Please welcome Daniel Barone to the Florida Marlins family.
Barone (pronounced Bar-OWN-ee) is a right handed pitcher who was promote from AAA Albuquerque to start tonight’s game against the New York Mets. He was 7-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 61 2/3 innings at Albuquerque.
In unrelated news, Joe Borchard cleared waivers and is now a member of the Isotopes.
We’re probably going to get nailed for this one, but we’re going to throw it out there: the Florida Marlins should fire Rick Kranitz.
Yes, he was Baseball America’s Major League Coach of the Year last season leading 4 rookies to win 10+ games. And yes, we’re a bunch of fans who aren’t there every day and have never played the game.
But, there is something wrong with the pitching staff. Despite our defense and despite our strikeouts, it’s the pitching that has let the team down this year. Here are some of the talking points:
This is just one man’s opinion.
Finally the Marlins were able to make some good roster moves that should bring some happiness to Marlins fans.
First, rejoining the club is opening day center fielder Alejandro De Aza who was off to a promising start before an early season injury.
The next move is the first step in the return of Logan Kensing, who was reinstated from the disabled list and optioned to Albuquerque. That’s great news for our injury-riddled pitching staff in that he can hopefully regain his form and be back in the majors soon.
Finally (and I mean “finally!”) the Marlins designated Joe Borchard for assignment. I’m guessing most Fish fans won’t miss him.
Update: Carlos Martinez was optioned to AAA. Ross Wolf was called up.
FYI — We’ve added a word challenge bellow to help reduce spam. Sorry about the inconvenience but it’s pretty bad out there.
A note in the Miami Herald suggests that the Marlins organization has considered moving Hanley Ramirez to centerfield but, for now, will keep him at shortstop. Hanley has probably committed a few too many errors this year. The team, though, cites Alex Gonzalez as an example of a previous young shortstop who had a few too many errors in his early years but ultimately ended up as a top-notch defensive presence.
I have to admit that sitting through Marlins games recently, I thought quite a bit about where to position players and I suggest that down the road the Marlins consider playing Hanley at third base and moving Miguel Cabrera to first base. This will allow Alfredo Amezaga or Robert Andino to takeover shortstop and provide better defense.
I vote that we save Hanley’s body for the long-term because he is clearly a special talent.
An interesting little note in MLB.com’s transaction wire claims that the Arizona Diamondbacks claimed Byung-Hyun Kim off waivers. Now, at this time of the year many players are placed on waivers and claimed but ultimately, their team can pull them back. That being said, these kinds of moves usually don’t appear on the actual transaction wire. With all the starters out we do need BK, but frankly he was never in our long term plans. We’ll find out soon if the Marlins and D-Backs complete this transaction.
Update: Marlins broadcasters just confirmed the move. Marlins will not pull him back.
As we expected, Josh Johnson will undergo reconstructive surgery (AKA Tommy John) and will be out at least 12 months. The Marlins will probably play it safe and hold him back until the 2009 season. If all goes well, both JJ and Anibal Sanchez will be healthy by then (as for us fans, we’ll have to try to stay sane for another year).
A “fun” tidbit is that Jeffrey Loria has publicly blamed Joe Girardi for causing this injury.
“He wasn’t right the day he was put back in the ballgame after a rain delay. And enough said about that,” said Loria, who fired Girardi after the season.
The Marlins added some organizational depth at the catcher position by signing Jason Phillips and assigning him to AAA Albuquerque. You may remember the 7-year veteran from his days with the New York Mets. This past season he has been with the Toronto Blue Jays where he hit .208 with 1 home run and 12 RBI.
The Marlins lack real depth or talent at the catcher position both in the majors and in the minors. I am thinking (and hoping) that this means that Miguel Olivo won’t be with the Marlins next year. I have said before that his offense is simply not good enough to make up for his defense and his handling of the pitchers.
Long-time Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo is making his way back to the NL East as the Twins just traded him to the Mets for minor leaguers. Luis was one of the longest tenured Marlins and played on both the 1997 (although he was demoted long before the playoffs) and the 2003< championship teams. He still holds numerous team records. It was a busy day in our division as the Braves closed in on slugger Mark Teixeira in exchange for Jarrod Saltalamacchia and three minor leaguers while the Phillies acquired pitcher Kyle Lohse. So far, nothing from the Fish.
A brief paragraph in the Palm Beach Post suggests the Marlins are looking at some trades:
One baseball source said the Marlins are telling teams that catcher Miguel Olivo, right-hander Byung-Hyun Kim and relief pitcher Armando Benitez are available. The team does not plan to trade Dontrelle Willis, the source said.
This is one Marlins fan who hopes we can get some value for all these guys. Olivo‘s catching and handling of the pitchers has been pretty weak this season and Benitez has been shaky at best. We’ll probably miss BK Kim because we don’t have that many healthy starting pitchers left. Lets hope we can convince a team to give up some decent minor-league talent.
Former Marlins hitting coach Bill Robinson has passed away. Robinson was on the Marlins staff for four years, including the 2003 World Series championship team.
“The entire Florida Marlins organization is deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden loss of Bill Robinson,” Marlins president David Samson said. “Not only was he a big part of the Florida Marlins 2003 World Series championship, he was a huge part of the entire Major League Baseball family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Mary, and his entire family.”