Marlins on the road? Check out prospects in Jupiter

/0 Comments/in /by

Since the ownership of the Miami Marlins exchanged hands, another rebuilding project was quickly sprung into action. Through the draft and controversial trades, the farm system has been restocked and now there’s depth.

According to MLB Pipeline, about a third of the Marlins top 30 prospects are only a 90 minute drive north on 1-95. The Jupiter Hammerheads play in the Single-A Advanced Florida State League in the Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals spring training complex. Here’s a look at the top prospects on the team.

Victor Victor Mesa (No. 2 prospect) was the Marlins big free agent splash this offseason and has the speed and defense to be a big-league outfielder right now. Scouts grade him as an above-average runner who would steal a bounty of bases and he chases down fly balls all over center field. If he can hit, he would be quickly called up and bat leadoff for the Marlins faster than you can say Victor Victor.

With the seventh pick of the 2016 MLB Draft, the Marlins made Braxton Garrett (No. 7) the highest-drafted Alabama high school player since Condredge Holloway went fourth overall in 1971. His minor league career consists of four starts in Greensboro before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2017 and missing all of the 2018 season. A healthy season in Jupiter can establish him as one of the best pitcher in the farm system. Garrett slings a 94 mph fastball and his curveball garners the highest scout grade of 65 on a 20-80 scale.

An instant fan favorite, as demonstrated on the above photo, Jose Devers (No. 12) is the cousin of Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and is on a similar path. The Marlins spared us all of the potential of both cousins being on opposite sides of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry by including him in the trade package in return for Giancarlo Stanton. He’s a classic shortstop with above average fielding and speed grades. He is also considered as one of the system’s top contact hitters at age 19, so look for him to slap some hits and steal some bases.

Jordan Holloway (No. 13) is in the same situation as Garrett. He’s got the potential to be one of the best arms in the system but after Tommy John surgery, needs stable health and establish consistency. His best asset is his fastball, which ranges from 95-99 mph. Unlike most of these prospects, Holloway was drafted in the 20th round. If he can turn in a full season, he’ll be a major draft steal.

Trevor Rogers (No. 15) was another high school arm taken by taken by the Fish in the first round of the draft. The cousin of former Marlins outfielder Cody Ross stands as one of the tallest prospects in the farm system at 6-foot-6 with a fastball that touched as high as 96 mph. Rogers posted an impressive 85/27 K/BB ratio in 72 2/3 innings in Single-A Greensboro, but he also had a 5.82 ERA. If this were to continue in Jupiter, there’s potential to pivot from the rotation to the bullpen and mold the 21-year-old as a future closer.

The Marlins top four picks in last year’s draft are among their top 30 prospects and outfielder Tristan Pompey (No. 16) is one of them. Pompey climbed up the ranks in his first minor league season, ending with 24 games in Jupiter, while slashing .299/.408/.397 in 52 games. Pompey is a switch-hitter who has played all over the outfield and could potentially be a first base in the future.

After ranking second in the Single-A South Atlantic League in ERA (2.06) and WHIP (0.98) in 2018, the Philadelphia Phillies were so impressed with Will Stewart (No. 21) that they packed him with top prospect Sixto Sanchez and catcher Jorge Alfaro in a trade with the Marlins for JT Realmuto just before Fan Fest. His fastball/slider combo receives his highest scout grades. His low-three-quarters delivery makes his 89-94 mph fastball look like a sinker and leads to a lot of weak contact. His 2.4 groundout/flyout ratio ranked fifth in the Minors last year.

Two other prospects (that I didn’t have photos of) are third baseman James Nelson (No. 20) and starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (No. 8). Nelson is the nephew of former Colorado Rockies infielder Chris Nelson earned Minor League Player of the Year honors in 2017, his first full season, after batting .309 in Greensboro. Cabrera has a fastball grade of 70 and while handled with care by the Marlins in his first two short seasons, recorded 93 strikeouts in 100.1 innings in his first full season last year.

The Hammerheads also has Alejandro Mateo, the team’s lone local product. The Hialeah native has 218 career strikeouts in 206.2 innings since 2016 and is on a fast start this season with five strikeouts in games.

This team is worth a watch this season and you might see some of them in Marlins Park in a few years.

¿Se acabó la Cultura del Miami Heat?

/0 Comments/in /by

El Miami Heat anunció el despido de Rodney McGruder tras la derrota ante los Toronto Raptors.

¿Sorprendidos? Muchos de los que seguimos al equipo sí..

¿Porqué en este preciso momento?

El famoso tope salarial era la principal razón de esta extraña movida, y algunos analistas de Five Reasons asomaron la posibilidad de que este fuera un golpe letal a lo que se le llama la “cultura” del Miami Heat.

A falta de dos juegos solamente para que termine la carrera de Dwyane Wade con el Miami Heat (a menos que pase algo improbable), se asoma la posibilidad de que ese concepto, que ha sido clave en la manera de construir esta franquicia en los últimos años, se deje en el abandono.

¿Fue el despido de Rodney McGruder la clara señal de que el equipo va en otra dirección?

¿Quién mejor que él para personificar lo que en escencia es la cultura del Miami Heat?

Ese fue el tema principal del episodio 29 de Cinco Razones Podcast, en la víspera del último juego de Wade en el American Airlines Arena:

Panthers Introduce Joel Quenneville As Head Coach

/0 Comments/in /by

The Florida Panthers pulled off something of a coup over the weekend, bringing in 3 time Stanley Cup Champion Joel Quenneville to be their next head coach. Quenneville was with the Chicago Blackhawks for 10 seasons before being fired 15 games into his 11th last November.

Quenneville is also second on the all time list for wins by an NHL head coach. And for the Panthers, bringing a coach of this pedigree did not come cheaply, per George Richards of The Athletic.

The Panthers won this battle in all likelihood because of the connection between the new coach and Panthers general manager Dale Tallon. And for a franchise that’s made the playoffs 5 times, that connection could mean everything to changing that.

 

The Heat sacrifice the Scavenger

/0 Comments/in /by

Quite a bloody Sunday it’s been.

First the Miami Heat blew another second half lead, faltering down the stretch, botching a last-possession with a chance to win (thanks in part to the officials) and then petering out in overtime to lose to Toronto.

Now, with the season just about over, someone who actually played 23 minutes in that game is now longer with the team.

Rodney “the Scavenger” McGruder, who was another nice Heat development story until he got ridden too much, was actually a team-best plus-8 in that contest while missing five or six shots. After the game, and with the Heat essentially out of the playoff race, he was released to beat a 5 p.m. deadline to get under the luxury tax.

Because it’s never about the money until it’s about the money.

I’ll have more on this in a column that will post overnight, and how it again exposes the foolishness of slogans such as #HeatCulture, which can now go in the dustbin of Heat history along with #HeatLifer.

But understand that, while McGruder’s play declined over the course of the season, it’s rather stunning to see the Heat just dump for nothing — well, other than money. Of course, this comes after Wayne Ellington was traded to dump Tyler Johnson’s money, and Ellington is now averaging 12.1 points per Detroit and helping push the Pistons ahead of the Heat into the postseason.

And the Heat?

Well, whatever could go wrong this season, other than Dwyane Wade’s strong play in his #OneLastDance, has.

 

 

Panthers fire coach, folks scramble for name

/0 Comments/in /by

Is this news?

We’re not sure if this is news.

The Florida Panthers just finished another disappointing season, one that began with some of us — um, me — thinking they were the best-positioned of all the pro teams in our sadsack sports town to make a real run. They had young stars, a veteran goalie and Dale Tallon back in charge.

They also had a coach named Bob Boughner and, while Panthers fans didn’t seem particularly pleased with him, how much difference can an NHL coach really make?

Well, apparently a lot.

Panthers fans’ grumbling became louder as the season progressed, and Sunday this happened:

Our friend George Richards at The Athletic had more:

Quenneville is a name hockey fans have actually heard of, and not just because he’s Coach Q for short. He’s won three Stanley Cups.

So that would seem like an upgrade for a team that makes the postseason roughly once every dozen years. But so have about a dozen coaches since the franchise dumped Doug MacLean two decades ago — remember Mike Keenan — and the wheel keeps spinning to nowhere.

And it’s safe to say, we hardly knew him, as this poll emphasizes….

Con La Liga en mano, comienza el verdadero reto del FC Barcelona

/1 Comment/in /by

Nuevamente Lionel Messi. Nuevamente Luis Suárez. Nuevamente el Barcelona.

Por segunda ocasión en cuestión de días, un par de destellos individuales de ambos astros, elevan a un Barcelona que, en cuestión de días, se alcen con un nuevo título de La Liga.

11 puntos de diferencia, con respecto al segundo lugar Atlético de Madrid, víctima del sábado, y con siete encuentros por disputar, luce virtualmente imposible.

El martes, abajo en la pizarra 4-2 ante el Villarreal, Suárez y Messi necesitaron de solo tres minutos para empatar el juego, y así maquillar un resultado nada alentador para el conjunto que dirige Ernesto Valverde.

El sábado ocurrió algo similar. Si bien no estaban abajo en el marcador, un empate sin goles hubiese dejado a los “colchoneros” con aspiraciones reales. La dupla uruguaya-argentina tenía otras ideas.

Esta vez sucedió incluso más rápido. Un gol de Suárez en el minuto 85´y otro de Messi en el 86´ sepultaron cualquier posibilidad del Atléticos, quienes ya para entonces se aferraban a un Jan Oblak, que había hecho demasiada para dejar su arquería en blanco.

El cuarto campeonato liguero del Barcelona en los últimos cinco años y el séptimo en las pasadas 10 temporada, está muy cerca.

Pero, al igual de lo repentino de los goles de Suárez y Messi en la última semana, la visión del Barcelona debe enfocarse rápidamente en el principal objetivo, según el astro argentino, que tendrán que enfrentar en tan solo días.

El próximo miércoles se medirán al Manchester United, en el encuentro de ida de los cuartos de final de la Champions League, torneo que han visto a su principal rival, el Real Madrid, apoderarse en las últimas temporadas.

Ese mismo sentido de rivalidad, ha hecho que los aficionados del equipo culé, sienta que, al menos este año, La Liga no sería suficiente. Quieren la Champions.

Irónicamente, la versión de este año del Barcelona no ha sido tan dominante como en años anteriores, y de todas maneras, siguen vivos en cuartos de Champions, están en la final de la Copa del Rey y tienen el campeonato liguero asegurado.

Los aficionados ya sueñan con el triplete

Ya el Real Madrid lo demostró. El año pasado el equipo merengue encontró las maneras de ganar, y sin demostrar un fútbol dominante, consiguieron alzar la máxima copa de Europa. Pero hay algo que nunca perdieron: el enfoque.

¿Tendrá esa misma convicción el Barcelona?

Ya con La Liga en la mano, el equipo de Valverde podrá tener un mismo objetivo, y afianzarse en ello, junto al poder ofensivo y oportuno, para intentar superar las dudas en la defensa y mediocampo, para volver a llevar “la orejona” a las vitrinas del Camp Nou.

 

 

Por Ricardo Montes de Oca

Good morning. Paul Pierce is fake news.

/0 Comments/in /by

Paul Pierce and the rest of the late 2000s, early 2010s Boston Celtics have always had an inflated sense of self.

They won one championship together, but you’d think it was 12. They felt they owned Ray Allen, like, literally. They believed they were in LeBron James’ head, right until he dropped 45 on them in their building of blowhards when the Celtics might have ended the Heat’s Big Three right there and then.

But Pierce, oh, Pierce. He’s really big market Alex English and slightly lower budget Carmelo Anthony, but somehow he’s always been the biggest blowhard of the bunch; at least Kevin Garnett was actually a top-3 player at one point. And last night, on ESPN’s pre-game show, he couldn’t help putting himself ahead of Dwyane Wade in terms of career accomplishments.

And Twitter had its way.

A few highlights of, um, Truth…..

 

 

 

And, finally, Wade speaks the real truth…

Dwyane Wade: “Voy a necesitar terapia cuando me retire”

/0 Comments/in /by

Dwyane Wade estará en boca de todos los fanáticos de baloncesto en el mundo durante la última semana de acción en la NBA.

El Miami Heat se juega la clasificación en los últimos cuatro juegos de la temporada.

Probablemente Wade llegue a su último partido en Brooklyn sin estar seguro si realmente esos serán sus últimos lances sobre un tabloncillo del mejor baloncesto del mundo.

¿Cómo será la vida de Dwyane Wade después del retiro?

El momento del retiro de cualquier jugador profesional es algo dramático porque incluye no solo dejar de hacer lo que mas le gusta, pero le da un vuelco entero a la manera de vivir el día a día.

“Voy a necesitar terapia. Siempre estuve en contra de que alguien que no me conoce me diga como vivir mi vida, pero voy a necesitar a alguien con quien hablar al respecto”, respondió Wade cuando Rachel Nichols, de ESPN, le preguntó sobre ese tema. “Va a ser un gran cambio. Le dije a mi esposa. Yo necesito terapia. Nosotros necesitamos hacer terapia. Va a ser diferente”

“Quiero ver en qué puedo ser bueno. Hacer un poco. de todo. Estoy emocionado por lo desconocido. Vamos a pasar mas tiempo el Los Angeles. Hay muchas cosas con las que he tenido que ser un ajuste en mi mente,” dijo un muy serio Dwyane Wade, acompañado por su esposa Gabrielle Union y su hija mas joven Kaavia.

Su tour de despedida

Dwyane Wade ya tenía tomada la decisión de retirarse cuando terminó la temporada 2017-18, pero unas conversaciones con Carmelo Anthony y Chris Paul lo hicieron cambiar de parecer.

Convencieron a Wade de regalarnos un año mas para celebrar su carrera, y hemos visto un tour lleno de momentos emocionantes en todos estadios de los Estados Unidos.

“Uno siempre tiene una idea de como le gustaría que se dieran las cosas, pero cuando la realidad supera lo que uno había imaginado, es una experiencia extraordinaria”, afirma Dwyane Wade en la entrevista con la presentadora de The Jump. “Mi esposa no me va a dejar poner todas esas camisas. Creo que tendré que comprar otra casa,” bromea el mejor puesto dos de la historia de la NBA después de Michael Jordan.

La incertidumbre de no saber cuál será su último juego

La despedida definitiva de Wade puede ser con una dolorosa derrota en Brooklyn o en los playoffs.

Todo parece indicar que ese duelo directo entre el Miami Heat y los Brooklyn Nets el miércoles 10 de Abril definirá el destino de ambos equipos.

Dwyane Wade llegará al que puede ser su último juego con el Heat con el escenario que no quería vivir, sin saber exactamente si esos disparos al aro son los finales en su carrera.

Sobre su despedida, Wade no tiene expectativas tan altas.

“Kobe puso la barra muy alta, creando la expectativa de que uno se debe retirar anotando 60 puntos en su último juego. ¿Quién hace eso? Solo Kobe. Yo me voy a despedir de la manera en la que Dwyane Wade está supuesto a despedirse,” dice Wade sobre esos últimos minutos. “Ayuda que estamos en la carrera por los playoffs, porque así solo me enfoco en ganar, pero voy a tratar de anotar unos 40 puntos”

Need the chills? Here’s another Wade video

/2 Comments/in /by

It is the season for nostalgia when it comes to Dwyane Wade.

We’ve done our share on the Five Reasons flagship podcast, Miami Heat Beat has done plenty of its own on podcasts and videos (check THIS out), and naturally the Heat have hyped plenty about #OneLastDance.

We have felt that the national media have been a little slow to this story. Yes, Sports Illustrated just published a cover story, and sure there was plenty of coverage of Dwyane and Dirk at All-Star Weekend. But it’s been nothing like the attention afforded to Kobe Bryant’s farewell, and he was broken (and kind of an arrogant a– at times).

Yet you turn on ESPN today and they’re talking about LeBron. Of course.

And TNT is choosing to show a Celtics game rather than Wade’s last home game, next Tuesday against Philadelphia.

At least Brian Windhorst acknowledged the importance — and positivity — of this story when he was on our podcast.

And another of our friends, a Miamian named Jay Gutierrez, has put together a pretty cool video for the mother ship.

We thought we should share:

 

 

Marlins fans, are you not entertained?

/0 Comments/in /by

Sports are simply entertainment. Let me say it again. Sports are simply entertainment. This website is simply “E Online” with alternative storylines. Sports…are simply entertainment.

Okay. Let’s talk about the Marlins.

I felt it was important to preface this piece with that fact because I couldn’t care less what the Marlins’ record is this season. The Marlins could lose over 100 games this year and be the worst team in baseball and I wouldn’t care because, after these first two series, I know one crucial thing: They’re going to entertain us.

It’s all about the starting pitching. While I think Jose Ureña will rebound from a rocky first couple of starts, I am focused mostly on the four young guns (yes, I know Ureña is only 27, but we pretty much know what he is at this point). Some of the fanbase has referred to them as the #BabyFacedAces — 25-year-old Trevor Richards, 23-year-old Pablo López, 23-year-old Sandy Alcántara, and 27-year-old Caleb Smith.

Richards is a Miami Heat-esque development project — an undrafted free agent who the Marlins have turned into a front-line starter. López was a result of the David Phelps trade in 2017. You remember Marlins superstar David Phelps? Alcántara has the most hype around him as the key piece of the Marcell Ozuna trade from before last season. And Caleb Smith was traded alongside Garrett Cooper (your Opening Day Right Fielder before his injury) from the Yankees in the first trade of the new Derek Jeter led regime. All of these arms are headed into their second season with the big club, and all of them will entertain you.

The stuff is not a question with any of them. In fact, the only one who might have a stuff issue is Trevor Richards, who probably has the best changeup in baseball.

Everything Pablo throws twists and turns more than Sarah Sanders’ reasoning when asked why the President’s tweets what he tweets.

Oh. You’re a big fan of Sandy? Tell me more, tell me more. Watching him throw on Sunday had everyone watching calling him a…

And Caleb Smith…well, even though he’s aloof enough to dodge pictures and avoid being in our graphic at the top of this page, he might actually be the best of them all. The lefty of the crew came off a lat injury that ended his solid 2018 campaign and earned his way back into the rotation with a dominant spring.

After the first 7 games, Richards is the only one of this group to have made 2 starts. In their 5 combined starts, the group has collectively allowed just 22 hits while striking out 32 and maintaining a 2.67 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched. That’s pure dominance. It’s early — I mean it is WAY too early — to talk about any of this type of stuff, BUT if that combined ERA were the ERA of a singular pitcher in 2018, he would have had the third best ERA in the National League behind only Jacob deGrom, Aaron Nola, and Max Scherzer.

I do get the concern with the team, though. I know I am looking at this through proverbial rose colored glasses, and I am choosing to be more positive than most people who have been rooting for this since since its inception. There are plenty of things people around the South Florida sports landscape have wanted to complain about headed into this season: attendance, a lack of spending, and a likely lack of winning. But to that that I say…why?

The attendance has been problem for the Marlins since they played in, what was at the time, Joe Robbie Stadium.

Spending was not going to fix much in the lineup, so wouldn’t you rather the team who has a publicly financed stadium spend responsibly when it will actually put them over the top?

And, yes. We know. They traded the MVP. Then traded the next MVP. Then, in my mind, there’s a damn good shot they traded to following year’s MVP in J.T. Realmuto. I, once again, don’t really care. Does that make me foolish? Probably. But the team was not in a position to win consistently or sustainably, and the moves had to be made. We saw the results of that roster. We can cry about it or we can move forward and choose to be excited about beautiful, revamped stadium and a team that could, with a plethora of pitching in the farm system following these #BabyFacedAces, be the Braves of the 90’s in the next few years. You never know.

So, while the Marlins offense this season will likely leave a lot to be desired regardless of their *techinically* hot start, they will be in nearly every game, and that’s pretty much all you can ask for in a team you root for. They’ve been tied or in the lead in the 6th inning in all but 1 of the starts from these young arms, and that is fun. There will probably be 15 to 20 games this season the team gets the breaks beat of of ‘em right from the start — young guys are bound to have off days — but that means there will be 140 games where you can go to the new-look park or sit at home and watch on TV and know your team will have a shot to win. 

That is entertaining, and like I said, sports are simply entertainment.