Tag Archive for: World Series

Miami Marlins Season Recap (so far)

Well, here we are. The Marlins are 2/3s of the way through the shortened COVID-19 style 2020 MLB season. They are sitting at 20-19 and are currently in the playoffs as a Wild Card and closing in on a top 2 divisional finish. It’s happening, but how? How have the Marlins gone from one of the worst teams in baseball to this? Can this team win in the playoffs?

 

A (shortened) Marlins season in review

 

From the first pitch of 2020, something seemed different. This team has survived a week off from COVID-19, almost half the roster being sidelined by COVID-19, and 100+ roster moves. And we still sit above .500 through 39 games. Since their early 7-1 start, the Marlins have been performing quite the balancing act around that .500 mark. To make the playoffs this year, they don’t need much more, so that is more than fine in the long run. 

 

Amazing pitching (now and future)

 

The starters, when healthy, can compete with anyone in the league which is something the Marlins haven’t seen in what feels like a decade and a half. The 5-man punch of Sixto Sanchez, Pablo Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, and Elieser Hernandez is scary right now. Just imagine 5 years. The bullpen of wily vets has been able to get the job done minus the exception of a few games in which they had no rest. The team has an ERA of 4.63, but if we exclude the 29 run slugfest in Atlanta, it is much more reasonable, reaching a rank of top 5 in the NL (7th with that game factored in). 

 

2-out hitting

 

The bats aren’t the strongest, and the lack of pop is most likely the main reason this team’s record is not way over the mark of .500. What has allowed this team to thrive, however, is their ability to hit with 2-outs. There are a handful of examples to choose from, but the two that top the list are 1. Starling Marte’s bases-clearing game-tying double in the 8th inning last night and 2. Jorge Alfaro’s walk-off single in the 9th inning last night. The team as a whole has struggled to play small ball and move runners over, especially when there are not 2-outs in the inning which is definitely something to keep an eye on. If the Marlins can start combining stellar pitching, small ball, and clutch 2-out hitting, the possibilities are endless.

 

Speaking of possibilities for Marlins

 

Now, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but… The Marlins have made the playoffs twice. They have won the World Series twice. They were Wild Cards both of those years. We are Wild Cards now. Obviously this is a stretch, but can these Marlins make a deep run give the chance? Yes. I know that this take is extremely premature, and would probably hold validity in 2-3 years, but why couldn’t they? The Marlins have stellar pitching, especially out of the starting rotation. In a 5 game series against those 5 guys aforementioned, I don’t think there is any way the Marlins don’t put up a fight. If they fix some of the minor issues and continue playing like the family they are, there is no reason that an energized young Marlins team led by veterans can’t make it far in the playoffs. This is all speculation, but something to keep in mind. The most important thing is that this Marlins team is young, energetic, and going to be competing for many years to come.

Why not us this year?

 

Christian Chase Jr. (@ChaseChrisJr) attends the University of Florida. His regular columns are sponsored by SafeCubbies.com 

Sandy Alomar aún recuerda Miami con dolor

Sandy Alomar era el receptor de los Indios de Cleveland cuando estos perdieron la Serie Mundial de 1997 ante los entonces Marlins de Florida en siete juegos.

Para el ex receptor boricua, y actual coach de primera base de los Indios de Cleveland, Miami siempre le trae recuerdos dolorosos.

“Fue tremenda experiencia, una muy buena serie. No fue en este mismo estadio, pero cada vez que uno viene a esta ciudad se acuerda de esa serie,” le dijo Alomar a Leandro Soto en el dogout de la derecha del Marlins Park.

Una Serie Mundial de mucha ofensiva

“Nosotros tuvimos otras series basante duras con los Yankees y con Baltimore, y nos costó mucho detener a la ofensiva de Florida. Todos los juegos, menos el último, fueron de muchas carreras,” afirmó Alomar. “Pensábamos que iba a ser una serie de pitcheo, pero la ofensiva fue la que lució”.

Sandy Alomar y el beisbol moderno

Alomar conversó con Leandro Soto sobre la nueva era del beisbol, en la que los peloteros y cuerpos técnicos tienen mucho más acceso a la información.”La preparación es mucho mas alta. La zona de strike ha cambiado también. Los equipos tienen una mejor idea de qué clase de atletas tienen,” dijo el boricua, antes de responderle a Leandro Soto su característica pregunta sobre el uso de los shifts defensivos en Grandes Ligas.

Vea qué dijo Alomar sobre este tema, y sobre la nueva generación de peloteros boricuas en la Gran Carpa:

Disfrute de los episodios de Cinco Razones Podcast y de las constantes quejas de Leandro Soto sobre los shifts defensivos utilizados por los Marlins haciendo click aquí.