So close, yet so far….
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.
Thumbs up for Hanley!!!!
According the Marlins website, Hanley Ramirez took batting practice today and will be in the lineup against the Phillies for tonight’s game. Apparently whatever swelling he had in his thumb has subsided. This is great news because not only does it keep Amezaga out of the leadoff spot against a leftie (I love Alfredo, but we all know that he cannot hit from the right side of the plate) but Hanley is hitting .500 with 4 doubles in 12 AB against Hamels in his career thus far. This is a big game for Florida, because they would certainly like to put an end to their 3 game skid. They are currently 6-4 through this 16 game stretch that I outlined last week, but only 1-3 on the current roadtrip. Not saying it is going to be easy, but the Fish need to get a win and set themselves up for a rubber game tomorrow. (Which will be on national television! TBS. The Marlins have a nationally televised game? What world did I step into?) Moyer has owned the Marlins in his career, and I was in the park when he pitched 6 no-hit innings against them last year. And although Andew Miller is 3-1 in the month of May, he will no longer be pitching in May come tomorrow, so therefore he will have prove himself all over again to me. (Don’t tell me that I am too stern on him; watch all of his April games, count how many grey hairs they give you and then come back to me). And if the Marlins win tonight, they will be in first place in June!!! Hey, it’s the small things in life that I appreciate. The small things folks, like a big win over the Phillies. Let’s go Fish!
Field Goals don’t beat Touchdowns
Although the Philles are still playing against the Marlins as I type this; (well, actually, the Phillies are playing. I’m not sure if the Fish are still in the building) it is safe to say this one is over. I know that the Marlins have had a six-run comeback in the 9th already this season, but that’s not happening against the Phillies bullpen. After Florida struck first with three off Myers who couldn’t throw a strike early on, and Hendrickson set down Rollins, Victorino and Utley in order, the Marlins looked good……and then the second inning came. Look, we all saw it, and I really don’t want to re-live it, so all I’m going to say is that you cannot give a team like the Phillies extra outs, and with their lineup you have to get the pitcher out (BY NOT WALKING HIM WHEN HE IS TRYING TO BUNT!!!!!) WTF HENDRICKSON?????! The Marlins really let Myers off the hook in the first by not getting a few more runs off him. When the first 4 reach, and it is 1-0 with the bases loaded and none out, three is on the low end of the number of
runs you should score. (As I type this, Justin Miller has taken it upon himself to see how many balls he can throw with the bases loaded before I reach for my heart pills for the 28th time tonight….4 is now the number)……GHHAAAA. You know, I was really looking forward to this game…..Guess it’s a “lets get em tomorrow” kind of night. The only good news is that there is still a long way to go and the Marlins haven’t had a game like this since game 3 of the year against the Mets. Florida is certainly better than how they have played tonight, and all the blame in this one falls on Mark. 7-3 or not, 10, yes 10 runs in 3.2 innings is flat out unacceptable.
Also, Hanley left this game with a bruised thumb. I hope he can play the rest of the series, but if he has to rest, so be it. I don’t want to see him reinjure it and be out for a few weeks. The Marlins are already down Willingham, who was hitting .341 at the time of his injury. They cannot afford to lose Ramirez. Slump or not, they need his presence in the lineup.
Nolasco vs. Hamels tomorrow. And for the first time since mid April, the Marlins will be playing for first, from second place.
P.S. Ryan Howard’s three-run shot was the cheapest home run I have seen in years. Although, give him credit for going the other way. Hang in there Badenhop, you really didn’t make all that bad of a pitch.
Phight for Phirst in Philly
The Florida Marlins are off today; the calm before the storm of a big series in Citizens Bank Park over the weekend. (and a good day to recuperate from the hangover of last night’s loss) With those hated Phillies also off today it ensures that Florida will maintain their 1/2 game lead (2 in loss column though) in the NL East. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to figure out that whoever wins this series will be in first place come Sunday night. I still don’t know how the Marlins have made it to late May without seeing the division champs once yet, but they will meet twice in the next two weeks. And perhaps the best news for the club is that yours truly is NOT going to be in attendance for any of the games! (for the record, the Fish have gotten destroyed all three times I’ve seen them play in Citizens Bank Park).
All joking aside this is the biggest series of the year for the Marlins. If they come out of this weekend in first place, it means they will have won a series against a very hot team in their building. The Phillies demolished the Rockies this week, and Ryan Howard is suddenly coming alive at the plate. When he, Rollins, Utley, Burrell and Victorino are all clicking, they have the best lineup in the entire NL, and one of the top 3 in all of baseball. Now their starting pitching on the other hand, outside of Hamels, is very inconsistent. Their bullpen, which was a weakness for them the past few years, is one of the team’s strong points this year. Lidge has completely turned his career around thus far and has been unbelievable. (Hey! A good lineup, OK starters, and a good bullpen…hmm…sound like any other team we know of?).
The Marlins and the Phillies have played some close and entertaining game the last few
years. I can still remember Hanley’s slide to tie the game with 2 outs in the 9th from last year like it was yesterday. But for the first time in a few years, these two teams will be playing with equal talent levels, and pretty much equal records. It will be a fun series to watch, no doubt, and I think the Marlins can pull out 2 wins. One thing is for sure, you will see the top 2 offensive middle infields in all of baseball go head to head this weekend, and someone whose last name starts with a ’U’ will hit a home run. Ramirez is due for a big series, and I really feel that he will do something special this weekend. He didn’t like what big-mouth Rollins had to say about him last year, so I’m sure he will have some extra motivation. On to Philly. Let’s go Marlins!
Where to begin?
Boy did the Marlins drop a tough one tonight. Since I am tired and have no voice, hair or fingernails left after this game, I will just list a few reasons why the Fish lost this one.
- It starts with the starting pitching. And 4 runs in 5 innings from your ‘ace’ is not acceptable
- You cannot live and die on the homerun. It looks nice, and though it gave the Marlins the lead twice, they also struck out a ridiculous 16 times. Shorten up and put the ball in play
- Defense. Carlos Beltran made a game-changing catch robbing Jones of a two-run double; Jorge Cantu fielded (or didn’t) like….Jorge Cantu. And that’s starting to really p*** me off.
- Why was Amezaga starting against a leftie? He cannot hit a lick from the right side of the plate.
- When your leadoff hitter isn’t getting on base, you have trouble scoring. Let’s go Hanley
- Gregg blew the save. It happens, and an 0-2 fastball to Chavez was a good idea, but he missed over the plate with it. Kevin gets a little bit of a pass because he’s been so good, and the Marlins should have scored more runs for him…..
- …..By not making Heilman look like Cy Young
- Walking the leadoff batter was inexcusable by Miller. He has been in a bit of a funk lately, and he didn’t do his team any favors by blowing the second save of the game for the bullpen.
Losses like this happen during the season to everyone, but the Marlins should have sealed the deal. And losing like this to New York makes it even worse. The Marlins must shake this one off and put it behind them. As much as it stinks, there is nothing you can do about it now. A day off, then on to Philly. Hendrickson better have his A game going, and the offense better stop swinging for the fences every time up, or else they will be looking up at the Phillies instead of down very soon. I am not going to sleep very well tonight…
P.S. no pictures are present, because if I could find one to express my mood, I would be banned from ever posting on this site again.
Beat the Mets, Beat the Mets……
The first place Marlins and the fourth place Mets conclude their 3 game series tonight at 7 with an important rubber game for the Fish. Not only are they facing an inconsistent pitcher in Oliver Perez, but it would be good to go into Philadelphia with some confidence because the Phillies are absolutely crushing the ball right now. I think they are averaging close to 2.5 
touchdowns a game over the last week. The Marlins let the Mets even up the series last night by leaving waaayyy too many runners on base against Johan Santana; Namely Dan Uggla who by my count left 5 by himself. But when you are hitting close to .500 for the month, things have to even out sooner or later I suppose, so I give Uggla a break. (After all, he did win both games on Sunday for the Fish). Also, it was good to see Hanley go the other way for a hit last night; maybe he is starting to come out of his slump.
Although his record wouldn’t tell you, Scott Olsen has been the Marlins most consistent starter this year. He didn’t have it on Friday night against Zito and the Giants, and now he goes up agianst another southpaw. It will be intresting to see how he rebounds tonight after his first poor outing of the year. He has shown maturity and battled through most other tests this year, let’s hope he continues to grow and pitches well tonight. Let’s go Scott!!!
Although it is a lot to ask of this lineup, especially with the free-swinging Ross likely starting in center, they must be patient against Perez. He has shown several times this year that he can impolde and walk the ballpark at any time, so laying off his high fastball and sweeping slider is imperative tonight. Plus, he shutout the Marlins way back in early April, so it would be nice to see some payback. And it’s always nice to beat New York…..ALWAYS
Beat the Mets, Beat the Mets, Step to the plate and beat the Mets, Knock that line drive over their heads, Make their offense put up goose eggggs, Because the Mets are really losing them all, Making their fans bang their head on the wall…….(to the tune of that highly annoying song they play at Shea. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, consider yourself lucky)
Marlins take two!
Mother Nature decreed that the Fish play a double-header on Sunday, and the Marlins shook off the rain drops, the emabarrassment of being the first team to lose to Zito and some sketchy pitching to give themselves another series win and a 6-3 homestand. The beat just continues to go on; both winning runs were provided by Dan Uggla, who has clearly been motivated by my blog a few weeks ago that said he didn’t even deserve All-Star consideration. (My foot is squarely in my mouth as I type this). I haven’t seen an Astros game lately and I know all I keep hearing is how hot Lance Berkman is, but it is tough to envision a hitter having a better month than Uggla. The second best day went to Jorge Cantu (who was also clearly motivated by me because I benched him in my fantasy league for the first time all year) who was on base 7 times and hit 2 home runs. Since Cantu was in a slump is was good to see him bust out of it, especially with him hitting in the third hole. By Hanley returning to leadoff spot and with Hammer still on the DL, Cantu must carry his weight in the middle of the lineup, and he clearly has responded over the weekend. If he starts to falter though, the Marlins could always bat Hendrickson third……
Despite his average being a mean .333 (Micah Owings who?) and his record moving to 7-2, Hendrickson struggled pitching today. 5 runs in 5 innings in the front end of double dip isn’t getting the job done, but he did get a HUGE double play from Castillo with the bases loaded. (At least for today, it looks like the Marlins choice to go with Cantu over Castillo in Spring training was a no-brainer). Gregg continues to look as unhittable as ever, picking up a save and a win, and overall the bullpen did a good job in their 11 innings of work. Though De La Cruz did make me reach for my blood pressure pills in the first inning of game 2 (seen through Gameday on MLB.com, thanks DirecTv for NOT broadcasting game 2) giving up 2 runs in 3 innings in an emergency start isn’t all that bad I suppose. A double-header sweep is always a great day no matter how it came about, now on to Shea!!!
6 games into this tough 16 game stretch, and the Marlins are 5-1. If they can go 6-4 on the 3 city, 11 day gauntlet, that would give them an 11-5 record in those games and send a message to those who dismissed them as club that can only beat other teams with losing records. It will be nice to see the Marlins playing a local team the next 3 days. Hopefully they will get some good press in my area. Then again, that’s only if the Post and News stop bashing Randolph. That is a story for another day though. With Pelfrey and a formidable TBD for the Mets slated for the first 2 games, it would be nice to get the trip off to a good start and win the series against a team that is actually below .500 right now. First place Fish are hitting the road!!!! Let’s show the rest of the division that this team is for real!!!!
P.S. A very special congratulations to Omar Vizquel for setting the record for most games ever by a shortstop. Think about that, Most games EVER. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Also, welcome to Jacque Jones. With a sac fly on Sunday, maybe he will show this offense that sometimes small ball isn’t a bad thing.
From Snakes to Sticks, Broomsticks that is
Holy Fish sweeping Snakes Batman!!! The first place Florida Marlins have just swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that had the best record in the NL just three days ago. And the finale came with a lefty throwing 7 shutout innings. Lo and behold it wasn’t Hendrickson or Olsen, but Andrew Miller! Yes, THAT Andrew Miller who seemingly gave up 32 baserunners and 21 runs every time he took the mound earlier in the season. How about the 3 combined runs allowed by the Fish in the whole series!! You knew coming in that to beat Owings, Webb and Haren that the Marlins would have to pitch their tails off and win low-scoring games. And they did just that! I was a little disappointed that my boss didn’t accept the ‘two first place teams are playing and one of them is my team’ excuse and I had to work through the last 2 games thus i cannot really comment on the details of the games; but I am pumped up nonetheless. It was nice to see the Marlins rebound and sweep the series against a good team after going through a little bit of a funk last week. They must keep the momentum rolling now as a team with a losing record rolls into town this weekend. 4-2 on the homestand so far, let’s get to 6-3 before the tough roadtrip. And plllllllleeeeeease don’t let the Fish be the first Win for Zito this season. For some reason or another, I just have a bad feeling about tomorrow night. But regardless, I will rejoice in knowing that the Marlins are tied with 3 other teams for the fewest losses in the league (19) heading into Memorial Day Weekend. And I am sure that you will rejoice in
this stream of consciousness blog come to an end. Hey it is almost midnight and I’m off to dream about a SportsCenter Marlins highlight, because we know I’ll never see one with my eyes open. Yet they will focus an early segment of the show on a 60-second highlight of a last place team (the Yankees) winning a game. I could go on, but what’s the point? You know what I’m saying. Good night all, and in case you didn’t know, THE FISH ARE IN FIRST PLACE BABY!!!!!!
Fluke or Fillet?
The first tough stretch of the year for the Marlins has arrvied, with the Fish still on top of their
divsion by a game and a half. Any Marlins fan would have signed to be in this position when the season started, but considering the Marlins have already burned a 3-game lead faster than a 16 year old burns their first pay check by winning only 1 game against losing teams last week, you have to be a little disappointed with the slim margin of seperation in the standings. I like how ESPN loves to point out the fact that the Marlins have beaten up on the Nationals to get in this position, yet the Nats took 3 of 4 against the Mets and beat the Phillies last night soooo…..maybe they aren’t an automatic victory after all? Give the Marlins all the credit in the world to have only 19 losses at this point in the season, but the schedule is going to get much tougher.
The Diamondbacks are in town, followed by the good starting pitching (sans Zito) of the Giants. Then 10 on the road against the top 3 division rivals Mets, Phillies and Braves. I said earlier in the season that in early June you would get a better feel for where the Marlins place with the rest of the league, and these upcoming games are the reason. 16 in a row…..10-6 or 9-7 would mean this team could be for real after all. Anything less could mean that the Fish just might not have what it takes to compete against the better teams for the long haul. It will still be too early to jump the gun and pass judgement on the whole season, but watching how these young pitchers perfrom against tough competition will tell a lot about them. Hopefully Hammer will be back in the lineup at some point during these games too. If not, we should see Jones in left before too long. One thing that disturbs me a little about signing him is that he might block De Aza from having a consistent shot in center once Willingham comes back. I would still like to see De Aza get a chance to play everyday, but I know it would be hard to take playing time away from Jones after signing him…..so long as he plays well. Either way, it was a move that had to be made, because it is obvious that Amezaga and Ross are not the full-time answer at the plate right now.
Owings vs. Hendrickson tonight. The over/under on base hits by pitchers in this game is 3 1/2 according to my bookie…..I mean the New York Post….
A Practical Joke by Karma
Just a quick note. Right before the Marlins lost their second straight game to a last place Reds team, I had a rather strange experience. In the 9th inning down 2, I cracked open a fortune cookie, and it read “Do you believe? Your faith will soon be rewarded.” On the reverse side of the paper, the ‘learn chinese’ word was….FISH. That’s right, FISH. And just like the succers who hit when they have 17 in blackjack because they ‘feel lucky’ I suddenly thought that there was no way that the Marlins would lose the game. Hermida gets on first….a wild pitch and he moves to second…..I was really starting to believe now. I was about to crack open the Yellow pages and look to see where I could get this fortune laminated and framed in 24 karat gold….and then Hanley, Cantu and Uggla are retired, my heart is ripped out, the baseball Gods are laughing at me, the fortune is ripped into a million pieces, and here I am sitting on my couch wondering how I could somehow think that a random fortune cookie that one fan read would actually change the outcome of a baseball game 1,000 miles away. But nevertheless, for a moment I truly did, and can do nothing but laugh about it now. Now I’d just like to see the Fish salvage a split against a team that is among the league’s worst. And I’m not ordering chinese food ever again. EVER
P.S. Tonight’s Mega Millions is over 160 million. If the winning lotto numbers are 1, 10, 15, 43, 51, and 4 (those were the numbers on the ticket before I ripped it up)…..you will hear a 24 year old man screaming at the top of his lungs tomorrow, no matter where you live…….
mlblogsmarlinsin62003
Recent Comments