There's a lot to like here moving forward: the cache of young starters, frisky kids like Cameron Maybin, Matt Lindstrom in the 'pen -- but the usual financial issues will force them to deal off Kevin Gregg and others ... Maybe you take some of the slow-footed sluggers due for hefty raises, like Mike Jacobs or Dan Uggla, and trade them for pitching depth and guys who can field their position. The Marlins have plenty of offense; they can get by with a defense-minded player at second base.
09/23/2008
14
15
They're positively batty at the plate nowadays. Batty, I tells ya! ... Hanley Ramirez is a shiny-faced young superstar and all that, but his hits are way down this season (from 212 in 2007 to 169) and his strikeouts are way up (from 95 to 121). Factor in his short-attention-span defense, and the Ramirez vs. Jose Reyes debate flares once anew.
09/16/2008
15
15
Matt Lindstrom has been one of the game's sharper relievers since his minor league refresher course a month or two back, and he's certainly priced within the Marlins' budget for 2009 and 2010. ... Mark it down: Kevin Gregg will be a goner within minutes of Larry Beinfest's arrival at the Winter Meetings.
09/09/2008
15
15
It'll take me some time to do the research, but I'm venturing a guess that Mike Jacobs is enjoying one of the worst-ever offensive seasons by a guy who hit 30 HRs. Yes, home runs are the best possible result for an at-bat, but that .290 OBP drains a good deal of his offensive value. ... They get Renyel Pinto and Kevin Gregg back tonight for the 'pen. ... .500 would be a wonderful result for this kids-n-bits team, even if it's going to take some cash -- guys like Gregg, Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla get expensive next year -- to keep the current core together in 2009.
09/02/2008
15
15
I'm guessing we wouldn't have heard much about Kevin Gregg's knee ouchie had he not surrendered eight runs in his past two blown saves ... Yeah, elevating Luis Gonzalez (.758 OPS) in the batting order is a sure-fire way to spark your offense. Might I also recommend Paul Lo Duca in the cleanup spot? ... They haven't won consecutive games since July 31.
08/26/2008
15
17
Do not take their two-spot elevation as anything other than a commentary on the teams below them. This is a now a mediocre club with solid pitching and weak offense, as opposed to the mediocre club with solid offense and weak pitching they were at season's start. ... This week's stat-that-looks-like-a-typo entry: In his last 43 innings, Ricky Nolasco has walked three and struck out 51. ... His ball-bludgeoning notwithstanding, Dan Uggla might be a kinda not-good player. He punts one out of every three double-play balls hit his way and routinely gets lost on the basepaths (as he did yet again against the Giants, when he ran through a stop sign and cost the Marlins a run in a game they eventually lost by one). Since the break, he's hitting .189 with four homers and 12 RBI.
08/19/2008
17
12
They went 5-7 over the past two weeks against the Mets, Phillies, Cubs and Cardinals, which is about what you'd expect. ... This isn't the best time for bullpen mainstay Renyel Pinto (13 runs in 11-plus innings since the break) to be exploding. Pinto has been used so often this season that my arm hurts when he enters the game. ... They will miss both Brandon Webb and Tim Lincecum on their upcoming West Coast swing.
08/12/2008
12
11
They have the chance to become the first team in MLB history with four 25-dinger infielders. Colorful, quotable stats like this mask that the team (especially Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez) hasn't hit much since the break and remains on pace to strike out approximately 32,646 times. ... They enter Week 2 of their brutal mid-August stretch having mostly treaded water against the Phillies and Mets. Up next: three more against the Cardinals and three against the Cubs.
08/05/2008
11
12
The run differential still paints a troubling portrait, with the Marlins having been outscored by 23 over their first 112 games. And yet here they are, with their starting pitchers rounding into form as they careen into Philadelphia and New York this week. ... John Baker's mini-surge notwithstanding, the Marlins won't have a competent starting catcher until Matt Treanor returns, and perhaps not even then.
07/29/2008
12
14
They played the Cubbies to a draw, which has to be huge boost to the collective self-esteem of South Florida. ... This team needs a catcher something fierce, with Matt Treanor sidelined indefinitely with old-man's hip. Bengie Molina, maybe? It can't hurt to ask. ... If you're a Marlins fan, you more or less have to assume that any ball hit toward the left side of your infield will result in a base hit or an error. Sometimes I wonder if Hanley Ramirez just gets bored with the game's menial tasks.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/28/2008
29
-
About 18 months ago, when Joe Girardi has his team streaking down the stretch and he was streaking to manager of the year, things looked so much better. The young pitching never panned out, unless you count it stretching out across the surgical table in the cases of Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez. Another rebuild has them hoping Cameron Maybin is the second coming of Hanley Ramirez and latter isn't the next big name to be shipped out of town.
