Hanley Good to Go

For those of you concerned about Hanley's sore shoulder, be at ease. He's good to go tonight in the All-Star game, where he'll be leading off the game.

Considering how understated the injuries were to Sergio Mitre, Josh Willingham, Mike Jacobs, and Dan Uggla, I feared the worst. Day-to-day from the Marlins has become a synonym for week-to-week or month-to-month. Is Mitre even going to pitch this year?

I'm so excited for Hanley...let's hope he represents well!

At 50-45, It's an Excellent First Half

The Marlins go into the All-Star break at 50-45, 1.5 out of first and in third place. It hurts to fall behind the Mets...it hurts a lot, but it's only by a game. With a restored rotation and the team regaining some confidence, this should shape up for a strong three-horse race to the finish (and don't discount the Braves either).

Still, let's be practical. Did anyone expect this? Most Marlins fans would have taken 45-50 and a bag of sour peanuts, let alone 50-45. The Marlins are skeptic-defying contenders, establishing reputations and instilling legitimate fear leaguewide. All in all, the Marlins deserve a nice pat on the back.

Let's look at some facts:

1. The Marlins started the year 30-20. They then endured a 14-23 stretch, before closing at 6-2.

2. As you all know, they lead the league in home runs.

3. This was all accomplished with Josh Willingham out for two months, Josh Johnson making one start, and Sergio Mitre and Annibal Sanchez still on the DL.

4. Hanley Ramirez was locked up for six years.

5. Dan Uggla is now a household name.

6. In what appeared to be a dismal spring battle at 3B, Jorge Cantu has thrived, Dallas McPherson has 30+ HRs in AAA, and Jose Castillo helped drag the Giants to the bottom of the league.

Yes, things have been good.

HR Chase: Hanley and Uggla Even at 23

As many of you know, the Marlins lead the league in home runs. Here's the latest top-5 tabulation:

Florida: 132
Philadelphia: 127
Chicago White Sox: 124
Milwaukee: 121
Texas: 113

(Mandatory note: The Marlins play in a pitcher's park!)

In addition to the team totals, the Marlins have a couple individuals atop the leaderboard. Hanley has now tied Dan Uggla at 23 for the team lead. They both trail Ryan Howard (27), Chase Utley (25), and Adam Dunn (24) for the Major League lead.

Dan Uggla, of course, was hampered by an ankle injury, which sidelined him for two weeks. Who knows how many he would have hit in that time (statistical projection would have him at 27, tied with Howard)...

The good news is that he's back again. This is shaping up for an enthralling Marlins vs. Phillies, Hanley-Uggla vs. Howard-Utley showdown. Bombs away.

Marlins on the Rebound

Things were looking pretty grim for the Marlins. Some thought that 18-17 debacle in Colorado would derail their season...I wondered if they could recover.

Well here are the facts:

1. Since dropping the first three to the Rockies, the Marlins are 4-1. This "nightmare" road trip is now 4-4.

2. Major credit goes to Fredi Gonzalez and Larry Beinfest, for replacing both Ryan Tucker and Mark Hendrickson with Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad. It could not have come a week later.

3. Hanley Ramirez is carrying this team. Last night? Game-winning home run. Remember when he couldn't hit the side of George W. Bush's enormous Crawford, TX barn? All in the past now. This is why he got that hefty contract, and he's earning it all.

So what now?

The Marlins have three games left before the All-Star break. If they can take two of three, they'd cap off the first half with 50 wins (50-45). And let's not forget, they'll have played more road games too.

What a Difference a Day Makes...

Following the 3rd game of the Marlins-Rockies series, it felt as though things were starting to come apart. Our starting rotation, with Ryan Tucker and Mark Hendrickson, couldn't get out of the 4th inning of a game and was looking extremely hittable. The Marlins blew a 9-run lead, and closer Kevin Gregg blew consecutive saves. The Marlins fell to 3.5 games back and were falling fast.

Turn the page to game 4 on Sunday. Chris Volstad gets called up from Carolina and enters the game down 4-3. Two scoreless, well pitched innings later, the Marlins have the lead, Volstad goes on to get the win and is promptly inserted into the starting rotation. Kevin Gregg pitched a solid inning Sunday, albeit with a 5-run lead. We also learn that Josh Johnson will be joining Volstad in the starting five. Johnson gets the start Thursday, Volstad on Friday.

Now, we come to tonight's game in San Diego. Emerging staff ace Ricky Nolasco pitches an 8 inning gem, giving up just 5 hits and 1 run. Due to the way the batting order fell in the top of the 9th, Nolasco came up just an inning short of the Marlins first complete game in 264 games. Kevin Gregg comes in and retires the Padres in order, recording the save.

Just to touch on it, the umpiring call made on Hanley's potential RBI double in the 7th was questionable, at best, although if you were listening to the Padres radio crew, they saw it as "the crew coming together, and they got the call right." Even the Marlins crew thought it was the right call, but it was more of an issue of overturning the original call. No one had a better view than the 3rd base ump who made the call.

Anyways, we'll never know what was said in the umpire conference, or who said they saw what, but whether it was fair or foul turned out to be a non-issue, thanks to Nolasco and Gregg. Nolasco threw like the staff veteran he is (despite being just 25, he is currently the oldest starting pitcher on the Marlins). He bested Greg Maddux, who still has not won since his 350th win came May 10th. With the new rotation, hopes are high. And thanks to the floundering Phillies, the Marlins are now just 1.5 games back of the division lead.

What a difference a day makes...

Congratulations Hanley, Uggla

The Marlins will be represented by Hanley Ramirez (starting) and Dan Uggla (reserve) at the All-Star game. Both are extremely deserving, and this comes as no surprise.

The All-Star Game should be an exciting spectacle, a smorgasbord of a farewell to Yankee Stadium. I've been there a few times...it's sad to see it go.

Here's something that might interest you: Hanley Ramirez will probably bat leadoff, meaning he'll be the first hitter of the game. Aside from that being a pretty cool thing, it's also a warning to get the game on early. You won't want to miss the beginning.

As a representative of The South Florida Fan, let me extend a gracious congratulations to these two All-Stars, who comprise the greatest middle infield in all of baseball: Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla.

Simply Unbelievable

It was just one of those nights. The Marlins have reached a new level of incredulous-osity. The final score was 18-17. That is only the tip of this mile-high iceberg.

The Fish had a 9 run, 13-4 lead going to the bottom of the 4th inning. Then the Rockies started launching the rockets. The Rocks scored 12 straight runs via the long ball. Colorado hit 6 home runs in the game. And guess how the Rockies won the game in the 9th... an error and a 2nd Kevin Gregg blown save in the last 24 hours. After Gregg gave up 3 straight singles to start the 9th and lose the lead, Hanley Ramirez had a chance to turn a double play that would have put a runner on 3rd but with 2 outs, but instead dropped the flip from Amezga to allow the Rockies to load the bases with no outs, and eventually get the win.

Not to be lost in this catastrophic collapse, the Marlins did score 17 runs on 22 hits. Ramirez was a triple short of the cycle, Cody Ross had a 5 RBI night, and Mike Jacobs went 4-4 and reached base all 6 times he came to the plate.

Unfortunately, the Rockies scored in every inning but the 8th. Simply put, the 2 teams combined for 35 runs on 43 hits, 21 of those hits were for extra bases. The All-star break needs to hurry up and get here, because the Marlins can't seem to do anything right of late, and the Phillies are starting to get hot. Obviously there is lots of baseball left to play, but after tonight's action, the Marlins are 3.5 games back of the Phils in the East, and 4 back in the wild card.

Speaking of Hanley...

Likely All-Star Game starter Hanley Ramirez can add another award to his ever-expanding trophy case. As Fish Stripes reports, Hanley Ramirez was named NL Player of the Month for June.

During that span, he batted .298 with 10 home runs.

To be honest, I didn't even realize it. Maybe it's because his April was so incredible and May so horrible...it made June seem average. 10 homers is a ton for one month, especially for a shortstop. Congratulations Hanley!

P.S. Hanley still takes that outside strike a lot, but at least he's reading it better now.

All-Star Projections: Hanley, Uggla Are Locks

The grand "Selection Show" for the MLB All-Star Game is Sunday at 2PM EST. Needless to say, this hardly carries the excitement of other selection shows, namely the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Still, I'm looking forward to hearing Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla announced. Hanley has an excellent chance of being the starter at shortstop. According to the last voting figures, the undeserving Miguel Tejada would need a strong push to match him in votes.

Uggla will be a reserve, barring injury to Chase Utley (whether you think Uggla is better than Utley or not, their numbers are comparable enough that we can't be upset). It's amazing how productive the Marlins' middle infield really is.

As for others...very little chance. Jorge Cantu and Kevin Gregg have the slimmest of chances. They would have to be manager's picks, and as far as I know, neither is all that close with Clint Hurdle. Ricky Nolasco has built a solid case, but not strong enough. At 9-4, 3.94 ERA, Nolasco is putting together a superb season, but he would have needed the ERA at least a run lower to get serious consideration.

So Hanley should start, Uggla a reserve, the rest get a nice break. Two All-Stars isn't bad, especially when they're both so good.

Marlins Like to Walk-Off

The Marlins have certainly been walking the walk the last two nights. Hanley Ramirez tied the game AGAIN with a 9th inning home run, and Josh Willingham finished it off with an exhilarating walk-off shot in the 10th. Pure bliss.

These were two games the Marlins could have lost, and if they had, they'd be .500. It's about time things turned their way, after every bounce seemed to go against them for a month. While 43-39 is not spectacular (see the first-place Rays for spectacular), it's certainly decent. The slumping Phillies are just .5 ahead, so the Marlins can regain the division lead tonight.

Note: Look for Hanley to be the All-Star starter at SS. That would be only the second time the Marlins have had a starter, the first being Gary Sheffield in 1993 (he wasn't even on the Marlins for part of the year). That is quite a statement for young Hanley Ramirez.

What a GREAT Marlins Win

This has certainly been a roller coaster season for the Marlins. So many close games, many of them heartbreaking and many of them astonishingly wonderful. Yesterday's game fit the latter category, and boy did it ever.

The Marlins rallied back to win in the 9th, despite being without Dan Uggla (reports say until Thursday...we'll have more on that later today). Hanley finally started earning his $70 million, blasting a game-tying home run into left field. Then Hermida doubled, advanced on a wild pitch, and was singled in by Jorge Cantu. All this on a day where Dan Haren was throwing some truly dominant stuff.

The win puts the Marlins at 42-39 through the halfway point and on pace for an 84-78 record. They trail the Phillies by just 1 game in the division race.

And best of all, I LOVE rooting for this team. As Fish Stripes describes here, the Marlins engaged in an all-out celebration. You have to like this quote from Hanley: "It's more like school. It's more like family," Ramirez said. I don't know how serious Hanley was about his schooling, but it sounds like he enjoyed recess.

Vote Hanley, Uggla to All-Star Game

At this point, it's fairly evident that both Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla should and will be All-Stars. Hanley actually led the voting for shortstops at one point, until Miguel Tejada surpassed him. Dan Uggla is in 4th place, which is a complete joke.

Marlins fans have a reputation for fizzling in times of need. Let's prove them wrong!

Go HERE to vote Hanley and Uggla, and feel free to throw Jorge Cantu a vote too if you'd like (yes, Chipper is batting close to .400, but Cantu could use some love).

NO MORE EXCUSES. EVERYBODY GO VOTE NOW!

Marlins Suffer Bitter Bitter Loss. Familiar?

There are now about five games that have played out similarly. They're all on the road, they all involve see-saw games that go into extra innings, and they usually include some kind of terrible play in the field.

Last night, the Marlins completely blew the game away. Hanley Ramirez and Luis Gonzalez both dropped extremely playable balls in the worst of situations. This, coming despite Dan Uggla's two home runs (one to tie the game), Jeremy Hermida's two-run blast, and a long ball from Hanley. Even Mark Hendrickson pitched moderately well. What a shame.

If the Marlins end up losing the division by 1 game, mark down 6/20/08 on your calendar. This was just brutal.

Marlins Infield Simply Unparalleled

I knew this Marlins infield was achieving some pretty significant numbers in the power department, but I had no idea it was of this magnitude.

As Fish Stripes brilliantly reports, the Marlins infield would set a Major League record as the first 1B-2B-SS-3B combo to all hit over 25 HRs in a season. This, from a team who plays in a pitcher's park, with a 3B scooped off the scrap heap in one of the toughest divisions. Take a deep breath and appreciate this.

Here's what Fish Stripes had to say:

"According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only six infield units ever -- none of them in the National League -- have had all four of its members smack as many as 20 home runs in one season.

The 1940 Boston Red Sox were the original. The 2005 Texas Rangers were the most recent and came closest to getting 25 home runs from each of their four infielders, with only shortstop Michael Young falling short at 24.

But the Marlins think they can carve out a new spot in the record books.

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• Jacobs, the first baseman, has hit 17 home runs and is on track for 38.

• Uggla, the second baseman, has clubbed 21, which would give him a franchise-record 47 if he keeps it up.

• Ramirez, the shortstop, has knocked 15 out to put him on line for 33.

• Cantu, the third baseman, has 14 homers, a pace that would leave him with 31."

So in other words, the Marlins could actually have 30 HRs from all four infield positions. That's remarkable! The biggest threat to this happening is an injury risk. They could survive some scattered DL stints, but not a major injury.

We'll be tracking their home run totals much more closely now, as the Marlins pursue this spectacular record.

Marlins Choose Patience in Win

It is beginning to look more and more like the young Marlins' affinity for carefree homer happy hacks is a conscious choice.

Small ball, manufacturing runs and smart baserunning are sooooo 2003. This latest generation of Marlins doesn't work the count, set up the pitcher or take the extra base. They just swing hard and drop head. I suspect that they hit that way because it's fun, and they are good at it.

But in last night's game, against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, the Fish actually played with an offensive strategy other than "mash ball with stick." They waited Dickey out, allowed his spin-less floaters to dance their way out of the strike zone, and peppered the middle of the field with line drives when they saw pitches they liked.

Being the Marlins, they still launched a couple of longballs, one against Dickey. However they walked 10 times and took an approach that they needed to take to be successful against a junk baller. (Beware Jamie Moyer, we'll get ya next time!)

Out of the familiar surroundings of the NL, the Fish played with their brains the whole Seattle series, nearly coming back against a dominating Felix Hernandez and taking care of business against Carlos Silva.

The point is: for all its perceived flaws, this team has players that can adapt to a situation when they need to. Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, Dan Uggla can shorten up his swing, Mike Jacobs can take the first pitch, Hanley Ramirez can foul off fastballs on the outside corner. The Marlins can play differing styles of winning baseball if they choose to. And they can still drop some bombs while they do it.

There's Something About Hanley

This post isn't solely about the Marlin's superstar, Hanley Ramirez, I personally just wanted a clever name. Because with this 2008 Florida Marlins team, theres more, theres something, and words can't properly describe it. These particular Fish have an extra spark, a sense of relentlessness a group of "young, inexperienced players" should not have. It's not just Hanley Ramirez, Andrew Miller, or the almighty Dan Cooley Uggla. This whole team is in way over their heads, but is it possible that these fish float in water?

Is it meant to be? I mean, since when does Robert Andino have the right to hit a walk-off homer. Or since when does Mike Jacobs have the right to speak up against the world(specifically the media). And can you please explain to me how a team without 3 of their top pitchers and the guy that has had the highest OBP on the team, can possibly be 7 games over .500.

There is one answer, using a quote from an aforementioned 2nd baseman,(hint: his name is Daaaaannn Ugglaaa),"We know we have talent." So while the rest of the world underappreciates this Florida Marlin team, they know they're better. So go on, underestimate the fish, just try to stay afloat.

Marlins Get Crucial Win

I know it's a little early to call this a must-win game but it certainly felt that way. It's early June, but the Phillies are white hot. They've won 12 of 14 and 15 of their last 19 games. Meanwhile, the Marlins have been tailing, going 4-9 over their last 13 games. The Fish have fallen to 5 over .500 (34-29) after having been in 1st place with a record of 30-20 not too long ago...and they are suddenly 4 whole games behind those fighten' Phils. With Nolasco on the Mound against a struggling Brett Myers, you figure the Marlins should take it.

And they did...as I watched from my 3rd-base seats. It was a thrilling 5-4 game filled with home runs, errors, and strikeouts. There were 5 shots hit by the two powerful clubs. For the Marlins it was Hanley, Cantu, and Jacobs, and for the Phillies, Rollins, and Burrel. Then, Kevin Gregg entered in the 8th and earned a 4-out save, stranding a runner on 2nd in the 9th.

What to take from this game?

Three things jumped out at me.

Firstly, it would appear that everyone's favorite Ramirez is back on track. Hanley hit another HR and is batting .304 now on the year. He must be at full potential if the Marlins are to make a legitimate run at the playoffs this season.

Secondly, I am absolutely delighted with the play of Jorge Cantu. The guy is really on a tear. He's making out to be a very sufficient #3 hitter. Today he went 2-4 and pushed his average up to .289. That's pretty good...atleast for what was expected of him prior to the season. Contrast that with Miguel Cabrera's .278 batting average. Some loss, huh?

Lastly, Ricky Nolasco was stellar. He pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs, none of them having been earned. He allowed two bombs to Phillies hitters, but only after getting rattled by horrendous errors by Hanley and Luis Gonzalez.

So here are the NL East standings up to date:

Philadelphia 39-27
Florida 35-29
Atlanta 32-33
NY Mets 30-33
Washington 26-40

Let's not underestimate the Mets and Braves. Just because they may have fallen now, doesn't at all mean that they won't come back. It's important that these teams continue to climb into a bigger hole. If you're are Marlins fan, do not hesitate to root against them.

Hanley's Back! So are the Marlins!

I was mentally prepared for another disappointing loss. I wasn't even surprised. It was total resignation drenched over my face, the acceptance of a once-promising season going clumsily down the garbage disposal (yes, it's not just a drain, it's a painful one with slicers).

Then something happened. Down 4-2 in the 9th, superstar Cody Ross (the hottest player in MLB right now) starts things off with a single to left. Okay, there's something. Then Mike Rabelo (of all people) launches a bomb into right center. HOLY SH*T!!!! A couple batters later, Cantu doubles and then Hanley, the goat of May, blasts his second homer of the day. WOW!

In a road trip so marred by blown leads, it was about time the Marlins got one back. Suddenly, the Marlins can turn this into a 4-6 trip tomorrow night, which is a whole lot better than 2-8. Now if only the Phillies would lose a game.

Somebody Needs to Talk to Hanley

I've seen enough of Hanley struggling, all for the one repeating reason. He's going down on the same outside corner strike, AB after AB. Why isn't the team addressing this?

It's clear as day that he's not making the adjustment. Take that pitch and put it into right field! He's just sitting there, taking the strike, then wondering why he's struck out at least once in the last 15 games.

This has nothing to do with lineup order, who's batting around him, situation, or any other concocted reason. It's a simple problem so easy to fix, it's baffling. And at this rate, Hanley doesn't even belong on the All-Star team. Very sad, but true.

2-4 Road Trip Not So Bad

How am I going to put a positive spin on a 2-4 road trip against NL East rivals? It's difficult, but it could be a lot worse.

So they lost two series. On the road, they were almost supposed to lose, and they had the lead in a couple games...imagine if they hadn't squandered those. They could easily have been 4-2 for the trip.

Salvation lies in Atlanta, where I like their chances. The pitching matchups are favorable, Hanley seems to have emerged from his slump (at least partially), and Nolasco and Miller have become dependable starters. Don't forget that post-April Cody Ross is a hitting machine!

There's plenty of good to scrape up from this weekend's carnage, and it just might show itself over the next four games.