MilkGate - enough

Hey Brad Penny, David J. Neal (what does the "j" stand for anyway?), ESPN and others in the media - give it up. Stop trying to pick on the Marlins because, well, you all dont have any sense anyway.

Brad Penny, the fat and lazy Penny that couldn't seem to grasp the fact that it takes more than a good fastball to pitch in this league (keep watching that radar gun, son) wants to take a pot shot at the Marlins organization for suspending a bat boy that took a dare. A $500 dare that Penny initiated. Now, anyone who blames the bat boy for taking that dare is a moron, granted. But anyone not pointing a finger at Penny, apparently a court jester in his spare time, is deficient in grey matter as well.

The Marlins organization didn't blame Nick the bat boy for taking the dare, they just penalized him FOR taking the dare. Why? Imagine Brad Penny in his underwear scratching his head with that ol' Gump look on his face and you will see where I am going with this.

What our stand up comic/Punk'd inspired Penny doesn't seem to realize is that the Marlins are trying to run a business. That means there are legal ramifications to that business. The bat boy is under 18. He is under the legal protection of his parents - and they signed him over, essentially, to the Florida Marlins, LP for work. That means, the Marlins are legally responsible for his safety and well-being during his scheduled work hours.

Oh yeah, legality. Bet Penny couldn't even spell "law".

Who is to say that in the future another baseball player offers more money for something more dangerous? No, I am not saying anyone is going to get KILLED, but badly hurt. Then you got litigation pending against a player, against a ball club not to mention the bad press involved. Not that that would matter, because all the media in South Florida seems to be concerned with is sensationalism and giving the Marlins bad PR anyway.

So, it is lose/lose for the Marlins. No comment means let it go away. Commenting only keeps it open.

Regardless of what their intentions really were, the Marlins dont seem to get a break. Could they have been raving lunatics suspending the bat boy for no reason? Sure. And that is what Brad Penny would have you believe, after all players get 10 days suspension for using steroids but 6 for drinking a gallon of milk. Yeah, we agree, the penalty for steroid abuse is ridiculously harmless. Although, that wasn't what Penny was trying to illustrate with that comment. And the blatant criticism of MLB practices seems to go uncontested not to mention that MLB rules and clubhouse rules of an independent frachise have nothing to do with each other. Apples and oranges, Brad. Try eating some for a change.

But couldnt the Marlins also have had a damn good reason for suspending our beloved bat boy in order to set a precedent? Yes.

But why would Brad Penny or even the South Florida media demonstrate any sense whatsoever. They never have in the past, and never will. They are a complete list of bumbling idiots. And I got $500 bucks to prove it.

Marlins are the most dangerous team in Wild Card race

I am tired of the media droll. There doesn't seem to be anyone in print, on TV, or stuck inside my radio that thinks the Marlins are capable.

And that is fine, because I wasn't entirely sure myself. Not entirely sure that they would actually do it, not that they were incapable.

Because, this team has all the weapons to get into the postseason and is entirely capable.

Who has better starting pitching than the Marlins? The Nationals? No. The Mets? Maybe if you were looking to play in an AARP softball game. The Phillies? Not in that ballpark. The Astros? Roger Clemens, sure, but after him no one on that staff - including Oswalt - can be as dominating as Beckett, Burnett or even Willis (who has proven himself Cy Young worthy). All Jason Vargas has done is notch a 5-1 record 3.16 ERA and showing the poise of a veteran. Moehler and Valdez can give you quality starts whichever you choose and that is more than can be expected from a #5 in any rotation.

How about relief? Antonio Alfonseca, Guillermo Mota, Todd Jones, Ron Villone. That is the makings of a very strong pen. Villone has struggled, yes. He has a 7.45 ERA while in Florida, but carried a 2.45 ERA over from Seattle where he pitched 40.1 innings. If Villone can get back on track, that adds another weapon. Mota has an excellent track record as a set-up man in this league and is now showing signs of getting comfortable in that role again (0.00 ERA with 9K's in 4.2IP over last 7 days). Alfonseca has started to come around (0.00 ERA over past week) and has been solid all year long (1-1 3.79 ERA) despite still recovering from an injury. And then there is Todd Jones.

Offense? It is counfounding. The Marlins have, statistically, some of the more impressive performances in this league. 4 of the top 5 hitters in the NL with fewest K's per plate appearances are Marlins (Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, Lowell). They have a .272 team batting average, plus one of the top hitters with RISP in Juan Encarnacion. The only thing they seem to lack is power, after Delgado and Cabrera of course. Mike Lowell was expected to provide more than his 6 home runs. Encarnacion has 15, which is solid. But the Marlins seem to be winning despite not hitting home runs - reverting back to that "small ball" style of play that defined them in their '03 run. Yet, in Houston or in Philadelphia, the offense's troubles go out the window as any team can produce runs in those parks. And they are both fields of, literally, contention. In NY, Washington and back in Florida, the Marlins 'small ball' favors them and complements their pitching.

Which brings us to a final point - of these teams contending for the Wild Card spot, which has the most experience in this position? The Astros or the Marlins? It doesnt matter. Both teams have experience, but it will take more than that to win this. Yet, both these teams can have a slight edge over their competitors because of this experience. And that will be tested as the Marlins will square off against these teams over the coming weeks.

So, why aren't the Marlins being considered strong favorites? To answer that question may take even longer and demand more research than to answer the current question as to why they are contenders.

Marlins continue to "gump" their way

With the win against the Padres, the Marlins closed out the series with the 'daddies' by taking it 2-1. That is 3 series wins in a row (not counting the double-header debacle in Colorado, that would be 4 series in a row and a split against the Cards).

In fact, the Marlins are 10-8 in the month of August, not exactly blistering, but they are now 1 game back in the wild card race and 4.5 games back in the NL East race.

Why? Because every team in the race is falling flat. They all want to play, but none can seem to commit. Guess it is a 'guy thing'.

But helping out is the Phillies and Nationals splitting their series, 2-2. And there is the Astros losing 5 of their last 6 games...

So, here we are, Marlin fans. Perched right near the top of the NL Wild Card race and within striking distance of the NL East title. Not because we are damn good, but because we are damn lucky.

14 shutouts on the season? That feat right now leads all of major league baseball. That isn't the surprising thing about that stat for the Marlins; what seems to be more astonishing is that they actually won all 14 of those games with this finicky offense.

Now, I am not normally a pessimist, so I won't pretend to be one here either. The Marlins could play better, yes, but they are starting to. Sure, the offense isn't clicking, but they have won 6 of their last 9 games. That is a start. And as long as the Marlins keep getting the pitching performances they have been, they have a great shot. Over their last 7 days, the Marlins pitching staff is 4-2 with a 1.17 ERA, 2 complete games, 40 strikeouts and 16 walks in 54 innings pitched while only allowing 35 hits.

That is pretty nasty, ladies and gentlemen.

And this is the time of year where pitching and defense seperate the good from the bad and ugly. The Marlins have both of those features - no, not bad and ugly (I wouldn't go there...). Because of the Marlins pitching and defense, they are still in this and maybe "gumping" their way isn't such a bad thing after all. I have accused the Atlanta Braves of such a feat many times, but they seem to have a formula - considering their 196 division titles in a row now.

Better to be lucky than good? I guess. So, may the best gump win.

March to postseason may be small miracle

It can be done. That is the sentiment around here at Marlinsnation. We all believe in this team, just not necessarily in their ability to make the postseason right now.

The Wild Card race has tightened up with 4 teams within 3 games of the top spot that the Astros currently hold. Even the Brewers have a decent shot at 5 games back. The four teams? All NL East residents: Nationals, Phillies, Marlins and Mets.

Right now, I figure the magic number is 92: the amount of wins it will take to seal up a wild card bid. The Astros has 92 last season and the Marlins had 91 back in '03.

That leaves the Marlins with a task of going 34-16 through these final games. Can it be done? Yes. The Marlins certainly have the talent to make that kind of a run. But it would also be the best baseball they have played all year - and being the most consistent.

They just came off an anti-climatic road trip of 4-5, but got the win last night against the D'Backs and are now 5-5 over their last 10 games. They are 12-8 over their last 20 games which would only get them to 24-16 if they projected that same percentage over the next 20. That wouldn't cut it.

But it is not impossible. The Marlins had a similar run in 2003 in which they went 35-16: from June 18th to August 18th (thanks, MarlinAddict). To have any chance of replicating the feat of that season, the Marlins will have to repeat the feat here.

There are 16 series left for the Marlins. That means they have to take each series and only suffer 1 loss in each one from now on just to have a shot at winning the wild card. 8 of them will be against their NL East foes, including a final series at home against the Atlanta Braves.

Can the Marlins do it? Can they play their most consistent baseball of the year when it matters the most? We'll soon find out.

Beast of the East takes on the Cardinals

Tonight the Marlins open their road series against one of the best teams in all of baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals. For the Marlins, who are starting to get hot, this will be an obvious test and will go a long way to gauging where they are at this point.

As the Braves continue to gump their way ahead in the NL East standings, the Marlins need to approach this series with the Cards as their coming out party just to keep pace. The Marlins also have another hot team to chase in the Wild Card, the Houston Astros.

The pitching is there for the Marlins. Beckett and Burnett have started to pitch up to their billing. Whether or not it was the trade rumors that fueled Burnett will be seen. Willis, the darling of the NL in the first half, had hit a rough patch just after it but had a very nice outing his last time out. Moehler and Valdez round out the Marlins rotation and offer quality starts each time out.

But for this series, there will be a test. The Marlins get to roll out their best on Tuesday (Willis), Wednesday (Beckett) and Thursday (Burnett) but will have to do so against one of the best offenses in baseball in recent memory. And the Marlins will have to do it with a banged up lineup of sorts - Alex Gonzalez is just now coming back from injury and Carlos Delgado's status has yet to be determined.

The playoffs won't be determined by this series, make no mistake. But this series will test the Marlins status right now as to whether or not they are seriously ready to take the next step and assert themselves in the pennant race. The hitting is there. The pitching is there. This team believes it can win and even has the rally socks on. We will know more about this team on Friday.

Marlins acquire veteran Villone

The Marlins made a move to bolster their bullpen Sunday by acquiring bullpen workhorse Ron Villone from the Seattle Mariners. Villone is 2-3 with a 2.45 ERA and 41K's in 40.1IP.

The Marlins sent Yorman Bazardo, a highly regarded relief prospect within the Marlins organization, and Mike Flannery to the Mariners. Bazardo, however, has been disappointing at the big league level. He has a great fastball but strangely doesn't seem to generate a lot of strikeouts.

To make room for Villone, John Riedling was optioned to AAA Alberquerque.