Week in Review

Good win today..... twitter.com/HanleyRamirez/…
— Hanley Ramirez (@HanleyRamirez) July 29, 2012

Overview: The Marlins lost 2 of 3 to Atlanta, then took 2 of 3 from San Diego. Oh yeah, they made some trades too. Did you hear about those?
Positives: Everyone had a calm and reasoned discussion regarding the team's decision to give Hanley Ramirez away to whichever team was willing to pay the rest of his salary through 2014. Just kidding, we all lost our collective shit. But it was cleansing, right? No more Twitter bat nonsense, no more celebratory Lo Viste signs after he breaks another 1-for-21 slump or whatever, and no more hand-wringing over whether Ramirez is "finally becoming a leader" or whatever. The Marlins broke up with Hanley, plain and simple. Giancarlo totally treats us better, you guys.
Negatives: The trades of Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, and Omar Infante, while all acceptable to me on baseball grounds, bring up a few questions: Will Beinfest and Hill get screwed as they did in the Cabrera-Willis/Maybin-Miller trade? Why did the farm system get so bare? Is there a major problem in the scouting department? These and other questions deserve their own post, so we'll get to that later. Also, the team is still managing to be totally disappointing while outperforming its massive run-deferential. The team is 47-54, but its run differential (-79), suggests the record should be closer to 42-59, all things being equal. Yikes.
Line of the Week: Nathan Eovaldi, who came to Miami in the Ramirez trade, got the W on Saturday with this line, adding an RBI single.

5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Highlight of the Week: Justin Ruggiano, who might be Cody Ross 2.0, gets the walkoff single on Sunday.
Looking Ahead: The Marlins have back-to-back 4-game series on the road, starting in Atlanta on Monday and Washington on Friday (with a double-header).