First off, a happy belated Mother's Day to all it applies to!
I do apologize for the lack of posts over the weekend. I was only able to watch about 4-5 innings total of the series win in Colorado. But a whole lot has happened with the Fish these last three days, so let's get to it!
Where to begin? Well, my first thought when I saw Coghlan at second base on Friday was "Oh God, are the Marlins really benching Uggla? Is he hurt? What happened?" Then that fear quickly dissipated when the friendly fans over at FishStripes explained he was just spelling Uggla, and Rich and Tommy actually talked about something other than sweater vests and said that Coghlan would likely play Left Field in the coming days. Whew! We all know Uggla isn't doing much right now, whether he is lining out to someone 2 times a game or not, but Dan is capable of catching fire at any moment. Uggla carried the Marlins through May and June last year and I'm certain an extended hot streak is coming. He may not get his average up to the .320 range like he did last year for a while, but at the end of the year he will have his 25-30 home runs. But of course, the sooner he gets going, the better.
So Coghlan will move to Left Field, sliding Hermida back to Right Field and putting Cody in Center. A few thoughts on that:
So much for that excuse: "We like Hermida in Left because it gives us a righty throwing from that spot and a lefty like Cody throwing from Right Field." The translation here was: "We thought we could maybe hide Hermida's defensive flaws by putting him in Left because there is less ground to cover and because, well, he just plain sucked in Right Field. Can you blame us?" I have said this before and I will say it again: Hermida was one of the worst defensive Right Fielders I have ever seen. EVER. Now, I do like his patient approach at the plate and there is no question he has offensive talent, but that is only half of the game. And to me doesn't matter where you put a player in the field, if they are a poor defender you cannot hide them. Just ask the Brewers with Bill Hall and Ryan Braun, the Mets with Daniel Murphy, and we all remember Miggie don't we? I am by no means calling Hermida a failure at the big-league level yet...not even close. Just stating a fact. If he can get going at the plate and start swinging like he was the first few weeks of the year, his below average glove will become more tolerable. That's just how it is. Jeremy moving over to Right really isn't that big of a deal to me. Whether they believed it or not, I can't blame the front office for saying what they did in Spring Training, and maybe they truly thought the switch would make a difference, but obviously, it didn't.
How good is Coghlan in the outfield? Well, according to Baseball Reference.com he played a whopping 1 game in Left Field in his 3+ years in the minors...and didn't get the ball hit to him at all since he had no put-outs or attempts. I would imagine that since he was a second baseman that he has decent speed, and since he played third that his arm is OK as well. I didn't see him that much over the weekend so I will withhold an opinion until I see him in action. However, he certainly has impressive minor league numbers at the plate: .298 batting, .388 OB%, 77 doubles, and he never struck out more than he walked in a season. Now there is no way to tell if those numbers will directly translate to the Majors, but he did everything he needed to do to get the call-up. One thing is for sure, he will play mostly every day now because....
Maybin was sent down to AAA. It is pretty obvious that he needs more time to refine his swing and approach at the plate. I wasn't a big fan of batting him 8th to begin the season, but Maybin wasn't ready to hit second either. So the trip to the minors should serve him well. He seems to have the right attitude about it: "I've some things I've got to work on....and I'm going to try to get back as fast as possible." I would imagine at this point now that Maybin won't be much more than a September call-up this season, but you never know. Regardless, he is still going to be a big part of this team in the future seasons to come.
Ross in Center Field is just fine with me. He has good range and a great arm. Enough said.
Amidst all the winds of change, one thing stayed consistent this week: Hanley Ramirez. He earned himself the 'Jeff Conine Award' as he hit .556 this week with 4 home runs and 3 stolen bases. Now if only he, Baker and Cantu could get some help from the other guys in the lineup maybe the Fish could score more than 3 runs (which they have only done 3 times in the last 9 games).
An off-day today, then a three game set with the Brewers. John Koronka will start Tuesday's game. I'm trying not to think about his career ERA of 6.02, and .298 BAA. Instead I will look at this page and see a nice tidy 0.00 ERA to comfort myself. The Brewers are playing good ball right now and it will not be easy to beat them in their park. But I will always take my chances with Nolasco and JJ on back-to-back days. If the Fish could steal the first game with Koronka on the mound, it has the potential be a very good road trip.
By the way....I usually try not to look too far ahead, but the Dodgers will be playing the Marlins this weekend...anyone else doing jumping jacks because Manny will not be in the lineup when they arrive? Thanks Ramirez!
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