When the Miami Marlins first showed interest in Albert Pujols it was, for St. Louis Cardinals fans, the first moment in which Pujols signing elsewhere after 2011 had transcended simple rumor—he was wined and dined down in Florida, and the Marlins apparently made an offer, which was reported, at first, to be very real indeed. I'm not saying I'm not still as worried as I was when Pujols was in Miami, but something has left me a little more comfortable than I used to be about the Marlins' apparent interest, and that is their apparent interest in every other free agent who is even remotely interested in playing baseball in 2012. According to MLB Daily Dish, the Marlins have performed a similar routine, now, with Pujols, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, C.J. Wilson, Ryan Madson, Heath Bell, and—while they're at it, offered the Oakland Athletics a chance to talk about young left-hander Gio Gonzalez.
↵That is, even if you're just going by paragraph length, a lot of wining and dining. The Marlins could still be in the mix for Pujols, but they certainly aren't waiting by the phone for Dan Lozano to call them back—at least, unless they've decided they're also in the mix for Jimmy Rollins.