Today In Items That Evoke Bittersweet Feelings

h/t: Carolina, the only person (I know of) whose ongoing affection for Cody supersedes that of the Diehards.

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There's Still Time

Today at Fish Stripes, GameFish informs us of the existence of a Marlins toaster, just in time for the holidays. I thought I'd point out another Marlins-related gift idea, though this might be better for the Marlins fan who is more of a frenemy than a garden-variety buddy, via @sweetcarolin_a:

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There Will Be No World Series TV Guide This Year

Last year's World Series participants, the Yankees and Phillies, had the decency to bow out to the Rangers and Giants respectively, sparing us Marlins fans the indignity of watching (or not) two hated teams in the World Series. In fact, this will be one of the first World Series to capture my full attention in a while. Both teams feature some former Marlin favorites, including Jorge Cantu, Edgar Renteria, and NLCS MVP Cody "Co-dy Co-dy" Ross. Throw in two bona fide aces (Cliff Lee of the Rangers and Tim Lincecum of the Giants), each team's tortured history (the Giants haven't won a World Series since the heyday of Willie Mays, while the Rangers had not won a playoff series until this year), and Certified Ninja Brian Wilson, and you've got yourself a Series.


UPDATE: Also, celebrity fans! Okay, Jesse Thorn is not actually a celebrity, but he beats George W. Bush.

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Reality Sinks In

After reading Ted's appreciation of Cody Ross yesterday, I woke up this morning with an inclination to write a post which effectively throws a bucket of cold water on the Bring Back Cody contingent. Then I logged in to my RSS reader and saw that Michael Jong wrote that very post at Marlin Maniac, and did a way better job than I would have.

That error cost the Marlins little ultimately. Sure, we probably could have gotten a menial prospect or two, certainly more than what we received from the Texas Rangers for Jorge Cantu, but the team wasn't going to get a whole lot for Ross without possibly paying the remainder of his salary.

I would add that the Marlins outfield is already full, with Chris Coghlan, Cameron Maybin, Mike Stanton, and Logan Morrison currently on the roster (Morrison Coghlan will probably get moved to the infield next year). Throw in super late-inning defensive replacement Brett Carroll and whichever scrap heap veteran the Marlins pick up in the offseason, and there's little room for an outfielder with average defense who OPS+ed 93 in 2010 while earning $4.5 million. Nostalgia is expensive in baseball, and rarely worth the cost.

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Come Back Cody

We couldn't allow Bosh and The Boss to coexist in the same city?

By now we're all aware of the Cody Ross story, placed on waivers in August, and claimed by the Giants solely to block the Padres from acquiring him. The Marlins let him go for free causing much outrage towards management, justifiably. Sure, they were going to non-tender him after this season and say their goodbyes, but letting him go for midseason, for free, to a team that didn't plan on using him,was no way to treat a fan favorite and consistent producer.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes:

Ross, 29, figured he had been traded. When he found out later that he was let go on a waiver claim — let go for nothing but a savings of $1.1 million — he became, in his own words, “bitter and upset.”

“A slap in the face,” Ross called it as he walked out of Citizens Bank Park on a cool October evening.

Suffice it to say, Ross is getting the last laugh.

Laughing because last night he's starting in game one of the NLCS. If that wasn't good enough, he goes out and hits two home runs off Roy Halladay to propel the Giants to victory. Yup, that's the Cody we miss.

It is bittersweet for me and many Marlins fans I'm sure. We're very happy for Cody and wish him the best. The downside is that his great postseason performances are showing the entire baseball world what fools we are. Also it has basically erased any chance the Marlins could swoop in and reacquire him. Well let's be honest, there probably isn't any circumstance the Fish would try to bring him back. They are content with taking all their young talent and making them play left field for the first time ever (see Coghlan, Chris and Morrison, Logan).

Let's not dwell on that. Instead let's reminisce why Cody was and is so great.

• Youthful enthusiasm
• Tough as nails
• Great nickname (Toy Cannon, or anything involving "Boss")
• Easily chant-able name (CO-DY, CO-DY!)
• Consistent producer at the plate
• Can play all three outfield positions, above average
• This incredible walk-off home run in 2008 (Warning: clip surprisingly features too much cowbell)

Cheers, Cody. Keep beating the Phillies and win a ring so when you come back to deliver a right hook to Loria's face, he can get an "SF" imprinted on his forehead.

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What He Said

Rob Neyer on the Cody Ross waiver claim:

Anyway, the big winner here is the Marlins, who really should (finally) just let Maybin play. Maybin didn't hit much last year, and he's hit less than not much this year.

In the majors, that is. Maybin's still only 23 and he's triple-slashed .325/.401/.477 in 115 Triple-A games. Before that, he was nearly as good in 114 Double-A games. His minor-league track record suggests that he'll eventually hit. Maybe he won't. But the Marlins need to quit fooling around and find out.

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Week In Review

AP Photo/John Smierciak via MiamiHerald.com

We'll abbreviate things this week, since I'm in a hurry (Sorry!).

Overview: After splitting two-game sets with Arizona and St. Louis, the Marlins dropped two of three to the White Sox.
Positives: Are you aware that Cody Ross is tied for 7th in the NL with 51 hits? I wasn't, not that the stat tells us much.
Negatives: Everyone was mad at Hanley Ramirez for some reason, I'm not sure what it was though, since it got so little media coverage...

Line of the Week: Josh Johnson has won six straight decisions since losing on Opening Day. He's currently sporting a 2.79 FIP with 1.9 Wins Above Replacement (or a 2.43 ERA and 1.03 for those of you who dislike the Sabrmetric stats). Here is his combined line in two starts this week against the Diamondbacks and White Sox:

13IP, 8H, 0R, 4BB, 9K (all on Tuesday), 197 pitches,

 
Highlight of the Week: Dan Uggla has homered in 6 of his past 10 games to grab a share of the NL home run lead (tied with Kelly Johnson). Here is a tater tot from Tuesday's game against Arizona to one of the deepest parts of Sun Life Stadium.
Looking Ahead: After a day off today, the Marlins host Atlanta for three games followed by a three-game set with Philadelphia. Both series could give the Marlins a lift in the standings, with the team currently sitting a half game behind the Braves and four games behind the Phillies.

We'll have your Off Day TV Guide up this afternoon.

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Crowdsourcing

Cody Ross stole home last night against the Cubs in a double-steal with Cameron Maybin. Watch the video here. It was a well-designed gamble, as Tommy Hutton explains on the replay. According to the Sun-Sentinel, it was the ninth steal of home plate in Marlins history. My, question, though, is whether this was the first double-steal of home plate in team history. Anyone have any idea?

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Today's Assignment

Okay folks, go follow @manbearwolf so we can get Cody on Twitter. And if you're one of those "I don't understand what the big deal about Twitter is..." people, GET OVER IT ALREADY!

John Baker has 463 followers as of right now. If every reader of this blog were to follow him right now, that number would shoot up to at least 482. Get on it, folks.

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¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross share a birthday today. Cody is turning 29, while Hanley is 26. We send our best wishes to both, as well as Ryan, whoever he is. Perhaps one of you guys can wish for Josh Johnson to get paid?


Image via wetakethecake.com

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House Money

Some thoughts about last night. First of all, big props to Anibal Sanchez. He made his first start since returning from the disabled list, and was brilliant. He threw five no hit innings before allowing one run on two hits with seven strikeouts in his six innings of work. Not bad for someone on a pitch count. This is huge. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from Anibal the rest of this season, but if he can give us anything, that would be like playing with house money. With Volstad struggling in the second half, perhaps Sanchez can be that third cog in the rotation coming down the stretch. Hopefully he just stays healthy, because we all know how good he can be.

Mother nature was vying for it's third save in as many chances for the Marlins this year, but ultimately it had to settle for the hold. The weather reports and radar maps I saw didn't give me any reason to believe the last five outs of the game would be completed, but credit the Atlanta grounds crew for making a somewhat playable field for the final nine minutes of baseball.

And lastly, thanks to Cody Ross for making sure it was only nine minutes and not allowing the Braves to bring the potential tying run to the plate after he gunned down Laroche at second on his base hit. That was sweet.

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Link of the Day

Did you know that there is a Cody Ross fan site? Me neither. Here it is (h/t: FishStripes).

As you can see from the site, the proprietors are much better at Photoshop than I am. Also, their image gallery is choice. Check out some of the selections below.

Even as a child, Cody had that somewhat disturbing smile.

Laugh at the photo now, but Hanley's contract includes a clause requiring Cody to carry him onto the field every inning if Hanley hits 40 home runs.

We have added CodyRoss.org to the blogroll on the sidebar.

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Week in Review

Cody Ross walks off.

Overview: The Marlins won both series against the Braves and Cubs, finishing the week 4-2.
Positives: New acquisition Nick Johnson has reached base in six of his first ten plate appearances as a Marlin, it's like he knows how to get on base and stuff... and getting benched has not seemed to affect Emilio Bonifacio. The Marlins have made two straight ninth-inning comebacks, and are proving to be very resilient, which I will take as a good sign.
Negatives: Hanley was removed with a knee ouchie on Saturday and did not start on Sunday, but I am told it was a precautionary move ahead of an off day. The Marlins gave up a lot of runs in the 9th and 10th innings this week, leaving me pause to worry about the state of the bullpen. It was probably wise not to give up Sean West or Andrew Miller for Heath Bell, but I am hoping that move does not backfire in the short run. The Fish need to find themselves a fifth starter. Burke Badenhop was placed on the 15-day DL, and Miller on the minor league DL, this week, leaving the Marlins with limited options (Tim Wood? Brian Sanches? Someone else?)...
Highlight of the Week: Don't be a dick and make me choose between Gload's and Ross' walkoff taters. I should not be forced to pick a favorite. Uggla's game-tying tater tot on Sunday was pretty epic as well, reaching the upper deck.
Line of the Week: Josh Johnson served up his 18th (!) quality start of the year on Wednesday, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings while serving up a three-run home run (negating the 3 earned runs, as it were). He's like Carlos Zambrano, except he's not batshit crazy. Nice week for Rosses and Johnsons...¹
Looking Ahead: The Marlins have Monday off, then go on the road, playing three in Washington followed by an important three-game set at Philadelphia.


AP Photo/Jeffrey M. Boan

¹Pervert...

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Cody Ross Cannot Be Stopped

Cody likes Canada - not just for the free healthcare

A day after hitting his third grand slam of the year, Cody Ross unloaded on the Blue Jays again, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a tater tot. For the month of June, Cody is 14-for-44 (.318) and OPSing .975 with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, and 11 RBI.

Florida has quietly gone 8-4 so far in June. Tomorrow, they go for the Canadian sweep behind Tall, Dark & Mormon Josh Johnson.


AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese via ESPN

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Week in Review

Overview: A three-game winning streak was sandwiched between a loss in New York and losing the final three to the Cubs to make it a 3-4 road trip. The Marlins now stand at 14-11 on the season.
Positives: The Fish found a way to win a couple tight ballgames by coming back in the 8th inning on getaway day in New York and the opener in Chicago. Jorge Cantu also continued his hot streak against the Mets before cooling down against the Cubs
Negatives: The team's starting pitchers have now gone a franchise record 16 games without recording a win. Too often we are behind very early in games and the hole only gets deeper. That stat is somewhat overshadowing the Marlins deficiencies at the plate though. In five out of seven games this week, the team scored four or fewer runs in nine innings.
Line of the week: Jorge Cantu, Tuesday night in New York

3-3, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB

Highlight of the week: This week's award goes to Cody Ross, whose clutch RBI hit took the Marlins from behind to ahead in the rubber match of the Mets series. It was great redemption for him after being in a similar situation earlier in the game but not getting a run home.
Looking ahead: The Fish have a quick four game homestand with two games each against the Reds and Braves before a long flight to Colorado for a weekend series against the Rockies.

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Week in Review

Overview: Florida went 0 for the state of Pennsylvania, getting swept by the Pirates and the Phillies.
Positives: Hanley Ramirez is beginning to hit. He went 13 for 23 this week, notching 4 doubles and 2 RBI.
Negatives: The two blown saves by Matt Lindstrom and Leo Nunez in the ninth inning on Friday and Saturday were bad enough. But things got so out of hand on Sunday that Cody Ross had to pitch in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday. On the plus side, he only gave up a single while retiring Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Pedro Feliz.
Line of the Week: Josh Johnson's Friday night vs. Philadelphia:

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
7.0	3	0	0	2	8	0	2.20

Highlight of the Week: Dan Uggla's three-run home run on Friday was epic. He has
Looking Ahead: The Fish play three in New York and then a four-game series at Wrigley against the Cubs.

Image via AP/Jeffrey M. Boan

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Week in Review

Overview: Florida had a perfect 6-0 week recording their first ever sweep in Atlanta and a downright unreal sweep in Washington.
Positives: This team just can't lose. The first week saw the Marlins get it done with good hitting and starting pitching. This week it was the bullpen who did the most work, including 21 1/3 scoreless innings, and yielding just one run in the entire week.
Negatives: Again, it's hard to find much on an 11-1 team, but the starting pitching has dipped in quality. The main concern is the lack of innings they are throwing. They have been asking a lot of the bullpen but thankfully they have been bailed out so far.
Line of the Week: There are some great candidates but Jeremy Hermida's line from Saturday gets the nod as it was the largest comeback, and most stunning.

3-6, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR

Highlight of the Week: Pick any moment from the ninth inning on from any of the weekend games. The Marlins were outscored in the Nationals series 12-7 in innings 1-8, but blanked the Nats 12-0 in innings 9-11. Cody Ross will get the award this week for his bases clearing double from this afternoon's contest. What a fitting end to an unbelievable weekend.
Looking Ahead: The Marlins are en route to Pittsburgh for a three game set against the promising Pirates starting tomorrow night (weather pending). After an off day Thursday, the Marlins have a quick three game home stand against the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

(image via AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Starting Pitching, Errors, and the Solo Homer Vol. II

If you do not know what this is about, please refer to the first edition of this series, which debuted last Thursday

Starting Pitching

	G	W	L	ERA	IP	IP/S	QS
Since Last	6	3	1	2.95	36 2/3	6.11	2
Season	9	6	1	3.04	53 1/3	5.93	2

Errors

	G	E	URA
Since Last	6	4	3
Season	9	6	5

Home Runs

	G	HR	TR	R%
Since Last	6	3	5	15.60%
Season	9	8	16	27.60%

Overall Assessment

It's been a good week for the club and the main reason is the starting pitching. Josh Johnson's gem and Chris Volstad's nice performance helped the starting staff keep up its great numbers. It's amazing that with those numbers through nine games the club still has notched just two quality starts. I guess that's why some people don't like that statistic.

The error total remains very Marlin-like but all three of the unearned runs this week came in the Mets loss, late in the game when the game was probably out of reach.

Amazingly the Fish had a four-game homerless drought and still won three of those games, including a ten-run outburst on Wednesday night. Cody Ross' three-run blast to end the streak was a huge hit and went a long way towards winning this afternoon's ballgame. The key to the reduction in home runs but steady run scoring has been Dan Uggla and his RBI singles. Usually with men on (or not on) he is a homer or strikeout guy. In a postgame interview he sort of admitted to slightly changing his approach at the plate. If it's true or not Dan, just keep doing what you are doing.

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