importantly, Woodbine Racetrack.)

-- The US National softball team is here. I did not notice Jenny Finch. I was looking.

T1: Fish go 1-2-3; B1: Very efficient inning by Scott Olsen, puts down Nats in order on a mere six (yes, six) pitches.

T2: Marlins lead 1-0; with one out, Dan Uggla hit by pitch; races to third on bloop single by Luis Gonzalez and scores on sacrifice fly to center by Wes Helms. FLA 1-0. B2: And on pitch No. 9, Aaron Boone ties 'er up, line drive homer to center. 1-1. But, that's it for Nats. Hanley robs Lastings Milledge for the second straight night as Wash goes 1-2-3 after homer. Olsen now at 18 pitches.

T3: Jeremy Hermida and Hanley single with two outs, Cantu ends it by grounding out 5-3. Going on WQAM here for a few minutes, shall return.. B3: Nationals pick up three runs in the inning; Ronnie Belliard's 2-run homer to left makes it 3-1, then Aaron Boone doubles, error on Amezaga in center allowing Zimmerman to score. WASH 4-1.

T4: Marlins go out quietly 1-2-3. Abe Lincoln wins the President's Race (a cool rip-off of Milwaukee's Sausage Race) after Teddy Roosevelt runs into the crowd! That crazy president....B4: Wily Mo Pena walks to lead off the inning, but he didn't go anywhere as Olsen puts the Nats down after that. Still 4-1.

T5: Mike Rabelo singles to lead things off, gets taken out at second on Olsen's fielder's choice; Olsen out at second on Amezaga's fielder's choice for out No. 2; Amezaga makes sure he doesn't get into that mix, steals second before Hermida grounds out to second. Still 4-1. B5: Felipe Lopez walks to open things, moves to second on a Belliard groundout and is caught trying to steal third (larceny!). Zim flies out to deep center. Still 4-1...

T6: Nothing really happened, except Dan Uggla homered to center to pull Miami within two at 4-2. B6: Boone leads off with single, gets wrapped up in a 6-4-3, then Pena grounds out. Still at 4-2...

T7:  Two outs and Olsen is out; Brett Carroll pinch-hitting; no win for Olsen (6 ip, 6h, 4r, 4ER, 2HR) today...Carroll grounds out, it's uno-dos-tres...Also, a scoring change from the third. No error for Amezaga and a triple for Boonie...Still 4-2. B7: Jesus Flores doubles off Logan Kensing with one out, pinch-hitter Nick Johnson strikes out for No. 2 and Felipe Lopez flies out deep to center as Amezaga tracks it down on the track..

T8: Marlins tie score...Hermida deposits pitch in right field bleachers after Amezaga runs out an infield single...4-4, no outs in the 8th..Marlins lead again...Uggla homers again, puts this one in right field as well...Fish up 5-4 with two outs in the eighth ('The Ocho').....end of the inning, a big one indeed, Fish up 5-4...B8: Renyel Pinto in for the Marlins; gives up a walk to Belliard to start things off, then the slumping Zimmerman grounds into a 6-4-3 double play for outs 1 and 2. Boonie just flew out to right.

T9: Marlins go 1-2-3, here comes Gregg (and the usual 'It Ain't Over' clip from Bluto on the big screen). Here's the full scene, minus the F-bombs courtesy of IMDB.com:

D-Day: War's over, man. Wormer dropped the big one.
Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard]
Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!
[runs out, alone; then returns]
Bluto: What ---- happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my [grass] from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer...
Otter: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.
Bluto: We're just the guys to do it.
D-Day: Let's do it.
Bluto: LET'S DO IT!

B9: Kevin Gregg in relief to close things out. Milledge up first, takes a free pass to first. Willie Harris has a broken-bat flare caught in right by Hermida for out numero uno. Elijah Dukes pops out to Uggla in foul territory for out number two. Jesus Flores up with two outs and a man on, sends shot back to Gregg how tossed to first for final out.

Your final from Washington, Florida 5-4 over the Nationals. Been fun covering the Marlins these past few weeks. See you all later.

Another Night in the District

WASHINGTON -- The Marlins and Nationals get back to business Saturday night, second of three from Nationals Park.

Big story today is obviously the team coming to terms with shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Although nothing has been signed, guys on the team think it's a great step forward for the franchise and shows, perhaps, they are committed to doing something in South Florida in the future.

More on that later. Here are the lineups for tonight, same as Friday (with the exception of the pitcher). Matt Treanor goes for the third straight night, Wes Helms in for Mike Jacobs again.

Fredi Gonzalez said the team wants Josh Willingham to get in some live at bats before he returns off the DL, and he could go on a rehab assignment in the minors as early as tomorrow.

LINEUPS

Marlins: CF Ross; LF Hermida; SS Ramirez; 3B Cantu; 2B Uggla; LF Gonzalez; 1B Helms; C Treanor; P Miller.

Nats: 2B Lopez; SS Guzman; 3B Zimmerman; 1B Johnson; CF Milledge; RF Kearns; LF Dukes; C Flores; P O'Connor.

Hanley Ramirez Locked in Long Term

Long maligned for being a no-frills franchise with an obvious eye for a good deal and good talent, the Marlins are getting a healthy dollop of good publicity lately.

First off, the team is playing very well right now and remain atop the National League East after winning five straight and six of seven.

Friday, it was learned that budding superstar Hanley Ramirez is going to remain a Florida -- or at least a Miami -- Marlin for a long time to come.

Ramirez has agreed to a seven year contract with the team, with the latest report being for $70 million. That's a lot of cake, although Ramirez appears to be the right candidate for this team to invest so heavily in. No one inside the Marlins organization will talk about this publicly, but off the record, they are fired up. As they should be. This is a big move for an organization that's taken it's share of hits over the years -- many times those shots have been justifiable.

Here's the main story Clark and I have been working on, and as always, comments welcome.

Lineups and More

WASHINGTON -- Getting ready for some baseball here in the Nation's Capital. Jeffrey Loria and David Samson are here checking out their old team (one country removed) and it hasn't rained in some time -- although the tarp is now covering the infield (5:40 p.m.).

It is chilly. Look for some of your favorite Marlins in jackets and toques (that's hockey/Canadian for 'wool cap'). It's now 59 degrees in DC.

As promised, here is tonight's starting lineup for the Marlins: CF Ross; LF Hermida; SS Ramirez; 3B Cantu; 2B Uggla; LF Gonzalez; 1B Helms; C Treanor; P Nolasco.

The Expos: 2B Lopez; SS Guzman; 3B Zimmerman; 1B Johnson; CF Milledge; RF Kearns; LF Pena; C Nieves; P Redding.

-- Mike Jacobs is obviously still out of the lineup with his sore left quad, although he says he wants to play. "It's out of my hands,'' he said. Says Fredi Gonzalez: "If he had a bone sticking out of his leg he would say that. And I love him for it. But I have to be careful with him.''

-- LF Josh Willingham took BP today and looks on track to rejoin the team (he's on the 15 day DL with a sore back) next week in the Natti.

-- Various injury updates from the Marlins PR department: Alejandro De Aza is jogging, hitting, etc; Josh Johnson threw a 25 pitch BP session today, next one coming on Thursday; Sergio Mitre is up to a light toss; Henry Owens threw a BP today, as did Anibal Sanchez.

-- More as we go....

It's Raining in Baltimore -- Updated

And in Washington too.

Hello Marlins fans, George Richards here. Covering the Fish this weekend up here in Capital City, hoping to get some baseball in.

It's been raining here since last night, but it's let up here the past hour or so (it's 3:45 p.m.) so we may just get this one in. Still cloudy and cool (currently 59) but the tarp is off and the grounds crew is doing what they do best.

Beautiful ballpark here in DC, by the way.

At left is a picture I took today at Arlington Cemetery. It's Abner Doubleday's final resting place. Most baseball fans know Abner for the popular game he helped invent, beach volleyball.

Will be here all weekend folks, check in early and often.

Tonight's Lineup; No Jacobs

Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs is not in the starting lineup tonight after injuring his quad yesterday rounding first base. Jacobs said earlier today that he expects to be back in the starting lineup on Friday night at Washington.

Here are tonight's lineups as the Marlins go for the series sweep against the Brewers:

Brewers

Rickie Weeks - 2B

Mike Cameron - CF

Joe Dillon - 1B (former Marlin)

Ryan Braun - LF

J.J. Hardy - SS

Bill Hall - 3B

Gabe Kapler - RF

Mike Rivera - C

Carlos Villanueva - P

Marlins

Alfredo Amezaga - CF

Jeremy Hermida - RF

Hanley Ramirez - SS

Jorge Cantu - 3B

Dan Uggla - 2B

Luis Gonzalez - LF

Wes Helms - 1B

Matt Treanor - C

Mark Hendrickson - P

Jacobs appears to be OK

Marlins first baseman Mike Jacobs left Wednesday's game in the third inning with tightness in his left quad, but after the game Jacobs said he should be fine.

"It's not that bad,'' he said."Just some tightness. I don't think I'll miss more than a day or two.''

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez was relieved: "It's not as bad as we thought it was when he came out of the game,'' he said. "He might miss one or two games, but I don't think it will be any more than that.''

Jacobs was robbed of a home run on the play. He hit a drive that hit the rail above the yellow strip on top of the wall, and that's a home run. But the umpire in charge ruled the ball hit the yellow stripe and was in play, and Jacobs settled for a two-run double.

Replays showed the ball hitting above the yellow stripe, but the missed call didn't upset Gonzalez.

"It wasn't a home run until they showed replays from eight different angles,'' gonzalez said. "It's tough when you have to call it just like that. I couldn't see where it hit, but it came off the wall soft, like it hit the yellow (strip).''

A Triple A umpire, who was substituting, made the call.

Jacobs said he didn't see it hit, but added: "If I would have seen where it hit I would have said something,'' Jacobs said.

It would have been his 10th home run of the season.

Someone asked Jacobs how he would feel if he ends up with 29 home runs instead of 30.

"If I end up with 29, I'll be (bleeping) disappointed,'' Jacobs said.

Brewers Weeks an FSU fan?

Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks was happy to be in Miami this week to see his brother Jemile, who is a big reason the Hurricanes are the No. 1 college team in the nation.

But Rickie says he is an FSU football fan. How can that be?

Milwaukee left fielder Ryan Braun, who was a star at UM, slipped a UM shirt into a bag and put it in Weeks' locker Wednesday.

"Can you believe he likes FSU,'' Braun shouted.

"I just like the football team,'' Weeks said.

"When I was growing up Amp Lee was my favorite player,'' he said. "And then they got Warren Dunn, and he was my favorite.''

Makes sense, just take a look at Weeks' body-build. He is in the same mold as Lee and Dunn.

Jemile has been to the first two Marlins-Brewers games this week, and he showed up in the family room Tuesday wearing a pair of sunglasses, which prompted this from Prince Fielder.

"Hey what is up with your brother wearing shades at night,'' said Fielder, joking with Weeks. "Shades at night? That's Kangaroo (court) stuff.''

Jake was robbed

It sure looks like Mike Jacobs was robbed in the third inning. Jake hit a shot that hit the top of the rail on the right field wall. The ball was ruled in play and Jacobs had to settle for a double.

He limped into second and left the game with a tight left quad. It's not known if Jacobs will have to go on the disabled list, but there should be an update after the game.

Olsen didn't have to wait long

The pic of the night (by Herald photog Joe Rimkus) from Tuesday's 3-0 Marlins victory over Milwaukee came in the ninth after Scott Olsen was lifted after 8 2/3 innings -- one out away from ending the Marlins 213-game drought of not having a complete game.

Olsen pulled his jersey over his head as he waited for closer Kevin Gregg to get the final out. It took one pitch for Gregg to retire Bill Hall on a fly-out to right.

"Everybody was pulling for him to get the complete game,'' Gregg said. "I probably wanted him to get it more than he did. It's a accompishment. He pitched a two-hitter and had given up only one hit going into the ninth. I knew I wasn't going into the game unless he gave up a run or loaded the bases.

"Fredi doesn't want him to be in a position to lose the game,'' Gregg said. "So when the bases were loaded I knew I was going in.''

Olsen did load the bases on his 121st pitch of the night.

Olsen, who threw 120 pitches against the Nationals earlier this season, joked: "Hey, that's a new record for me.''