2006 Florida Marlins: Who are these guys? (MVP 05)

[dkgojackets]

Quote: Originally Posted by The GIGGAS

Where is Hayes going to be optioned to? AA? AAA? Majors already?

I put him on the roster for spring training and right now hes in AA. Ratings just arent there yet, but Im expecting them to shoot up after a few springs. We have about 10 catchers plus 1B Mike Jacobs is actually our starting MLB catcher (C is his second position) so Morneau can play first base.

Im looking forward to this season, especially with this much improved offense.

[dkgojackets]

Dontrelle Willis will miss the first month of the season after getting injured during Spring Training, so newly signed Joe Kennedy will be the opening day starter.

[dkgojackets]

What a turnaround! After one month the Marlins are 16-10, just a half game out of first place with six games against the division-leading Mets this month. Florida has scored the third most runs in the NL compared to being dead last in said category last year.

RF Jeremy Hermida -- .360/2/10
3B Miguel Cabrera -- .327/7/21
LF Carl Crawford -- .290/6/23
SP Joe Kennedy -- 4-0, 3.05 ERA, 27 K

The team is still $4.5 mil in debt. Hopefully the chase for the pennent keeps the fans coming throughout the season and that number gets smaller.

[dkgojackets]

The Marlins won 12 of their last 15 games in May to secure first place in the division, though the 32-22 record puts them just half a game ahead of the Mets, 1.5 ahead of Philadelphia, and 2.5 ahead of the Nats.

3B Miguel Cabrera -- .302/14/43
2B Marcus Giles -- .335/6/26
C Josh Willingham -- .342 in 73 AB
RF Jeremy Hermida -- .330/5/18
SP Joe Kennedy -- 6-1, 2.91 ERA, 60 K

Pitchers Josh Johnson and Randy Messenger were called up to replace the poor performing Ricky Nolasco and Matt Herges.

[dkgojackets]

The month of June is history, and Florida now sits at 50-30 with a 2.5 game lead in the division. The Marlins tried to make a deal with the Cardinals for reliever Braden Looper, but an agreement was not reached. Florida then started talking with Atlanta and exchanged SP Wardell Starling and RP Randy Messenger for veteran RP Chris Reitsma, looking to solidfy to bullpen for the end of the season.

Miguel Cabrera was injured for a short period and only put up 1 HR and 15 RBIs for the month. Carl Crawford is second on the team with nine homers. Cabreras 58 RBIs is also tops on the team to Morneau's 56.

Joe Kennedy boasts a 9-1 record with an ERA of 2.56, while the D-Train is now 8-2 with a miniscule ERA of 1.94. Bonderman and Kensing have respectable ERAs of 3.14 and 2.81.

The team is still $5.7 mil in the red.

[dkgojackets]

August has arrived. The team did not make any moves at the trading deadline, so it looks like the current roster is the one we'll be seeing in October. The Marlins are 68-39 and have a 7.5 game cushion over the Mets.

Cabrera continues to lead the batting stats at .293/23/76. Hermida is hitting .310 with 13 homers, while Morneau has 12 homers and 70 RBIs. Marcus Giles leads the team with a .314 average.

Joe Kennedy has been nothing short of sensational this season, posting a 15-1 record so far to go along with a 2.54 ERA. He is the leading candidate for the NL Cy Young award. Willis is right behind him at 11-4 and a 2.12 ERA. These two beasts are overshadowing an excellent year by free agent pick-up Jeremy Bonderman, who is 10-5 with a 2.49 ERA. Frank Francisco has 30 saves on the year.

The team is right at the break-even line and looks to have a profit after August, but 80% of September will be spent on the road and therefore won't bring in any cash.

[dkgojackets]

Marlins 27 Rockies 3

The Florida Marlins set franchise records for runs and hits in a game with a 27-3 beatdown of Colorado at Coors Field. This came after a week-long hitting slump in which the team put up three runs in only one game.

Homeruns (YR)
Crawford 2 (16)
Giles (13)
Cabrera 2 (28)
Jacobs 3 (14)
Willingham (3)
Ramirez (9)

RBIs (YR)
Crawford 3 (50)
Giles 3 (48)
Cabrera 5 (88)
Jacobs 7 (41)
Willingham (25)
Ramirez 5 (41)
Willis 3 (7)

Jai Miller, who is seeing playing time in rightfield while Hermida is suspended, went 4-6 and scored four runs. Justin Morneau was also serving suspension time during the massacre.

[dkgojackets]

The month of August was disappointing for the Marlins, save a 27-3 blowout of the Rockies. The Mets have taken over first place in the division and lead by a game, and the Marlins have just a 4.5 game lead in the Wild Card race.

Cabrera has 30 homers and 93 RBIs but has to improve the .295 average. Morneau has 76 RBIs. Crawford is second on the team with 18 HR.

Joe Kennedy is now 16-3 and Willis is 14-6, although the ERAs are still incredible. Its time to make a move to the playoffs.

The organization is now over $3 mil in the positives.