Yes, that is Andrew Miller, and no that headline is not a misprint, although I cannot blame you if you thought that it was the setup to a punchline somehow involving Jorge Julio.  Miller has been impressive the last month (I am shocked too) and ESPN continues to remind all of us why they are the furthest thing from informative as possible.  You can read all about it on the new site for Marlins Musings, as well as many other blogs from fans of the rest of the league on the home page.  Check 'em out, and root for the Fish!!!!

As I have said all year long, Andrew Miller is a great young lefty and Jorge Cantu is the best player in the Marlins' infield.....and if you believe me, then you weren't reading my blogs.  However, it was largely thanks to these two that the Fish won their second in a row against the Phillies tonight.  You can read my other Marlins Musings blog to get my fair and balanced opinion on tonight's game.  Or you can watch SportsCenter, but why would you? They were the ones who weren't even showing Florida highlights most of April.  Fair-weather announcers, I say. 

The Marlins wrapped up their 4 game series with the Reds last night with a 9-4 loss, giving them a split of the series.  Although they did get to Volquez for 3 runs, it wasn't enough because Hendrickson gave the Fish another one of his middle relief efforts instead of a starting one.  *Puts head in hands and tries not to bash it against the counter*  If you are a happy Reds fan or a masochistic Marlins fan (aren't we all?) you can get the rest of the scoop on the game by going my other blog here on myteamrivals.com.  Check out the other posts too, there are plenty of other teams to read up on.  But only one place to read about the Fish, which is a good thing for last night's game.

Although Marlins Musings might have pulled a double switch and moved here, let it be known that my loyalty as a Fish fan was never in question.  Nope, I didn't turn the TV off in the top of the ninth, utter about 35 curse words and basically concede the game. (OK, maybe for just a few minutes).  But like Yogi Berra said (no, not AFLAC), it ain't over till it's over!

Attention valued blog readers: (all three and a half of you).  Marlins Musings has been shifted to myteamrivals.com.  But for the sake of you loyalists, I will continue to put a link of my latest post here, like so.

And that Philles Braves game tonight was unreal! I can't believe that Kelly Johnson dropped the pop-up!  Jorge Cantu has got NOTHING on that.  But after watching the way that the Braves beat the Marlins this last week, I can't say I'm upset with the Atlanta losing a heartbreaker. I hope it happens again tomorrow,

Attention valued blog readers. Marlins Musings has moved their location. Simply click here to read it!  Trust me, it is the same content you have come to love (or hate).  But nonetheless, you are just one click away from reading about the big comeback win today!

Call to the bullpen.  These 4 words were the key to the Marlins success for the first 2 months of the season.  Lately, they seem to be the team's biggest weakness.  Starting with the rubber game in New York when the Marlins relievers blew 2 saves, they haven't been able to recover since.  Last night was just the latest chapter in what is becoming a horror novel penned by what supossed to be the strength of this team (and still is) at the start of the year. It has been a collective meltdown, with Gregg blowing 2 saves, Kensing losing, Waechter getting touched up, Miller blowing a save and losing, and the last two nights Matt Lindstrom giving up runs in the 8th inning. When the bullpen door has opened on this trip, it seemed like it unleashed a black hole into which all Florida leads are consumed.

Matt Lindstom, and I have said this before, reminds me a little bit of Kyle Farnswoth (and that is not a good thing). The reason I say this is that he throws the same kind of pitches. A 96-100mph fastball that looks nice on the radar gun, but it is completely straight.  And I don't care if you can throw it 110, if the ball is straight it is easier for a hitter to square it up.  And then he has a good hard slider, but doesn't always have the best control with it. As a fan who has seen his share of Yankee games in the last 3 years, this is the exact same makeup as Farnsworth.  I personally thought that Linstrom was pitching a little over his head, especially in the Diamonbacks series. Give him credit- he did a good job there- but it was only a matter time until he came back to Earth. He will still have his good moments this season, but I do not trust him as a consistent 8th inning set-up man.

Burke Badenhop (did anyone else see that little hop he does after every pitch? How fitting!) last night settled down after giving up a 3-run homer with nobody out in the first.  He finished 5 innings, and only gave up 3 hits after the first inning.  As the fifth starter on this team, that's about what you can expect.  He gave the team a chance to win, and Uggla delivered with 2 home runs...off of a tough pitcher too.  It is just unbelievable that when the Marlins put the lead in the bullpen's hands, they are giving it up.  What else can the team do? If you cannot trust the back end of the pitching staff to hold leads that the team gives them......how do you win games?  Apparently you don't. Well, this needs to stop.  And it needs to stop now!  In case you haven't looked, the Braves are now only 1 game behind the Marlins for second place.  And with the direction that these 2 teams are headed, objects in the rear-view mirror ARE much closer than they appear.

Mark Hendrickson vs. Tom Glavine today.  Scouts might as well leave the radar guns turned off in this one.  The good news is that the Marlins have had a lot of success agaisnt Glavine throughout his Hall-of-Fame career.  The bad news, Hendrickson is coming off his worst start ever.  I'm just going to wear my pajamas inside out and do a rain dance.  Hey, if the game gets rained out, the Marlins can't lose!

*"You can look to us for giving up a few runs here and there, but we're going to give up runs throughout the year. One thing we've got to do is, we can't be giving them runs -- in a sense -- defensively. We've just got to simplify the game and get back to the basic things of fielding the ball, throwing the ball. It's going to take a little bit off the pitchers when we do that." ~The words of one Mr. Kevin Gregg, who blew the save last night when the tying run scored on a wild pitch. Here is some more of what he had to say.....

*"We had it. We had it right there. I got a ground ball that most of the time would be a double play. Tonight it didn't turn out that way." ~On the ground ball to Cantu who had to hesitate for just a second (this one wasn't Cantu's fault) because if he threw right away to second base, he would have taken off Jeff Francoeur's head. The slight hesitation allowed the runner enough time to get to first....

*"With the wild pitch, it was a pitch that I liked, and I'd throw it again. I threw it again on the next pitch, with the winning run on third. So I didn't change my approach any." ~On the wild pitch that tied the game

Translation: "Don't look at me, I mean I didn't give up a hit.  I got a ground ball that should have ended the game.  I made the hitter swing and miss on a bad pitch.  It's not like I got pounded out there.  They tied the game because stupid Rabelo couldn't handle my slider in the dirt.  Yea, so what if I walked a couple of batters?  There are 8 other guys with gloves out there, and they have to make the plays, not me.  I just throw it, man. Doesn't matter if it's in the strike zone or not, I did my job. I wish the others would do theirs. It doesn't matter when I make mistakes, that just means that my teammates have to be perfect behind me. And if they aren't, well don't look at me, look at them. Whaa. Whaaa. And my daddy didn't let me put sugar on my frosted flakes either."

I am certainly no psychologist, but does anyone else sense an air of animosity and lack of accountability by the Marlins closer?  I mean, it wasn't the shoddy defense that WALKED 2 Braves in the 9th inning.  Last time I checked Mr. Gregg, walks are the pitcher's fault.  If you hadn't put runners on base perhaps a double play wouldn't have been necessary.  By him saying that the defense can't give away runs, he was obviously referring to the wild pitch that tied the game, but when you walk the leadoff hitter, and a free-swinging hitter at that, you are begging for trouble.  Living in New Jersey, I don't really get a feel for the mood of the Marlins' clubhouse because I can't read the local papers and watch the pre and post game interviews at all.  I hope that there isn't some dissension in the clubhouse between Gregg and some of the everyday position players.  I'm sure Kevin was frustrated- we all are given the way the games have gone the past week- but can he step up and accept some of the blame for the loss? I mean after all, your team gave you the ball with the lead in the 9th inning.  They did their job.  I know closers blow saves, it's part of the ebb and flow of the season, but have some class when you fail, and not pass the buck and deflect the blame to others. That makes a good teammate.

This loss hurts, as most of the ones on the road trip have so far. There were a lot of good signs in this game that the loss covered up: Olsen turned in a good start.  I know he gave up 2 home runs, but he kept his team in the game and ate up 6 innings. His velocity seemed better too, as he threw several pitches 90-91 mph. Dan Uggla hit 2 more doubles, and just missed a third one by inches that would have scored 2 runs.  Joe Nelson got Chipper Jones out with the bases loaded to keep the deficit at 1 heading into the 9th; He has been pretty consistent in his short time with the team.  Also, the Marlins rallied against Smoltz to take the lead.  Treanor hit a double, Helms hit a rope to left, and Hermida got the one big hit that the Marlins have been looking for the better part of a week.  With 2 outs he hit a high fastball the other way to left which gave the Marlins the lead.  I really thought that was going to be the big hit that got this team out of the rut they are in and give them some momentum.  To take the lead against Smoltz in Atlanta with 2 outs in the 9th? Hits don't come any bigger than that.  Unfortunately, it just set the stage for a bigger heartbreak when Kensing eventually gave up the 2 run homer to Escobar in the 10th.

Now the Marlins face the tough task of having to take 3 in a row against the team with one of the best home records in the NL just to make this a 5-5 trip.   The will and heart of this team will be tested in the coming weeks.  They have lost a bunch of tough games lately, and how they do or do not rebound will tell a lot about how the rest of the season will go. I don't know how many more ways they can find to lose a game, and they have to start winning now. 

*"It was not the most ideal end in the game for us, but we had some comebacks there, we scored runs when we were down. We were down and we came back. And we were down, and we came back again. So there are positives to take, but obviously it didn't end on a positive."~ Marlins starter Scott Olsen. That's the right thing to say, (Mr. Gregg) and hopefully the team rest of the team will have the same attitude and come out fresh and ready tonight

Badenhop vs. Campillo tonight. Campillo is just a 5 inning pitcher, but he has not given up many runs, as evidenced by his 0.99 ERA. Tough task again for the Fish tonight, but they must turn this losing skid around, because I get the sense that the season is on the brink of spiraling out of control if they don't.  Let's go Marlins!

*All quotes are thanks to the Florida Marlins website.  Although this citation is certainly not in MLA format, (it's OK. I doubt my old English teachers are reading anyway) the lawyer in me says I have to attribute them to the proper source, because I certainly didn't ask the players the questions.  If I did, I think Gregg would have banned me from the locker room forever.

What is up with Hanley Ramirez lately?  I know he had 2 hits yesterday, but it seems as if the last month or so that teams have figured out how to pitch to him with 2 strikes.  All they have to do is throw him a fastball on the outer half of the plate and he will just take it for a called third strike and go sit down. (Just like Gordon did yesterday) And for a hitter who goes to right field very well, this is a little alarming.  I could understand if he was a dead pull hitter, but Ramirez is at his best when he is shooting the ball the right field; something he still has done during this funk early in the count.  It just seems that when he gets to two strikes, for whatever reason, he will not even try to foul off a pitch away.  I don't understand what is going on with him, but this needs to get corrected. It is becoming more and more frustrating, maddening and a hazard to my mental health to just watch him take very hittable pitches for called strike three after called strike three.  SWING THE BAT!

Look, I am all for a hitter being patient even when he has 2 strikes on him, but he has become TOO passive at the plate lately.  If Hanley would just swing the bat and foul a pitch or two off with 2 strikes, it would go a long way in helping his offense.  You can't just continue to sit there and take a strike again and again and again.  I'm sure Presley is working with Hanley on this, but it needs to get turned around soon.  It is too easy to blame all of this on the contract that Ramirez signed, but I do understand this slump does coincide with it.  I'm not going to go there yet, but Hanley must change his approach at the plate, because pitchers will continue to attack him the same way until he does......And my consumption of liquor will continue to skyrocket as a result.

Despite what my 'tag cloud' will tell you, the Florida Marlins are now in second place in the NL East, thanks to this weekend series in Philly.  The Phillies took two of three from the Marlins, and by doing so took first place away from the Fish.  Actually, I think it was more like Waechter left first place right over the plate for the taking, and Jenkins was more than happy to put it in the outfield seats.  Combine that with 2 errors, (ANOTHER ONE BY CANTU) one on a nice-idea-but-botched-execution pickoff, hit batters and wild pitches you had yourself a 7-5 loss when the dust settled. The Phillies played some nice defense in this game as well.  I think that there is a crater where Ryan Howard dove into the ground to catch a bunt by Jones, but Howard made a helluva play to get there. (See Florda, see what happens when your defense takes outs AWAY from the opposition instead of giving them EXTRA ones!?)

The one thing that I learned from watching this series, specifically the game today, is that the Marlins were playing a better version of themselves.  When you look at the makeup of these 2 teams, they have a lot of similarities between them.  The Marlins have a good lineup, with numerous threats to jack one out at any given time.  The Phillies have the same thing, only with some hitters like Victorino, Utley and Burrell who will take a walk and hit for average as well as power.  The Marlins strength of their pitching staff is the bullpen, just like the Phillies.  But Lidge is much more proven than Gregg, and the Phillies' bullpen ERA is the best in NL. Florida's pen has gotten roughed up a little on the road trip so far, perhaps a byproduct of them pitching so many innings already.  In the 6 games on the trip, only 1 starter, Nolasco, has gone longer than 5 innings.  And it was one of the two that they have won so far! Who knew?

I didn't turn this game on today until it was 5-1 Marlins, (I was doing some charity work earlier in the morning. It is good for the Feng Shui of the soul they say, or something like that) And needless to say I was more than pleasantly surprised with the score. Mainly beacuse Moyer has never lost to Florida in his career, and when I found out that Jacobs had 2 homers off the southpaw, I was even more excited.  Jake has been in a but of a slump himself, so if he starts swinging like he did in early April, look out! Andrew Miller pitched....like a young rookie who has some promising potential; but all in all that is better than he has been for the majority of the season.  He only allowed 2 earned runs in 5, but walks were a issue for him early on (as per Tommy Hutton).  The reason that the Marlins lost this important rubber game today was lack of execution on their end, and the Phillies doing their part.  Philly took advantage of the Marlins errors and pushed across an unearned run early in the game.  Then in the 6th, enter Doug Waechter. I didn't approve of his call-up when Gardner went on the DL, but he has actually pitched extremely well in his role as a long man.  I just have too many memories of him having bad games as a (Devil) Ray.  He immediately made his presence known by walking Pat Burrell to lead off the inning, and then Jenkins, who was 0-9 as a PH this year, smacked a bp fastball into the right-field seats and suddenly the Marlins lead had completely evaporated. Then in the 7th, after Cody Ross hit a single (a 1-bagger for Cody? that's gonna kill his slugging %).  Mr. Jacque Jones was called on to bunt.  Listen, Jones' average and RBI total should be signifigantly higher than what they are, because he has hit some screaming line drives that have been caught in his short time as a Marlin.  However, he was called on to bunt with no outs in the inning, and lined the bunt right to Ryan Howard, who was charging from first.  As I said earlier, Howard made a terrific play on the ball, but he only was given the chance to because Jones got under the ball.  If Jones executes the bunt properly and puts it on the ground, it is a productive out.  Instead, he might as well have swung and missed 3 times because Ross was stuck on first, and a double play ensued.

Next inning, Enter Taylor Tankersley.  Whatever happened to Tank?  After a great rookie season, he has really taken steps backwards the last 2 years.  He came in with Victorino at first, and did a great job holding him on.  Then after he got Ultey to pop-up (only about 120 feet, not his 390 foot pop flys to the right field seats he was hitting all weekend).  That brought up Howard, who was 0-5 with 5 strikouts in his career against Tank.  Well, Taylor would have none of it.  He made sure that Howard wouldn't get that first hit off of him...by drilling him in the back with a fastball!  So the leftie 'specialist' didn't do his job. Enter Logan Kensing, and 1 wild pitch and double by Burrell later, exit the tied ballgame. Even though Flash Gordon walked Gonzo to lead off the 8th, the Marlins would go quietly after the Burrell double.

So, let's recap shall we? (This is no Bob Murphy 'happy recap' either) A short start, 2 errors, a botched bunt, walks, a hit batter, a wild pitch.....that is no way to beat a first place team.  The Florida Marlins certainly competed today, but the flaws of this team came to the forefront....as they often do in big games.  Only 1/2 game out of first (technically 1 game up in loss column) on June 2nd? I'll take it, but there are areas of their game that the Fish will have to improve upon if they expect to stay in contention the rest of the way.  And it must start tomorrow night against Atlanta.  The Marlins need a big start from Olsen, who didn't give up a run in his last outing against the Braves.  They will be taking on Jo-Jo Reyes, and hopefully will get this 4 game series off to a good start.  (Yes, the pun was intended, Mr. Olsen)

No pictures are present because Verizon is apparently having a fight with my internet.  I like to spruce up my blog so it's not all black and white text and to draw the attention away from my 10 or so typos that I miss every entry. So be sure to check back (yea right) tomorrow for a more colorful take on this game.