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Showing posts from 2023

December/Winter Meetings up ahead.

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  There have been some big November moves in Marlins History as far as the Hot Stove season is concerned. The vast majority of them though, let's just say have come in unique circumstances.  Following the Fish's first World Championship in 1997, late owner Wayne Huizenga had then General Manager Dave Dombrowski orchestrate the Franchise's first Fire Sale due to money concerns over a high priced Roster. Mr. Marlin Jeff Conine (KC), Closer Robb Nen (SF), and slugger Moises Alou (HOU) were all Traded in the month of November of '97, the first 3 of 16 Players on the Championship Squad who would be shipped by the summer. The Expansion Draft for both Arizona & Tampa Bay also took place on November 18 of that year. In November of 2005, the Marlins under Jeffrey Loria & Larry Beinfest this time around pulled off 2 Blockbuster Trades on Thanksgiving Day. Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Carlos Delgado went to Boston & the New York Mets in separate deals for the likes of...

What a ride.

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  You had the sense things were a changing 1 year ago inside the Marlins Organization. The Fish entered 2023 with a new Coaching staff, led by first year Manager Skip Schumaker. They also brought in some new voices surrounding General Manager Kim Ng, in Asst. G.M Oz Ocampo & Terry Collins as a baseball consultant. There were a few new faces on the Players side for the Fish, none bigger than Luis Arraez, who Won a Batting Title with the highest Batting Average for a Season in Marlins History at .354. All to compliment existing talent in the Starting Rotation, where nobody stepped up as much in 2023 than Braxton Garrett & Jesus Luzardo. A talented young Outfield led by Jazz Chisholm Jr, Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez. The resurgence of slugger Jorge Soler, as the All-Star banged 36 Home Runs, not done by anybody in a Marlins Uniform since 2017. The lockdown Lefties at the back end of the Bullpen, beginning/ending with Tanner Scott, Andrew Nardi, and in the beginning...

Playoffs!

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The 2023 Marlins are in the dance baby!!! The Fish clinched a Playoff spot for the 4th time in Franchise History and for only the 3rd time in a Full Season (💍 '97 😉 '03 💍), following a 7-3 Win in Pittsburgh P.A. on Saturday night. The Marlins are in Philadelphia getting set for their best 2 out of 3 Series against the Phillies that get's going tomorrow evening, and what a 'ride' it's been for the Fish to get to this point in Philly. After climbing all the way to 14 Games Over .500 at the All-Star Break, the Marlins found themselves a Game under the .500 mark and 3 Games back of a Playoff spot on August 30th. The Fish swept a 4 Game Series in Washington to open up September, but lost Sandy Alcantara for the remainder of the Season with a UCL Injury on his Pitching arm.  Guys stepping up when it matters most is what this time of year is all about, and many a Marlin would do just that, taking a series from the 100 Win Dodgers in Miami, then Winning another Serie...

🦈 Hammer 🏆 Down 🦈

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  The Jupiter Hammerheads, the Marlins A-Ball Affiliate for the last 21 Minor League Seasons, Won their fist ever Single-A Championship Wednesday night in Clearwater Florida 🎉🏆🎉 . After Winning their Division's 2nd Half and qualifying for the MiLB Playoffs for the first time since 2012, the Hammerheads swiftly took down their neighbors, the Palm Beach Cardinals, before going the distance in a best of 3 Series against the Clearwater Threshers. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cxksq64unIv/?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ== I had the opportunity to catch my fair share of Hammerhead Games this year, both at the Dean and the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where both the Hammerheads & Cards played the 2nd Half of their Seasons due to renovations in Jupiter. A shout-out to Javi Sanoja, Ian Lewis, and the Jupiter stafff for the souvenirs during this Championship Season 🏆. From seeing the overall Game of a very solid/often over looked Marlins Prospect in Javier Sanoja 🇻🇪 in the 1st Half, ...

Taking it 'personal' Catcher

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  Receipts is our Son Los Marlins word of the day. That's because Sandy Alcantara's personal Catcher may have picked up quite a few of those, and not at Wal-Mart, but rather 'Offensive'ly during this 2nd Half of the 2023 Season.  Jacob Stallings, you may know him as part of the Kyle Nicolas Trade with Pittsburgh back in November of '21 😉, had himself let's jus say, *another rough First Half in 2023. Stallings' Batting Line sat at .191/.280/.260 for the Season on July 18th of this year. His Offensive slash on July 21st 2022 (almost a year to the date) was .180/.240/.228 in year 1 of the former Gold Glover's Marlins Career. Something about the 2nd Half for this North Carolina Tar Heel. From July 23rd (Coincidently the 1st Game back in Pittsburg for the former Pirate) to the finish line during a lost final stretch of 2022 for the Marlins, Stallings quietly Hit .289 with a .370 On Base Percentage over his last 42 Games in year 1 with the Fish. It gave the O...

Slam

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  You just knew someway - somehow that if the Marlins were to make some major noise late in 2023, they'd first have to figure out a way to defeat the Atlanta Braves. Boy, did the Fish make a statement this weekend, sweeping the 2023 N.L East Champion Braves, as the fight for the National League Wild Cards continues with only 12 Marlins Games remaining in the Regular Season. The Marlins had dropped 9 of 10 meetings this year to Atlanta heading into this weekend Series in Florida. Not to mention how rough it had been overall for the Fish against the Braves dating back many years now. A mental block for the Marlins, if you will, against the Bravos. Mental blockage that was finally lifted and in a very big way, as the Regular Season is coming to it's finish. 36 to 13 did the Home Team outscore Atlanta in this Series and may have picked up something more along the way. Confidence, against a Team that's had their number and could meet up with again in the Playoffs. 🍔 It w...

'Nard' dog

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  2 weeks ago we talked a little backend of the Marlins Bullpen ( En Español ), which has obviously had some moving parts to it since the beginning of the Season. A.J Puk began the year as the Marlins Closer, Dylan Floro was the Club's Set-Up man in Inning number 8, while the 7th went to JT Chargois more often than not to begin the year. Due to underperformances and injuries, the Bullpen shifted at the tail end. Puk landed on the I.L on May 13th, missing almost a month with elbow nerve irritation. Upon returning from the Injured List, the long Lefty had a few hiccups in the 9th and is now getting the ball no later than the 7th Inning, where Puk has had some ups and downs (has allowed a total of 9 Homers on the year no matter the Inning, but has K'd 64 in 47.2 IP's). On that plus side, the Velo & Stuff's still there for Puk, who looks to lock down a Set-Up role in that 7th Inning for the Marlins down the stretch.  Floro fell apart after 2 1/2 Seasons of very solid/de...

'It's Tanner'

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  Tanner Scott ha sido el mejor Relevista de los Marlins en 2023, y punto.  En los últimos 4 meces (29 de Abril en adelante), los numeros de Scott son los siguientes:  49 Juegos/50 Innings con solamente 38 Hits permitidos, un increíble 73 Bateadores Ponchados a solamente 17 Bases por Bolas, Promedio de 1.80, marcador de 5-3, y lo más importante para un Relevista hacía el final de Encuentros;  En los 29 Juegos en 2023 que los Marlins le han dado la pelota a Scott arriba en el marcador por 3 Carreras o menos (la gran mayoría de veces la ventaja siempre es menos de 3 carreras), el Lanzador Zurdo de los Marlins le a regresado la pelota al Mánager Skip Schumaker 27 veces con la Ventaja intacta. Incluyendo 3 de ésas ocasiones en la Novena Entrada, donde Tanner Scott se mirará el resto del año. ..A comparación, David Roberston, quién fue adquirido por los Marlins de los Mets de Nueva York para ser el Cerrador, se le han ido más juegos (3) en menos de un mes con el Equipo, q...

Crunch Time

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  Thirty six Games remain on the Calendar for the Marlins as far as the 2023 Regular Season is concerned, and the Fish find themselves right in the thick of the N.L Wild Card Race. It's been quite a rollercoaster ride for the Marlins since the 1st half highs that found em 14 Games Over .500 by the All-Star Break for only the 2nd time (1997) in Franchise History. They then went on to lose 8 straight following the A.S.G, which contribited to dropping 17 of their first 22 Second Half Contests.  Since the really rough start to the 2nd Half, the Marlins have played .500 ball at 6-6, taking Series' in Cincinnati & from the New York Yankees, but then dropped a Series apiece to the Houston Astros & Dodgers in L.A, as well as the Opener last night in San Diego. You have that sense that the Fish are gonna need a decent stretch above .500 in order to secure 1 of the 3 N.L Wild Card spots. The Marlins are now gonna have to leap frog Teams li...

Code Reds

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A week into August and the Marlins have chosen a bit of a inopportune time to play their worst Baseball of the Season. 5-16 are those Marlins in the 2nd Half, they've also dropped 13 of their last 14 Road Games since the very end of June. I say only 'a bit' because the Team just ahead of them in the Standings, the Cincinnati Reds, as well as a Club that was but no longer is in front of the Fish, the Arizona Diamondbacks, are in quite the slumps themselves.  It reminds you a bit of 2003, when the Marlins dropped 9 of 10 on the Road in August, but virtually lost no ground as Teams in the Wild Card chase at the time (mostly the Phillies) also lost their fair share and then some during that same time period. Obviously for the Marlins to capture some '03 magic again they're gonna have to awaken from this dreadful August start. No better time than when facing that Club directly ahead of you in the Wild Card Standings. The Fish open up a 3 Game Set against the Reds in Cinc...

Innings

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The Marlins acquisition of David Robertson did not take 'advanced' (as far as age) Prospects from the Pipeline to Acquire.  It's a crazy time of year in Major League Baseball. The August 1st Trading Deadline is tomorrow at 6 P.M Eastern Time. There's lots of Contenders and pretenders trying to beef up their Rosters as much they can with dreams of October. The Marlins find themselves a half a game ahead for 1 of 3 National League Wild Card spots. The Fish have already made a move to buy this Deadline Season, acquiring Closer David Robertson from the New York Mets. Yes, the same Mets whose Payroll more (a lot more) than Triples 2023 Fish Salaries.     The Marlins have also been rumored to be looking for a Starting Pitcher (Who isn't 🙄) and Bats during this Trading Market. With the latter being a bit of a surprise at first glance, the Fish currently have Sandy Alcantara, Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, and Johnny Cueto in their Rotation. But could ...

Teal Series

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  Winners of 12 of their last 15 Games (Including 8 of the last 9), and 5-1 on the Road in their last 6 Contests as the Visiting Club. The Marlins are carrying some serious momentum into their Series in Seattle that begins tonight, while contributions to said success can be attributed all over the diamond & mound for the Fish. What a Batting 👁 'Eye' 👁 Jorge Soler is carrying to the plate in 2023! Laying off pitches the big Slugger chased in 2022. All while crushing his Pitch. 2 srike approach?! All I know is D. L. C. is slashing .343/.415/.598 with a 1.013 OPS in his last 27 Games 🔥. Luis Arraez, a .402 Hitter just as of Saturday, continues to show why he's the biggest Off-Season trade acquisition for the Marlins since Sandy Alcantara in 2017?! While speaking of Acquisitions, the resurgence of Jorge Soler in 2023 makes it as if the Fish added a 2nd Off-Season major bat to their Lineup this year (I mean 17 Bombs, 38 RBI's, .346 OPB, .905 OPS 👍👌👍👌)!! And you st...