On Sunday, Mike Rabelo was on the bad end of several mistakes — the kind of errors and mental lapses we’ve seen happen to this team often. But now, perhaps as a wake-up call to the entire roster, the Fish have sent Rabelo down to AAA and called up Paul Hoover. Hopefully, Rabelo will benefit from this opportunity to start everyday and get his act together.
With a chance to move into first place, our Fish found new ways to lose, leaving Oakland with only 1 win in 3 games. Unlike the first two games, the Marlins never came back on Sunday. We sat behind home plate and watched Mike Rabelo make several mental errors, Andrew Miller repeatedly show his frustration, and Hanley Ramirez toss has bat, nearly hitting the A’s catcher. More
our fish is definitely addicted to water but needs to bask just a little bit so the move on Rabelo is a positive one in my view.
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jim dunn
Justin Miller and his infamous tattoos get some ink in Inked Magazine (including photos).
All he’s missing is Billy the Marlin riding a Harley with a naked chick riding on the back, and he’s set. 😀
The Official Marlins store (and for that matter, the entire MLB store) is having a sale of 10% off orders over $75, 15% off orders over $100, and 20% off orders over $150. You can access to sale here
Congrats to Ricky Nolasco who was named the National League Co-Player of the Week (he is sharing the award with some guy from the Pirates).
Ricky went 2-0 this week with a 1.23 ERA, dominating two good teams (Philadelphia and Tampa Bay). In last night’s game against Tampa, he struck out 12 and was one out away from the Marlins’ first complete game since 1962 [Update: For those who didn’t realize it, that was a joke. The Marlins are on course to set the MLB record for the most consecutive games without a complete game. The last Marlins complete game was on September 10, 2006 when Dontrelle Willis shutout the Phillies 3-0]..
1962…..Damn, what a breakout year for the Marlins!
Jacque Jones was designated for assignment this evening. He didn’t hit much and frankly showed no signs of returning to form. He is smart enough to know it:
Jones, 33, took the news surprisingly well, especially since he’s hitting a combined .147 in 116 at-bats with the Tigers and Marlins this year. He was smiling in the clubhouse, saying he needs to “get his head together.”
Robert Andino is back up giving the Fish another infielder while allowing Cody Ross and Alfredo Amezaga to continue their good work in center field.
We’ll remember this game from Dan Uggla’s game winning grand slam in the bottom of the ninth, but let’s not forget the incredible pitching by Andrew Miller (7 IP, 1 ER, 1BB, 7 SO) and Jorge Cantu’s two home runs. Sadly, only 14,122 showed up to watch another playoff-like match up between two top teams in the National League.
Update: And here is a Dan Uggla interview with ESPN:
PS – That’s DON’T understand it. Sorry for the typo.
As a Marlins fan who does not live in South Florida, can anyone explain to me why people STILL wouldn’t be turning out to see this team? They’re playing well, they’re practically giving tickets away, I just understand it.
When I look at the S. Florida newspaper and television station websites, I usually have to dig around until I can find some Marlins news. Is there any interest in this team at all down there from the media??
I like to think if I still lived down there, I would be going to Marlins games a few times a month at least. I do try to catch a game every time they are in my neck of the woods (NY).
What’s going on??
The Mike Berardino is reporting that some Marlins players were making jokes about Dontrelle Willis’s demotion to A-ball:
“Got to be the highest-paid pitcher in the history of A-ball,” one Marlin quipped.
“Highest-paid Lakeland Flying Tiger ever, that’s for sure,” one of the younger Marlins chimed in a little too excitedly.
These, it should be pointed out, were the words of players who never called Willis a teammate before.
The article mentions that Andrew Miller did not have anything to say. I don’t know who thought it was funny, but as a Marlins fan, you have to feel for Dontrelle who is not only a great guy but such a meaningful part of Marlins history.
I don’t feel any sort of satisfaction at watching Dontrelle’s tailspin; I still look at him as a member of the Marlins fraternity that exists only in my mind.
However, I have to say I do feel a sense of relief, knowing we unloaded someone who could have eaten up a large portion of our non-existent salary pool. Although he was the face of the Marlins for years, he was in a steady decline since 2003, and would not have been worth what it would have took to keep him around.
Interesting New York Times op-ed by former Chicago Cub Doug Glanville:
With contributions coming from all sources — including the Chicago Police Department — it was obvious that we had been anointed.
The problem was, the Florida Marlins thought the same thing.
They had their own reasons for feeling that way. Their manager, stodgy, cigar-smoking Jack McKeon, had been brought in at mid-season to right a wrong ship, and as the most senior manager in the league had shown a lot of whippersnappers that he knew how to run a young team. The Marlins barreled their way to the wild card berth in the playoffs fueled by fire and brimstone.
So what happens when two forces — destined, tired and playing awfully good baseball — collide in Wrigley Field?
Here is a collection of links to articles written by various papers covering their local prospects who were chosen by the Marlins in the 2008 Draft: