Welcome to the Big Leagues, Kid

Ryan Tucker has arrived. Mark it down, circle the date and remember this one, because it is the kind of starting pitching kick-start that the Fish need. And after last night's error-filled, opportunity-missed, cowbell rung, Cody Ross saved game, the Marlins will try to put the recent sloppy play behind them and get things rolling again.

(By the way: We could have something with these cowbells, Cody Ross seemed to respond very well to them, as well as the chants of "CODY! CODY! CODY!" that rang out before, during and after his dramatic walk-off.)

The reason I haven't posted in a while was that I was preoccupied with the Marlins' dreadful showing of pitching in Atlanta. Riding all the way from Turner Field back to North Springs on MARTA after the Fish blew three leads in that series wasn't fun. I did enjoy the ride on Wednesday afternoon however, after Rabelo and Hanley hit those tying and winning homers, respectively.

Anyway, it seemed, for good reason, that the Braves and their fans were more comfortable coming from behind against the shaky Marlins hurlers.

Which brings me back to Tucker, who with his electric stuff, can infuse life into this worn-down staff like Dontrelle Willis did in 2003.

As Tucker sat on the bench and watched his new teammates pad the 2-1 lead he left the game with, he was accompanied by Scott Olsen. Don't know what Olsen was telling him (I'm kind of worried though, based on this article) but it probably was something along the lines of:

"Welcome to the Big Leagues, kid."

Marlins fans sure are glad you're here.