Week in Review

Overview: The Marlins got swept in Milwaukee before dropping two of three to the Manny-less Dodgers. Apparently, that team meeting with Manny in Miami was all Juan Pierre needed to catch fire...
Positives: Andrew Miller has returned from the disabled list, hopefully giving the Marlins' rotation a boost. He managed to get the win on Saturday despite pitching only five innings while allowing four walks. Hanley Ramirez had a 13-game hit streak going, but saw it end today. Cody Ross broke up a no-hitter on Sunday with a double in the eighth inning, and followed it up with a grand slam in the ninth. Most weeks, this would not make the cut for the Week in Review. But this week kinda sucked.
Negatives: The Fish have fallen to fourth place in the NL East, right where most everyone expected them to be. The Marlins' starting rotation, which we had hoped would hold things together if the heavy hitters got into a slump, has fallen off the tracks completely. Anibal Sanchez is injured again (though he is back to throwing a baseball) and Ricky Nolasco's ERA is up to 7.78. Even Josh Johnson, the lone bright spot, could not get past the four-inning mark on Thursday. The only thing standing between the Marlins and a no-hitter at the hands of Clayton Kershaw was a jinx-worthy Deadspin post. The free pompom giveaway did not go as planned. Even a Brewers fan got in on the abusing-the-Marlins act.¹
Highlight of the Week: Chris Coghlan hit his first big-league home run on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Congrats, Chris.
Line of the Week: Andrew Miller was not stellar by any means, but he managed to secure a victory on Saturday, which is more than we can say about any of the other starting pitchers this week.

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
5	4	2	2	4	4

Looking Ahead: The Marlins complete a 10-game homestand with a four-game series against the Diamondbacks followed by a weekend set with the Rays.


AP Photo/J Pat Carter via espn.com

¹ Though I am normally inclined to side with the fan in matters of trading home-run balls for memorabilia and/or tickets, Brewers fan Nick Yohanek did himself no favors by justifying his ransom of Chris Coghlan's first big-league home run ball by saying, "...some people choose to sell drugs to kids. Some people choose to abuse drugs, themselves. Some people choose to get all liquored up and drive their vehicles. Some people choose to be abusive to their wives and kids. Some people choose to rob, steal and cheat. Some people take the lives of others. Some people choose to snag baseballs at the ballpark." Yeah, Nick, it's okay to be an insufferable prick as long as the victim of your own dickishness is a professional athlete. Give me a fucking break. Also, since when did Brewers fans start acting like Mets fans? I think some self-policing is needed in the stands of Miller Park... [UPDATE: Brewers fans don't like the guy either, I had a feeling they didn't...]