A Red Road to the Fall Classic

Well, here we are.  The Fall Classic has arrived for the 2011 season and we have out matchup.  The Texas Rangers will represent the American League for the second year in a row and will face the relentless St. Louis Cardinals of the National League.

I must confess, I really did not expect the St. Louis to make this kind of run.  I left them for dead in the Division Series and after they had lost game one in Philadelphia, I was sure that I had made the right call.  I should have been a lot smarter about my prediction, however.  After all, the Cardinals have probably faced the most adversity out of any team in the postseason this year. 

Let’s go back to Spring Training.  The best player in Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols, decided that there would be no contract talk during the season after not being able to agree to a contract extension with the front office.  Shortly after Pujols and the Cardinal organization made this announcement, the team learned that they would be without their best pitcher in the rotation as Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery. 

With the subtraction of Wainwright and the uncertainty looming with Albert Pujols, the team still had to deal with a questionable singing of Lance Berkman in right field and whether starting pitcher Kyle Lohse would bounce back after missing most of 2010 with a forearm injury.

Fortunately, the acquisition of Berkman and the resurgence of Lohse paid dividends right away but injuries and inconsistencies still surrounded the Cards.  Pujols’ fractured wrist and Ryan Franklin’s inexplicable meltdown once again left St. Louis in a precarious situation.  Nonetheless, the team managed to keep its head above water and was in a position to buy at the trading deadline.  Again, in a not-so-popular move, the Cardinals sent their young disgruntled centerfielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto and acquire a flurry of much-needed relief pitching. 

The September collapse of the Atlanta Braves and the resilience of this Cardinals team allowed them to punch their ticket into the dance.  Their first task was not an easy one, as they would face the best team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies.  The daunting task of having to face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt was surprisingly manageable.  The Cardinals defied all odds by defeating the Phillies in five games.  The series was highlighted by Cardinals de-facto ace Chris Carpenter who out-dueled his former teammate Roy Halladay by tossing a complete game shutout of the Phillies in game five.  The next step was to face their division rivals the Milwaukee Brewers who not only had a very good lineup but an exceptional rotation as well. 

The National League Championship Series was a back-and-forth contest for the first four games as the teams split 2-2 going into game five.  All series long, the bullpen kept this Cardinals team in each game and game five was no different.  Starter Jaime Garcia and the rest of the bullpen allowed just one run on nine hits in a 7-1 victory.  The Red Birds again pulled the upset during this 2011 playoffs as they defeated their division rivals and division-leading Brewers in six games.

There is no telling whether the Cardinals will win the World Series this season but I’m now sure that this ball club will do whatever it takes to put up a grueling and frustrating fight against the American League Champion Texas Rangers.  Good luck to both teams and may the best team win.

My Playoff Predictions

What an incredible season.  It came down to the last day to figure out the Wild Card teams from each league.  We saw the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox fall apart in the last month and give way to the surging St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.  Well, without further ado, here are my predictions.

2011 Playoff Predictions

ALDS            Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers

TEX (3-1)

ALDS            Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees

DET (3-1)

NLDS            Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers

ARI (3-2)

NLDS            St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Phillies

PHI (3-0)

ALCS            Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers

TEX (4-3)

NLCS            Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Phillies

ARI (4-3)            MVP: Ryan Roberts

2011 World Series

Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

ARI (4-2)            MVP: Ian Kennedy

Riggleman’s Resignation Could Not Have Come at a Worse Time

The Washington Nationals have been rolling in the month of June.  This team has won 12 out of their last 13 games including a walk-off win earlier today that put them over .500 at 38-37.  This team has been clicking on all cylinders with the bats, the gloves, and the arms.  In the past series against the Mariners, the Nationals won all three games by one run.  Two of those three wins were won in walk-off fashion.

After today’s walk-off win against the Mariners, manager Jim Riggelman resigned from his position.  Yes, you heard correctly, Riggelman is no longer the manager of the surging Nationals.  Apparently, Riggelman had asked for a contract extension and was denied by the front office.  I understand that Riggelman is looking out for his best interest and probably felt disrespected by the front office, but now is not the time to be prideful.  Had the Nationals not been in the thick of things at this point, I would not blame him for making this decision.  However, because of the team’s recent success, it makes a big difference. 

Marlins’ former manager Edwin Rodriguez resigned during the club’s June swoon. Normally, when a manager leaves when things are not going well, it is perceived as an act of betrayal.  Contrary to popular belief, Rodriguez’s resignation was merited because the team needed a different voice to get the clubhouse back on track.  In my opinion, Riggelman’s resignation comes off as selfish and as an act of betrayal.  The Nationals will now have to recover from this shocking news and somehow stay on cloud nine where they have been during this month.  If I had to guess, I don’t think the Nationals will continue the success that they were having under Riggelman during the last few weeks.     

Despite the Series Loss, Fish Are Improving

The month of June has not been kind to the Florida Marlins this year.  Under Edwin Rodriguez, the Marlins had only recorded one win in the month.  The slide prompted the manager to resign from his position.  For the record, I don’t have a problem with Rodriguez resigning from his managerial position.  His voice and leadership style was no longer working for this team.  Even though Beinfest and company were ‘shocked’ by Rodriguez’s decision, it would have only been a matter of time before owner Jeffrey Loria had decided to pull the plug on the manager.

The Marlins front office all agreed that Jack McKeon would be the perfect answer to manage this club for the rest of the season.  In my opinion, this team really liked playing under Edwin Rodriguez.  Rodriguez made all the right moves while he was here and gained the respect of all the players including star shortstop, Hanley Ramirez.  By the way, that’s saying something when we know that it’s difficult for Hanley to get along with his manager.  In any event, at 80 years of age, McKeon brings a no-nonsense, hard-working, and energetic jolt that the Fish have been desperately looking for as of late.  Despite the fact that the team lost the series to the Angels, a lot of positives can be drawn out from the last three games.

In order for this team to be successful, Hanley Ramirez needs to hit and adjust his attitude while he’s at it.  The first thing McKeon did upon his return to the dugout was to sit Hanley.  There were reports that he arrived late to McKeon’s first team meeting on Monday.  Whether or not McKeon’s decision to bench Hanley on Monday sunk in for the All-Star shortstop I don’t know, but since then Hanley has gone 4 for 10 with two runs batted in and a stolen base.  Aside from Hanley’s production in this series, the team has played a lot better.  With the exception of Brian Sanches’ spot start today, Anibal Sanchez and Javier Vazquez combined to allow just one run on 18 hits in 13.1 innings.  The bullpen has been pretty solid during the month of June and did not disappoint in this series.  The bullpen combined to allow four earned runs in seven and two-thirds innings. 

There has definitely been a different feel in South Florida for the last three games.  The rehiring of Jack McKeon can only rekindle shades of the 2003 Florida Marlins.  His return has prompted fans and sports casters alike to draw parallels to that 2003 season.  The bottom line is that the team has to loosen up, have fun, and continue to play hard.  The Fish will now head to Seattle to play three ‘home’ games.  Originally, the series was going to be played here in Miami but was relocated because of a U2 concert this weekend.  The Marlins have played much better on the road so hopefully with their newfound, upbeat attitude and their aforementioned success away from Sun Life Stadium, they can finish off this horrible month of June on a high note. 

Are the Marlins Falling Apart?

There are two ways to look at the recent struggles of the Florida Marlins.  One, the Marlins are just four games out of the first place Phillies despite going 2-8 in their last 10 games.  The team has also not been consistently healthy all year and therefore it has been incredible that the team is just four games out.  Before last night’s game, the Marlins finally placed All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez on the disabled list with lower back inflammation.  Ramirez had not appeared in a game since leaving in the second inning of a loss to the Dodgers on March 29^th.  The team’s ace, Josh Johnson, has yet to throw off a mound due to right shoulder inflammation.  Manager Edwin Rodriguez has had to manage the last few games with a short bench.  As a result, this predicament has definitely played a role in some of the team’s losses throughout the last 10 games.

The other way to look at this stretch is that the Marlins have had plenty of opportunities to score runs and have not been successful doing so.  During this 2-8 collapse, the Marlins have lost five games by only one run.  Before the Marlins played the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the team held a record of 14-4 in one-run games.  Since then, the team has dropped down to 14-9 in these situations.  Early on in the season, the team would find ways to win the close games either with a clutch hit or superb pitching out of the bullpen.  It seems that lately, however, the team is finding ways to lose these close games.  In the last 10 games, the Marlins are batting .188 (18 for 96) with runners in scoring position.  That is a definite recipe for disaster. 

The pitching has not helped either.  Without Josh Johnson, the starting pitchers have combined for a record of 1-4 and an ERA of 6.75 in 53.1 innings in the last 10 games.  In addition, the starting rotation has pitched into the seventh inning just twice in the last 10 games.  The bullpen has been relatively efficient but has not been the same bullpen that was unstoppable at the beginning of the season.  In the last 10 games, the bullpen has posted a record of 1-4 with an ERA of 4.33 and just one save in 35.1 innings.  In a way, the bullpen has kept the games close, but because the offense has had trouble scoring runs, they eventually falter.   

After last night’s loss to the Brewers, the Marlins are four games out of the first place Phillies and tied for second place with the Atlanta Braves.  Incidentally, the Atlanta Braves are making their first trip to South Florida this season for a three-game series.  This could not have come at a better time or at a worse time, depending on how the Marlins play throughout this series.  One thing in for sure, the rotation is going to have to go deep into games and give the bullpen a rest.  The Marlins will hand the ball to Brad Hand who was called up from Double-A before last night’s game.  The left-hander was 7-1 with an ERA of 3.53 at Double-A Jacksonville this season. The Marlins will face Tommy Hanson today followed by Derek Lowe tomorrow, and Jair Jurrjens on Thursday.  If the Marlins want to have a successful series against their division rivals, they are going to have to hit better with runners in scoring position.  The best thing for this team to do is to wipe the slate clean.  In other words, take this series one game at a time or even one at-bat at a time.  If the Marlins start to think too far ahead or think about the squandered opportunities of the past, then they are going to have a tough time getting past the Atlanta Braves this week. 

It’s Time for Volstad to Step Up

The Marlins will hand the ball to Chris Volstad tonight against the Dodgers for the middle game of this three-game series.  Volstad is going into tonight’s start with a 1-1 record and an ERA of 6.60 in three starts.  With those types of numbers, you would think that the Marlins have no chance to win this contest.  To make matters worse, the Marlins will oppose Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw was one out away from a complete game against the Braves in his last start.  He ultimately received a no decision, allowing three runs on five hits, four walks and seven strikeouts in eight and two-thirds innings against Atlanta.

Last night the Marlins made an improbable comeback off of Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton.  I felt that it was extremely important to take the first game of this series.  Throughout the game, the only Marlin who was able to solve Jon Garland was Chris Coghlan.  Coghlan homered twice off the veteran right-hander.  Nolasco pitched a decent game allowing three runs on seven hits in six and one-third innings.  Nolasco left the game in the seventh inning with runners on second and third with one out.  Ryan Webb came into the game but could not hold the lead.  The Dodgers tied the game on a ground ball to second base and then took the lead on a single up the middle.  This was the second blown save from the bullpen in the last two days.  Hensley also blew a 3-1 lead in Sunday’s game against the Rockies.  The Dodgers scored an insurance run off of Marlins’ reliever Edward Mujica in the eighth inning that seemed, at the time, to have put the nail on the coffin. 

In an inexplicable move by Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly, Vicente Padilla came into the game to relieve Jon Garland.  Despite the fact that the Dodgers’ bullpen has not gotten to a great start, there should have been someone else pitching for them in the eighth inning.  In any event, Padilla allowed a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Scott Cousins and a single to Coghlan.  Originally, I thought that Infante’s job was to bunt the runners over but as the at-bat unfolded, it didn’t look like he was bunting.  Well, on the third pitch of the at-bat, Infante made a poor attempt at what looked to me to be a drag bunt.  The Dodgers were able to get Cousins out at third base and keep the runners on first and second base.  Gaby Sanchez proceeded to line an 0-2 pitch right back up the middle for an RBI single to cut the deficit to one run.  If there is one guy that deserves a lot of recognition early on this season, it’s Gaby Sanchez.  It seems like every time this guy comes up to the plate, he finds a way to knock in a run in a crucial point in the game.  That, my friends, is what we call clutch-ability.

The next play for the Fish was not a very smart one.  With one out and runners on first and second base, Mike Stanton hit a medium fly ball to centerfielder Matt Kemp.  Once Kemp caught the ball, Infante decided to go the tag up and take third base.  I’m not sure what he was thinking.  With two outs, you never want to make the last out at third base.  Infante was already in scoring position at second base just in case Stanton did not deliver which was the case.  Aside from that, Kemp has a cannon for an arm, so why chance it?  Bottom line, it was one of those bonehead plays where had the Marlins lost the game, this situation would have been magnified to the nth degree.

Another member of the Marlins who does not get any credit at all is Brian Sanches.  Sanches pitched a perfect ninth inning to keep the score at 4-3 into the bottom of the ninth.  Sanches has pitched 13.2 scoreless innings so far this season.  He has only allowed one hit, four walks and 10 strikeouts in his impressive start to the season.  He has undoubtedly been the team’s unsung hero this year and I think if you ask him, he wouldn’t mind one bit.

As luck would have it, the Marlins got to a struggling closer in Jonathan Broxton.  Coming into Monday’s game, Broxton had amazingly converted all five of his save opportunities but had an ERA of 4.66.  As I mentioned before, the Dodgers’ bullpen has not been serviceable so far this season, so a comeback was not out of the question.  This was especially the case with Greg Dobbs and John Buck due up in the ninth inning.  Well, Broxton struck out Dobbs and got Buck to ground out to first base.  With two outs and no one on and Emilio Bonifacio up, the Marlins’ chances did not look particularly great.  I thought Broxton was going to give Bonifacio a steady diet of fastballs up in the strike zone to get him to chase.  Broxton did indeed throw fastballs to Bonifacio, but only two of those pitches were for strikes.  Bonifacio worked a rare walk and brought up the struggling Hanley Ramirez.  Manager Edwin Rodriguez gave Ramirez the day off on Monday after starting the nine-game home stand 1-for-21.  Ramirez lined a 2-1 hanging slider to right field for a base hit and moved Bonifacio to third base.  It was good to see Hanley get a hit at that moment.  Hopefully that at-bat was a sign of good things to come for Hanley in the near future. 

Now for the lucky part of the inning, Scott Cousins hit an 0-1 changeup for a weak ground ball to shortstop Jaime Carroll who for some reason decided to look up a little too soon and allowed the ball to get under his glove and into left field.  In these situations for a winning ballclub, it’s sometimes better to be lucky than good.  Now, I think that had Carroll come with the ball cleanly, it still would have been a close play at first base given Cousins’ speed.  Nonetheless, the Marlins cashed in on the Dodgers misfortune.  The Dodgers decided to intentionally walk Coghlan after falling behind 2-0 in the count.  So up walks Omar Infante with two outs and the bases loaded.  Again, Infante did not have a great eighth inning at the plate or on base, so this was his chance to redeem himself.  Last year with the Braves, Infante seemed to have a flair for the dramatic and so far with Marlins, he had not repeated that success until Sunday’s game against the Rockies when he hit a two-out, three-run triple off of Ubaldo Jimenez.  Infante extended his modest hitting streak to six games with a well-hit ball to left field that the left fielder Jerry Sands completely misplayed.  Even though Sands misplayed the ball, it would have been tough to make a play on the ball anyway because it was hit so well.

It’s worth repeating that this was an important game to take.  The Marlins going into Monday’s game had not had much success against Jon Garland in the past.  Garland was 5-1 against the Fish going into Monday’s start.  The other reason why last night’s game was important is because Kershaw will take mound tonight for the Dodgers.  I’m not saying that it’s an automatic loss, but I do expect the Marlins to have some trouble against the lefty.  On the Marlins side of the pitching matchup, the team hopes that Volstad can continue the success by the starting rotation during the home stand.  So far during the home stand, the rotation has gone 4-1 with an ERA of 2.86.  In his last start against the Pirates, Volstad received a win despite allowing five runs on four hits in five and one-third innings.  The 6-8, 232 pound right-hander is 2-3 with an ERA of 4.91 in five career starts against the Dodgers.  His best start against the Dodgers was actually his first major league start.  Volstad allowed a run on five hits, one walk and six strikeouts in eight and two-thirds innings in Los Angeles.  The Marlins are playing their best ball right now winning nine out of their last 11 games and going 6-1 on their nine-game home stand so far.  It’s a great time to be a Marlins fan.      

Marlins Off to Hot Start But Are Not at Full Potential

The Marlins are off to one of the better starts in franchise history after finishing a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates last night at Sun Life Stadium.  The team is 11-6 and just half a game out of first place in the National League East behind the Philadelphia Phillies.  The team’s current record matches only the 2009 Florida Marlins for the best start to a season after 17 games.  Not even the 1997 squad finished with at record of 11-6 after 17 games into the season.  Despite the fact that it’s only 17 games into the season, there has been major improvement in the team’s play during this stretch.

Last year’s Achille’s heel was both the defensive side of the ball and the bullpen.  The Marlins ranked dead last in fielding percentage last season and committed the fifth most errors in baseball with 123.  The bullpen blew a whopping 25 saves last season and combined to post and ERA of 4.37.   So, the front office’s priority this past offseason was to address both the defense and the bullpen.  The team parted ways with fan favorite second baseman Dan Uggla, outfielder Cameron Maybin and pitcher Andrew Miller, but received a lot more in return.  The club acquired second baseman Omar Infante, catcher John Buck, starting pitcher Javier Vazquez and a plethora of relievers.  The relievers include left-handers Mike Dunn and Randy Choate, Ryan Webb, and Edward Mujica.  As a result of these offseason moves, the Fish are in the middle of the pack in the league with 10 errors and have posted a league-leading bullpen ERA of 1.63 in their first 17 games so far.

Even though the Marlins have gotten off to such a great start, I still don’t think this team has reached its full potential.  The team is still missing production from their star shortstop Hanley Ramirez.  In the 17 games this season, Hanley his hitting just .222 and has not homered in 54 at-bats. The other star player who is struggling out of the gate is outfielder Mike Stanton.  Stanton missed most of spring training with a strained right quad and sat out for about the first week of the regular season with a tight left hamstring.  These injuries certainly have something to do with his slow start and we can expect his bat to eventually make an impact in the lineup.  Stanton homered for the first time this season last night against the Pirates.  The sky is the limit once Hanley and Stanton get on a roll.

The only reason the Marlins have been scoring runs is because of the production from Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison and John Buck.  All three of these hitters have combined to hit .300(54/180) with 6 home runs and 27 RBI.  Unfortunately for the Marlins, Logan Morrison was just placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left foot injury.  This is a huge blow for the club but the Marlins do have an outfielder by the name of Scott Cousins who is more than capable of taking over the everyday duties in left field.  In his first start for Morrison last night, Cousins hit a grand slam for his first career home run.  The new and improved Emilio Bonifacio has paid dividends for this team early on.  Going into tonight’s contest against the Rockies, Bonifacio was hitting .324 in 37 at-bats.  Bonifacio has played all three outfield positions as well as some third base early on this season.  Bonifacio already has three outfield assists and has committed just one error.

Going into the season, the Marlins were counting on their starting rotation to make huge contributions this season.  Well, the rotation has not disappointed after the team’s first 17 games.  Josh Johnson has picked up where he left off last season.  The 2010 National League ERA leader has dominated early on this season going 3-0 with an league-leading ERA of 1.00 in 27 innings.  Johnson’s early success has included taking a no-hitter into the seventh innings against the Mets on opening night and taking another no-hitter into the eighth inning in Atlanta a couple of starts ago.  Ricky Nolasco has had success this season going 2-0 with an ERA of 3.00, has walked only two batters and 18 strikeouts in 27 innings.  This dynamic one-two punch in the rotation is becoming one of the best in the business.  The remainder of the rotation is solid and is capable of great things.  Anibal Sanchez has placed as a legitimate number three-type pitcher in the Marlins’ rotation.  Veteran Javier Vazquez has gotten off to a slow start but his statistics as a National League pitcher indicate that his season will improve.  The weakest link in the Marlins rotation is Chris Volstad.  Volstad has shown flashes of excellence since his debut back in 2008 but most of time the right-hander can’t seem to put it together for two consecutive quality starts if his life depended on it.  It’s unfortunate, but if it gets to the point where he can’t get the job done at all, then the club may look into calling up Elih Villanueva, Sean West, or Alex Sanabia to take his place in the rotation.

There is no doubt that the Marlins have gotten off one of the hottest starts in franchise history, but team has yet to click on all cylinders.  When the Marlins finally get production from Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton and Chris Volstad, the team should be a force to be reckoned with for the entire season.  Until then, we should enjoy the team’s success and not take it for granted.