Baseball isn’t the only game the Florida Marlins play. For instance, last season, they played the ever-popular “Let’s Fire the Manager of the Year (Joe Girardi) Because The Owner Had A Fight With Him” (for more information, please see Peter Angelos/Davey Johnson, 1997 Baltimore Orioles, and how that’s worked for the O’s). So, the Marlins went with Fredi Gonzalez, and went 71-91, a drop of seven games from 2006.
Now, it’s back to the old game in Miami, and this one has a much simpler name: “Fire Sale.” The Detroit Tigers came calling with a handful of prospects, and the Marlins handed over stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. How well will this game work out?
OFFENSE: C-
There’s potential galore in the Marlins lineup, starting at shortstop with the impressive Hanley Ramirez (.332, 29 homeruns, 81 RBI, 51 steals) and scrappy second baseman Dan Uggla (31 homers, 88 RBI). Josh Willingham has decent pop in left field (21 homers), as does Jeremy Hermida in right (18). Where it could get dicey is, well, everywhere else. The Marlins need Ramirez’s power lower in the lineup, so they may go with unproven CF Cameron Maybin (.143 in limited action with Detroit last year) in the leadoff slot. Former Angels can’t-miss 3B Dallas McPherson will try to find his form in Miami (only seven homers and 13 RBI last season since he was pushed aside by Chone Figgins), and another young ex-Tiger, catcher Mike Rabelo. All in all, however, not a bad offense, but facing the rest of the NL East, they’re throwing rocks at guys with Uzis.
Here’s where the trouble could really start for the Fish. Only one of the projected five starters had an ERA under five last season (Sergio Mitre’s 4.65), none had a winning record (Andrew Miller, acquired in the Detroit trade, was closest at 5-5). Especially when there could be offensive problems, if you’re looking at the possibility of starting each game down a few runs before you get out the lumber, it could further demoralize an already young team.
PROJECTED ROTATION: Olsen, Mitre, Miller, Hendrickson, Van den Hurk
BULLPEN: B+
The best unit the Marlins have is a surprisingly strong bullpen, which could sneak up on the rest of the league if they aren’t ground into dust by the starters. Closer Kevin Gregg converted a stellar 32 of 36 save opportunities last year, his set-up man Justin Miller picked up five wins against no losses, Lee Gardner had a great ERA (while not always a fair indicator of a reliever, due to fewer innings, his was 1.94 for 74.1 innings, good however you look at it). Overall, how good the ‘pen is depends on whether the starters can get through six innings on a consistent basis to keep them relatively fresh.
CONCLUSION
The offense is fair-to-middling, but the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and even the Washington Nationals all have far better ones. The starting pitching will have to greatly improve on the fly, especially since they’ll have to face Cole Hamels, Johan Santana, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine, to mention a few, on a regular basis. The bullpen looks great, but will they hold up? Far too many big issues in a division where big issues lead to big losses.
