10 Game Report Card

[Swift]

10 Game Report Card
Taking a look at what worked, and what didn’t in the season’s first 10 games

Sitting at 7-3, the Marlins remarkably (and unexpectedly) strong start gives the team a 1.5 game lead in the National League East, and also the second best record in the National League as a whole. What’s responsible for this hot start? Here’s a look:

The Good

The Offense: Mike Jacobs leads the team, and all of baseball, in homeruns with 5. It looks like he’s shortened his swing to cut out the swooping upper cut he once had, and his strongest power pitch is usually a letter high fastball, unorthodox because most left handed power hitters are great lowball hitters. Hanley Ramirez is his sensational self, sitting at third in the league in batting average (.410) and leading the league in total bases. Jeremy Hermida’s back from injury and is off to a torrid start, punctuated with 2 homeruns in Houston last night.

The Bullpen: When the year started, everyone knew that the Marlins strongest group of major leaguers was in the bullpen. Taylor Tankersley, Renyel Pinto and Matt Lindstrom are off to the kind of starts to be expected, and Kevin Gregg has been an erratic mess, unable to throw strikes. Still, the bullpen in general, and Pinto in particular, has put the team on its back and continually picked up its starters from rough stretches. To date, only Scott Olsen (yes, that Scott Olsen) and Mark Hendrickson have turned in reliable starting outings, yet the Marlins still have 7 wins. Attribute most, if not all of them, to the ‘pen.

Mike Jacobs: He’s slugging like a guy who’s going to hit 40 homeruns this year, and while that number may be a bit ambitious, he certainly should hit 25-30. Equally, if not more important, however may be that he’s stepped up as a tremendous team leader as his comments about the Marlins lack of respect in national coverage seems to be a rallying cry for the team.

The Bad

The Rotation: At the rate the starters are going (or rather not going) the bullpen may be totally exhausted by June. The Marlins need to get 6 or 7 innings from more than just Olsen and Hendrickson. Manager Fredi Gonzalez may have to just employ a “take it for the team” strategy with a starting pitcher to take some of the strain off his bullpen. Even if it costs the team a game here and there, it’s better than long term injury from severe overuse.

Outfield Defense: Everyone, and I mean everyone, knew this team would struggle defensively, but who would have thought that the infield would look downright elite in comparison to the outfield? Cody Ross’ range appears to be extremely limited, perhaps because of lingering hamstring issues, and Jeremy Hermida is still the typical rollercoaster that Marlins fans have come to expect.

The Uggla

Where to begin with Dan Uggla? He’s hitting .184 but he’s third on the team in RBI. He’s only gotten 7 hits, but 5 of them are for extra bases. What might be most concerning is that he’s already struck out 13 times in 10 games, putting him on pace for 195 strikeouts on the season. Yikes. Uggla definitely belongs in the everyday lineup, but the Marlins are scoring 10 runs a night in spite of him batting second, not because of him batting second. Sooner than later, the Marlins are going to have to experiment with some combination of a 2-3 of Josh Willingham and Jeremy Hermida. If I had my preference, it would be that very order.

[Fritz]

Great little blurb, I too am very excited about this offense, but damn is this pitching disconcerting.