Marlins: 2009 East Champions?

November 24, 2008

By DailySkew

Only the Marlins can trade away one of their top starting pitchers, outfielder, and former closer and be considered by Peter Gammons and the online community as contenders.

Perhaps being away from South Florida these “experts” have a better perspective than I do, who am in South Florida.

I, for one, refuse to give ownership the benefit of the doubt, as they trade away anyone making over $1 million dollars, and constantly backstab the dwindling Florida Marlins fans.

Certainly, stranger things have happened in this great game of baseball, but the comments I read from Gammons and stat heads kind of frustrated me, since the gush about the team’s prospects for 2009 while ignoring the Mets and Phillies in the NL East, or the fact that the Marlins organization doesn’t believe in long-term dynasties (they trade away anyone making money and don’t give out huge contracts). Why get excited about a one-hit-wonder team with changing faces?

Gammons:

This is a remarkable organization, tightly bound from [GM Larry] Beinfest to Mike Hill, Dan Jennings to Jim Fleming, Stan Meek to Orrin Freeman. They had the lowest payroll in baseball last season and were 84-77, a half-game better than the Dodgers while playing in a far stronger division. They won the World Series in 2003, then had to tear the team back down. They finished above .500 in 2003, 2004 and 2005, bottomed out in 2007 and are once again knocking on the door…
The Marlins are a team in transition that hit 207 homers in a pitchers’ park last season, second only to the Phillies. They had a modest plus-3 run differential. Their two best pitchers, Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson, were a combined 22-9, and Chris Volstad was 6-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 14 starts. They see high ceilings for pitchers Andrew Miller and Anibal Sanchez (10-3 in 2006), with Sean West hot on the trail. Down the stretch last season, Nolasco, Johnson and Volstad combined to go 7-3 in September, and The Phish split their last dozen games with the Phillies and Mets, who were fighting to make the playoffs.

Granted, there are nights when you watch the Marlins’ home games and it looks as if it is a family-only crowd. But their rebirth has been overlooked (much like Hanley Ramirez’s season was ignored in the MVP voting), as everything these days in the NL East is ignored other than the drama of the Mets… If Nolasco, Johnson, Vostad and Miller are all healthy this season and a couple of players from the Maybin, Morris, Sanchez and Coghlan group hit, then the Marlins will be a legitimate team for the Phillies and Mets to fear. Because they’re so young and they’ve got these Stantons up and down the system, the Florida Marlins are going to be around for the long haul.

And now the online stat heads:

I love the Marlins rotation right now. Johnson has excellent stuff and has shown the ability it to use and Nolasco was outstanding for most of the season after a rough start. Miller is very talented and Volstad looked good last year. I wasn’t impressed with what I saw from Sanchez last year but if he could be better as he gets further away from his injury. I don’t know what they are going to do this offseason but they could very easily win the NL East next season.

hey i luv that lineup ! looks like a world series team to me….. i will miss Scott Olsen though…. he was B.A.

you people who think you know things but dont make me laugh, saying they dont have a fanbase or cant develop one, they were 7th in mlb in tv attendance, so with a real stadium those ppl will be going more

1997 2003 2009 will be Marlins’ year

Finally somebody is seeing what we has seen for the last 7 years, the Marlins is the best ran organization in baseball. They know what to trade and they know how to scout. If I were a GM from another team and Larry Beinfest give me a call I would never , never pick up that phone , because I know they will screw me.

I love when people believe in the Fish. We got a plan to be in the playoffs BEFORE our new stadium opens in 2011. And the fact that people always overlook, the Marlins are in the top 5 in the NL with TV Ratings.