Archive for Marlins News
About This Weekend
Posted by: | CommentsWhat you missed this Fourth of July weekend as you finished only your third hamburger, threw up at the kitchen table and realized that, well, maybe this stuff is better left to the pros…
Gaby Sanchez is headed to the All Star Game, where he’ll do his best to make sure some other National League team gets home field advantage in the 2011 World Series.
Roy Halladay threw his sixth complete game of the season. He now has eight more wins, 75 more strikeouts and one less stint on the DL than his Marlins counterpart. Why, yes, I am sobbing, why do you ask?
The Marlins lost another one-run game last night. The ninth inning featured an Omar Infante lazy fly ball to right field and a Hanley Ramirez strikeout. Just as your Sunday afternoon barbecue was about as American as you can get, Sunday night’s Marlins game was about as Marlins as you can get.
Hanley’s on a Hot Streak
Posted by: | CommentsFollowing a successful series against the Athletics, Hanley Ramirez followed up today hitting two homers and a double. I don’t want to jinx him, and it is just a few games, but Hanley hasn’t been this hot all season — and yeah, that’s kind of sad to say. But a positive outing for the Fish as a whole as Brad Hand and the ‘pen hung on to help the Marlins earn their first win of the month. Following Hanley’s second homer, the always-tweeting Logan Morrison went deep, scoring the ninth run of the game for the Marlins, before Mujica and Nunez eventually shut the door.
I’m poised to believe that Hanley’s recent showing could be the start of a hot streak, but hey, the creation of this blog jinxed the Marlins for the whole months of June. Alas, the last thing I want to do is jinx Hanley (as I previously said). However, he’s currently finishing off a week that’s consisted of his best offensive stint of the year, and he’s getting some offensive help behind him, which is nice to see. Unfortunately, Mike Stanton is not one of those guys, as he only has 12 hits in his last 53 at-bats, with no homers and two walks in that span, but again, the dawn of a new month is here and his updated ZiPS projection (.359 wOBA) favors him a good deal. So anyway, good win (can’t complain with a win, even if it was dirty, amirite?) and a victory tomorrow gives the Marlins their first series win since Jack McKeon was a young lad.
WPA Graph
Jose Lopez DFA’d, Bryan Petersen Recalled
Posted by: | CommentsThis shouldn’t be all that surprising. The Marlins have designated INF Jose Lopez for assignment and in a corresponding move, have recalled OF Bryan Petersen from Triple-A New Orleans. Lopez posted a .188/.219/.260 line as a Marlin, accompanied by a 27 wRC+ and cost the Marlins half a win. Presumably, Lopez will become a free agent as no other team took a chance on him the last time he was designated.
Peterson on the other hand crushed the baseball in New Orleans. Some thought he was a legitimate replacement for Chris Coghlan in center, although I couldn’t disagree more. Peterson was hitting in Triple-A, but is old for the level and has played for there for several years. From everything I’ve heard, he is a AAAA player and I wouldn’t expect anything more despite his strong stint in New Orleans.
In other transactional news, the Marlins haven’t done anything in the Latin market today, even though today is still July 2nd. There is still crop on the table, and the Marlins have to move fast if they imagine signing a quality youngster.
Fresh Fish!
Posted by: | CommentsIf you haven’t noticed already, I’ve brought on two extremely talented writers to help man Marlins Daily. Please welcome Adam Jun and SCWS (who introduced himself yesterday) to the site! Both will be regular contributors, so please give them a warm welcome. -Dave
Adam Jun here, new Marlins blogging extraordinaire at your services. As you’ll discover I thoroughly enjoy a good pun so if you’re fishing for the latest Marlins news and analysis you’ve hooked the right blog.
I was born a Chicago Cubs fan so in a way, 80-year old legend manager Jack McKeon’s return to South Florida is just the Marlin’s way of reminding me that 2003 is about 100 years more recent then 1908. It’s a marvel the way the Marlins have won two World Series titles in the past 15 years, beating a New York Yankees team in ’03 that spent over $180 million, or about three times what the Fish spent in payroll. That’s like out-fishing the hair-gel slicked owner of a state of the art Boston Whaler with your grandfather’s rickety wooden fishing boat. It ain’t easy.
That’s enough reminiscing for now.
The Fish are used to doing more with less and the first half has been no different, with a lot of young unproven talent again being relied on to perform at the big league level. There has been no shortage of sharp ups and downs, with the latest drastic June Swoon (another Cubs reference) leaving a bitter taste in Marlin’s fans mouths.
That being said, with a few weeks to go until the Mid Summer Classic there’s no shortage of dynamic story lines to be played out as a still young season progresses.
Will Han-Ram bounce back? Who will represent the Fish in the All-Star Game? Will Josh Johnson pick up where he left off before he got hurt? Can Gaby keep up the hot hitting? Will Mike Stanton compete for the home run crown? Can McKeon lead yet another young Marlins team to a miracle come back like he did in ’03?
One thing’s for certain, we’ll be watching those story lines and more as an eventful Marlins baseball season only promises to provide more intrigue with every crack of the bat.
*Read the Marlins Fantasy Quotient article to see how the Marlins stack up against the hated Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in a position by position breakdown of the Fish’s fantasy value.
Jack McKeon Expected to be Marlins Next Manager
Posted by: | CommentsGood old Buster Olney passes along a tweet in which he says Jack McKeon is expected to be the Marlins next manager. Here’s the tweet…
“Sources: Jack McKeon is expected to be the next manager of the Florida Marlins. At age 80, oldest manager ever, other than Connie Mack.”
As I said earlier, I’m all for the move. I think it’s a bit spotty to hire an eighty year-old manager, but he knows this team and he’s been a successful manager and GM throughout his career — I’m all for it. Although I can’t wait for all the “Jack McKeon is going to lead the Marlins to a World Series because he did the same thing under the same circumstances back in ’03″ chatter. No, that isn’t likely to happen, but getting this team back on track is in fact a priority of his and something that could occur quite quickly.
From what we understand, the players are in favor of Edwin leaving, even if it was under his own terms. Respect, in my opinion at least, is something that will show once McKeon takes over, not to say they didn’t show Rodriguez his due respect. I just think the enviorment will be much more substantial and professional, especially with McKeon’s history.
If you aren’t aware, McKeon was General Manager of the almost-triumphant 1984 Padres, one of the most successful and interesting baseball teams in recent history. In fact, a documentary was created about the team, in which McKeon was one of the main characters. He set up the team with moves such as trading Ozzie Smith for Gary Templeton, a move that really came to the Padres advantage once the move occurred.
Rosenthal Name-drops on Potential Managers
Posted by: | Comments12:51 — Rosenthal, who is on fire today, now says the Marlins are also considering Bobby Valentine, to whom we thought was a lose cause last time the Marlins were on the hunt for a manager.
12:46 – Could we witness a return of Jack McKeon? Ken Rosenthal says it’s a possibility. If you remember correctly, the last time Jack Mckeon stepped in as interim manager for the Marlins, they won the World Series. I don’t have any doubts that such a thing wont going to occur this year, should they bring back McKeon, but I love the guy as a baseball person and would welcome him back in open arms. From what I believe, McKeon currently serves as an adviser for the Marlins.
Meanwhile, Rosenthal says the Marlins main target is Ozzie Guillen, who with all the turmoil surrounding his relationship with Reinsdorf and the recent issues he’s had on Twitter and what not, isn’t a lock to stay with Chicago long term. However, there isn’t any way I see him leaving this season, and especially not to simply take over duties in South Florida.
One thing I realized is the amount of former talent stuffed in the management part of Sun Life Stadium. Andre Dawson, Tony Perez, and Jeff Conine would all be fantastic player managers, I presume. No one knows if either would be up for the job, but it might at least be worth asking around. Meanwhile, the ball is in Brandon Hyde’s court, and if things go relatively right, he too might be an option for the long term job.
Edwin Rodriguez Resigns
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to our good friend Clark Spencer, Edwin Rodriguez has decided to resign. Brandon Hyde, bench coach, will take over the interim duties while the Marlins scavenge the free agent manager market. The Marlins have lost seventeen of their last eighteen games with Rodriguez at helm. During that stretch, they’ve replaced John Mallee with Eduardo Perez, Hanley’s returned, and Rodriguez has executed numerous of lineup changed. Nothing has worked, and to be quite honest, I can understand if he’s feeling terrible about this whole thing.
So how do we feel about this?
Personally, I don’t think a manager change instantly reflects the ongoing performance of a team. Sure, the guys might feel a bit better for the time being, but is this really going to be a drastic change and affect the Marlins win-loss record immediately? I don’t think so, personally, but I think a change was needed despite Rodriguez doing all of this under his own power.
Hanley is Back!
Posted by: | Comments
This was an out, I hope
The day has come, everybody…
The Marlins offense has struggled mightily over the past several weeks, and despite playing without Hanley Ramirez, their best hitter, his absence might actually be for the better. Originally placed on the 15-day DL with lower back issues, there was talk that the same problems had been lingering throughout the whole season. If so, that’s much better news for the Fish than say, if he was having actual problems with his swing or mechanics.
His peripherals have been better this year than his career average — an 11.6 BB%/18.2 K% on the season against a career 9.8 BB%/18.1 K% — and only .24% of his batted balls are dropping in for hits whereas his career batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is .340. So even with the back problems, he hasn’t struggled nearly as much as most people think. However, he hasn’t hit for much power (which certainly suggests there could be an injury problem) and isn’t making contact as much as he has in previous years — a 79.5 Contact % on the season against a career 82.9 Contact %.
However, given the fact that offense has been downright terrible in June, it’s not certain that Hanley’s presence back in the lineup will change things for the Fish unless the team starts pulling it together. By pulling it together, I mean walking more, being more selective at the plate, and playing better on the defensive end. Of course, the return of Hanley could jump-start the team in other ways such as taking more pressure off of other areas in the lineup, but that would mean the luck dragon played a role. Regardless, he is back, and no one can predict the outcome following his return. However, if there were injuries, you can almost guarantee a healthy Hanley will perform a ton better than a bruised up one.
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