Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. (that's what 1 holiday weekend will do, I guess). For the sake of 'blog integrity' let's go series by series since my last entry so I can indicate how I really felt before the Marlins mini 2-game win streak started.
The Arizona Diamondbacks series. I really would like to not to recall anything that happened during those dreadful 4 games, as all I get are flashbacks of Justin Upton hitting 3-run bombs, Hayden Penn sucking at life, blown leads in every game, and the Marlins stranding leadoff runners in extra inning after extra inning (after extra inning, after extra inning, after extra inn....). And then the one player who nearly willed the team to victory on his own in the one game he started was sent back down to the minors the very next day! In the night/early morning cap of the double-header, Alejandro De Aza was 3-6 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. I fully understood the need to get more arms up from the minors for the weekend, but designating Hayden Penn for assignment would have been a better move than optioning De Aza, especially with Amezaga still ailing with his knee injury. But, alas, when the dust, rain, and my headache cleared, the last-place-in-a-terrible-division D-Back's emerged victorious in a 4 game series in Land Shark Stadium. Losing 3 of 4 at home to a team that is going nowhere this season was enough cause for concern on its own...but I took greater issue with some of the things said after the games than the games themselves.
"They're a Major League team over there, and they made plays. I'm just proud of the way we kept coming back. We battled and battled. I'm going to call this one: We didn't lose the game. We just ran out of outs. I'm real proud of the way we came back."~ Fredi Gonzalez after the 11-9 loss in 13 innings.
What? Are you kidding me? Proud of the way you kept coming back? What game were you watching Mr. Gonzalez? That was the same game where your team led 4-0 and 7-4. Who was the one that kept coming back? Ok, De Aza doubled to lead off the 12th and scored the tying run then, but that was the only time the Fish had to come back all night. Other than that, it was Penn, and a bullpen that was overworked more than a sweatshop that blew the leads.
You just ran out of outs? What kind of message does that send to the team? "Geez guys, if we only had about 67 more outs to go, we could have finally gotten that runner in from third. Let's ask Mr. Selig if he will give us a few more next time."
And then, it got worse.
Andrew Miller (who has actually looked pretty good since coming off the DL) tossed 7 innings of 2-run ball on a night that the Marlins NEEDED him to go deep into the game. So after Miller stepped up and delivered when the team needed him the most, Cristhian Martinez promptly served a meatball up to Mark Reynolds, and the Marlins lost yet again. What was Mr. Gonzalez's reaction?
"It was a good thing to see Cristhian come up and compete."
Compete? Compete? The objective is to win. Win against a last-place team in front of your home fans. Win a series before the defending AL Champs come into town. WIN! To quote Herm Edwards: "You play to WIN the game. You don't play to just play it!" Even Joe Girardi used to say (paraphrased) "Just because people don't know who you are doesn't mean you can't win. It just means they don't know who you are. Our goal is to win series and make the playoffs."
Now let me say, I am not one of these nuts that is crying for Fredi's head. It's not all his fault that John Koronka, Hayden Penn and Graham Taylor had to start games this year. Nor is it his fault that Maybin wasn't ready to play everyday yet and the roster has had to be pieced together over the last few weeks since he was sent down. Fredi did lead this team to a winning record last year; But his messages during the D-Backs series were a little curious. If the man who is supposed to be leading your team is putting out the vibe that it's OK to lose some games when you held 2 healthy leads against an inferior opponent, what exactly does he want the players to think? Is that going to light a fire under them and encourage them to start playing better? I would think not. I'm not saying he needs to start throwing bases or publicly berate his players, but a greater sense of urgency would be nice to see.
So...onto the weekend series against the Rays. Nolasco started on Friday and....ohhhh boy. 8 runs later he found himself in a New Orleans Zephyr uniform. I don't really know what is wrong with Ricky. I'm no coach, but his pitches look just as good as they did last year, he isn't walking anybody, he is still striking people out...he just has been giving up a ton of hits. Hopefully 2 or 3 weeks in the minors will help him correct whatever is wrong with him and he can get back soon. This team needs him, and he is nowhere near as bad as he has shown so far this season.
Saturday featured another first-round draft pick making his big-league debut: Sean West. Again, I didn't see any of the game, but 5 innings and 2 runs isn't that bad for your first start. Especially against the defending AL champs, and when you compare it to the start of say...Graham Taylor. But in the end the lead was given right back after the Marlins tied the game, and it was another loss.
Sunday was a win for a change, but when it caps off a 3-7 homestand, whoopty-freaking-doo.
Which brings us to last night's game. The Marlins exorcised the Moyer demon and beat the old man for the second time in his last three starts against them. I can understand why a few Phillies fans would complain about the Helms 3-run home run, because he could have been called out on strikes the pitch just before the blast, it was borderline, but not exaclty down the middle of the plate. To them, I would say that the Marlins have been hosed on calls from the umpires this entire month (even earlier in the game, because Helms beat out Rollins' throw in the first inning, but was called out) so they were due for a break. Volstad pitched like he has all year long (and he actually got a win for a change!) and Paulino added to his lefty-killer reputation with an insurance RBI off Moyer in the 6th. Even though the Marlins made Chan Ho Park look like Cy Young, it didn't matter as they held on for a 5-3 win in the first game of a critical road trip.
By the way...what was Victorino thinking by running with the tying run at the plate and no one out in the 9th inning? That was just a bad baseball play from a very good baseball player. I was shocked. Even though Paulino has had his issues throwing runners out this year, it was still too huge of a risk to take with Stairs up as the tying run. That changed the whole complexion of the inning after he was thrown out, and Lindstrom settled down to record the save. Also, kudos to Dan Meyer. You cannot underscore how important that groundout he got from Utley in the 7th inning was.
As far as the 'Jeff Conine' Award this week...let's go with Billy the Marlin. Since the Fish have only averaged one win the last two weeks, no one really deserves any kind of award.
If the Marlins have any designs of hanging in this division race and not getting buried before June, they must win at least one (preferably both) series on this trip through New York and Philly. The good news is they won't exactly see great starting pitching from either team, as Blanton has been pretty bad so far and they usually hit Myers pretty well. Against the Mets (who the Marlins are 4-2 against so far), the Marlins ALWAYS pound Pelfrey, as he was 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA against them last year, they are 1-1 in games Maine has started this year, and Tim Redding doesn't strike fear into the hearts of many. Of course, the Fish have some pitching questions of their own, but I would take my chances on any 6 game trip against those two teams when they won't face either Santana or Hamels. 1-0 so far. Hey, it's a start.
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