Best week for the Marlins in a loooooong time

This last week has been filled with many promising signs for the Marlins on the field....but perhaps the best sign came from what the organization did off of it.  Folks, Hanley Ramirez is here to stay, thanks to his new 6 year, $70 million deal. Tremendous move, and all in all a steal down the road when you think of what he could be making if Hanley continues to put up the numbers he has thus far.  This was a move that shows the fans, the players, the nay-sayers and the rest of the league that there is a commitment by the franchise to make competitive baseball a priority in South Florida.  That's right ESPN, get all your 'who-cares' comments about the Marlins out now, because with the new stadium on the horizon, the Fish now have the funds to keep the team together.

Although there are a number of players that will be up for arbitration at the end of the year, I wouldn't expect the Marlins to sign another player to a multi-year deal for at least a few months.  Of the main players that will be up for it (Willingham, Uggla, Jacobs, Hermida and Olsen) I would think that the next long term deal would be offered to Hermida or Olsen. I would love for all of them to stay, and they all might, but with the emphasis the front office puts on pitching, Olsen would be a no-brainer; especially considering teams usually pay through the nose (where did that expression ever come from? sounds pretty painful) for pitchers via arbitration or free-agency (see Ted Lilly, Barry Zito, Gil Meche, Oliver Perez). And of the position players, Hermida is the youngest and a former #1 draft pick of the organization.  Then again, with the numbers that Uggla and Jacobs are amassing, their arbitration price might be quite high as well, so maybe they would be offered deals to save money in the long run.  I didn't major in accounting though, so I'll leave all these tough choices (and no doubt they are) to Beinfest and Loria. Either way-  this is a good problem to have and for what seems like the first time in forever (maybe because it is) the Marlins have some resources to keep a young team entact.

Now to the action on the field: a seven game win streak has the high-flying Fish growing legs in place of their fins and running away from the pack in the division. (yes, they are flying, running and swimming all at the same time) Call it what you want, but the Florida Marlins right now boast the best record in the Majors.  That's right. That is not one of the many, many typos that I have in this blog.  That is a fact my friends.  I know it is only the 12th of May, but I would rather be 3 games in place than 3 games out any day.  Throw in the fact that the pitching has been much better this month than it was in April (only 2 games where Florida has allowed more than 5 runs and 6 where they gave allowed 3 or less, including 2 shutouts) and you have yourself a solid ballclub.  Top to bottom, do the Marlins have the best players in the Majors? The short answer is no.  Are they talented? No question about it.  The offense bailed out Olsen yesterday, but during a long win streak you have to have a comeback here or there to keep it going.  Right now you are seeing the confidence the players have every time they take the field, and it shows in their performance.  They believe in themselves, and that is something no manager can teach.  Hopefully it continues against the Reds.  Harang and Volquez will be no easy task, but there is no reason to believe the Marlins cannot take the series against a team with one of the worst records in the National League.

Speaking of records, the going gets much tougher in the coming weeks as the Marlins will play 16 games in a row against the Diamonbacks, Giants (who have better starting pitching than their record would indicate) Mets, Phillies and Braves.  You never like to look ahead, but that will be a better test for this young ballclub than the majority of the early games have been.  I am becoming a believer though, because good teams beat the ones they are suppossed to.  AND with the best record in the Bigs, who can really complain right now?  For once, not me.