Peter Gammons and Ken Rosenthal are reporting that the Marlins have sent Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Washington Nationals for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, right-hander P.J. Dean and outfielder Jake Smolinski. More
Heading to the bottom of the ninth, you know we were all thinking the same thing — once again Wes Helms is coming up, followed by Hanley Ramirez, down a run. Hmm…
Wes went first, and just like the night before, struck out. Then came Hanley, and just like the night before, he hit a monster shot to tie the game. Jeremy Hermida broke the script, but Josh Willingham ended the game with his second home run of the night in the bottom of the 10th.
We tried it a couple of years ago so it’s not surprising that the Marlins are interested in Jacque Jones, who was recently designate for assignment by the Detroit Tigers (who probably first acquired Jones because they heard the Marlins wanted him).
In the near term it may make sense but one Josh Willingham comes back do we really need Jones? He may hit .285 and give you 20 home runs but he is clearly declining. Check out his stats and tell us what you think.
Update: And apparently he wants to come here.
Following a sweep by the Dodgers, Fredi Gonzalez has decided to shake things up a bit with a new lineup:
Amezaga, Hermida, Ramirez, Jacobs, Cantu, Uggla, Gonzalez, Rabelo.
Finally we can see Hanley Ramirez bat in his ideal position. This lineup also places Dan Uggla 6th where his low batting average and high strikeouts are better suited.
Absent from this lineup is Josh Willingham who was placed on the DL. Brett Carroll is back to take his spot.
I wasn’t able to pick it all up, but Mike Jacobs announced the lineup for FSN today used the following nicknames:
Another win for the first place Marlins, this time riding a strong performance by Mark Hendrickson and surviving another outfield blunder. Great play by Josh Willingham to save a game tying homerun.
In unrelated news, Mike Rabelo was activated off the DL and Paul Hoover was sent down to AAA.
The 2008 Florida Marlins roster is now set. Our starting rotation is Mark Hendrickson, Rick VandenHurk, Andrew Miller, and Scott Olsen with Ricky Nolasco likely taking in the fifth slot when it comes up.
Update: Sorry, it’s not completely final. We need confirmation that Jason Wood is also on the team.
Update 2: If Jeremy Hermida ends up on the DL, Alexis Gomez will take his spot on the roster.
Our full roster is as follows:
| Pitchers | B/T | Height | Weight | Birth | |
| 48 | Lee Gardner | R/R | 6-0 | 220 | 01/16/75 |
| 63 | Kevin Gregg | R/R | 6-6 | 240 | 06/20/78 |
| 30 | Mark Hendrickson | L/L | 6-9 | 240 | 06/23/74 |
| 19 | Logan Kensing | R/R | 6-1 | 185 | 07/03/82 |
| 22 | Matt Lindstrom | R/R | 6-4 | 210 | 02/11/80 |
| 23 | Andrew Miller | L/L | 6-6 | 210 | 05/21/85 |
| 32 | Justin Miller | R/R | 6-2 | 200 | 08/27/77 |
| 47 | Ricky Nolasco | R/R | 6-2 | 220 | 12/13/82 |
| 34 | Scott Olsen | L/L | 6-5 | 215 | 01/12/84 |
| 37 | Renyel Pinto | L/L | 6-4 | 215 | 07/08/82 |
| 57 | Taylor Tankersley | L/L | 6-1 | 220 | 03/07/83 |
| 56 | Rick VandenHurk | R/R | 6-5 | 195 | 05/22/85 |
| Catchers | B/T | Height | Weight | Birth | |
| 58 | Mike Rabelo | S/R | 6-1 | 210 | 01/17/80 |
| 20 | Matt Treanor | R/R | 6-0 | 210 | 03/03/76 |
| Infielders | B/T | Height | Weight | Birth | |
| 3 | Jorge Cantu | R/R | 6-3 | 200 | 01/30/82 |
| 17 | Mike Jacobs | L/R | 6-3 | 215 | 10/30/80 |
| 2 | Hanley Ramirez | R/R | 6-3 | 200 | 12/23/83 |
| 6 | Dan Uggla | R/R | 5-11 | 200 | 03/11/80 |
| Outfielders | B/T | Height | Weight | Birth | |
| 4 | Alfredo Amezaga | S/R | 5-10 | 180 | 01/16/78 |
| 7 | Alejandro De Aza | L/L | 6-0 | 175 | 04/11/84 |
| 26 | Luis Gonzalez | L/R | 6-2 | 210 | 09/03/67 |
| 27 | Jeremy Hermida | L/R | 6-3 | 210 | 01/30/84 |
| 12 | Cody Ross | R/L | 5-9 | 205 | 12/23/80 |
| 14 | Josh Willingham | R/R | 6-2 | 215 | 02/17/79 |
The somewhat irreverent baseball blog Bugs & Cranks slapped its keyboard on the Marlins today for their latest and season-long performance. They take shots at Fredi and the team for inconsistent play and sometimes illogical actions. For example, Josh Willingham‘s game winning hit in the 10th inning was a no brainer — yes, on paper you bunt in that situation — but Josh was 4-4 in the game and is the team’s best run producer. Willingham’s post game comments suggested that he assumed Fredi would call a bunt but since he didn’t get a sign he went ahead and swung at the pitch.
Regardless, the article does have a few “high points” including this money quote:
The game that Gonzalez is seemingly surprised to have won displayed the essence of the 2007 Marlins: talented, but bumbling; competitive, yet indifferent; heroic while squandering.
That could summarize our season so far. It’s no coincidence that you could also say that about Miguel Cabrera.
Link: Bugs & Cranks: Andy Warhol: “The Florida Marlins Are Weird”
The Marlins have been befuddling this season. Just when you think they’ve got it figured out, they slip again. The good news, as it were, is that they aren’t regularly beaten, but rather they give away games through errors and weird decisions. Hopefully they’ll manage to get something going in the next few games and then get a running start after the break. They need to get past that .500 hurdle…