How About a Broom?

Just when the Phillies were on the verge of pulling away in the standings, once again the Marlins rise to the occasion and play some of their best ball of the season. Last night's dramatic win with Uggla's walk-off grand slam sets up a very unlikely scenario, a Marlins sweep of a 3-game series over the Phillies. The last time that happened? A 4-game sweep July 26-29, 2004 at home.

Speaking of unlikely scenarios, how about the Marlins leading the Major Leagues in homeruns, once again poised to climb to only one game out of first place in mid-June, Jorge Cantu posting better numbers at this point in the season than Miguel Cabrera, Andrew Miller pitching brilliantly against a potent Phillies offense while Dontrelle Willis joins the single A Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League with an ERA of over 10, and the Mets at 2 games under .500, the Yankees at an even .500, with the Marlins at 7 games over?

When I was sitting in the stands on Tuesday night, surrounded by Phillies fans on the third base side just above the visitors' dugout, it seemed very unlikely that by Thursday night I might be back at the stadium thinking about a sweep. So when I head out to the game tonight, I would be bringing a broom along if they let me, but they don't even allow umbrellas let alone brooms at Dolphin Stadium. Nonetheless, I wish there would be a large proactive crowd of fans there tonight to watch the possible unfolding of another championship year, long before the thousands of latecomers join the bandwagon in September. At least I can count on the Sign Guy in my section supporting the Marlins through thick and thin, even if surrounded by a sea of red.

It may be June, and it may be way too early to hope, but that is what going to a baseball game is all about. Dreams and possibilities, unlikely heroes, and lots of food (even junk food) for thought and discussion. That is also what this blog site is all about! Maybe I'll try to sneak in a broom.

D-Train Derailing?

I can't help but find myself feeling bad for Dontrelle Willis. In his years here in South Florida he did so much for the Fish. Not only did he almost win the Cy Young award in '05, but even as a rookie, he had been this team's vocal leader. So to see him give up 8 runs in his return from injury definitely hurts. Willis started off the season horribly before getting injured anyways, so this is not anything new.

When Rick Kranitz arrived to be the Marlins' new pitching coach in 2006, the D-Train began a downhill path. Kranitz tried to change his unorthodox delivery,(who didn't love that huge leg kick?) and it seemed 'Trelle never adjusted properly. So from 2006 on, we began to see the decline of the man who was once a top pitcher in the NL.

I understand the Tigers are desperate for any type of a pick up to their hugely dissapointing season, but there was no reason for Dontrelle not to a get a minor league start prior to the one on Monday. So after Willis embarassed himself on national TV, he was sent down to A ball in Lakeland. Let's just hope his short return to Florida can give him any type of boost.

Will the Tigers Rue the Day?

It is an interesting question. One that was laughable over the winter and has become more and more serious as this strange season has progressed.

Will the Tigers rue the day that they traded Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De la Cruz and Dallas Trahern for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis? I think they already do.

The pitching-needy Tigers sent a wildly ineffective Willis to the minors today. Cabrera just keeps eating his way towards worsening numbers and more games at DH. Slow-footed Detroit is the biggest bust in baseball.

Meanwhile, without Cabrera the Marlins are better offensively than they were a year ago (the Fish lead MLB in homers). They replaced Willis, the spark of 2003's magical run, with Miller, who even in his youthful inconsistency has been eons better than the man-who-used-to-be-called-the-D-Train this season. The potential of Miller, Maybin, De la Cruz and Badenhop outshine Cabrera and Willis at this point.

With tonight's win the Marlins are six games over .500 and three games out of first. The Tigers wallow at 27-37, 10 games behind the surging White Sox in the AL Central.

Would Cabrera (.270/8 HR/36 RBI) and Willis (0-1/10.32 ERA/21 BB/5 K) have been this bad had they remained in South Florida? Would the Marlins be so close to the top of the league with the moody Miggy and off-track D-Train still in town?

Sure, Cabrera is underachieving as his weight and batting average remain in far-too-close proximity. He probably will regain some semblance of his old self. No, Dontrelle isn't this bad, although his final days in teal weren't so pretty either. But the trade that was supposed to sink the Marlins to the NL seafloor and boost the Tigers to the World Series isn't delivering expected results.

I wonder if Detroit regrets it already.

Bizarro World: Mets and Marlins

When the schedule-makers put Marlins-Mets on the slate for late May, they imagined two teams in different positions. Surely the Mets would lead the NL East by 2.5 games, soar with confidence, and start thinking about playoff possibilities. The Marlins? 5-6 games back seems about right, maybe even more than expected.

So how did these teams find themselves on the opposite sides of the fence? When in doubt, you need look no further than the NY media. I give, for your immense satisfaction, this NY Post story highlighting this very theme. Here are a few good excerpts:

"The Mets and Marlins are perfect foils, and the series which begins tonight should demonstrate that. The Mets are primarily a group of expensive, underachieving veterans. The upstart Marlins have the lowest payroll in the majors ($21.8 million) and are the biggest surprise of the first two months."

Not to mention that much of the above paragraph is due to trades with each other. The Marlins acquired Mike Jacobs+ for Delgado. In the separate Paul Lo Duca deal, Mr. Lo Duca isn't even with the Mets anymore, while Gaby Hernandez looks poised for a promising career. Larry Beinfest played a significant role in wrecking Omar Minaya and the Mets.

"It didn't help Reyes that the player to whom he is often compared, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, got off to an MVP-caliber start. Ramirez is batting .305 with nine home runs and 13 stolen bases despite a recent 6-for-39 slump that dropped his batting average almost 40 points and seemed to coincide with being moved from his customary leadoff spot to No. 3."

It's probably not the best time to rave about Hanley, considering he's in a terrible slump, but the Reyes-Hanley contest is a dead argument right now. Even Hanley's defense is better these days.

"Perhaps the bigger culprits in the Mets' demise have been Delgado and Beltran. They are paid handsomely to produce runs but have combined for 12 homers and 53 RBIs. Compare that to the combined 27 home runs and 65 RBIs of Marlins Dan Uggla and Mike Jacobs.

To further illustrate the futility of Beltran and Delgado, compare their numbers to those of Cantu and Jeremy Hermida, the fourth and fifth most productive hitters in the Marlins lineup. They've combined for 13 home runs and 48 RBIs."

And to make matters worse, the Marlins' hitters are on the way up, while some of these Mets are declining rapidly. Finally:

"The Mets are built to win now. That's why they traded talented outfielder Carlos Gomez and three young pitchers for Santana. It also played a part in the trade of controversial prospect Lastings Milledge for catcher Brian Schneider and Church, who has been a revelation in right field.

The Marlins are built for the future, which is why they traded slugger Miguel Cabrera and workhorse lefty Dontrelle Willis for a package of prospects. But as June approaches, it's the Marlins who appear to have most of the pieces in place while the Mets scramble for answers."

That last part tickles the throat like the gooey warmth of a chocolate souffle.

Is Mike Jacobs the New Chris Shelton?

Contributor Mike cautioned us to be wary of Mike Jacobs' hot start. I levied against him, but now he has some support.

According to Jayson Stark's Rumblings, Mike Jacobs is "not for real." Here's the blurb:

Like that team he plays for, Jacobs is mashing right now, much the way he did after the Mets called him up in 2005. But his big uppercut swing and lack of selectivity scare people, no matter how much raw power he has. (And he'll need it all, playing in that canyon in Miami.)

"Not real," said one scout. "He's swinging from his butt, and right now he's hitting it. But it won't last. He's this year's Chris Shelton."

Ouch! In addition to trashing Mike Jacobs, Stark also reported some concerning news about ex-Marlin Dontrelle Willis:

A baseball man who is tight with members of the Tigers' brass said that, in a way, they were almost relieved when Dontrelle Willis headed for the disabled list last weekend. Dontrelle's wildness was getting so out of hand, he was bordering on being pronounced as having contracted The Thing.

"So now they can send him out on a rehab start and see where this thing is at," the same baseball man said. "Now they can let him figure out his control issues in the minor leagues instead of in the big leagues. And if he's still wild, they can attribute it to the knee. But this [lack of control] has been there for a while. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think this is going to turn out to be a bad signing. And that's very unusual for that group."

Future Fish has been arguing that the Marlins unloaded Willis at the right time, and all the evidence is backing him up.