Crunch Time
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 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins, who too were 14 Games Over .500 in the 1st Half of the Season, had separate stretches where they dropped 7 of 10 and 6 of 7 in July & September, but righted the ship to finish 8 Games Over .500 in the 2nd Half of '97. We mentioned 2003 in our previous Blog, and how the World Champs dropped 8 of 9 after being Swept in Pittsburgh right towards the end of August, but quickly rebounded going 14-2 into the middle of September. 7 of those 16 Games in '03 where against the Montreal Expos btw, coincidently 7 of the next 11 Games for the '23 Marlins are against the Nationals (previously the Expos), who the Fish are a clean 6-0 against already this year.
Even the 2020 Playoff Marlins lost 8 of 10 and 7 of 10 on separate occasions during the shortened pandemic Season. But the 2023 Fish are gonna have to play some better baseball against Teams who too have October aspirations. Philadelphia, Texas, Cincinnati, NYY, Houston and LAD have been the Marlins last 6 Opponents. We mentioned the Fish are in the middle of a Series in San Diego as we speak, against a very namesy Padres Team who's trying to get back in the Race. While still on the '23 Fish docket are Series' against Tampa Bay, the Dodgers & Phil's again, and Divisions leading Milwaukee & Atlanta.
A couple of glaring holes all year on the Marlins have been at the Catching Position & the 6 Hole on the Diamond. We'll start behind the Dish, where Nick Fortes & Jacob Stallings are the only 2 Catchers to suit up for the Fish all year long. Stallings/Fortes have Hit a combined .201 in 2023 (that's real bad) in their 411 At Bats.
Defensively things aren't that great either, Base Stealing/Running on the Fish has been a major issue all Season, while Framing for both guys back there could be better.
If the Catching Position isn't gonna supply much of any Offense, you gotta be damn near perfect Defensively back there, I'm talking Jeff Mathis esque. But things have gotten so bad at the plate for the Marlins who are behind it, that Jorge Alfaro was recently resigned by the Fish to a Minor League Deal, and may/probably should find himself back in the Big Leagues to replace 1 of the Team's current Catchers.
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The Marlins knew they had a vacancy at Shortstop coming into the year, after Trading Miguel Rojas (The Fish needed more Offense than what Miggy-Ro could/can provide). They decided to go in house for the job, despite concerns over Joey Wendle's defense at the Position. Wendle Defensively in 2023 has been just fine, it's his Bat that has completely fallen off the table.
Wendle has provided virtually no Offense since June 30th. His slash line over his last 40 Games: .161/.186/.232 (That's even worse than Stallings/Fortes). It's brought his overall numbers down to .230/.266/.325.
The lefty hitting Infielder see's action against all Righthanded Starters at Short, with Jon Berti in against Lefties. It's long past time for the Fish to consider Xavier Edwards (Who is seeing reps at Shortstop in AAA over the last week for the first time all year) and/or Garrett Hampson-Jacob Amaya to split that time with Berti.
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What can't be measured in numbers or turns at the plate, is the leadership guys like Stallings, Wendle, and Yuli Gurriel (Who sees a lot of playing time in key spots despite his .182 Batting Average 👎 with RISP, and with so many 1B type Prospects swinging it well 👍 in AAA) provide. But with the Season winding down and with the Marlins in desperate search for Wins, these are departments the Fish may need to make adjustments to, while finding a way to keep somebody like a Wendle close by. Who knows, maybe an I.L stint to try n get right Offensively, while being with the Club could be multi beneficial.
The Marlins are in this thing, it's late August. Every Game is a big Game, and we've seen some big time contributions from new additions Josh Bell & Jake Burger. We've seen some inexperience from Manager Skip Schumaker with regards to his Pitching Staff. We've seen continued big Hits from Luis Arraez & Jorge Soler. We've seen meltdowns from Jesus Luzardo (gotta get right, big Start tonight) & David Robertson. We've also seen resurgences to the scene by superstars like Sandy Alcantara & Jazz Chisholm. Now let's see if the boys can rack up some big Wins and do this thing. Go Fish!
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