R.I.P. Jose Fernandez

[TONGO]

http://a.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/RSN/Florida/2015/9/12/091215-fsf-mlb-miami-marlins-fernandez-PI.vresize.1200.675.high.70.jpg

I am gutted.

24 years old, and died in a boating accident this morning along with 2 others. He was the 2nd best pitcher in all of baseball, and would have been the best in a few more years. He had just successfully the year before come back from a season long absence from Tommy John surgery.

This will take a couple days to truly sink in for me.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Jos%C3%A9_Fern%C3%A1ndez_on_April_12,_2016.jpg/280px-Jos%C3%A9_Fern%C3%A1ndez_on_April_12,_2016.jpg

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/25/us/mlb-pitcher-jose-fernandez-dead/index.html

[cricket]

I don't follow baseball a lot anymore, but just before the trading deadline, I remember talk of the Red Sox trying to acquire the best young pitcher in the game. His name was Jose Fernandez.

RIP

[rauldc14]

RIP to one of the best Marlin players ever.

[Camo]

Damn. I don't follow baseball much but i was aware of him because i'm mostly interested in pitchers.

Way too young. RIP :(

[Sedai]

Very sad news indeed.

RIP Jose.

[TONGO]

http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BBwDcyH.img?h=680&w=1019&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1249&y=842

A boat carrying Jose Fernandez was traveling at a significant speed when it struck rocks as it approached a channel near the port of Miami, resulting in the death of the Miami Marlins pitcher and two close friends early Sunday morning, officials in Florida said.

Fernandez was killed as a result of the impact of the crash, and did not drown, Lorenzo Veloz, an official with the Florida Wildlife Commission, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

Fernandez, 24, was not driving the boat when it struck a jetty near Government Cut, a channel that provides boats direct ocean access from Miami Beach. Veloz said the three victims were between 24 and 27 years old. They were not identified pending notification of family members.

Veloz said alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash and no illicit drugs were found at the scene. Toxicology results will not be available until autopsies are performed

Veloz said Fernandez and his friends made frequent trips on the boat, and that he saw other Marlins players on the boat on occasions he stopped it for safety checks.

“Jose was never known to drive it,” Veloz said.

He said the 32-foot Sea Vee Center Console fishing vessel was owned by one of the other men killed in the crash. Those boats can reach speeds between 55 and 65 mph depending on the size of the engine, according to the SeaVee Boats web site.

Their boat was traveling southbound toward Government Cut when it struck the north end of the jetty at, Veloz said, “what appeared to be full speed.” The boat suffered severe damage on the bottom.

“The vessel hit the rocks and capsized,” Veloz said. “It does appear speed was involved due to the impact and severity of it.”

Debris from the boat was spotted and reported to the Coast Guard shortly after 3 a.m., said Megan Dean, a Coast Guard commander in Miami. Eight divers from Miami Fire and Rescue were deployed shortly before 4 a.m. and soon recovered three bodies. Veloz said they are certain there are no other victims.

It is unclear at what time the crash occurred, though the Marlins' game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night did not end until 10:30 p.m.

Veloz said none of the men were wearing life jackets, although it appears that might not have aided in their rescue.

“The jetty is rocks, it’s not very visible,” Veloz said. “But we are aware that vessel has traveled several times through the area. Sometimes, at night, you deviate.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/details-emerge-in-death-of-jose-fernandez/ar-BBwC1PQ?li=BBnb7Kz

On a side note regarding boaters in Florida, there is hardly a lick of training or education people get when driving these vehicles. Tide was low, rocks were up, and the driver didnt have the sense to know. Speeding that fast at night?! What a total wasteful preventable needless tragedy this was.

[TONGO]

Fernandez's friend sent ominous text prior to crash

A text message sent by one of the men who died in the fatal boating crash on Sunday off the coast in South Florida that killed Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is chilling and eerie given what later transpired.

Eddy Rivero is one of the three men who died in the crash, along with Fernandez and Emilio Macias. In a text message conversation with a friend, Rivero hinted at potential danger ahead by saying “Trust me. It’s not my time.”

Here’s a look at the text message conversation Rivero had with a friend prior to the fatal boat crash:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/fernandezs-friend-sent-ominous-text-prior-to-crash/ar-BBwF3Xa?li=BBnb7Kz

[TONGO]

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/9/5/2/203512952/092616_mia_players_surround_mound_med_dvycd8lm.gif

On night heavy with grief, Dee Gordon produces magic
Smallest guy on field homers after tribute to fallen teammate

Dee Gordon was holding the bat. We know that.

But the forces that swung it through the strike zone?

Those are impossible to know, to quantify, to attribute.

Carl Sagan says that "if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." Maybe Sagan could explain the dynamics that were at work at Marlins Park on Monday night, but it's a fool's mission to even try.

Let's just say that the magic Gordon delivered with a leadoff home run was a lot bigger than any one player, especially the smallest one on the field.

"We had some help," Gordon said.

On Sunday, when the news of Jose Fernandez's death was as fresh as it was heartbreaking, Martin Prado admitted it would be tough to go on.

They beat the Mets, 7-3, then circled the pitcher's mound marked with Fernandez's No. 16. They started on their feet, locked arm in arm, and many ended on their knees. While fans in the crowd of 26,933 chanted, "Jose, Jose, Jose,'' the guys in uniform stayed a long time before leaving their caps near the pitching rubber and heading off the field.

When the Marlins took their positions to face the Mets, after Sunday's game against Atlanta was postponed, Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, Gordon and other players had tear stains mixing with their eye black.

They couldn't have known where they'd find the strength to take their first steps without Fernandez.

Yet Gordon, the skinny leadoff man listed at 170 pounds, showed them.

https://twitter.com/Marlins/status/780594500515209216

A left-handed hitter, he went to the plate to bat right-handed, the way his friend Jose hit. He wore a batting helmet marked with Fernandez's No. 16.

Gordon took the first pitch for a ball, then exchanged the first helmet for his own and moved over to the left side. He looked at ball two, then took a big swing at one of Colon's trademark 85-mph fastballs. The baseball soared high and far, into the upper deck in right field, Gordon's first home run in 306 at-bats, since the final game of the 2015 season.

Then, in the time it took him to circle the bases, he fell apart.

Gordon was crying before he touched home plate, then started sobbing as he received hugs from his friends. First, Marcell Ozuna, the on-deck hitter, then Stanton and essentially everyone else who, like him, was wearing a black, No. 16 Fernandez jersey.

"I told the boys, 'If y'all don't believe in God, you might as well start [believing],'' Gordon said. "I've never hit a ball that far, even in batting practice.''

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/203591184/on-grief-filled-night-dee-gordon-brings-magic/

[rauldc14]

I am still so saddened by this situation. Would have been one of the all time greats and seemed like a great guy.