Despite the Series Loss, Fish Are Improving

The month of June has not been kind to the Florida Marlins this year.  Under Edwin Rodriguez, the Marlins had only recorded one win in the month.  The slide prompted the manager to resign from his position.  For the record, I don’t have a problem with Rodriguez resigning from his managerial position.  His voice and leadership style was no longer working for this team.  Even though Beinfest and company were ‘shocked’ by Rodriguez’s decision, it would have only been a matter of time before owner Jeffrey Loria had decided to pull the plug on the manager.

The Marlins front office all agreed that Jack McKeon would be the perfect answer to manage this club for the rest of the season.  In my opinion, this team really liked playing under Edwin Rodriguez.  Rodriguez made all the right moves while he was here and gained the respect of all the players including star shortstop, Hanley Ramirez.  By the way, that’s saying something when we know that it’s difficult for Hanley to get along with his manager.  In any event, at 80 years of age, McKeon brings a no-nonsense, hard-working, and energetic jolt that the Fish have been desperately looking for as of late.  Despite the fact that the team lost the series to the Angels, a lot of positives can be drawn out from the last three games.

In order for this team to be successful, Hanley Ramirez needs to hit and adjust his attitude while he’s at it.  The first thing McKeon did upon his return to the dugout was to sit Hanley.  There were reports that he arrived late to McKeon’s first team meeting on Monday.  Whether or not McKeon’s decision to bench Hanley on Monday sunk in for the All-Star shortstop I don’t know, but since then Hanley has gone 4 for 10 with two runs batted in and a stolen base.  Aside from Hanley’s production in this series, the team has played a lot better.  With the exception of Brian Sanches’ spot start today, Anibal Sanchez and Javier Vazquez combined to allow just one run on 18 hits in 13.1 innings.  The bullpen has been pretty solid during the month of June and did not disappoint in this series.  The bullpen combined to allow four earned runs in seven and two-thirds innings. 

There has definitely been a different feel in South Florida for the last three games.  The rehiring of Jack McKeon can only rekindle shades of the 2003 Florida Marlins.  His return has prompted fans and sports casters alike to draw parallels to that 2003 season.  The bottom line is that the team has to loosen up, have fun, and continue to play hard.  The Fish will now head to Seattle to play three ‘home’ games.  Originally, the series was going to be played here in Miami but was relocated because of a U2 concert this weekend.  The Marlins have played much better on the road so hopefully with their newfound, upbeat attitude and their aforementioned success away from Sun Life Stadium, they can finish off this horrible month of June on a high note. 

Are the Marlins Falling Apart?

There are two ways to look at the recent struggles of the Florida Marlins.  One, the Marlins are just four games out of the first place Phillies despite going 2-8 in their last 10 games.  The team has also not been consistently healthy all year and therefore it has been incredible that the team is just four games out.  Before last night’s game, the Marlins finally placed All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez on the disabled list with lower back inflammation.  Ramirez had not appeared in a game since leaving in the second inning of a loss to the Dodgers on March 29^th.  The team’s ace, Josh Johnson, has yet to throw off a mound due to right shoulder inflammation.  Manager Edwin Rodriguez has had to manage the last few games with a short bench.  As a result, this predicament has definitely played a role in some of the team’s losses throughout the last 10 games.

The other way to look at this stretch is that the Marlins have had plenty of opportunities to score runs and have not been successful doing so.  During this 2-8 collapse, the Marlins have lost five games by only one run.  Before the Marlins played the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the team held a record of 14-4 in one-run games.  Since then, the team has dropped down to 14-9 in these situations.  Early on in the season, the team would find ways to win the close games either with a clutch hit or superb pitching out of the bullpen.  It seems that lately, however, the team is finding ways to lose these close games.  In the last 10 games, the Marlins are batting .188 (18 for 96) with runners in scoring position.  That is a definite recipe for disaster. 

The pitching has not helped either.  Without Josh Johnson, the starting pitchers have combined for a record of 1-4 and an ERA of 6.75 in 53.1 innings in the last 10 games.  In addition, the starting rotation has pitched into the seventh inning just twice in the last 10 games.  The bullpen has been relatively efficient but has not been the same bullpen that was unstoppable at the beginning of the season.  In the last 10 games, the bullpen has posted a record of 1-4 with an ERA of 4.33 and just one save in 35.1 innings.  In a way, the bullpen has kept the games close, but because the offense has had trouble scoring runs, they eventually falter.   

After last night’s loss to the Brewers, the Marlins are four games out of the first place Phillies and tied for second place with the Atlanta Braves.  Incidentally, the Atlanta Braves are making their first trip to South Florida this season for a three-game series.  This could not have come at a better time or at a worse time, depending on how the Marlins play throughout this series.  One thing in for sure, the rotation is going to have to go deep into games and give the bullpen a rest.  The Marlins will hand the ball to Brad Hand who was called up from Double-A before last night’s game.  The left-hander was 7-1 with an ERA of 3.53 at Double-A Jacksonville this season. The Marlins will face Tommy Hanson today followed by Derek Lowe tomorrow, and Jair Jurrjens on Thursday.  If the Marlins want to have a successful series against their division rivals, they are going to have to hit better with runners in scoring position.  The best thing for this team to do is to wipe the slate clean.  In other words, take this series one game at a time or even one at-bat at a time.  If the Marlins start to think too far ahead or think about the squandered opportunities of the past, then they are going to have a tough time getting past the Atlanta Braves this week.