As usually happens with grieving processes confusion and anger has begun to give way to humor for lots of Marlins fans. Here’s a roundup of some of the best reactions of the past 24 hours.

• Another rebranding is suggested for the team in the wake of the latest trade.
• Some people are hoping Bud Selig will “force” Loria into selling the team.
• Billy doesn’t seem too upset about the whole thing, though.
• One fan is hoping to convince the government to look at Loria’s ownership issue (and with 25,000 signatures, it may happen!).
• Logan Morrison talks about playoff odds with Jon Heyman on Twitter.
• San Francisco Chronicle’s Hank Schulman gets in on the fun.

There were also several revelations that occurred, like:

• Zack Cox is now the Marlins’ 7th highest salary.
• The over/under on the Marlins’ average attendance for next year is 18,500.
• The Marlins’ ticket sale team is still hard at work.
• Nearly half of last year’s Opening Day roster has been traded.
• There are tremendous tax implications for the new Blue Jays players.

When you are a big league manager and your team is failing to live up to expectations part of your job is to find a way to right the ship.

Some managers change their lineup. Others skip a pitcher’s start. And the really desperate ones put a rookie over a veteran player to try and add a spark.

Ozzie Guillen throws players under the bus, and then under the knife to get back from injury sooner.

Or, at least he’d like to.

In an interview earlier this week Guillen said  that next season the Marlins organization will have less patience with player injuries.

“I’m not a doctor, but I don’t know why people have to wait so long to have surgery,’’ Guillen said when asked specifically about Logan Morrison, who said Tuesday he will have a second surgery to reconnect his torn right patella tendon (Sept. 5) and will need to rehab six months.

“It ain’t going to happen here like it’s happened in the past. … Agents and people and doctors and different opinions make those guys go different ways. Now, it’s time for the Marlins to take it our way.’’

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As the Miami Marlins season is coming to a end, there haven’t been many positives to take away from this inaugural season at Marlins Park. From what seemed like a promising season with a possible playoff spot in sight, quickly turned into a disaster. You could say the brand new $525 million dollar ballpark is too spacious, or injuries plagued the team, which may be true, but nothing is more obvious than the lack of production from the “key” players. Especially from Marlins ace, Josh Johnson.

After a tremendous 2010 season, Johnson seemed to have finally figured out how to stay healthy and was destined for greatness. In 2011, Josh Johnson, as you can remember, was shut down after nine starts due to right shoulder inflammation. He posted a 1.64 ERA in those starts and looked to be well on his way to another all-star game appearance with the fish. However, the injury bug hit him again and that was all 2011 wrote for the ace.

Flash forward to 2012 now. As one would assume, the Marlins came into the 2012 season with high hopes for the fully recovered Josh Johnson. It wasn’t irrational to envision the two time all-star leading the rotation and ideally the team into the playoffs after reflecting upon how dominate Johnson was in his limited time during the 2011 season.

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After one month spent recovering from a right knee injury, Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has made his long-anticipated return to Ozzie Guillen’s lineup tonight, batting fifth against the New York Mets.

Quite a bit has changed since the last time Stanton appeared in a game for the Fish. Gone via trade are Hanley Ramirez, Randy Choate, Edward Mujica, Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante, Logan Morrison (due to injury), and practically all hope of of a playoff appearance for the 2012 season. Stanton, along with shortstop Jose Reyes, now take their places as the cornerstones of the organization and the players that Miami will build around for the next several seasons.

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The Marlins made an adjustment to their starting rotation on Monday, albeit not the one that has been speculated about over the last several days.

Instead of dealing ace Josh Johnson, who it appears the Marlins are intent on keeping according to most reports, Ozzie Guillen announced that Carlos Zambrano would be heading to the bullpen while southpaw Wade LeBlanc will take his spot.

It’s hard to argue with taking Zambrano out of the rotation, as he has put up some atrocious numbers, especially over the last couple months. Big Z has posted the fourth-worst FIP of any NL starter in the month of July and his numbers from June weren’t much better. The most incredible stat of all is that since June, Zambrano has posted a BB/9 rate of over seven.

After all that I’ve just said, it’s clear that LeBlanc at the very least can’t be a downgrade to what Zambrano was currently giving them. He’s pitched well out of the bullpen this season for the Fish with a 1.15 ERA in 11 games, and now he’ll get a chance to show the club what he can do in his first regular starting role since his time with San Diego.

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Just after reports were made of the Marlins acquiring Zack Cox for Edward Mujica, Miami made news again as they’ve shipped Gaby Sanchez to Pittsburgh in exchange for Gorkys Hernandez and the 33rd pick of next year’s draft.

Sanchez has been a disaster this year, hitting just over .200 and not displaying much power at all. He’ll get a fresh start in Pittsburgh where he’s expected to possibly get a chance to obtain an everyday role at 1B. Hernandez, who was in the Nate McClouth trade a few years back hasn’t been anything special either, but he’s solid defensively and also gets a fresh start on a new team. This sounds to me like the Marlins just wanted to unload Gaby Sanchez. That said, they’ve managed to turn a lousy 1B and a reliever into a third-base prospect and a soft-hitting outfielder in just under ten minutes.

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The Marlins aren’t done unloading this 2012 team. According to Peter Gammons of the MLB Network, they’ve sent reliever Edward Mujica to St. Louis in exchange for 2010 first-rounder Zack Cox.

Mujica has struggled this season, posting a FIP just north of 4.5 while striking out only six batters per nine innings. He’s come up successful on occasion for the Marlins this year, however, so the bullpen does get worse. That said, it’s a rebuilding year for Miami so they should be just fine. Zack Cox, a 2010 first rounder hasn’t lived up to expectations as of yet, but he’s still fairly young and has every chance to succeed. I imagine he’ll see time at 3B once September rolls around and could compete for a starting job next season.

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Over the past week, we here at Marlins Daily have been all over the Miami Marlins’ latest wheeling and dealing as we approach the July 31st trading deadline. We’ve looked at things extensively from the Fish’s perspective in terms of the players on the way out, but now it’s time to take a look at the players the club has added to their organization to see what Marlins fans can expect to see over the next few seasons.

RHP Jacob Turner

Jacob Turner, rated the Tigers’ #1 prospect entering each of the last four seasons by Baseball America, is a 21-year-old righty with the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starter in the near future. Despite struggling in his first six career big league starts (three in 2011 and three this season), Turner is still considered to be one of the game’s top pitching prospects. His fastball, which sits in the low-90′s, isn’t overpowering, but it’s Turner’s secondary stuff (curveball and changeup) that garners the most recognition. Turner has also made some changes to his arsenal since last season, ditching the cutter he used during his first taste of the big leagues for a slider that could become another out-pitch for him in the future. It’s worth noting that Turner has faced minor elbow and shoulder issues in the past, including a bout with shoulder tendinitis as recently as spring training. Fortunately for Turner, because the Marlins aren’t in contention for a playoff spot this season, there won’t be a need to push the limits of his arm and will have the ability to shut him down at a moment’s notice. And although the numbers from his major league career may frighten Marlins fans, it’s helpful to keep in mind that Turner is still just 21 years old and if he can improve the spotty command he’s shown in 2012 with some more seasoning at AAA New Orleans, he’ll be a valuable part of Miami’s rotation in 2013 and beyond.

C Rob Brantly

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Tuesday night, the Marlins made big waves by trading franchise cornerstone Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers. It was the second blockbuster trade the team had made this July, following the Omar Infante/Anibal Sanchez deal to Detroit, which took place only one day earlier. The Marlins have fully entered “sell mode”, and rumors suggest Josh Johnson is the next to go. But dealing the team’s ace would be a mistake, and it is in the Marlins’ best interests to instead keep Johnson.

By dealing Josh, the Marlins hope to get young players to build the farm system, while at the same time helping the team be competitive next season. Unfortunately, there is a large amount of risk involved in relying on unproven commodities to contribute significantly to the team. Only Mark Buehrle and Ricky Nolasco, both of whom are solid but not spectacular, would be left in the rotation for 2013.(This is assuming Zambrano does not re-sign with the team). Left to fill the remaining void would be the 21 year-old Jacob Turner and 22 year-old Nate Eovaldi–with a total of 22 Major League starts between them. The fifth spot could belong to Wade LeBlanc, or another starter acquired by dealing Johnson.

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