Marlins Struggle in Inaugural Season of New Ballpark

After setting a franchise record for wins in a one month span in the month of May, the Miami Marlins are again playing mediocre baseball.

The Marlins got off to a rough start when the season began. They caught fire in May, winning 21 of their 29 games in the month. It seemed as though they had finally figured things out. That’s not the case. In the month of June the team is an underwhelming 6-13. Confidence is nowhere to be found at the moment when just a few weeks ago they were oozing it. Even in games they should win, the Marlins have found ways to lose. Most recently against the St. Louis Cardinals, Heath Bell gave up 4 runs in the 9^th inning to allow the game to go into extra innings where the Marlins would ultimately lose. Miami lead the game 6-1 early on, only to give it away. This team cannot close, point blank. They spent all this money on a marquee closer to shut the door, but Heat Bell has not lived up to expectations.

While Heath Bell gets the brunt of the backlash for the struggling bullpen he is not the sole contributor to the problem. Aside from Steve Cishek and Chad Gaudin, the bullpen has been dismal. On nights where starters go six or seven innings and deliver a good outing, skipper Ozzie Guillen turns to his pen they cough up runs. The Marlins seem to always be playing from behind in games, and when you have a bullpen that gives up runs, that can spell disaster. The Fish are living testament of that.

Marlins Ace Josh Johnson has been erratic thus far. Some starts he’ll have the fastball and slider working and looks to be in top form. More often than not, he’s been missing high with both pitches and has paid the price. In a season where Johnson was expected to return to elite status, he simply hasn’t. As of now, the Marlins are lacking a true Ace in the rotation. A starting rotation consisting of Josh Johnson (4W-5L), Mark Buehrle (6W-8L), Ricky Nolasco (6W-6L), Carlos Zambrano (4W-6L), and Anibal Sanchez (3W-6L), lacks a pitcher with a winning record.

Pitching is only part of the problem the Marlins are having. After a very promising season last year for Miami native Gaby Sanchez, he has been a ghost so far. He was optioned down for a stint in Triple-A to see if he can figure things out. Gaby returned to the club recently but is still unable to produce consistently. He is one of two first-basemen the Marlins have. The other, Logan Morrison, is currently in a slump. Lomo is 7 for his last 36 (.194 batting average) in the past 10 games. First-base is a position the Marlins are not getting nearly enough production out of. The Fish are also not getting much from either of their catchers. John Buck and Brett Hayes have been terrible. If Buck wasn’t so good defensively, there’s no way he’d even have a spot on the team. Though he has made small improvements swinging the bat in recent games, the Marlins need more. The same can be said for Brett Hayes.

The Miami Marlins are a team that some predicted would have a shot at winning the World Series. The team is struggling mightily in the inaugural season of their brand new state-of-the-art ballpark. As of now, the Marlins sit 6 games under .500 and in last place in the NL East, 9 games behind the first place Washington Nationals. With the All-Star break approaching, it couldn’t come any quicker for the Fish. They need to utilize the time off to regroup and compose themselves. If they want a shot at making the playoffs, it is imperative that they get off to a very strong start in the 2^nd half of the season. It would be extremely beneficial if they can head into the break with some momentum by winning some games before.

In last night’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, Ozzie Guillen got tossed for the first time as manager of the Marlins. Hopefully it will spark the team to get them going. Some people believe managers intentionally get ejected to get a response from the players. It didn’t seem like that Ozzie was intentionally trying to get ejected but nonetheless that was the result. Miami fans hope the Marlins rally around their skipper and win some ballgames. In recent years, players and front office executives have criticized Marlins fans for lack of attendance. That is not the case this season. The wonderment of the new ballpark has kept attendance up. The awe of the new stadium will eventually fade; it’s up to the Marlins to keep the fans interested by winning.