Interleague play right now has been the difference maker right now for the NL East. The Marlins have been swept by the Rays and Royals, and lost 2 of 3 to the A's. If not for slumping during ILplay the Marlins would have retained a first place lead by about 4 games.
The Phillies haven't had any luck either, but have fared a little better. Their situatoin is different in that their pitching has been solid, but the hitting got shut down. Marlins hitting has remained solid for the most part, but our pitching went to crap. I have to concede that the AL is the better league right now.
With the Marlins I am now promoting the firing of Fredi Gonzalez. He is worse then Joe Girardi. Both of these guys got good teams that make them look good. This Marlins team should have a much better record if Gonzalez handled the pitching better. Some guys are pitching awesome, but then Fredi pulls them on 90 something pitches. Let them go an extra inning. Then some pitchers, like Mark Hendrickson, are left in to get demolished.
This year Hendrickson has been a joke. What is taking so long for him to get released. We had a short hook on Badenhop, Vandenhurk, and Tankersley, but not Hendrickson. He's been pitching batting practice all year. Are they waiting for Josh Johnson? How about we invest time in any other pitcher. Bring up Gaby Hernandez, or move Logan Kensing into the rotation to share spot starts with Badenhop. Now Badenhop is injured. Vandenhurk was left in the minors since April. Eugolio De La Cruz is a better option right now then Hendrickson.
I sure hope all this waiting for Josh Johnson, Sergio Mitre, or Anibel Sanchez is worth it. Late in September they could falla few games out and when we look back at the season, we will remember how long we held on to Hendrickson and all the games we should have won, but didn't.
