So Long, Jeremy

Well that was quick. The Marlins figure to have a busy offseason and they wasted no time making their first move. They have cut the cord on the Jeremy Hermida balloon and are letting him float up to Boston (unless he's hiding in the 400 level of Landshark Stadium). In return the Red Sox are sending us a couple of average pitching prospects, both lefties I think.

We've had a good time ribbing Jeremy for his lofty LOB numbers and then being elated by his few clutch homers. The truth is, he has never lived up to expectations. He was a first round pick, and was often reffered to as our best prospect. He also hit a grand slam in his first major league plate appearance, which hadn't been done in 100 years. That probably set the fans' bar pretty high. But, he was often injured and underperformed. A good second half in 2007 gave new hope that he would put it together and be a let's say Jayson Werth-like player. Wrong. He was reduced to a platoon role this year in the outfield and struggled. Did I mention he isn't the best of fielders?

So now the question is who will be the next to go? Dan Uggla is probably the biggest candidate and safest bet. We'll keep you posted.

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It is time to bring back Cameron Maybin

Tonight, facing Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, Fredi has decided to bench Jeremy Hermida, move Cody Ross to right field, and play Emilio Bonifacio at center. The reason ostensibly being that Hermida does not hit well against lefties (true), and Bonifacio would be an improvement. While B-Face is technically an improvement over Hermida (.325 OBP vs. Hermida's .277 against lefties), this should not be a permanent solution. It is time the team called up Cameron Maybin. Before he was sent down to Triple-A New Orleans in May, Maybin was OBPing a paltry .265 against lefties. After almost 70 games in New Orleans, he is OBPing at a .415 pace.

And while we're at it, great jersey at the Triple-A affiliate...

If the Marlins are serious about minimizing deficiencies in their lineup, they will have to at least consider inserting someone other than Hermida or Bonifacio into the everyday lineup. They have morphed into a two-headed out-making machine, and while I don't wish to denigrate them or scapegoat them, they clearly represent one of the biggest holes in the everyday lineup. B-Face is very fast, but if he cannot get on base, then he is useless to the team.

The Marlins do need him as a middle-infield replacement (since Alfredo Amezega is on the DL), so this might mean sending down a pitcher and carrying 13 position players. Then again, the Marlins could also bring up Brett Carroll (I'll defer to Craig's argument in favor at FishStripes), giving themselves a solid defensive replacement, as well as someone who can hit the ball.

They can do all of this when the rosters expand to 40 in September, but the Marlins need to win games in August, too, so why wait?

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FAIL

Well, that wasn't how I expected things to go...

On the plus side, Ted stumbled upon this last night:


Not to pile on Hermida here, but at what point do the Marlins consider calling Cameron Maybin back up and moving Cody Ross to right field? Hermida hasn't been terrible (his OPS+ is currently 92, which is only slightly below average), but Maybin has been putting up much better numbers in triple-A New Orleans (.415 OBP and 6 triples). Also, Maybin appears to be a better leadoff option than Chris Coghlan. The Marlins made a logical move trading for Nick Johnson in order to bench Emilio Bonifacio, will they apply their logic to Hermida, the one-time future of the franchise?

One other thought: start Josh Johnson in right field on days he doesn't pitch. Can't argue with that power...

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Week in Review

Jeremy Hermida hits and RBI-single on Friday night.

Overview: The Marlins showed just how effective they could have been had they moved to Portland as rumored a few years ago, going 5-1 on a West Coast road trip to San Diego and Los Angeles. The week went well enough that we still are not sure whether the Marlins will be buyers, sellers, or abstainers before the trade deadline on Friday.
Positives: The Marlins got quality starts in 4 of 6 games this week, with the starting rotation sharing a collective 2.70 ERA for the week. Hanley has another hit streak going; eight games so far.
Negatives: The Fish could have had a perfect week had the bullpen not blown a two-run lead on Saturday night.
Highlight of the Week: Emilio Bonifacio drew a bases-loaded walk in the 7th inning Monday night to score Jeremy Hermida and give the Marlins a 3-2 lead. That actually happened.
Line of the Week: Chris Volstad went 7 innings to get the win on Tuesday in San Diego, giving up one run on four hits with two strikeouts and a whole mess of groundball outs.
Looking Ahead: After taking Monday off, the Fish return to Miami for three-game sets with the Braves and Cubs.


AP Photo/Matt Sayles via ESPN

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Week in Review

Overview: The Fish took the finale from the Giants on Monday and wrapped up the home stand by dropping two of three to the Cardinals. This weekend the club swept the Blue Jays in Toronto to finish off a 5-2 week.
Positives: The starting pitching continues to improve. Josh Johnson totaled 16 innings in two Marlins wins while Sean West, Andrew Miller, and Ricky Nolasco each had a quality start. Several hitters are starting to get hot. Chris Coghlan has been excellent in the leadoff spot with Jeremy Hermida, Hanley Ramirez, and Cody Ross driving in many runs.
Negatives: The club blew one in the finale against the Cardinals, ruining the chance to win the series. A two run lead vanished with some base hits and a costly error by Cody Ross. Chris Volstad also posted his worst start in his young career, allowing six runs and ten hits.
Highlight of the Week: Jeremy Hermida provide the team with it's first walkoff homer of the season and his first of his career to take the opener against the Cardinals.
Line of the Week: Sean West's night to remember, his first career victory

W, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Looking Ahead: The team travels to Boston for three against the Red Sox starting Tuesday. Hopefully the pitching will be better than the last visit. Fathers' Day weekend there will be massive crowds expected as the Marlins host the Yankees.

(Unfrozen cavemen catcher photo credit AP via ESPN.com)

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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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Opening Day

The Marlins beat the Nationals 12-6, led by home runs from Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida, a grand slam from Hanley, and an inside-the-park home run from Emilio Bonifacio. Bonifacio may have been the first man to hit an inside-the-parker for his first career home run on Opening Day. Nolasco pitched 6 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts. The Fish were in their usual form - lots of home runs with ok-enough pitching (though it is not recomended you extrapolate too much off of a win against the Nats). Usually when I watch the Marlins on tv (which is infrequent, given my living in Virginia), they lose. Today was a nice deviation from the norm.


Image via Miami Herald

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