DECISION 2012
As we wind down the season, I’m looking for your help in choosing the 2012 Fish Tales Marlins award winners. In the days ahead, cast your vote in the categories I’ll be posting, and we’ll announce the winners you choose here on Fish Tales as well as on upcoming Marlins Radio Network broadcasts.
Check back for additional categories in the days ahead.
TAKE THE “YOU’RE THE GM” CHALLENGE
It’s easy for Marlins fans to be frustrated right now. I get it. The volume of your comments on my Facebook and Twitter is through the roof in the last 9 days, as it was during the team’s struggles in April.
(Oddly, many of you were strangely silent during that 23-9 run in May and the first weekend of June.)
The thing I hear the most is, to paraphrase, “They need to fix this team. Make some moves. Strengthen our weaknesses. Let’s go. Do something. What are they waiting for?”
While I assure you Jeffrey Loria, David Samson, Larry Beinfest, Mike Hill and the entire Baseball Operations Department spend every waking moment searching for ways to improve the club—and not just when things are going poorly, but also when they’re going well—I’m here to tell you it’s one thing to want to do something and a whole nother thing to actually get something done.
Wanting to do something doesn’t mean anything gets done. You’ve got to find a trade partner who matches up and the right package to satisfy both teams (while other clubs, remember, are also wooing that same trade partner).
Anyone can identify a team’s holes. Providing rational and realistic ways to fill them is a completely different story.
What I want you to do in the comment section here is offer thoughtful and reasoned suggestions. What holes does this team have, in your opinion, and tell me SPECIFICALLY how you would REALISTICALLY suggest filling them if you were the GM. I want names. Who do you suggest the Marlins pursue? With whom do you suggest the Marlins part to make that deal. You need to consider financial ramifications, contract status and health concerns. You must also consider both the short-term AND the long-term ramifications of the move you propose.
Don’t waste my time by proposing to send 3 back-ups and a Double-A infielder to the Padres for Carlos Quentin. I’m sure there are a dozen or more teams that would like to add a corner outfield bat like that. Players you have no use for aren’t going to get it done in a seller’s market.
You’ve got to give something up to get something. So what are you willing to give up?
Remember, the Marlins aren’t the only team with holes to fill. Other clubs are competing for the same pieces at the same positions. Someone’s going to overpay. So don’t make unrealistic low-ball suggestions.
Do you trade valuable and desirable pieces off of your current major league roster, filling one hole but potentially creating another?
Do you part with top prospects for a player who you only control contractually for the remainder of this season? (Are you old enough to remember the Red Sox sending a kid named Jeff Bagwell to the Astros because they had to have Larry Andersen? Do you remember the Tigers dealing a kid named John Smoltz to the Braves because they really needed Doyle Alexander?) If you’re going to part with top young talent, you’d better be pretty sure this player puts you over the top.
I’m not sure how many of you will take my challenge here, but I’d love to hear some thoughtful and reasoned suggestions.
I’ll do the best I can to offer my 10-cent critique of as many of the serious ones as I can.
Instead of complaining in generalities, get specific. Make concrete proposals.
You need to fix this team. Make some moves. Strengthen our weaknesses. Let’s go. Do something. What are you waiting for?
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please enter your email address under “Follow The Blog” on the right side of the page. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
RISPY BUSINESS
The Marlins were the hottest team in baseball with wins in 7 of 9 and 23 of their previous 32 games before dropping the first 4 games of this homestand. Their recent slide is due, in large part, to a remarkable inability to deliver with runners in scoring position.
Here are some of the numbers:
In last night’s loss to the Rays, the Marlins were held to one run despite putting 16 men on base (7 hits, 8 walks and a catcher’s interference call). Miami went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position a night after going hitless in 13 at-bats against the Braves.
In the first 4 games of the homestand, the Marlins are 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position, and, if you go back to the final game of the series in Philadelphia, the club has one hit in its last 30 such AB’s.
Since the start of June, in 7 games, the Marlins have hit .098 (5-for-51) with RISP, going 2-5.
For the season, the Marlins are hitting .219 with runners in scoring position, tied for 27th out of the 30 major league clubs. If you know with whom they’re tied off the top of your head, you deserve a prize. The Marlins and the Yankees are both at .219 for the season, ahead of only the Giants (.215) and the Padres (.188).
In going 21-8 in May, the Marlins hit .257 (69-for-269) with RISP. In going 10-19 in April (8-14) and June (2-5), the Marlins have hit .172 (37-for-215) with RISP.
“We’ve got to do better than that if we want to compete,” said manager Ozzie Guillen we’ve got to get better with people on base.
“We have good at-bats and put ourselves in good situations to get something going, then, when we have people on base, we don’t do the job we should be doing. If we want to compete, we’ve got to be a lot better in that department.”
Prior to last night’s game, Ozzie said he didn’t necessarily question hitters’ approaches with men in scoring position, just the results.
Post-game last night, he said, “The only thing I don’t see is runners crossing the plate. We have to do better than that, especially the bottom of the lineup. The bottom of the lineup has to dig in and try to help the people at the top. We’re really struggling at the bottom.”
As for the options the manager has at this point: “The only way I believe you can get out of a slump and get better is by playing. I try to mix and match here and there, but still the same results. We need those guys. We need those guys to go out and perform the way they should perform.”
Here’s how Marlins position players have fared with runners in scoring position this season. You might be surprised by some of the numbers:
Solano: .667 (2-3)
Dobbs: .381 (8-21)
Kearns: .375 (6-16)
Petersen: .286 (4-14)
Stanton: .280 (14-40)
Bonifacio: .278 (10-36)
Reyes: .270 (10-37)
G. Sanchez: .207 (6-29)
Ramirez: .194 (13-67)
Infante: .190 (8-42)
Coghlan: .182 (4-22)
Buck: .179 (7-39)
Morrison: .133 (6-45)
Hayes: .083 (1-12)
Murphy: .17 (1-13)
Ruggiano: .000 (0-2)
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
Z YOU LATER
Carlos Zambrano slugged his first home run as a Marlin this afternoon, a 3rd-inning solo shot off Philadelphia’s Joe Blanton. A few Big Z home run tidbits:
Zambrano is now tied for 7th on the all-time home run list among pitchers. Wes Ferrell hit 38, Bob Lemon 37, Warren Spahn 35, Red Ruffing 34, Earl Wilson 33 and Don Drysdale 29. John Clarkson and Bob Gibson both also hit 24.
He has now homered at least once in each of the last 10 seasons with a career-high 6 long balls in 2006 and 4 in both 2008 and 2009.
Z has homered twice off Kyle Lohse. The other pitchers he’s taken deep: Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Yovani Gallardo, Tom Glavine, Darren Oliver, Wade Miller, Todd Wellemeyer, Woody Williams, Zach Jackson, Johnny Cueto, Micah Owings, Aaron Harang, Taylor Buchholz, Mike Matthews, Esmerling Vazquez, Josh Fogg, Garret Mock, Fernando Abad and now Blanton.
He’s hit 13 of his 24 at Wrigley Field (Chicago), 5 at Minute Maid Park (Houston), 3 at Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati), one at Chase Field (Arizona), one at old Shea Stadium (New York) and now one at Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia).
Including today’s shot, he’s hit 16 off righthanders (from the left side) and 8 vs. lefties (from the right side).
19 of the 24 he’s hit have been solo shots. He’s hit 4 with one on and one with 2 men on. He’s yet to hit a grand slam.
His homer today came in the 3rd inning, his favorite inning in which to go deep. 8 of his 24 have come in the 3rd.
The home run was the 37th hit by a Marlins pitcher in 20 seasons. Since Zambrano got to the big leagues in 2001, in a period in which he’s hit 24, all other Marlins pitchers have hit 20.
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT
As the Marlins near the end of a historic May, here are a few statistical tidbits I’ve put together to hold you over until gametime tonight:
MAY IT NEVER END: With a win tonight or tomorrow, the Marlins will establish a franchise record for most victories in a calendar month. They’re a major league-best 19-8 in May, having previously won 19 games in August of 1997. They’re unbeaten (6-0-3) in 9 series this month and would finish 7-0-3 with one more win against the Nats. By winning both remaining May games to go 21-8 (.724) in May, they’d set a club record for the best winning percentage in any calendar month. They were 18-7 (.720) in June of 2006.
COMFORTABLE ANYWHERE: En route to a 27-22 record, the Marlins are 14-10 at Marlins Park and 13-12 on the road. They’re one of only 4 NL teams and one of only 8 in all of baseball with better-than-.500 records both at home and on the road. The other 7: the Cardinals, Dodgers, Indians, Nationals, Orioles, Rangers and Yankees.
MAN OF THE MONTH: Only 3 Marlins have ever won an NL Player of the Month award: Jeff Conine in June of 1995, Hanley Ramirez in June of 2008 and Emilio Bonifacio in July of 2011. This month may be Giancarlo Stanton’s turn. Here’s a look at the top contenders for the honor through yesterday’s games:
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA: .324 AVG, 9 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 27 RBI, .410 OBP, .735 SLG, 1.146 OPS
Carlos Beltran, STL: .310 AVG, 3 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 30 RBI, .400 OBP, .713 SLG, 1.113 OPS
Jonathan Lucroy, MIL: .388 AVG, 8 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, .409 OBP, .659 SLG, 1.068 OPS
POWER SURGE: Giancarlo Stanton’s 11 home runs in May with 2 games to play leave him one shy of the club record for a calendar month. Dan Uggla hit 12 homers in May of 2008. The only other Marlin to hit 11 in a single month was Gary Sheffield in April of 1996.
Major League home run leaders in May:
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA 11
Josh Hamilton, TEX 11
Adam Dunn, CWS 11
Carlos Beltran, STL 10
Josh Reddick, OAK 10
Major League RBI leaders in May:
Carlos Beltran, STL 30
Josh Hamilton, TEX, 28
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA 27
Nelson Cruz, TEX 23
Albert Pujols, LAA, 22
Jose Bautista, TOR 22
Jonathan Lucroy, MIL 22
ONE-MAN WRECKING CREW: Stanton has hit more than half of the Marlins’ total of 21 homers this month…he’s hit as many home runs in May as the full rosters of both the Padres (11) and Giants (11).
PICKING UP THE PACE: In going 8-14 in April, the Marlins averaged only 3.3 runs per game. Their total of 73 runs scored was 15th out of 16 NL clubs and 28th out of 30 teams in all of baseball. In May, however, they’re averaging 4.6 runs per game. Their total of 123 runs in 27 games are 5th-most in the NL and 11th-most in MLB.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: The Marlins have 3 pitchers in their rotation who have thrown no-hitters (Mark Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez and Carlos Zambrano), and tonight’s Anibal Sanchez-Edwin Jackson match-up marks the 2nd time one of them has faced off against another pitcher who also has a no-no on his resume. Mark Buehrle beat Matt Garza of the Cubs April 18 at Marlins Park.
LOOKING FOR A SUPPORT SYSTEM: Speaking of Anibal, he was the Marlins’ tough-luck pitcher a season ago, winning only 8 games despite a 3.67 ERA over 32 starts. In 2011, he allowed 2 runs or fewer in 16 of his 32 starts, but got a loss or a no-decision in 10 of those starts. This year, he’s allowed 2 runs or less in 6 of his first 9 starts and has a loss or a no-decision in 4 of the 6. The Marlins have lost 8 games this month and Anibal Sanchez has started 4 of the 8. He’s 1-3 in 5 May starts despite a 2.97 ERA.
GIMME 5: The Marlins are one of only 7 ML teams that have needed only 5 starting pitchers to this point in the 2012 season. The others are the Angels, the Cardinals, the Dodgers, the Mariners, the Nationals and the Reds. The Nats will fall off that list tomorrow when Chien-Ming Wang replaces Ross Detwiler to start against Miami. Here’s a look at the Marlins’ record in games started by each member of the rotation:
Josh Johnson: 6-4
Mark Buehrle: 6-4
Ricky Nolasco: 6-4
Carlos Zambrano: 5-5
Anibal Sanchez: 4-5
FASHION SENSE: The Marlins have worn their black jerseys in 27 of their first 49 games this season. How they’ve fared in each jersey:
Black: 15-12
White: 6-5
Orange: 4-3
Gray: 2-2
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
