Monday, Maybin will undergo a procedure to repair a partially torn left labrum. Maybin experienced some discomfort during the season, but it wasn't severe enough to keep him out of the lineup during his September call up or while he was at Triple-A New Orleans. Once the problem is corrected, Maybin will split time rehabbing in Jupiter and back at his North Carolina residence.

He will be ready for spring training.

Maybin essentially became a regular during the final month of the season when Jeremy Hermida went down with an oblique strain. He finished the campaign 20 for 64 (.312) with seven extra-base hits and 11 runs scored batting mostly out of the two- and eight-hole.

Maybin is expected to be the Opening Day center fielder again in 2010. Because of his May demotion, he will not qualify for arbitration until after the 2012 season. Had he totaled another two weeks or so of service time last season, he could have qualified as a Super 2 after 2011.

In other news, the Marlins officially announced their 2010 coaching staff. In addition to Randy St. Claire (pitching), Reid Cornelius (bullpen) and Josue Espada (infield/first base), the Marlins added Dave Collins (outfield/base running/third base).

Collins spent 16 seasons in the majors with eight different teams from 1975-1990. He has been a first base coach three different times with the Cardinals (1991-92), Reds (1999-2000) and Rockies (2003-06). Collins' last job in professional baseball was managing Inland Empire in the advanced Class A California League.

By no means was Hermida a bust in the true sense of the word. He's not Jaime Jones or Chip Ambres. Yet he departs the only franchise he's known as probably one of the biggest underachievers to wear the uniform. Were the expectations unrealistic? Maybe to a degree, but especially since Hanley Ramirez emerged no one expected Hermida to hoist the franchise on his shoulders. Had Hermida consistently hit .275 with 20 homers, 80 RBI and a .375 on-base percentage he might still be a Marlin. He's certainly capable of those numbers.

Hermida doesn't turn 26 until January. He's had issues staying on he field, but I he's far from washed up. Last night he said a change of scenery should benefit him. I would agree, though I wonder whether the high intensity environment in Boston is conducive for a low-key guy like Hermida to have an offensive renaissance.

Is Hermida the most exasperating player in franchise history? I think he's in the conversation with guys like Josh Booty and A.J. Burnett. Derrek Lee didn't tap his full potential until he went to Chicago. You could probably argue Brad Penny's numbers weren't commensurate with his talent. A few guys on the current roster might qualify with a subpar 2010.

Am I forgetting anyone?

In addition to the aforementioned trio, the Marlins have hired an outfield/base running coach from outside the organization.

Cornelius spent the last two of his three big league seasons with the Marlins (1999-2000). Last season he was the pitching coach at Double-A Jacksonville after spending the previous five years in the same position with Class-A Jupiter.

Espada, who takes over for Andy Fox, just completed his second season as the organization's minor league infield coordinator. He joined the Marlins in 2006 as the low-Class A Greensboro hitting coach and in 2007 took the same post with the Hammerheads. He had a 10-year professional career as a player, including most of the 2001 season with the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in Calgary, but never reached the majors.

Former Marlins coaches Bo Porter and Steve Foster landed jobs with the Diamondbacks and Royals, respectively. Porter signed a two-year deal to be the third base coach in Arizona and Foster will be the bullpen coach in KC.

Stanton is coming off an extremely productive six-game stint in the prospect-rich Arizona Fall League. A stress fracture in his back cut short his AFL season, but Stanton through 23 at-bat was pacing the circuit with a .478 batting average.

"Because of where he's coming from and he doesn't have a lot of at-bats, we're not rushing here at all and there's no need for it," said Jim Fleming, Marlins vice president of player development and scouting. "Quite honestly, he's not ready to play in the big leagues right now based on what he did this year. We gauge this year more than spring training. He's making great strides and you don;t want to get caught up in the excitement of who he is and who he can be and have him get there too soon."

Stanton was a multi-sport athlete at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He doesn't have quite the number of at-bats of a guy that's dedicated himself to baseball. The Marlins were hoping the AFL would help remedy that.

The other goal the Marlins wanted Stanton to accomplish was to get back to his Class-A Jupiter form. Stanton batted .294 with 12 homers, 39 RBI and a .390 on-base percentage for the Hammerheads. His offensive numbers dipped upon his promotion to Double-A Jacksonville, where he had a .311 OBP.

"Mike has a tendency to stride too far and have too much movement," Fleming said. "We wanted to soften his stride and shorten the stride, and that's where it was in Jupiter. That's exactly where he got to [in the AFL]. His pitch recognition was up and his ability to cover the strike zone went up. Some of the sliders and breaking balls away he wasn't getting to in Double-A, he was getting to there. That's really all we wanted."

Stanton will take three or four weeks off to let his stress fracture heal before starting a four-week rehab program.

On a somewhat peculiar note, the Marlins voided the contract of sixth rounder Dustin Dickerson, an infielder out of Baylor. Dickerson had agreed to a $150,000 signing bonus earlier this summer and went on to play 46 games for short season Class-A Jamestown, hitting an unspectacular .214 with a .519 on-base plus slugging percentage in 159 at-bats.

The Marlins would not reveal specifics of their decision, citing legal issues. They voided the contract under article 17 of the minor league uniform player agreement, which states teams can terminate agreements because of the existence of a non-disclosed physical or mental defect.

In other news, top Marlins prospect Michael Stanton's Arizona Fall League run is over. The Marlins sent Stanton home with a sore back. He was leading the AFL with a .478 batting average (11 for 23) in six games.

The Marlins have tabbed St. Claire as their new pitching coach. St. Claire spent six-plus seasons in the same position with the Washington Nationals before he was fired in June. The Marlins turned their attention to St. Claire after Bryan Price turned down an offer and opted to take the Reds’ pitching coach job.

A native of Glenn Falls, N.Y., St. Claire knows the Marlins ownership group from his time in the Expos system. Before taking the major league pitching coach assignment in Dec. 2002, St. Claire, 49, spent the previous five seasons coaching in the Expos farm system.

St. Claire has overseen some decent staffs. In 2003 and 2005, the Expos/Nationals ranked sixth (4.01) and fourth (3.87) in team ERA, respectively, among National League staffs. His 2003 rotation, St. Claire's best ever in terms of ERA (3.82), finished 56-57 and featured Livan Hernandez, Javier Vazquez, Tomo Ohka and Zach Day.

None of St. Claire's rotations has ever won more games than it's lost. From 2006-08, St. Claire's starting staff's with the Nationals ranked 16th, 15th, and 13th in NL ERA. Those teams didn't have as a capable a one-two punch as Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco.

The Marlins hope to make some additional hires before week’s end. They still have openings for a bullpen, first base, and third base coach. The Marlins likely will fill the bullpen job from within, likely with Double-A pitching coach Reid Cornelius or Triple-A pitching coach Scott Mitchell.

WFTL already carries Yankees regular season games and will air World Series broadcasts as well. In addition to discussing everything Yankees, the station will feature interviews with current and former Yankees in advance of C.C. Sabathia throwing the first pitch of the Fall Classic.

Not a bad idea considering this market is saturated with Yankee fans. South Florida certainly isn't devoid of Phillies fans, so this could make for some decent trash talk.

General thoughts on the Series? My feeling is it hinges on Cole Hamels pitching like Cole Hamels. Two great offenses in two hitter friendly parks. Wouldn't surprise me to see a couple of high scoring games.

This morning on ESPN's Mike and Mike show, the Players Association revealed their first two Players Choice awards. In addition to Happ, the outstanding AL rookie honor went to White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham.

Players cast their votes around mid-September. Not sure whether the results would have swung in Chris Coghlan's favor had they made their picks after the season ended. Remember Coghlan finished with back-to-back 50-plus hit months.

Right or wrong, there's a perception that playing for the Marlins isn't as tough as performing for a big market team. No fans in the stands. No pressure. Happ no doubt is benefitting from doing what he did for the defending World Series champions.

Happ certainly is in the top three, but I question giving the award to a pitcher over an everyday player with a multitude of historic achievements.

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The White Sox claimed De Aza off waivers. That leaves 37 on the 40-man roster plus Alfredo Amezaga, who remains on the 60-day disabled list.
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