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07/09/2007: "Monday Sports ... Er, Marlins Rant"
Normally, I'd be talking about the sports of the weekend, but today I'm going to concentrate on a single sports story - my beloved Florida Marlins.
I had the chance to see the Fish up close and personal Saturday evening as they played the home team out at Dodger Stadium (BTW - note to stadium designers: You all try to capture the lore of the old stadiums in your new designs, but Chavez Ravine still kicks your asses ... pure simplicity and beauty and the best centerfield view in baseball). The Marlins have struggled this year - they're better than they were at the beginning of last season, but nowhere as good as they were at the end. Injuries hurt, but I think we're learning that some of the young guys from last year's magical run just aren't as good at we thought. Even some of the "vets" deserve criticism, as voiced in a piece from the Miami Herald:
Scott Olsen never will be a No. 1 or No. 2 starter - ''He's not a leader by any stretch of the imagination" ... Miguel Cabrera's weight is a concern - ''He's playing himself into the outfield or first base" ... Dontrelle Willis' "slider is better than two years ago, but he's not commanding his fastball as well as the past, especially in against right-hander hitters. There's no one thing consistently he's having confidence in.'' ... Doubts persist about Jeremy Hermida. Said one scout: ''He doesn't handle the ball in or balls down and away. He's supposed to handle the ball up and over the plate really well, and he isn't [consistently].
On the bright side, they love Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla. The story of Uggs as a Rule V pick is one of the feel-good tales of the last few years, and anyone who sees Ramirez play quickly realizes he's one of the best - if not the best - overall players in the game today. He didn't disappoint this weekend in LA, either - he had 2 homers and drove in the winning run Friday night and followed that up Saturday with a 4 for 4 performance.
My personal take after watching them is that they're a young, raw team with some talent and some dead weight. I think what they really need is some decent coaching, because for every physical mistake they made, they made several mental ones - especially in base running. Just no excuse for that. But they did take two of three, including my game with a 7-2 score. Anytime you can watch your team crush three homers, it's gonna be a good day. But they'll struggle to finish at .500 this year, and I think we'd better get ready to see the D-Train pull out of the Miami station before the trade deadline.
