Random Marlins Notes

[DravenX]

News from the 14th of August.

After batting fifth three games in a row, Dan Uggla has been dropped to the sixth spot in Tuesday's lineup.
Uggla is slumping of late, but he was fourth in the league in runs scored while hitting second all season long before Friday. It the Marlins want him to bounce back, it hardly makes sense to stick him in between Mike Jacobs, a decent hitter in a far more significant slump, and the catcher's spot. The Marlins also have Jeremy Hermida and his solid .266/.361/.449 line batting eighth, so we're not sure exactly what Fredi Gonzalez is trying to do.

Hanley Ramirez had three hits, scored three runs and drove in two to lead the Marlins' attack on Tuesday.
He had two singles, including a two-run safety to key a six-run sixth, and added his 35th double of the year. He also struck out once and committed an error. Ramirez has driven in 61 runs and with tonight's performance, has extended his hitting streak to 11 games, matching the best run of his career. Miguel Cabrera also came up big, going 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.

Dontrelle Willis, backed by a huge Marlin attack, won first the first time since May 29 as the Marlins pummeled Arizona 14-5 on Tuesday.
Willis, who had gone 0-7 over his last 13 starts -- the longest winless streak of his career -- looked to be headed for another bad outing when he served up Chris Young's homer to lead off the game. But by the middle of the fifth, Florida had handed him a 14-1 lead and even the sputtering D-Train couldn't blow that one en route to his eighth win of the year. Overall, he scattered 10 hits and three runs in seven innings, striking out 11 and walking none.

[DravenX]

News from the 15th of August.

Cody Ross hit a three-run homer in a losing effort for the Marlins Wednesday.
The only question is, did anyone notice? Reportedly, there were only about 2,500 fans in the stands in Miami. Ross, who also drew two walks and struck out once, is up to .305 with six homers. He's got a fine 15/21 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

[DravenX]

News from the 16th of August.

Ricky Nolasco (elbow) allowed two earned runs over three innings during a rehab start with Double-A Carolina on Wednesday.
This was the eighth outing and sixth start for Nolasco during his rehab. He should be activated from the disabled list and used out of the bullpen within the next week.

[Lets Go Rays]

According to MLB.com, the Marlins have "pretty much made it clear" that Matt Lindstrom will not pitch in another Grapefruit League game this spring.

[Lets Go Rays]

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez announced Friday that Ricky Nolasco will get the nod on Opening Day.

[Porter]

Johnson throwing the gem so far: 8.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 Ks.

But runner on 1st with Church up, 2 away.

[Porter]

Josh Johnson throws the complete game. Wins the game 2-1 over the Mets despite Johan striking out 13 batters.

[BronxBomberz]

Marlins are a sleeper team, along with the Braves. Won't be surprised if they are both in the NL East title race.

[bcshorts]

I just can't see the Marlins being there. They might beat out the Phillies for third, if a lot of things go right, but I don't see them hanging with Atlanta and New York. For one, their pitching really isn't all that unbelievable, especially if Nolasco can't find himself. I'm betting he does, but the back end of that rotation is very shaky. Volstad putting in a solid year will help, but you can't win a solid division with a shallow pitching staff. Not to mention their defense is horrendous, ranking last and second to last in the NL the last two seasons. That's not going to help the pitching either. And their bullpen is one of the worst I've seen. Congrats to them and their great start, but they're going to have to get a lot of solid innings from Miller and Sanchez, and a much improved defense, if they hope to finish near the top of the division.

[realmofotalk]

Well, their defense is supposed to improve this year, with the speedy Maybin taking over full time at CF, Jorge Cantu moving from 3b to 1b, and the departure of Mike Jacobs.

[Porter]

This is still a really young team and I think they are on par with the Braves as darkhorses in the East. They do have some great pitching if they can stay healthy and a powerful offense.

[bcshorts]

Well, their defense is supposed to improve this year, with the speedy Maybin taking over full time at CF, Jorge Cantu moving from 3b to 1b, and the departure of Mike Jacobs.

Yes, Cantu moves to first base where he is relatively inexperienced. Bonifacio moves from second to third, a very tough transition that will take time, especially when you consider he wasn't regarded as a highly touted second baseman. And Dan Uggla is a bad fielder at second. Add in that Hanley is only an average shortstop, and that's the makings for a pretty bad defensive infield. None of the outfielders, including Maybin, have ever shown themselves to be more than average fielders. Bad defense. And that's not something that's going to help questionable pitchers, especially questionable young pitchers.

[realmofotalk]

Well, there's no way to find out until more and more games are played whether the shifting of Cantu and Bonafacio will pay off, but the infield does look questionable on paper. Jacobs was as bad as it gets at first base, but if you believe some of the defensive rating systems, Cody Ross is actually a pretty good outfielder.

[love_that_reefer]

This team is far improved from last year with Hermida moving to LF (extremely underrated move), Maybin in CF, Ross to RF, Cantu to first is where he belongs and the bullpen is not that bad. Lindstrom is a lot better than Gregg and Nunez was a huge addition. The defense and offense should be much improved over last year. Uggla and Hanley are defensive liabilities but everything else around them is improved. Josh Johnson has looked great so far in his two starts and the Marlins pitching is for real. They definitely have a deeper rotation than the Mets at this point. No one should really worry about Nolasco finding himself, he has great stuff. A team that finished just 7.5 games out of first last year and has improved should be expected to be near the top of the division.

[love_that_reefer]

According to a baseball source, the Marlins are among the teams pursuing Rockies right-hander Juan Morillo, 25. The Rockies designated Morillo for assignment Friday when they added Matt Belisle. Out of minor league options, Morillo made the Opening Day roster but he did not appear in any games. He has accumulated just 8 2/3 innings worth of major league experience since his 2006 debut, but Morillo can boast a big arm. A native of the Dominican Republic, Morillo touched 100 miles per hour three times last season according to Baseball Info Solutions. His fastball generally sits in the mid- to upper-90s. Baseball America ranked the 6-3, 190-pound Morillo as the 23rd-best prospect in the Rockies system, in part because of an unspectacular 1.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in eight professional seasons.

Seems like it would be a nice addition to the Marlins organization but nothing to blow your wad over. If Belisle is getting the nod over you, something has to be wrong.