New Hope, New Fish ~ A Miami Marlins Dynasty (MLB The Show 16)

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 ~ Establishing the Roster

Before you can go anywhere in life, you have to establish what you already have set in stone. For all of the issues the Marlins have, their roster actually isn't all that poor. This is what Arison will try to sculpt while working with Michael Hill and Don Mattingly. Here is the Marlins current 25-man roster.

Starting Pitchers: Jose Fernandez (93), Wei-Yin Chen (84), Jarred Cosart (78), Tom Koehler (78), Adam Conley (75), Erik Jokisch (75) The Marlins have one of the best young arms in baseball right now in Jose Fernandez. It cannot be questioned how dominant he is, with the only real thing to ponder being his health moving forward. Behind him, you have the Marlins marquee signing this past offseason in Wei-Yin Chen who the Marlins hope can be a crushing #2 pitcher in the rotation. After that, the quality of arms falls off a bit. Cosart has failed to show the dominance he once had when he first arrived from Houston, Koehler is whatever but fine as a #5 pitcher, and finally you have Conley who is a prospect but is currently injured and explains why Jokisch is currently up with the team. In the minors, you have the likes of Justin Nicolino (71), and Jose Urena (61) who you hope can eventually come up and start but they're still a ways away. Oh, don't forget Tyler Kolek (60) and Jarlin Garcia (60) either.

Relief Pitchers: Carter Capps (85), Mike Dunn (81), Bryan Morris (76), David Phelps (70), Edwin Jackson (67) The bullpen is certainly one of the weaker parts of the club for the Marlins. Capps is utterly dominant with his release, but after that you struggle to see much star-power. There isn't exactly a lot of depth in the minors either with Chris Narveson (63) and Kyle Barraclough (62) serving as the only real immediate options in the case that someone gets hurt. Going forward, drafting pitchers or making moves via trades or FA should certainly be a point of focus.

Closing Pitchers: AJ Ramos (82) That's all of it. In the entire Marlins organization, AJ is the only legit closer still remaining. Having been with the team since 2012, after Steve Cishek lost his way Ramos has taken over as a strong closer, racking up 32 saves last season and has earned himself as the most trust-worthy reliever in the Marlins arsenal. Still, moving forward the position should be of focus of the Marlins youth-wise. AJ isn't old at 29, but it wouldn't hurt to start exploring future options in case he were to ever drop-off.

Catchers: JT Realmuto (76), Jeff Mathis (68) One of the positions the Marlins have consistently struggled to fill is catcher. But, it's starting to seem like that gap in the club may finally have been solved. JT Realmuto while certainly not an All-Star, has a solid mix of contact and speed with his defensive ability that he should be a consistent part of the team since being drafted back in 2010. Jeff Mathis is all-around awful, but it wouldn't be stunning to see him sent to the minors in replacement for Tomas Telis (66), a 24-year old catcher whom the Marlins acquired last year at the trade deadline.

First Basemen: Justin Bour (81), Chris Johnson (74) Over at first base, the Marlins have some of the power in their lineup consisting of Justin "Slim Biggins" Bour! The 27-year old only got his first real full year of MLB action last season but performed surprisingly well, hitting 23 dingers and being one of the few bright spots on the team. Considering he's going to be fairly cheap with arbitration playing a factor the next few seasons, Bour is expected to stick around for a-while barring any unforseen circumstances. Backing him up you have the veteran CJ, and in the minors the Marlins don't have much with the exception of last years 1st Round selection, Josh Naylor (51) who's mold fits that of Prince Fielder as the Fish hope he pans out.

Second Basemen: Dee Gordon (93), Derek Dietrich (71) Ever since trading away Dan Uggla to the Braves, 2B has also been a nightmare situation for the Marlins. A mix of Omar Infante and Donovan Solano, the Marlins finally addressed the position last offseason by making a block-buster deal with Dodgers... and man has that deal panned out. Dee was a monster last year and hopes to continue his success in the future as he signed a brand new 5-year deal this offseason that will hopefully make him a staple for the organization moving forward. Behind him is DD who's a solid lefty power hitter, and frankly in the minors Miami doesn't have much other than Avery Romero (65) who's a solid contact hitter.

Third Basemen: Martin Prado (82) Remember when Matt Dominguez was hopefully gonna be the future here? Well, that fantasy was long gone ages go. Still, the Marlins have addressed the hot corner with a solid veteran in Prado who will hopefully lock down the bag for the next few years as the Marlins search for a younger replacement. In the minors, there simply isn't much to look forward too at the moment unless you believe Brian Anderson (61) can have a Bour-like surge in the next few seasons and receive a late call-up to the Show.

Shortstops: Adeiny Hechavarria (80), Miguel Rojas (66) El Cubano! Hech was one of the players the Marlins acquired in that fire-sale deal to the Blue Jays a few years ago. His first season he only hit .227, but the next few years he's shown remarkable improvement, hitting .276, and then .281 his next two seasons. He's certainly not a power hitter, but the Marlins hope they can lock him up simply because he's just a solid player where searching for a replacement isn't worth it right now. Backing him up is Miguel Rojas who's a pure defensive specialist. In the minors, there isn't much to look forward too with the exception of Justin Twine (59) who some believe could be a sneaky hot prospect if he's able to put together his hitting ability.

Left Fielders: Christian Yelich (82) One of the young hot studs of the Marlins dominant outfield. Yelich was a 1st round selection a few years ago and he has panned out well. Conquering left field and hitting .300 last year, the Marlins signed him to a long-term extension to pair alongside Stanton as the Fish hope to form one of the best outfields in baseball. Like far too many other positions on the squad, the Marlins lack depth prospect-wise at this spot but hope it isn't too terribly needed with Yelich hopefully developing into an All-Star once he hits his prime.

Center Fielders: Marcell Ozuna (76) Ozuna is a confusing character. He's 25-years old and still has a few years of arbitration to go through before hopefully earning a big deal. Still, his year-to-year stats are confusing to many. In 2014, he hit 23 home runs and many were hoping he could have a breakout year in 2015 that would push Miami over the playoff hump. Instead, he fizzled out only hitting 10 dingers and having his RBIs nearly cut in half. This year will prove to be a big season for El Oso, as the front office hope to get a better understanding of the sort of player he is and decide if he is worthy of being paired up with Yelich and Stanton. In the minors, one man who catches some scouts eyes is Stone Garrett (53) who's just 20-years old but already has shown some pop in his bat.

Right Fielders: Giancarlo Stanton (93), Ichiro Suzuki (78). The superstar of the organization and just about one of the few damn things Loria got right in his last 5 years or so with Miami. Stanton signed a mammoth deal two seasons ago and is well worth it with his devastating power. Still, due to a crushing injury in 2015 he was only able to play half the season and hit a whooping 27 home runs in 74 games. Moving forward, the Marlins hope he can re-establish his dominance from 2014 and be the hero that South Florida baseball needs. Backing him up is Ichiro, who's a legend and that's all that really has to be said.

So there you have it. The Marlins roster construction as well as who is on the Opening Day roster.

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 ~ Establishing Rotation and Lineups

This is going to be the set pitching rotation for Opening Day for the Miami Marlins 2016.

Pitching Rotation:
#1. Jose Fernandez (93)
#2. Wei-Yin Chen (84)
#3. Jarred Cosart (78)
#4. Tom Koehler (78)
#5. Erik Jokisch (75)

Bullpen:
LRP: David Phelps (70)
LRP: Adam Conley (75)
MRP: Edwin Jackson (67)
MRP: Bryan Morris (76)
SU: Mike Dunn (81)
SU: Carter Capps (85)
CP: AJ Ramos (82)

As of right now, that is going to be the pitching rotation and bullpen to open up the year. Conley is currently out for the next 1-2 months with a fractured hand and that is why Jokisch is in the rotation instead of him. The pitching will essentially kill or save the Marlins this season. You hope Jose is dominant, you hope Chen adjusts well, and maybe Cosart/Conley can be a solid back of the rotation starters as they continue to grow. If not, you're in serious trouble. The LRP/MRP aren't great, and you're betting on vets like Phelps and Jackson to save your ***. If they can though, you have a fantastic 3-man setup to finish a game in the likes of Dunn, Capps, and Ramos.

Batting Lineup vs RHP:
#1. Dee Gordon (L | 93)
#2. Christian Yelich (L | 82)
#3. Giancarlo Stanton (R | 93)
#4. Justin Bour (R | 81)
#5. Martin Prado (R | 82)
#6. Marcell Ozuna (R | 75)
#7. JT Realmuto (R | 76)
#8. Adeiny Hechavarria (R | 80)

Batting Lineup vs LHP:
#1. Dee Gordon (L | 93)
#2. Adeiny Hechavarria (R | 80)
#3. Giancarlo Stanton (R | 93)
#4. Marcell Ozuna (R | 75)
#5. Chris Johnson (R | 74)
#6. Martin Prado (R | 80)
#7. Christian Yelich (L | 82)
#8. JT Realmuto (R | 76)

Bench:
#1. Ichiro Suzuki (L | 76)
#2. Johnson/Bour (R/L | 74/81)
#3. Derek Dietrich (L | 71)
#4. Miguel Rojas (R | 66)
#5. Jeff Mathis (R | 66)

So there you have it in terms of the lineups. DH concerns will likely just depend on some mix of Ichiro and whoever's resting in Johnson or Bour. Overall, it's a solid lineup. You obviously hope the lineup is able to produce, but much of that production in terms of real-winning be dependent upon the #5-#7 hitters such as Ozuna and Prado. Perhaps also acquiring a bench asset in addition to a strong middle reliever could be a package the Marlins would be chasing for if they're in contention at around the trade deadline.

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 Simulation ~ April 5th - April 21st

So in terms of games, I will be simulating 5 series at a time before doing an update. This allows a sizable sim range for some games to be played and for some stuff to legitimately happen. I'm not sure how many posts this will involve over the course of a full season, but I will adjust and either make them shorter or longer depending on how they pan out.


1st Series: vs Detroit Tigers
Game #1: (W 8-5)
Game #2: (L 1-2)

Series Recap: Well... winning on Opening Day is always nice! It was a high-scoring affair in front of the South Florida crowd and it ended up going remarkably well. Entering the Top of the 8th inning, the Marlins actually led 4-2 before Jose allowed a few men on base Bryan Morris was lit up for 2 earned runs and the Tigers ended up stealing the lead to give themselves a 5-4 lead. Luckily, the Marlins responded. With a crushing 4-run bottom of the 8th that chased Mark Lowe out of the game eventually handing them the L and a depressing 108.00 ERA. Bour was the most dominant of anybody, going a whooping 5/5 driving in 4 RBIs while stanton too had himself a big day with 3 hits and driving in 2 runs. The sad part is the success was not able to be repeated, as the next day saw a pitchers duel. Justin Verlander was utterly dominant, pitching a complete game 2-hitter. Chen wasn't bad going 6 innings but he allowed 2 runs in the 2nd inning in a game where his offense wasn't able to help him out. The only 2 hits of the game were from Dee Gordon who went 2/4. Stanton drove in the only run with a sacrifice run in the bottom of the 9th but the Marlins were unable to grab that 2nd evasive run to drop to 1-1 on the season.


2nd Series: @ Washington Nationals
Game #3: (L 2-6)
Game #4: (W 3-1)
Game #5: (W 4-1)

Series Recap: That's more like it boys! Our first time winning a series for the season! It did not start off great admittedly, as the Nats jumped on Cosart for 5 runs through the first 2 innings before he was pulled after putting in minimal work. Gio Gonzalez pitched 7.1 innings and allowed just 2 runs. Bryce Harper was just killer in that 1st game driving in 5 runs thanks to hitting 2 utter bombs against the poor Marlins pitchers. After a day off on April 8th, the Fish responded and knew losing streak this early in the season simply couldn't happen. After being shutout through the first 6 innings by Tanner Roark, the Nats made a pitching change due to his pitch count. The Marlins took advantage and made the Nationals bullpen pay. Shawn Kelley and Blake Treinen were responsible for giving up 3 runs in the top of the 8th as Yelich and Stanton each went yard against both of them, with Capps holding the lead in the 8th and Ramos collecting his 2nd save of the season in the 9th. The rubber match took place on Sunday and the Marlins responded exceptionally. Jokisch went a full 8 innings of work only allowing his 1 run on a bomb by Wilson Ramos. The Marlins on the other hand made Tyson Ross pay through 5 innings, scoring 4 runs mostly created by Yelich and Stanton homering once again in back-to-back games... is this a potential new crushing power duo forming? The Marlins jump to over .500 at 3-2 and win the first series of the year vs the Nats!


3rd Series: @ New York Mets
Game #6: (W 1-0)
Game #7: (L 4-5)
Game #8: (L 7-9)

Series Recap: The series vs the Mets started well, but soon fizzled out. Jose went 7 innings and struck out 8 batters, but the game had to go to extras so he did not scoop up the win. Jackson pitching 2 innings and Ramos finally got the save as the Marlins picked up the 1 and only run of the game in the top of the 10th inning which was driven in by BourPig after Yelich got on-base. A 3-game winning streak! Sadly, the good feelings would soon end. Despite having a 4-0 lead after a dominating 3rd inning, Wei-Yin Chen would not be able to hold on as he allowed Michael Conforto and Travis d'Arnaud to soon hit home runs against him. Bryan Morris would get the L as he allowed a run in the 8th inning which would give the Mets the 5-4 victory. The following game didn't go much better despite being a total thriller. 15 innings of baseball. Allowing 3 runs through the first 2 innings in comparison to the Marlins scoring 5 in the 1st inning. How did the Fish lose this game? In the bottom of the 15th inning, AJ Ramos was still somehow out there despite having already pitched 3 prior innings. The bullpen was waning thin. Yoenis Cespedes hit the walk-off 2-run homer to send all of the Mets fans home happy as the Mets would win the series vs the Fish.


4th Series: vs Atlanta Braves
Game #9: (L 4-9)
Game #10: (W 14-7)
Game #11: (L 0-1)

Series Recap: Sigh... make that back-to-back series losses. The 1st game of the series just did not go well for Koehler as he gave up 6 runs through 4 innings. The bullpen had to pitch 1 inning after that and Edwin Jackson paid for it as he relinquished 3 runs in the 8th inning really putting the game out of reach for the Fish. Hechavarria drove in 3 runs but it didn't matter. Erick Aybar and AJ Pierzynski each hit homers along with AJ driving in 4 runs. In Game #2 of the series, the pitching didn't get much better but man did the offense bail their *** out. 14 runs on 24 hits. This time, everyone pitched in. Yelich 4 RBis, Prado 2 Rbis, Ichiro 2 RBis, Dietrich 2 RBIs, Bour, Ozuna, Hechavarria, and Rojas all with 1-a-piece. Jokisch got hammered for 6 runs through 3 innings but it didn't matter with that sort of offense. Sadly, of course after a 21-run game like that you would have the Braves win in heart-breaking fashion in the 9th inning of a 1-run game. Drew Stubbs drove in the 1 and only run on a sacrifice fly after Inciarte came in as a pinch-runner. It was Bryan Morris who received the L on the night... so devastating after Jose Fernandez pitching 8 marvelous innings striking out 10 batters, this game is 100% on the offense being such a major letdown after scoring 14 the previous night. The Marlins now drop below .500 with a 5-6 record on the year.


5th Series: vs Washington Nationals:
Game #12: (L 3-5)
Game #13: (L 2-3)
Game #14: (W 3-1)
Game #15: (W 2-1)

Series Recap: BANG! That's how you recover after dropping 3 games in a row! In the 1st game, the Nationals scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning after David Phelps choked a lead away getting 0 outs and allowing 2 earned runs. Totally negating a strong outing by Stanton who snatched a triple and double on the night. Game #2 made things feel worse, as an extra innings defeat crushed the morale of the team. Losing 2-3 in 10 innings... dammit man. The loss falls on Mike Dunn who allowed it to happen after Daniel Murphy drove in the run. This really sucked... the Marlins were now 5-8, and you were starting to feel like things were gonna come crashing down with a possible massive losing streak on the horizon. Instead, the Fish responded with 2 W's! A narrow 3-1 victory on the back of a strong Koehler performance and Morris, Capps, Dunn all receiving a hold before Ramos got the save. Prado hit a dinger and Miami got off the schnide. What better way to top that though than with a WALK-OFF WINNER TO TIE THE SERIES! In the bottom of the 9th, Giancarlo Stanton eviscerated a pitch against Blake Treinen and sent all of the Marlins fans home happy. THATS how you recover from a little losing streak.

Record This Sim: 7-8
Overall Record: 7-8

Best Hitter: Giancarlo Stanton: .298, 3 homers, 8 RBIs
Best Pitcher: Jose Fernandez: 0-0, 22 innings, 30 strikeouts

[Number999]

Marlins and Rangers strike trade, Kela/Dietrich swap

In a surprise deal just 15 games into the 2016 MLB Regular Season, it appears that the Marlins are not content with how their bullpen has performed and have decided to go out and strike a trade. This time around, it is with the Texas Rangers. The deal comes as a bit of a surprise to some right now, considering how early on in the season it is for teams to already start making moves. It seems as though it was Micky Arison who pressed on Michael Hill and the rest of the Marlins front office to achieve a deal that would improve a bullpen that has been struggling for the majority of the season, this is the deal that went down.

Rangers Trade:
RP Keone Kela (81)

Marlins Trade:
2B Derek Dietrich (71)
RF Moises Sierra (67)
RF Tommy Medica (63)

The deal comes as a surprise to many Rangers fans. Currently holding at a record of 9-8, they still manage to lead the AL West by half a game considering how much many of the other teams have struggled to start the year. The reason the deal comes as such a surprise is because the Rangers haven't been awful in the hitting department. They're currently ranked 18th in batting average at .254, 11th in runs with 69 on the year, and are 9th for home runs hit through a short sample size of the season with 18. Why did the Rangers decide to make such a move? Rangers GM and President Jon Daniels explains.

Daniels: "In my opinion when you see value, you have to go get it no matter your current situation. We feel as though Dietrich is one of those guys in this deal that was worthy of making such a move, even if it doesn't totally add up to the current squad were forming right now. You always have to be one step ahead of whatever plan or club you're trying to form. Kela is a strong pitcher, that many organizations would be happy to have just like we were in his short time-span up with us, but we believe moving forward this is the best deal for our organization."

Of course, in response to that Rangers fans were simply dismayed. They feel like they're getting a power-hitting lefty who can't play defense whatsoever along with 2 washed up right fielders(26 and 27-years old respectively) who will never make the bigs in exchange for a 22-year old relief arm that was dominant last season and will be under team control for the next 5 seasons at the minimum. Still, there are question marks surrounding Kela. His limited amount of pitches isn't something to brag about, and there are obvious questions surrounding if his first year was a fluke and if once teams figure him out, he'll simply be useless in the bigs.

These are the sort of results Marlins fans hope to see more of moving forward though. Through the first 15 games and even heading into the season it was obvious the bullpen was an area of weakness for the Marlins. The result? They go out and add an arm without sacrificing anything too devastating at the moment. Many fans speculate that 22-year old Avery Romero will see a call-up to replace Dietrich on the bench. While not even half the power hitter that DD was, he is believed to be a better defender and a far superior contact hitter in comparison. We shall see how Kela performs to determine if this deal really will end up being successful for the Fish.

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 Simulation ~ April 22nd - May 9th

6th Series: @ San Francisco Giants
Game #16: (W 3-2)
Game #17: (W 2-0)
Game #18: (L 3-10)

Series Recap: Yet another series win, we'll take it! The Marlins and Giants were met with an intense pitchers duel in the first meeting with it being a Fernandez vs Samardzija showdown. Each went 7 innings, each allowed 2 runs, with the difference being the Marlins scored the winning run and had their bullpen close the door while the Giants faltered. Yelich hit a 2-run donger in the 4th inning, and Miguel Rojas in surprising fashion got the RBI as he drove in Hechavarria in the 8th inning eventually winning 3-2. In Game #2, there isn't much other than to say Wei-Yin Chen was dominant! Going all 9 innings, he allowed just 4 hits with 1 walk. Jake Peavy who was pitching for San Fran wasn't even all that bad, allowing just 2 runs off RBIs from Yelich and Stanton and it didn't even matter. Sadly, the final game had catastrophic results. Jared Cosart gave up 5 runs in just 0.1 innings of work. The reason? He suffered a fractured arm explaining those results. Phelps would pitch 3.2 innings, but then Edwin Jackson would allow 5 more earned runs in just 2 innings of work to let the Giants score in double digits. Give credit to the Giants, Chris Heston their starting pitcher was exceptional going 8 innings. Still, it's a series win for the Fish but now they have to address yet another injury to their starting lineup as Cosart was placed on the 60-day disabled list following the result.


7th Series: @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Game #19: (L 3-4)
Game #20: (L 2-8)
Game #21: (W 3-0)
Game #22: (W 11-10)

Series Recap: What the heck man!?!? Why can't we get a great start to a series this year? Eh, splitting 2-2 in LA vs the Dodgers isn't so bad I guess. With Cosart being injured, and the Marlins calling up Avery Romero, David Phelps would be the one to replace him as the #3 man in the rotation for the time being. In the 1st game of this matchup, it would be Koehler vs Stripling and it was looking incredible... until it didn't. Down 1-3 in the top of the 9th and only 3 outs to salvage this game, Ichiro and Rojas each drove in a run each to tie up the game in big-time fashion. The only problem was that once it went to extras, it didn't take until the 10th inning for the Dodgers and namely Howie Kendrick to drive in the winning run off Carter Capps, oh well. Game #2 was a devastating blowout set-up to be awful from the start. Jokisch vs Kershaw. The Marlins somehow managed to score, and Jokisch didn't do awful with 3 earned runs through 5 innings, but Keone Kela got his Marlins career off to a bad start. Going 2 innings, he allowed 3 hits and 1 earned run(but with 4 strikeouts?!?!?) Edwin Jackson would continue his awful bullpen performances, this time giving up 3 runs in 0.1 inning, now down 0-2 in the series, it wasn't looking pretty. Luckily, Jose Fernandez came to the rescue. 9 innings. 12 strikeouts. Only 2 hits allowed. A freaking 2-hitter! Only Yasiel Puig and Chase Utley were able to snag a hit tonight vs Jose. Yelich and Stanton each hit bombs like they've been doing commonly as of late, but it was all Jose for this W.

The best part is that the Marlins decided to save the best for last. What better way to follow up a 2-hitter complete game shutout by your ace than to get LIT UP the next game? Wei-Yin Chen... after that fantastic start last time out, only went 1 inning and allowed 8 earned runs on 6 hits. Just horrific. Luckily, Alex Wood wasn't much better for the Dodgers relinquishing 7 earned runs on 8 hits through 4 innings of work. Combined, the Marlins and Dodgers would use a total of 15 pitchers (7 for the Fish, 8 for the Dodgers) Kela pitched the 8th inning and didn't allow a single hit. Chris Hatcher blew the game for the Dodgers as he gave up a big hit to Miguel Rojas who continues to keep driving in big-time runs. Stanton, Ozuna, Rojas all hit homers. Stanton was the standout player for Miami with 3 hits, 4 RBis, and 1 walk in his 5 at-bats. Adrian Gonzalez did his best for LA though... 3 hits and 5 RBis for him in his 5 at-bats. AJ Ramos would lock down the save, and I think it's safe to say the Fish are happy to leave California going 4-3 and now standing at .500 with an overall record of 11-11.


8th Series: @ Milwaukee Brewers
Game #23: (L 2-3)
Game #24: (L 0-1)
Game #25: (W 4-1)

Series Recap: Well... at least we avoided getting swept. David Phelps really did enough to help out his team and he did not deserve this loss. He went 5.1 innings and gave up 3 earned runs. For an emergency pitcher, that's really not that bad. Dunn would pitch 0.2, and Capps would go the final 2 innings striking out 5 batters for a great bullpen performance. The Marlins offense just didn't produce vs the Brewers bullpen as Blaine Boyer, Jeremy Jeffress, and Will Smith all just closed the door. Stanton hit a donger, but it didn't matter since it was a solo-shot. In the following game, the offensive woes continued. Koehler had a great night giving up just 1 run through 6.1 innings. But, Chase Anderson(who has been awful) somehow went 8 innings and allowed just 3 hits. Will Smith got his second consecutive save. The hell Marlins? Luckily, Miami's offense finally decided to wake up knowing they couldn't be swept. Of course, it was all Stanton. Hitting 2 home run BOMBS that drove in all 4 runs as Eric Jokisch was exceptional for the Fish. Kela and Capps each got holds while Ramos got his 8th save of the season. It can't all be Stanton, but it'll do for today as the Marlins just needed to avoid getting swept and now have a record of 12-13 as they enter the month of May. It feels like "meh" is the perfect way to describe the season thus far.


9th Series: vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Game #26: (L 2-4)
Game #27: (W 4-3)
Game #28: (L 2-4)

Series Recap: Back-to-back series losses isn't great. Especially when the 1st game of the series involves Jose Fernandez pitching. He wasn't as dominant as last time, but he was still really damn good. 7.1 innings, 11 strikeouts, but 2 earned runs. The top of the lineup didn't produce in Dee and Yelich resulting in the loss for the most part. Luckily, Chen bounced back from his last performance and the Marlins actually won in style with a walk-off win the bottom of the 9th! It was actually Marcell Ozuna who was the hero this time around as Mike Dunn got the W for his 1 inning of work. Set up for the rubber match on Thursday, this time around the Fish fell flat. 11 hits by each team, Phelps once again had a solid game with 5 innings pitched and 2 runs allowed, but his bullpen didn't do him a big favor. Kela, 2 innings, 1 run, then Jackson with 1 inning and 1 run. Kela has not looked lights out since being acquired from Texas, but you did hope Edwin Jackson would turn some stuff around and instead he's continued to look awful. He may very well be sent down to the minors sooner rather than later, as Miami drops a second straight series and many are starting to wonder if it's the same ole same ole even with Arison at the helm, least for now.


10th Series: vs Philadelphia Phillies
Game #29: (L 5-9)
Game #30: (L 2-4)
Game #31: (L 4-5)

Series Recap: There it is... the first sweep of the 2016 MLB Regular Season for the Marlins. Against freaking Philadelphia, disgusting. Allowing 9 runs, 4 runs, and 5 runs in each game. Koehler did not have good outing in the first meeting. Dunn and Jackson were woeful out of the bullpen. Bour drove in 3 runs that day all for nothing. In Game #2, Jokisch did alright but once AGAIN it was freaking Edwin Jackson in the bullpen who gave up a run and didn't even get an out this time around. Finally in the last game with the Marlins trying to salvage a game and avoid being swept, it was all bad. Down 2-5 in the bottom of the 9th.. it was bad. They scored 2 runs because of Justin Bour, but it didn't matter as they couldn't get the evasive game-tying run. Why did they need that though if Jose started? Cause Keone Kela came in the 8th inning looking to keep it a 1-2 game. Instead, he allowed 3 hits and 3 earned runs to devastate his ERA. He didn't even get a single out. You could hear the be-moaning of the crowd as the Marlins got swept for the first time all season, Kela disappointed, a rally fell short, and now the Fish are starting to hit that point where people are saying "oh yeah, it's the Marlins, what did I expect?"

Record This Sim: 6-10
Overall Record: 13-18

Best Hitter: Giancarlo Stanton: .282, 8 homers, 24 RBIs
Best Pitcher: Jose Fernandez: 2-1, 51.1 innings, 71 strikeouts

[Number999]

Marlins ship out Lilek/Jackson, make deal with Astros

While the start of the season hasn't been perfect for Miami, the moves that the Marlins front office has made have received over-whelming applause and with this deal, it nearly deserved a damn standing ovation. Even with Keone Kela struggling in his recent outing by getting lit up, the Marlins could still tell thir bullpen needed some polishing. Specifically, Edwin Jackson who has the 2nd worst ERA on the team only behind Jarred Cosart who got injured in his last start. Knowing the frustration that many fans had win Jackson and due to simply how he was performing, the Marlins somehow managed to make a deal that will surely make fans gleam from ear to ear.

Astros Trade:
RP Tony Sipp (78)
RP Chris Devenski (57)

Marlins Trade:
RP Edwin Jackson (65)
SP Brett Lilek (63)

BANG! That's how you do it! As soon as the news broke to fans, Marlins fans started to have some reflection and realize that things have changed even if the results don't show themselves in this very 1st season under Micky Arison as a new owner. If Michael Hill and Don Mattingly aren't the answers, Arison won't simply sit around with them and let the team fester around in mediocrity. This deal is a small, but representative example of the changes that have already taken place. The Marlins knew that they didn't have a realistically strong replacement for Jackson in the minors, they didn't just try something new for the sake of it knowing it wouldn't pan out. The result now? They go out, make a trade for a veteran left-handed reliever who's solid, and now you have an appeased fanbase.

Tony Sipp is 32-years old and has been in the league for a little over 6 years now having bounced from Cleveland to Arizona to Houston before now ending up in Miami. In just 23.1 innings of work this year, he is 0-1 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Overall though, he's been a fairly solid reliable reliever that should fit in well with the rest of the Marlins bullpen that is starting to take some more shape. The even better thing about Sipp is he is locked up fairly cheap the next 2 seasons after this year at just 2.4M, an affordable amount for a player of his caliber. In addition to Sipp, the Marlins also managed to acquire Chris Devenski who's a rookie and has a ton of pitches, with the only question being if he can thrown any of them somewhat well.

In terms of what the Marlins are giving up, many fans are thrilled and just relived that Edwin Jackson is just off the team. Just going to show you how pointless W/L record is, he's 1-0 but has gone 20 innings and has an ERA of 6.75 and a WHIP of 1.80. He's been bad, and he needed to be replaced. The real asset the Marlins gave up to make this deal go through was giving up starting pitcher Brett Lilek. A young 22-year old born out of Missouri, the left-hander is currently in AAA ball and hopes to get called up soon. Hill explained in a brief statement that the move makes sense because they needed relief help and the Fish feel as though they have strong other starting pitchers such as Justin Nicolino (71), Kendry Flores (65), Jose Urena (61), and Jarlin Garcia (60).

The Astros fans also feel alright with the deal. They're currently 14-18 and are 4th in the AL West.

[Number999]

Fernandez off to record-setting start for 2016 Season

It's only around early May, and Jose Fernandez likely hasn't even played 1/4 of the games he'll likely start this season, but his start to the season has been utterly remarkable. In fact, remarkable may even be under-selling it. In his 7 starts this year, here are some of Fernandez stats.

Stats: 7 games | 2-1 | 51.1 innings | 71 strikeouts | 1.58 ERA | 0.84 WHIP |

That's just straight up filthy... ridiculous. Obviously there have been pitchers who've been dominant for stretches. After all, Matt Harvey for the Mets is killing it right now with a 4-0 record and an ERA of 1.45 and he's receiving over-whelming praise because he's in New York. Still, the reason why this is so massive is because of Jose's struggles the past few years. After his dominant rookie season where he went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA, he was only able to play 8 games in 2014 and then 11 games in 2015. You hope this is the year where he can finally stay healthy and get a full season in and continue to be one of the best young aces in baseball.

A bigger question moving forward will of course be regarding a potential contract extension. With Scott Boras as his agent, many believed trading Jose soon or letting him walk in Free Agency are the only two realistic options. But with Loria being ousted, the responsibility now falls on Micky Arison to decide if he wants to keep Fernandez around. He has him under control for the next two seasons with arbitration, but after that he is set to become a free agent. At just 25-years old... depending on how he performs these next 3 seasons, he has a shot to get the biggest contract a pitcher has ever received. We're looking at 30M-35M per year for a guy who has already had his fair share of struggles with Tommy John Surgery, as well as supposedly having a temper/personality issues with teammates.

Still, that conversation is a problem to deal with in the future. For now, Marlins fans should just enjoy being dazzled.

[Number999]

Miami Marlins 2016 Simulation ~ May 10th - May 26th

11th Series: vs Milwaukee Brewers
Game #32: (W 4-2) (P)
Game #33: (W 8-4)
Game #34: (W 4-3)

Series Recap: The (P) signifies one of the games that I decided to play. Coming off a 4-game losing streak and having our most recent series resulting in a sweep, I decided to take-over and play a game out. It would be a Wei-Yin Chen vs Wily Peralta duel, with Chen ultimately prevailing. In the 2nd inning, Chris Carter went yard and put the Brewers up 1-0. Things almost looked like they would turn from bad to worse, as the bases got loaded and Ryan Braun drove in a 2nd run in the 3rd inning to make it 2-0. Carter would be hit by the pitch the following at-bat making the bases loaded with 2 outs. Chen would come through in the clutch and strike out Aaron Hill to survive with some damage control. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Chen was able to make up for his error. At the start of the inning, Bour doubled. Then Prado struck out, but reached 1st base after Lucroy made an error allowing him to stay safe. Realmuto struck out. Hechavarria walked. Ichiro flew out to Braun. Bases loaded, 2 outs, Chen at-bat. What result? Nothing other than a GRAND SALAMI BABY!!! TOP DECK IN RIGHT FIELD, 4-2 MARLINS! CLUTCH AS HELL, MAKING UP FOR HIS MISTAKES ON THE MOUND! Chen would pitch 6 innings. Eventually, Keone Kela came in and pitched the 3 remaining innings striking out 3 batters. A huge win considering the circumstances, and a really massive moment by Chen which was celebrated by the entire clubhouse.

But, the even better part is the good feelings did not stop there! Adam Conley was placed in the rotation and made his first appearance of the 2016 MLB Season now that he was healthy enough to play. He managed to string together 7 strong innings, albeit allowing 4 earned runs, 5 walks, and 8 hits, but hey, he's rusty. The Marlins offense knowing this decided to help him out. Chase Anderson was ran out by the 3.2 inning mark as he gave up 7 runs. Yelich hit a grand slam in the 4th inning, and it marked the 2nd consecutive game that the Marlins hit a grand-slam vs Milwaukee. The following day, things would only get better! A walk-off win baby! Koehler went 6 and allowed 3 runs. Sipp came in and made his Marlins debut and performed amazingly. 2 innings with 0 hits allowed and 2 strikeouts. Bryan Morris would receive the win for pitching the next 2 innings, and Dee Gordon drove in the winning run as the Marlins got their 1st sweep of an opponent right after being swept, how about that!


12th Series: @ Washington Nationals
Game #35: (L 1-7)
Game #36: (W 9-3)
Game #37: (L 1-4)

Series Recap: Well... at least we didn't get swept right after sweeping someone. The Nationals are a solid team and predicted to do well, but they were only 18-17 entering the series. Jokisch just got smashed in Game #1, allowing 5 runs in the 1st inning and 6 runs overall in 2.1 innings. On the other hand, Max Scherzer went all 9 innings only allowing 5 hits. The Marlins did bounce back the next game with Jose on the mound. He went 8 innings and wasn't good, but it didn't matter. Giving up 11 hits and 3 earned runs, Strasburg was awful by comparison only going 3 innings and giving up 7 earned runs. Bour drove in 3, Gordon 2, Realmuto 2, and Yelich with 1. In the final game, the offense just didn't produce. Chen did okay, Sipp came in and didn't get an out giving up a 1-run bomb to Wilson Ramos. Stanton was the only one who could score a run and it came off a solo-shot in the 6th inning. It wasn't the best series, but facing all of the Nationals best pitchers was just a bad break.


13th Series: @ Philadelphia Phillies
Game #38: (L 4-5)
Game #39: (L 1-2)
Game #40: (W 9-4)

Series Recap: Considering how we got swept last time, maybe only taking 1 of the 3 games on the road isn't so bad. It was just a bad 5th and 6th inning that ended up biting Miami in the *** for Game #1. Conley only went 5 innings in his 2nd start and allowed 4 earned runs before Dunn came in and allowed another. The offense did fine and even had 5 more hits than Philly(13 to 8) and it just didn't matter. Dee Gordon and Chris Johnson did their best notably. At least Sipp and Capps got an inning of work in each and didn't allow anything. Game #2 was more of a pitchers battle, with the only run Miami scored coming off a solo-shot by Stanton in the 4th inning. It was tied at 1-1 entering the bottom of the 9th with Dunn looking to finish on a 2nd inning. Instead, Ryan Howard drove in the winning run on a walk-off. Heart-break, and once again Dunn F'ed up the game for the Fish and is starting to become the latest hated Marlins player replacing Edwin Jackson now that he's been traded. Luckily the offense was killer in the final game to dodge a sweep, Jokisch went 7.1 and gave up 4 runs. Everyone scored for the Marlins basically, Stanton 2, Suzuki 2, Rojas 2, Mathis, Prado, and Jokisch even driving in a run. Imagine if that offense could just put together a tiny bit of consistency.


14th Series: vs Washington Nationals
Game #41: (W 6-2)
Game #42: (W 3-1)
Game #43: (W 9-1) (P)

Series Recap: Fernandez vs Strasburg in the 1st game. Jose went 8 innings, 12 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs. Strasburg went 5.2 innings, 6 strikeouts, 6 earned runs. Jose's better, end of story. Carter Capps closed the deal in the 9th inning. This is the sort of offense that you just wanna see more often. It was the likes of Yelich, Stanton, and Bour who scored the majority of the runs. In the following game, Chen went 8 innings again and Ramos got the save. This was Michael Hill's vision when he decided to sign Chen in the offseason. Back-to-back dominant crushing starters that wear down an opposing lineup. Harper has been remarkably to start the year batting .350+ and he was futile these last two games. On the other hand for the Marlins, Stanton hit yet another bomb as he continues to crush this year as well as Realmuto who hit his 2nd homer of the year that drove in 2 runs. All of a sudden a little 3-game winning streak had been formed and the feel good was starting to spread throughout the club.

For the 3rd and final game of the series, I decided to take over since I felt like the team was playing well and having the shot at sweeping the Nationals always feels pretty good. As it turns out, it was perfect! Tanner Roark got lit up for 6 runs through just 3 innings. Later on, Treinen and Petit gave up a couple more runs. The craziest part? Adam Conley drove in 5 runs. He doubled to right in the 2nd which scored 2 runs when the bases were loaded. Then he doubled in the 4th inning to score another 2 runs. Finally, in the 5th inning he knocked in his 5th RBI. Marlins pitchers hitting with the assistance of Barry Bonds I guess? Bour also homered. Sadly, Conley had to be pulled eventually as he felt a little stiff in his back, Tony Sipp came in and wrapped up the final 2.2 innings. his was a totally dominating home series vs Washington and is the 2nd sweep in the last 4 series.


15th Series: vs/@ Tampa Bay Rays
Game #44: (W 1-0)
Game #45: (L 2-4)
Game #46: (W 4-2)
Game #47: (L 1-3)

Series Recap: If you had to pick a single series to really summarize this season so far for Miami, this one would be perfect. It was a 2-game home and away stand essentially. The first game went amazingly. Koehler pitched well, Capps got the hold, and Ramos got the save. Drew Smyly was killing it for the Rays but just 1 run scored in the 6th inning thanks to Gordon getting on base and then Bour driving him in got the job done. The following game, things did not go as well. Tied at 2-2 entering the top of the 8th inning, Bryan Morris gave up 2 runs and the lead and basically the game because of a 2-run homer he gave up to Evan Longoria. How do the Marlins responded as they headed out on the road? Fantastically! With Jose starting, he went 8.2 innings before giving up a run and Ramos getting the final out to win the game. Stanton had a homer in the 1st inning that went a long ways toward the W. The Fish were mostly carried by their superstars this game. Finally, with a chance to win the series!!.... the Marlins lose. 1-3, no offense other than Bour driving in Yelich. So it's a 2/2 split, and the Marlins are in "Meh Wonder-World" right now with a record of 23-24.

Record This Sim: 10-6
Overall Record: 23-24

Best Hitter: Justin Bour: .282, 5 homers, 29 RBIs
Best Pitcher: Jose Fernandez: 5-1, 1.89 ERA, 100 strikeouts