Surprisingly Disappointing

The Fish have been beat to chum the last 2 games. 23-4 is the combined score of the 2 games. The staff has allowed 36 hits over that span; Nolasco gave up 15 by himself on Sunday. What the heck happened? Its just as surprising as it is disappointing. The pitching has been great all year long then BAM, they're throwing BP fastballs  that the DBacks and Dodgers have jumped all over. It doesn't matter who plays the Diamondbacks these days but 15-4? Really? Seems like the Fish are so wrapped up in the Heat hype that they forgot to take care of their own business on the field. If they are so concerned with a title coming back to South FLA they need to concentrate on making it the Commissioner's Trophy. Samson why don't you put in your resume with the heat? Another thing that is surprising and disappointing is the fact that no Marlins are even on the radar of being voted into the all star game. What a shame! It just shows how the Marlins are in need of more loyal fans like you and me. Go vote. Here is the ballot. And if you vote 25 times with the Marlins as your favorite team you will receive FREE tickets.

Go Fish!! (we need something soon to forget those 2 losses) 

Team Effort

As the Marlins and their fans wait patiently for the return of JJ (June 7th we hope), the bullpen is taking this opportunity and running with it. Last night 5 relievers combined to give up 1 run, over 9 innings. Not often do you get to say 9 innings from a bullpen, and it was pretty impressive. Another Marlin that is grabbing his opportunity by the gonads is Brett "Willy Mays" Hayes. He is hitting .370 in 27 ABs; His OPS is over 1 (1.026). Brett is doing an awesome job handling the pitching staff on Buck's days off. He masterminded that great performance from the bullpen last night, and went 2 for 3 with a walk. He has a catching ERA of 4.59 this year, that doesn't justify how well he has handled this staff. Its a shame he doesn't get more pinch hitting opportunities on the days in-between his weekly starts. Managers are hesitant to use their back up catchers with good reason. But the SoCal native should see more starts with the way he has handled the bat and the staff this year. John Buck will get the start today against Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is a studdly left hander boasting a 2.96 ERA. He has 77 punch-outs in only 70 IP (wow). CK will square up with fill in ace Ricky Nolasco. Ricky looks to get his first win against his childhood team, the Dodgers. Ricky is from the SoCal area (Corona) and will have almost a hundred family members there this afternoon. He puts his 4-0 record on the line with an impressive ERA (3.04). That is ASG worthy to me. Go Fish!!

Cali Love

Its a long rainy day waiting for the Marlins to begin their series with the Dodgers tonight @ 10pm. Its kinda of a cool thing for us night owls on the east coast. Get more in the sunshine, well on most days. Javy is set to take on Jon Garland. Garland is a good righty veteran with a record (1-4 4.75) that doesn't reflect how decent he has pitched this year. He has had a lot of success against the fish (5-1 2.36) the past 10 years. Javys record on the other hand does reflect how poorly he has pitched this year (3-4 6.41). But he spun off a gem last Saturday against the Rays. So hopefully he turns the corner and builds on that start. Its great to see all the Cali natives thrive on these west coast swings; must be great to have all this success in front of your friends and family. I know Rich and Tommy are loving it. California dreaming.

Check this out. From the fans of all teams (Espc. the fish) Get well soon Buster!