Marlins Open Fire in Iraq, Coghlan "Attacked" by Army Dog: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest.

January 30th 2010 - A day in Basra!!

I titled this entry a day in Basra, and what a day it was. How many times can you say you have been attacked by a dog, flipped in an MRAP, learned everything about an Apache Helicopter one could possibly retain, and fired guns with a certain covert special forces unit that would like to remain nameless. It was absolutely amazing, and the perfect end to our stay in the country.

I would first like to write a little bit about the people that have helped us out throughout this trip. Jimmy and Emma from the USO catered to our every need while we were in Iraq, and let me tell you baseball people and dancers can be a tough group to deal with.  While in Kuwait, we dealt primarily with Marcus, Dave and Brad and they also did a phenomenal handling us. The person, however, that deserves the most credit is Colonel Shock. Colonel Shock has been dealing with us on be half of AFE (Armed Forces Entertainment). Where ever we went, he went, and he patiently stood by while we ran late, talked too loud and presented myriad security risks. When I found out that his paramedic number was the the same as my number...21...I gave him my BP top at the end of our tour. He also served as the group photographer and along with Matt Britten did most of the heavy lifting in that field. So, Col...I salute you.

Okay, now to the fun stuff. The first place we went was to the bosses house. We met the commander of the Big Red One...he told us about his company's history, FIRST on the beaches of Normandy, FIRST into the Korean War, FIRST into Vietnam, FIRST into Desert Storm and FIRST into OIF. To say that the army has a bravest unit would sound strange, but are there any braver???

After that meet and greet, we met some soldiers and then made our way to the K-9 unit. We learned about how they train the dogs, what they look for in an animal, and how they live together. Basically, an attack or patrol dog is trained to think that biting is playing, think about wrestling with your dog at home with his chew toy. In the case of these dogs, the toy is one of your appendages. Coghlan suited up first and made his way out into the muddy field. On the handler’s command he took off running until Lucky, the 85 pound German Shepherd/Black Lab mix, caught him from behind, latched onto his suit, and took him to the ground. A bunch of us got into the suit and got run down by various dogs, even me, despite my wheels, was caught an subdued by Baro, the German Shepherd. What is really crazy about these dogs is that they are not vicious at all, they are playing, albeit somewhat aggressively, and when we left the training ground they licked our faces and wagged their tails!! I have posted a picture of me with Baro the German Shepherd.

The dogs were a lot of fun so we thought why not see what it is like to be in an MRAP when it flips over. Jimmy drove us over to the MRAP flip simulator and five of us got in at once. Four in the back, and Cogs in the driver seat. Our operator took us through the safety details, strapped us in, and then spun us around like Laundry before he let us out. Because we were in a four point seat belt, we really had no where to go, but it was still fun. The paradox is that as fun as it was, it was also scary because the threat of being flipped over by a mine or IED in the Iraqi desert is so great they actually have their own flip simulator on base. Our next scheduled trip was to the Apache Helicopter flight simulator with Lt. Terry Mullis from North Carolina.

Lt. Mullis is a member of the National Guard, and like 1st Lt. Brannan, he also joined the military a little later in life. Much like it has been my dream to play Major League Baseball, it was his dream to fly Apaches. He started a little later in life, kind of like I did, but was doing what he loved and making the best out his circumstances out in the desert. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately as we would come to find out, the simulator was broken. Lt. Mullis felt bad, and called his partner to see if they could power up one the Long Bow Apache Helicopters and show us the weapons system up close. It was too awesome of an experience to even attempt to explain. The helicopter has a helmet system with an optical lens that fits over your right eye. You zero the helmet into the computer system and then when you move your head back and forth, and look through your right eye, the 30 MM gun on the bottom of the helo moves along with your head, so all you have to do is squeeze the trigger while you look at the target. It is crazy. I got to sit in the gunners seat and move the gun and camera around. It was an exhilarating experience I will never forget and it was all made possible by Lt. Mullis. We learned some more about the 30 million dollar helicopter, snapped some photos with the guys, then headed to the USO to do another meet and greet. Along the way, in an attempt to get a military style hair cut, Cogs let someone give him a bootleg mohawk for $4.50. The spirit of the act was fantastic, but the result was...well...

After the USO the experience only intensified, we met a group of elite special forces operatives and shot a lot of guns at their private range. I shot an M4 rifle, complete with a laser sight, as well as an MP5 Machine gun that is fully automatic and fires 9mm rounds. The MP5 also had a laser sight and felt like a BB gun. The guns were also very quiet, which was also very AWESOME to see in person. Seriously, I got to shoot a silenced fully automatic machine gun...seriously. One of the guys, “Chris”, let me play Jack Bauer with his 9mm Beretta. I got to hold multiple clips and fire back and forth at targets. I learned how to eject the spent clip with my right thumb, then slam the other clip in and continue firing. I felt like a real badass. This was the kind of stuff you see in movies, and the perfect night cap to an outrageous day. The most amazing part was that we didn’t even leave the base. It was a day I will be unable to forget.

 

-- John Baker

If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ

Marlins Bouncing Around Iraq: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest.

January 29th

Stop one, At Camp Sa’ad we met 1st Lt. Sion Brannan a former teacher from San Diego that taught math in San Jose, California. Brannan worked for four years in a high school teaching math and when OIF started he figured he should do something about it. After the school year he notified his principal, enlisted in the Army and completed all the necessary training to enter the Army as an Officer and a Ranger. It is people like him that are the true Patriots. I also met specialist Lyon (strongest guy in base) and I traded him my Marlins Strength and Conditioning shirt for his army boony with his specialist patch illegally sewn on. The guy was a serious monster and seemed to have spent a few hours in their tent weight room. We met the division general that worked on base and had tea with him which was weird. From what we were we told you usually don’t make it out of an Iraqi General’s office if you are not in the ally Military. On a sad note, I met an infantrymen that lost his baseball career to an IED in Iraq during the first part of OIF. He told us that we were living his dream. This trip has been very rewarding, but it is really tough to hear stuff like that.

We jumped back into our Black Hawk and headed to the southern most point of Iraq, the Naval Base of Umm Qasr. This was definitely the most diverse base we had been to as far as the international make-up of the population. We met soldiers from the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Corps as well as IA and Americans. While we were delayed waiting for our helicopters, I got in a workout at their out door gym. I got to test my rope climbing skills and scaled the 25 feet pretty quickly. Luckily, they taught me how to safely descend. We met a Captain from Minnesota, and even a Navy Admiral! We learned about the different Naval Ranks and how they compared to the other branches of the military. From what I was told, the Navy is structured like Star Trek. I also shared my first “near-beer” and was forever linked with the men of Umm Qasr. We took a tour of the base and saw an old Iraqi spy boat, as well as the border of Iraq and Kuwait. Instead of taking our normal transport (two Black Hawk Helos) we had to convoy it to Bucca, our next stop. I will say that the ground convoy was definitely the scariest part of this trip. It is one thing to hover over the ground with machine gun armed guards and watch the desert zoom by below, and another to actually drive out into the desert in a slow moving MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) Truck. The MRAP has a diamond shape to it that deflects the force of any mine blast from below. instead of having a flat bottom that absorbs all of the explosion, the shape causes the vehicle to roll instead of blow up. We are sealed in with automatic doors, so if we were blown up from below and ambushed from the side, all parties enclosed in the vehicle would be okay. Having to get into that big “truck” for thirty minutes of tense, bumpy travel was scary. Thankfully, we arrived safely at forward operating base Bucca!

Named after a fire fighter that died in the twin towers in 9/11, FOB Bucca has the best DFAC we ate in. Because of the weather delays, we only had a small amount of time to meet the troops and sign. We met the Marine Colonel in command of Bucca and he told us about the history of the base and how since the Marines were so much better than every other branch, they only needed one stationed there to make sure everything ran smoothly! He issued us a challenge coin and certificate of appreciation. It is amazing how grateful all of our troops have been throughout this trip. It’s seems that our attendance is the most important thing about us. After a long day, we Black Hawked it back to Basra for a nights sleep in our hard shelled wet chu. (Hard shelled means it is IDF safe. Wet means it has a self-contained bathroom and shower. CHU stands for container housing unit.)

 

-- John Baker

 

If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ

 

"Chase Utley" Serenades Fredi Gonzalez on his Birthday: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest.

January 28th Iraq

 

I woke up to Cogs complaining about the temperature. Now don’t get me wrong, I like it cold, but in the 40’s is a bit cold for me so I could see his point. Our rooms are individual bunkers that protect us from any IEDs that may be lobbed over the wall and into the camp. Where we are staying looks like a bunch of shipping crates stacked on one and other. I’ve been told that Iraqi and Iranian culture fight much differently than we do, they would prefer to put a gun on a tripod and fire it from a remote control instead of dealing with people face to face. They are scared of the American Soldiers in any one on one, eye to eye situation. Due to this factor, the biggest problem the camp at Basra faces is this kind of faceless threat, Therefore most of the living quarters here are well protected from anything lobbed over the wall.

After breakfast, while we were walking over to the flight line to board a Blackhawk helicopter and fly to Camp Shaiba, we met a large group of Army Infantrymen about to head out on a patrol of the surrounding areas in Humveees and MRAVs. Humvees are the ones that everyone back home associates with the Army. We learned that all vehicles here have this wooden hot box that sits on a metal pole and extends out about ten feet in front of the vehicle. The box emits the same amount of heat as the engine. They have these on there to combat against little charges that are hidden throughout the desert that are set off by engine heat. By putting the box out in front of the vehicle, if one goes off, it will blow up the box, and not the Humvee or the troops. We took a bunch of hardcore looking photos, with guns up on top of the vehicles and talked with a bunch of the guys.

We then hitched a ride to the flight line and boarded a Blackhawk Helicopter for a trip up to Camp Shaiba. The helicopter ride was awesome, although we only flew in a straight line. I don’t think they wanted to show us any tactical maneuvers, so our trip was really cool, but quick.

Camp Shaiba is a FOB (forward operating base) where we train the IA (Iraqi Army). The main goal at Camp Shaiba is to teach the new Iraqi army how to stand on it’s own. American Soldiers teach members of the IA everything from logistics to explosives, hand to hand combat to basic communication skills. At Shaiba, we did another autograph/meet & greet session and met a bunch more people. I was amazed at the good spirits in this base and the effort and attention to detail shown while dealing with people that were recently sworn enemies of our country. We partook in a Medal Ceremony because the men and women were getting ready (thank God!!!) to return home. It was an inspiring moment helping pin medals on brave men and women being recognized by the Army for their commitment to our country. We also met our first Marine, and they are a different breed. The Marine Captain wanted to know where we were headed next because he was separated from his battalion (which was in Wessam, our next stop) and wanted his mail from them. He explained that when you are away from home you count down the days in between mail deliveries and they had had his stuff for two weeks! He gave us some cigars as a bribe.

Our next stop on the Blackhawk tour of southern Iraq was Wessam, the smallest FOB we had been too at this point. I think that this is the kind of place I was expecting to see more of on this trip. As we were walking in from the landing zone, we ran into General Aziz of the IA. According to the US Military members that were walking us into the base, he is one bad dude, not to be messed with. They seemed to show him a lot of respect, so we did too. The highlight of this stop was the first Fredi Gonzalez birthday celebration. After we were done eating, we got to watch a Marilyn Monroe like version of “Happy Birthday” by a midriff baring male soldier dressed in a Chase Utley jersey. It was definitely something special, and I’ll leave it at that. I talked for a long time with a soldier from Odessa, Texas. I spent a year an a half in the Permian basin myself (playing baseball for the Midland Rockhounds) and we discussed what we liked and disliked about that area. Our final stop was next, little did we know that the short chopper ride would take us to a remote and intense place.

Camp Minden sits right on the Iran/Iraq border and some of the soldiers there will stand directly face to face with their Iranian counterparts for hours at a time. I learned a lot more about the local culture and practices. It seems the more I learn, the less I understand. I know that sounds ignorant, but it is the truth. Camp Minden is run by a young Army Captain from upstate New York, he seemed wise beyond his years, and his professionalism was a direct result of his Army training. Minden is hands down, the smallest base we have seen. There are no women stationed there, so the Mermaids were in high demand. This was the most rewarding base to visit as the guys here were so grateful and surprised that we would show up to their tiny little FOB on the border. They operate small cameras that were on balloons in order to protect Iraq from the possibility of Iranian invasion. We then hopped back on the blackhawk and took it to our home base, Basra.

We has one final surprise when we got home, an Apache Helicopter. This is a 30 Million Dollar weapon that the army considers it’s most lethal piece of equipment. It takes a year of training to pilot one and it has all different kinds of crazy weapons systems. 30 MM rounds that can be fired as pressures bombs! 

 

-- John Baker

 

 If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ

 

Turnbow: "I hope to get my major league career back on track again"

    Just got off the phone with Derrick Turnbow, who says he's ready to follow in the footsteps of Armando Benitez, Todd Jones and Joe Borowski, relievers who found new life with the Marlins after their careers had hit the skids.

   "I'm looking to do the same thing," Turnbow said. "If I have a good spring and answer the questions, I hope to get my major league career back on track again."

    Turnbow, who was signed by the Marlins on Friday to a minor league contract, has come to the right place. The Marlins are miracle workers when it comes to resurrecting the careers of closers. Nobody does it better, and Turnbow is a classic case for them.

    He enjoyed early fame and fortune with the Brewers, went into a tailspin, and hit rock bottom last May when he walked away from the sport -- just got up and quit -- returned home to Tennessee, and tried to get his head straight.

 "Mentally I was just drained," Turnbow said of his final days at Triple A Oklahoma City last April. "I couldn't take it anymore. I needed time to get my head clear, time to reflect on what happened and why it happened, and also to give my body a rest."

 Turnbow didn't touch a baseball from May Day to Labor Day. He didn't seek outside advice from pitching coaches or others in the sport.

"It had gotten to a point where I basically had lost my way," Turnbow said of his loss of confidence as a pitcher. "I tried anything and everything in the world, talked to a million people. My stuff was always pretty good. My talent was always good enough. But I had to kind of get away from everyone and figure it out on my own."

Turnbow worked out last month for more than half a dozen teams. They were there to see if the Turnbow of old, the one who saved 39 games for the Brewers in 2005, had found himself again. The reports were strong. Scouts clocked his fastball in the mid-90s and indicated his slider looked sharp.

A number of teams contacted Turnbow's agent, Damon Lapa, about signing the right-hander. But Lapa said that even though other clubs offered more money than the Marlins, who will pay him $600,000 in base pay if he makes the big-league club, Turnbow chose the team with the reputation for salvaging careers.

    Turnbow might have a better opportunity of reclaiming his closer's role with the Marlins. That job is presently held by Leo Nunez. But he is inexperienced in the role and the Marlins need a fallback plan if he doesn't work out.

    "I looked at the history of the guys who had been there and been able to rejuvenate their careers," Turnbow said. "And now, I'm back to the point where I believe in myself again."

  

Marlins Sign Relievers Turnbow and Veras to Minor-League Contracts

   In addressing their need for bullpen help, the Marlins on Friday signed right-handers Derrick Turnbow and Jose Veras to minor league deals and inviting both to spring training.

   Turnbow is the most intriguing of the two. He saved 39 games for the Brewers in 2005 to go with a 1.74 ERA before his career went into a nosedive. He has logged only 30 innings over the past two seasons due to rotator cuff injuries.

   But the Marlins liked what they saw of the 32-year-old pitcher when he worked out recently in front scouts representing more than a dozen teams.

   Marlins general manager Mike Hill said one of the team's Arizona scouts walked away impressed from Turnbow's workout.

   "Arm strength was good throwing up to 95," Hill wrote in a text message. "Slider was sharp and tight. Wants to show he's back to former All-Star form."

   Veras has made 128 relief appearances with the Indians and Yankees over the past five seasons, compiling an overall record of 9-6 with a 4.42 ERA.

   The Marlins also signed infielder Danny Richar to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training. Richar has played at second, shortstop and third base over parts of the past three seasons with the Reds and White Sox.

    If Turnbow can regain the form he showed in '05 with the Brewers, he could provide insurance if Leo Nunez doesn't work out in the closer's role.

    Turnbow turned his success in '05 into a 3-year contract extension totaling $6;5 million and 2006 All-Star selection. But he lost his command that season, followed by his confidence, and finally the closer's job with Milwaukee.

    He has not pitched in the majors since 2008 and has been limited to sporadic duty in the high minors the past two seasons. He appeared in just eight games at Triple A Oklahoma City (Texas) last season.

    Over the past two seasons, Turnbow has walked 63 batters in just 30 2/3 innings at the major- and minor-league levels.

Marlins Don Combat Gear: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest as the Marlins contingent prepared to pull out of Kuwait and head into Iraq.

PICTURED ABOVE: Marlins Catcher John Baker

Wednesday January 27th

It was quite a relief to feel like we could sleep in a bit as we weren’t scheduled to check out of the hotel until 12:30. I woke up and got a double espresso at the executive lounge in the hotel, then went to the gym (I picked up a sugar free Red Bull along the way) with Chris Coghlan. Caffeine is a helluva drug. As messed up as my hours are, I have become dependent on energy drinks and double espressos to get me through the day. The problem with all the caffeine is that it becomes harder to sleep, my night sucks, and I need MORE caffeine the next day.

I actually felt great at the gym, I got in a 45 minute total body workout and felt ready to attack the day afterward. Once we checked out of the hotel, we got in the Suburbans and drove up to “The Rock” - Ali Al Salem.

The Rock is made up of basically two bases, one is an Air Force Base that ships troops up to Iraq and Afghanistan, the second is the Army Base which is also known as the LSA. The LSA at Ali Al Salem processes the soldiers that are either returning home, or entering the theater in either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The Air Force base was an absolute blast, because of Fredi’s late arrival, we had to stay longer in the Country of Kuwait, so visiting this base was not on the original itinerary. We played a little shuffle board (Coghlan won..weird, I know...just like hitting) and then we met the Air Force Fireman. The guys were really cool. I spoke with one of the men from Oklahoma City for a while and told him my story about his city. It was around midnight in Oklahoma City in July of 2008 when I got called up by the Marlins to the big leagues. We shared more stories and then sat down to sign autographs and meet other service members. The Air Force is really doing something right, Col. Shock, our AFE (Armed Forces Entertainment) rep is really fun to be around, and all the members of the Air Force Fire Crew were positive, upbeat, and in excellent spirits. They seemed to make the best out of their situation and had smiles on their faces the entire time. After we signed and took some awesome photos, we went up to their Fire Station and played some catch with one member of the crew. The the other twenty-five guys helped the mermaids put on the flame-repellant fire suits, I wonder where their minds were!! I brought my Rawling’s catcher’s glove that I used last season, and the glove never made it off the base. I gave it to my friend from Oklahoma City, and he in turn gave us a patch and an Air Force hat to put it on. I hope he likes the glove, because I think that I got the better end of that deal. My hat and patch are something that will forever remind me of the people that I met today.

Our next stop was the Army Base on Ali Al Salem, and it definitely had a different vibe. This is where everyone processes that is either coming to the Middle East to entire a hostile environment, or leaving a place where they spent months fighting a faceless enemy. One solder told us a devestating story. He was an Army Infantry Men who had seen his fair share of battle on the front lines of Afghanistan. When he came to the table to get his autographed baseball card, something in the way he looked at us let us know that he had seen some terrible things firsthand. Coghlan and I both sensed this immediately and we are two pretty clueless guys. He told us that he was just processing back into Afghanistan from a fifteen day leave. He had spent his off time at home with his wife and small daughter. 

---“I was in 7-11, with my wife and little kid,” he said. “And a lady approached me and asked me what I did for a living. I told her that I was an Army infantryman and that I had just returned from Afghanistan. She obviously didn’t support me or our fighting over here because the only thing she said to me was, ‘I hope that YOU get killed over there’. What do I even say to that?” ---

Cogs and I both looked at him with a blank stare, and then in our own ways intimated that WE appreciate him and everything he does for us and the United States of America. I think sometimes that people back home get so caught up in the politics that they forget about the actual people. Despite what you think about our nation’s motives for being in these conflicts, remember that real people actually put their life on the line so that you can rest your head each night in safety. I am currently typing these words in a safe bunker in Basra, Iraq. I had never realized how many things I have taken for granted until I came here and met the people willing to die for my freedom.

After the LSA, we got back into the Suburbans and drove to the Military side of Kuwait International Airport. This is when stuff really got real. Part of our processing required that we try on our helmets and bullet proof vests. The moment we put those two pieces of equipment on, the mood changed. This lasted for a few minutes, until Coghlan informed us that he thought it would be cool to get shot by a rubber bullet while wearing his body armor...Larry Beinfest didn’t think that joke was very funny. After the mood had lightened, we boarded a C-130 and flew to Basra, Iraq. This part of out trip was also amazing (I think that thought and feeling has been a recurring theme on these entries). Cogs and I sat in the Cockpit the entire flight and were on the headphones talking with the crew members. The C-130 is an older Vietnam War era plane, it has two large propellers under each wing and seems pretty maneuverable. While we were flying, we got to use night vision goggles to look out of the planes windshield at Iraq, which was straight ahead, and Iran which was directly to our three o’clock (that means to our right in cool person speak). We also got to experience a tactical approach into Basra which was totally crazy and gave me a feeling like one I’ve never experienced. We felt  the force of twice our body weight pressing us into our seat during this maneuver, and Christina the Mermaid almost puked. That is pretty funny.

Once in Iraq, we drove to our little bunkered in rooms and crashed...hard.

Blackhawk takes off at 8:45 AM tomorrow.

 

 If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ

 

Marlins Continue Trolling for Bullpen Help

   The list of free agent relievers that appeal to the Marlins might be longer than the one containing the names of those they don't particularly fancy, with John Smoltz and Joe Nelson being just two of those falling into the second category.

    But the Marlins have touched base with Kevin Gregg and they're also keeping a close eye on several others, including Chan Ho Park, Seth McClung, Kiko Calero, Mike MacDougal, Derrick Turnbow and Jose Veras.

    Money, of course, will be the determining factor. With spring training just around the corner, the Marlins expect demands and asking prices to soften as unemployed free agents start to turn jittery. Gregg would likely be the most expensive option on their wish list even though he is coming off a rocky year in Chicago when he lost the closer's role with the Cubs. Calero, whom the Marlins non-tendered in November, is reportedly asking for a two-year deal but having trouble finding a taker.

    As for that left-handed hitter off the bench, look for the Marlins to bide their time in filling that role, just as they did last year when they traded for Ross Gload near the end of spring training. The Marlins first want to see how Jorge Jiminez, the Rule 5 pick they obtained from the Astros, does this spring.

With Mermaid at the Helm, Beinfest Nearly Dumped in Persian Gulf: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest as the Marlins contingent prepared to pull out of Kuwait and head into Iraq.

 

January 26th Kuwait - 

The first full day in Kuwait will be a tough day to beat.

My morning started with a light breakfast in the executive lounge at our hotel, I had some fruit and yogurt along with a double espresso in hopes that it would trick me into thinking it was really 7:30 in the morning and that I had actually gotten six hours of sleep.

We met in the lobby at 0830 hours (I think writing/saying the time this way sounds way cooler than “8:30 AM”) and after a brief stop at a Kuwaiti Starbucks headed to camp Arifjan. Now I am sure someone will correct me on what I am about to write, but I did not take notes, so everything I am putting to cyber paper is strictly from memory.

Camp Arifjan is the largest US Military Base in Kuwait. After Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Kuwait quickly realized that they could not adequately defend themselves from their hostile neighbors without the help of a large military power. Kuwait is a small country that sits on a large reserve of oil. Kuwait is roughly the size of New Jersey but is the tenth highest producer of oil. It is also a large seaport located in the perfect location to stage military operations for any country interested in the Middle East region. The relationship between Kuwait and the US is made out of necessity: the Kuwaitis need military help and the US needs a place to house/train/prepare soldiers and equipment for any Middle East operation.

The first stop on base for us was the PX store, it is like Wal-Mart for the the military. The store has everything one needs, from desert boots to Nintendo Wiis and televisions. I picked up a few things that say “Kuwait” on them for family members. I also bought myself a military watch since I forgot to bring a watch with me. After we checked out, we headed to one of the main buildings for a briefing where we learned the aforementioned information. We were also given a certificate of gratitude and an Army challenge coin. Members of the Army are given the coin unofficially by superiors as an “attaboy” or job well done. Any member can challenge another member from a different company with his or her coin. If the opposing member matches the coin with a similar one, the challenger must buy the challenged a drink, and vice versa. It is a way to build morale and familiarity between different people. Funny that no one is buying any drinks, because Alcohol is prohibited in the country of Kuwait. One of the posted photos is of me receiving my certificate.

After we were briefed, we headed to one of the community rooms to sign autographs and meet troops, we were there for quite awhile and met many interesting people. It was a fantastic first interaction as everyone was very happy to see us. It is very personally rewarding to shake hands with someone and know that you have made their day or maybe even month better. It is also strange because Chris and I don’t really feel like we are doing anything that special. I guess just being here is a pretty big deal.

After we signed for and thanked the soldiers, we joined them in the DVAC for lunch. I sat with a guy that was from the Dallas area that was on his third tour of duty. 

He told me fascinating stories about driving patrols from Arifjan all the way to the northern part of Iraq. It is amazing the things these men and women do for us.

We then packed into some Chevy Suburbans and headed to Kuwait Naval Base or KNB. We learned that despite being a Kuwaiti Base, it is fully operated by Americans. I only saw one Kuwaiti person while we were there and he was drinking tea in a guard booth, while members of the US Army patrolled the gate. We met with a company of men from South Dakota, Minnesota, Hawaii and California. The Californian played in a local Jazz Band (Concord Blue Devils - www.bluedevils.org ) near my home town in Concord. He also briefly taught drums at the same High School that I attended, De La Salle! What a small world. Half way across the globe and we meet for the first time. 

After our briefing, we boarded a small patrol ship with some members of the Navy and the US Coast Guard. The small ship was very fast and had three guns mounted on it. The one on the front was a fifty caliber! The gun was the same model used in WWII as an anti-tank weapon, the only update: plastic instead of wooden handles! We cruised around the Persian Gulf, skipping over waves, getting salt water everywhere and having a fantastic time. The crew of our boat was great. They let us take photos with the guns and even let one of the Mermaids, Estefania, drive, until she almost flipped the boat and deposited our team president in the Gulf!!!! This was the most exciting part of our trip to this point.

After we got back onto dry land, the girls performed a dance routine for the guys at KNB, we signed more autographs and met more troops then joined them for dinner in their DVAC. After dinner our entire party was starting to look increasingly weary, thankfully we only had one more stop.

We got back into the Suburbans and headed to the Kuwait Little League Complex. We were greeted with raucous cheers of “Let’s Go Fish!” as we walked into the small outdoor complex. There were a few decently manicured little league fields and around three hundred members of the KLL. The interesting part about the league is that it is the only league in the region run by a national and not an ex-pat.

 

 The commissioner of the league was a Kuwaiti man that went to college at the University of Miami and married a Cuban-American women from South Florida. Needless to say they were big Marlins fans, and half of the teams in the league were called the Marlins! We answered a few questions and then signed a ton more autographs, Fredi Gonzalez finally showed up (his first flight was cancelled due to inclement weather in Atlanta), and took some photos with the members of the league. When that was done we headed back to the hotel for some food and some much deserved R&R. 

 

    -- John Baker

 

    (P.S. -- Clark,  I don't know when I will be able to do this again because we are heading to a place where the internet is scarce.)

 

    If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ

 

 

Corvettes in Kuwait: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest as the Marlins contingent reached Kuwait on their way to their final destination:

    After the flight -- The "night" of January 25th in Kuwait....

    After we deplaned and went through the short painless visa process, we headed to baggage claim and got our stuff. Three out of the four members of the dance team [Mermaids cheerleaders] have bags that are bigger than they are. Girls. After we went through customs, which consisted of having our bags put through some sort of security scanner, we were out the door and into a van driving to our next destination -- the hotel.

    While riding down the freeway, the first thing I notice is how Western this place has become. H2s, Corvettes, and other popular American cars race down the road at breakneck speeds. A member of our security detail informs us that the police do not enforce speeding on any of the roads, so the goal is to drive as fast as you can without getting into a fatal accident. (I would learn later that this ideal is known in the world of Islam as 'Insha'Allah,' which translates to God willing. The people truly believe that when it is their time to die, they will die, so they drive with a strange reckless abandon, putting all their faith that Allah will deliver them to safety. They also have a "thirty minute rule" when it comes to dealing with the victims of an accident. The police and medical response units will only intercede thirty minutes after a crash. If you die  before that, 'Insha'Allah,' it is what God wills. If you last thirty minutes, you will receive medical attention.) We pass a giant mall that looks like a basketball arena and myriad giant palace-like houses that seem to line the freeway. We eventually pass a real palace on the way to the hotel and the best way to describe it (since it is against the law to photograph the building) is with one word: majestic.

   Our hotel is super nice. My room, or rather rooms, has a bedroom, two bathrooms, a dining room and a family style room with a big flat screen TV. Much of the programming is in English, so I feel right at home. For all I know, this could be transplated right into the U.S. and no one could tell the difference.

   After dropping the bags off at the room and changing into some athletic gear, I hit the gym with Coghlan in hopes of working up a sweat, so that I can fall asleep. Being 11 hours in the future is just plain weird. The gym is extremely nice. It is on par with large health clubs in the states, basically an upscale 24 Hour Fitness. I work out for around half an hour and successfully shake off the stiffness I have developed over twenty plus hours of traveling. Post workout the four guys on the trip get together for some dinner. We figured that Chinese food should be good in Asia, so that is what we had. Basically middle-eastern PF Chang's. I can say now that we won't  be eating there again.

    -- John Baker

    -- Photo: Baker, unidentified officer with Armed Forces Entertainment, and Chris Coghlan

    If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ

   

Marlins Arrival in Kuwait: John Baker Diary

Some members of the Marlins -- including manager Fredi Gonzalez, outfielder Chris Coghlan and president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest -- are on a goodwill mission to Iraq, where they plan on spending time with U.S. troops over the coming week. Marlins catcher John Baker has agreed to serve as a foreign correspondent, sharing his thoughts and observations on the trip by sending occasional updates to Fish Bytes. Here's his latest as the Marlins contingent reached Kuwait on their way to their final destination:

Jan. 25, 2010 -- 36,000 Feet above central Iraq

 6:52 AM Pacific Time

5:53 PM "I don't even know the name of the time zone." Time (SWA?)

Wow. I am writing this at the tail end of what has been an extremely long yet somehow pleasant travel day. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to business class, so my seat nearly fully reclined on the second flight. I am on a Boeing 777 and it is a huge plane. From the pictures you can see that it is quite comfortable. Amazingly, the seventeen hours of flying time has not seemed that long. It really hit me when I looked at the in flight monitor and watched the little computerized airplane fly directly over Baghdad and a region marked "Mesopotamia." It is not everyday that I get to be this close to the Cradle of Civilization.

The flights have been uneventful. I read on the first flight and listened to some music on my iPhone. Ona side note, after having this iPhone for less than a week, I don't know how I lived without one. Currently, I am reading Krakauer's "Where Men Win Glory." It is the story of NFL Player turned Army Ranger, Pat Tillman. After 9/11 Pat turned down a 3.6 million dollar contract to enlist in the Army and was killed in action two years later in the Khost region of Afghanistan. He was a victim of friendly fire. I've only just started the book, and it is already a sad story.

The second flight has actually been kind of fun despite its length. Coghlan and I engaged in a spirited debate aboutr life, faith, love, baseball and our motivations for heading out on this adventure. After that he slept. I seriously think he has been asleep for the better part of this flight....like ten hours!! I watched the Tarantino movgie, "Inglorious Bastards." I thought it was great, but like I do most of the time when I watch a Tarantino film, it ends and I feel like about half of it went right over my head.

  I'll probably watch another movie in the hotel room tonight, maybe "Food Inc." or perhaps "Facing Ali." I feel like a documentary is somehow appropriate. Anyways, can't wait to get to the hotel, take some of my own photos and keep everyone updated.

  -- John Baker (Photo: Baker and Chris Coghlan)

 If you want to read more about Baker and the trip, you're invited to visit his personal blog at www.johnbakerbaseball.com or follow him on Twitter at @manbearwolf. Coghlan is also updating the Iraq trip on his Twitter account: @cogz4Christ