Marlins Tidbits

Today, I'm going to give you three tidbits, all courtesy of Fish Stripes (and all excellent). Fish Stripes does such a wonderful job covering the Marlins, and we're grateful to read their content every day.

The first piece of news - which is pretty significant - is that Ryan Tucker will remain in the rotation. The casualty? Burke Badenhop. While that's not at all surprising, I do feel for Badenhop. He never really got the opportunity to assert himself. Sure, he had a number of shaky starts, but he also showed that when his sinker was working, he could be an effective back-of-the-rotation guy. I expect he'll be back at some point.

As for Ryan Tucker, I'm very excited. Control is an issue, but he has some potent stuff. My one concern...could the Marlins be bringing him up to soon? Remember what happened to Jason Vargas and Annibal Sanchez? Sometimes you get off to a great start, then fall apart. Let's hope the Marlins aren't mishandling Tucker.

Secondly, there's some actual news on Josh Willingham. Yes, remember that guy who was batting .341 and used to play for the Marlins? It seems he's finally on the way back, but don't expect him to return right away. I'm setting July 1st (secretly June 25th) as an optimistic date...but don't hold your breath.

Lastly, here's a few more reasons to believe in Dan Uggla's awesomeness. As Fish Stripes reports, Uggla is well on pace to break history. He could be the second 2B to hit 40 HRs and 40 doubles in a season. What's Uggla on pace for? 47 HRs and 60 doubles. Wow.

Most Dependable Starter? Ricky Nolasco

Tonight, Ricky Nolasco will battle Braves somewhat-sensation Jair Jurrjens for Game 4 of the series. As I'm sure you all know, the Braves lead the series 2-1, despite each team blowing a late lead in all three games.

The first three games may have been screwy, coming down to fluky bullpen mishaps, but I expect tonight's game to play out more traditionally. Ricky Nolasco has been very solid lately, regaining his pre-injury 2006 form (remember, he beat Brandon Webb). It's a rotating circus, but he leads my current list of most dependable Marlins starters. Here it is:

1. Ricky Nolasco
2. Scott Olsen
3. Andrew Miller
4. Mark Hendrickson
5. Burke Badenhop

Scott Olsen is barely hanging on to the second spot, but a solid performance Monday gave him some breathing room. Andrew Miller seems fine when he can get past the first couple innings, but that's a big if. Hendrickson was mediocre yesterday, but that was after three bad starts in a row. And Badenhop? He was never good enough to earn confidence, though he could very well ascend after a couple more starts.

Putting it bluntly, the Marlins rotation is consistently inconsistent, excellently mediocre, and erratic as a sugar-high toddler. And maybe that's beautiful; on any given night, they can be Sandy Koufax...or Anthony Young.

Either way, I like the ball in the hands of Nolasco tonight.

Remember Burke Badenhop?

Once upon a time, there was a fifth starter for the Marlins named Burke Badenhop. Between an off-day, increased production from Nolasco and Miller, and a shortage of bullpen arms, Mr. Badenhop was relegated into a purgatory of sorts (not quite as frightening as Dante's, but an unsettling one nevertheless): the space between rotation and bullpen!

Well tonight, Burke Badenhop ascends back into Paradiso, aka. the rotation. Battling him will be another one of these Divine Comedy ascenders, Jorge Campillo. Campillo started the year in Atlanta's bullpen, but pitched so effectively that he earned a rotation spot. His ERA? A glistening 0.99.

Still, Campillo's outings are short. The Marlins should work the counts to get him out of the game, hoping it comes down to the bullpens...Oh wait, hasn't the Marlins bullpen blown 3 saves already on this trip? Scratch that. Just try and score as many runs as possible!

Double the Fun

No, I'm not talking about a threesome with the Spearmint twins...get your mind out of the gutter!

It's a doubleheader for the Marlins today, which is always more exciting. According to what Marlins Today reports, the opening matchup will feature Burke Badenhop vs. Matt Cain (yesterday's probables), the second Mark Hendrickson vs. Pat Misch. Assuming that holds true to form, both matchups can be favorable for the Fish today.

The key name to watch out for is Tim Lincecum. The Marlins do NOT want to face him...let's hope he's kept aside for the Giants' next series.

Come out to the game(s) and get double the pleasure, double the fun.

The Ironies of Baseball

The Marlins faced two pitchers in the same week:

1. Brandon Webb, 9-0
2. Barry Zito, 0-8

They beat one of them. It wasn't Zito. How does this happen?

It's just more evidence that on any given day, one baseball team can beat another. Baseball is filled with so many variables, and the Marlins had the misfortune of tasting the worst bitterness after inhaling the sumptuousness of the sweetest cola.

It's an extremely disappointing loss to be sure, but the Marlins can rebound in the next two games. Matt Cain, who has been somewhat erratic, squares off against Badenhop tonight. Can "Bad" continue the trend of fellow doormats Ricky Nolasco and Andrew Miller and become a dominant pitcher?

New nickname alert: If Badenhop turns in a strong outing, we'll start calling him Badass until further notice.

Marlins Against Odds Today

Last night's win was terrific, but will it lead to a new streak? The laws of probability aren't kind today, but who are we to listen to that? Didn't probability also predict the Marlins to finish with sub-70 wins?

As a responsible blogger, however (am I really?), I have to report the bad news. The Fish are facing one tough cookie in Zack Greinke. This week's edition of Endinson Volquez, let's examine his stats:

4-1, 1.93 ERA, 38-14 K-BB ratio. Compare those superb statistics with Burke Badenhop (I won't even bother to show his numbers), and you start to get a "sinking" feeling.

The Marlins also have a 4-4 record in day games, a couple of which they pulled out by the skin of their teeth. They've been more effective at night.

Okay, now for some optimism. Greinke hasn't been quite as good of late. He's 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in his last three games, while Badenhop is 1-0, 4.08 ERA over the same stretch. The Marlins have a better offense, especially with Jacobs back, and they're at home.

The Marlins can definitely take this one, but it will take a strong performance from Badenhop and company.

So Who's For Real?

East is east, and west is west,
So which one of our teams is really the best?

As we wake up this Monday morning, the Marlins have the best record in all of major league baseball, at 23-14, and are riding a 7-game winning streak. The Rays have the third best record in the American League, at 21-16, and are riding a 4-game winning streak. Both teams are greatly exceeding any forecaster's wildest predictions, and yet neither team is really taken very seriously for the long haul, especially when it comes to the Marlins.

The point was driven home during my doubles tennis game yesterday morning. In response to my comment about the recent success of our team, my opponent, a diehard Yankee fan from Scarsdale, calmly remarked, "They're playing well for a weak team." Perhaps he should have referred to the payroll, not the quality. A more appropriate comment might have been, "They're playing well for a poor team." Looking at the inflated payroll of both New York teams, it is hard not to cringe. But even that is about to change somewhat with the long term 70-million dollar contract soon to be signed by Hanley Ramirez.

Then, in listening to ESPN radio last night, the discussion revolved around these two Florida over-performing teams, with the consensus being that the Rays were the more likely team to prevail over for the duration of the season, with the Marlins the more likely team to collapse. After all, the Marlins have been winning on scoring runs and power, while the Rays have the stronger pitching with Kazmir back in form and a better team ERA overall.

I predict exactly the opposite. The Marlins pitching will only improve, with Miller and Badenhop showing signs of belonging above triple A, Mitre and Sanchez on the mend, and a strong corps of relievers and closers. The lineup is also likely to strengthen, with Willingham and Jacobs due to return any day now. History favors the Marlins as well, need I say more?

There may be a ray of hope for Tampa Bay, but, at least in the mind of this reporter, the Marlins are the big fish in Florida.

The "Bad," "Ill," and "No!" Games

We've had copious discussions here at The South Florida Fan about the disparity in the Marlins rotation. Scott Olsen and Mark Hendrickson have excelled, collectively boasting a 9-2 record, while the unholy trinity of Burke Badenhop, Andrew Miller, and Ricky Nolasco account for 4-7.

Considering how poorly the bottom three have pitched, 4-7 is pretty startling. Here are their ERAs:

Badenhop: 6.31
Miller: 7.96
Nolasco: 6.10

Those are unacceptable numbers for any starting pitcher in the Major Leagues, let alone three on the same team!

So how have the Fish managed to work around it? You could argue timely hitting, but the real answer is through inconsistency. Badenhop, Miller, and Nolasco have essentially been good or terrible, with little in between. The games where they racked up the high ERA points, they blew the game wide open. In their other starts, they gave up only 2-3 runs.

Whenever the Marlins win when these guys pitch (such as last night, when Badenhop pitched extremely well), it almost feels like an extra win. DSponge and I have been speculating that the Marlins need to win the Olsen and Hendrickson starts and then one of the bottom three each week to stay in contention. That's not going to last forever, so ultimately one of these bottom three will have to join the ranks of respectability.

Nickname Note: These games will from heretoforth be referred to as the "Bad, Ill, and No" games (for BADenhop, MIller, NOlasco). This constitutes the second coined nickname from The South Florida Fan:

The South Florida Fan Record Book:
1. Coined The Great Andino for Robert Andino.
2. Coined "The Bad, Ill, and No" games.

We encourage all fellow Marlins bloggers to follow our lead.

What a Jinx!

Leave it to ASponge. Mere hours after posting some "street cred" for the Marlins' bullpen, reliever Kevin Gregg went out and blew one in the 9th.

After a solid start by 25-year-old Burke Badenhop (6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 K, 2 BB) and quality relief appearances by Tankersley and Pinto (both pitched 1 scoreless inning), Gregg entered a tie game in the 9th and promptly walked the leadoff man on 4 straight pitches. A sacrifice bunt and a single later, and the Dodgers had a 4-3 lead. They went on to complete the sweet of the Marlins in South Florida, 5-3. Gregg's final line: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB. The Marlins defense didn't help much either, with 3 errors in the game, 2 of those coming in the decisive 9th.

The Marlins were outscored 25-10 in the 3-game series and are now 15-13 overall and tied with the Mets and Phillies for the division lead. What started as a great April has slowly bled into a less than impressive May debut. Luckily, the Fish welcome in the lowly Padres (11-17) to Dolphins Stadium tomorrow. Hopefully the Marlins can bounce back against a lesser opponent.

Marlins Lose a Tough One...Or Twelve

I'm a little stung for words right now. The Marlins were beaten soundly last night, falling 13-1 to Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers. It was not how the Marlins envisioned things, and now they'll have to pull off a win this afternoon to salvage the series.

I was the unfortunate soothsayer who pointed out the possibility of erroneous pitching numbers. It seems Billingsley picked the Marlins for his first good start of the season, while Olsen mixed in a bad egg.

Today's matchup?

Badenhop vs. Kuroda, a matchup that favors the Dodgers. The Marlins have to take a game in this series though, right? It would help if they had Jacobs and Willingham.

The Marlins' Achilles Heel Exposed

Everything went according to literary form in last night's 7-4 loss to the Braves, as if scripted directly from Homer's "Iliad." Let's break down the mythology:

Achilles Heel: The back of the Marlins rotation, namely the unreliable Burke Badenhop. He proved to be the weakness tonight, allowing five runs in the first inning.

Achilles the Warrior: The bullpen, which has obliterated all things in its path since Opening Day. Much like Achilles' triumphant return to the front, the bullpen relieved Badenhop and surrendered just one run. It was a solid enough performance to slay Hector, but the Trojan lead was too great.

Achilles' Friends (Agammemnon, Aias, Odysseus, and co.): The Marlins lineup, which never gave up despite the odds. Special credit must go to Josh Willingham, who powered all four of the team's RBI.

The final result? The Marlins, like Achilles, may have been slain for the night, but the division battle is still looking promising. Nobody saw this Marlins team coming, and that's why they're the Trojan Horse of the National League.

The Marlins Have No Pitching

When I say the Marlins have no pitching, I mean it a lot more literally than you would otherwise think. It's not that they don't have good pitchers, but that they're all hurt. Let's take a look.

Josh Johnson - Tommy John surgery, might return in August

Annibal Sanchez - Arm soreness, out until the All-star break, perhaps longer

Sergio Mitre - Forearm strain, out until at least June 1st

Scott Olsen - Arm soreness, probably out until at least the second series

In 2006, the Marlins had the makings of a great young rotation, with Willis-Josh Johnson-Olsen-Nolasco-Sanchez

Now, the only one ready for opening day is Ricky Nolasco, and he hasn't pitched well since he got injured last season.

With all the talk of the Marlins needing to fill Cabrera's hole at 3B, the real question will be the pitching; namely, how the committee of Andrew Miller, Mark Hendrickson, Rick Vanden Hurk, Chris Volstad, Gaby Hernandez, Burke Badenhop, and Daniel Barone plug the holes.