The 100 Games Report Card

[Swift]

100 Games Report Card

Ok, so the All-Star break is over, and really, the second half technically started weeks ago, but the loveable antiquated sport that is baseball still refers to this week as the start of the second half, so let’s look back at what made the first half so damn memorable for the Marlins.

Catcher

Matt Treanor

.240/.309/.311

No, that’s not a typo, Treanor’s slugging .311, to get lower, you have to look at Mike Rabelo and the pitching staff, just not all of it; Mark Hendrickson’s slugging .394. What’s more, after the final interleague swing of the season, opposing teams showed no respect for Treanor’s throwing arm, punctuated with Cliff Floyd successfully stealing his first base since 2004, and it wasn’t the back end of a double-steal, steal, it was a straight up steal of second. Yikes.

Midterm grade: C- Slightly below what was expected of him, not a total trainwreck, but not totally presentable on his own merit anymore, even as the gritty blue-collar player that makes his living with his glove. With John Baker showing capable offensive upside, one has to wonder if Treanor’s job is waiting for him when he comes off the DL.

John Baker

.192/.241/.462

Technically, he wasn’t even on the team for the first half, but it’s far more interesting to talk about him than Mike Rabelo (who I’m trying to pretend doesn’t exist). Baker’s shown a good stroke at the plate, and his 3 run homer against the Phillies on Saturday is one of the best moments of the season thus far (yeah, it was that big of a hit). Still, he’s only got 26 at bats and he hasn’t shown an arm capable of keeping teams honest on the basepaths.

Midterm grade: Incomplete. He could be our starter for the rest of the year, or he could be back in AAA in two and a half weeks, and so long as the job isn’t just handed back to Matt Treanor, I wouldn’t have a problem with either.

First Base

Mike Jacobs

.240/.281/.493

So, the injury excuse isn’t there anymore, he’s just a free swinger. In terms of qualified batters, he’s fourth on the team in OPS, so there’s a lot to like, but in the unofficial stat of “bailing out the struggling opposing pitcher” he has to lead the team by a wide margin. As teams have learned that he is a first pitch swinger to a comical degree, Jacobs rarely sees the fastballs he feasted on earlier in the year and mostly finds changeups down and away, that he still chases and rolls over weakly. His defense is sub par and with a left side of the infield that has such erratic throwing arms, that becomes a real problem on a nightly basis. Still though, I don’t think anyone expected him to hit .300 or walk a whole lot, and he is 3rd on the team in home runs and on pace for 33 this season, which would tie him with Carlos Delgado for the most by a left handed batter in a single season for the Marlins.

Midterm grade: C+ He does everything slightly to significantly below average, except hit for power. As I’ve said many times, every team needs someone to hit 7th and 8th, and Jacobs fits that mold. That the Marlins try to force him as a 4-5-6 hitter is no fault of his own and rather speaks to the stubborn organizational incompetence that sometimes stifles growth. He’s had some big hits, I’m sure he’ll have several more, and he’s a vocal clubhouse leader. For all that he does wrong, I can’t help but like him, too.

Second Base

Dan Uggla

.277/.365/.592

Uggla made his second all-star appearance, his home-run derby debut and was arguably the Marlins first half MVP. His defense is still average, but he’s improving and isn’t nearly as spastic to his left as he was a season ago. He is leading the team in strikeouts (101), but other than that, there’s nothing to criticize. He’s hitting for a much higher average than I thought was possible, and he’s due for another one of his hot stretches sooner or later that should push him back into the .290 range. Plus, he’s on pace to tie the Marlins single season home run mark of 42 currently held by Gary Sheffield.

Midterm grade: A- He’s fun to watch and he’s certainly made it a legitimate debate about who is the best second baseman in baseball.

Short Stop

Hanley Ramirez

.302/.384/.586

I’ll save everyone’s time. Hanley is special. Hanley is really special, so special that he became the first “full season” Marlin to start the all-star game. He is baseball’s new “it” boy, and in true superstar fashion, he shines no matter how bright the spotlight. That the Marlins signed him to a long-term deal is simply icing on the cake.

Midterm grade: A All he needs to do is cut down on the throwing errors and he’s a legitimate 5 tool superstar.

Third Base

Jorge Cantu

.289/.336/.490

The biggest surprise of the season, and almost certainly the biggest surprise since Dan Uggla in 2006, Cantu revived his career after being picked off the scrap heap. He’s third on the team in OPS, fourth in homeruns, second in RBI. His glove still needs serious help, but his offensive contributions greatly exceed his defensive shortcomings. He’s started playing first base with some degree of regularity, and I can’t say that he’s a total sieve over there, so whatever it takes to keep his bat in the lineup and minimize his defensive miscues is a good thing.

Midterm grade: B+ He’s made me a believer, and truthfully, he may have made himself part of the Marlins’ long term plans. What the Marlins do with Dallas McPherson at the deadline may say what kind of faith they have in Cantu to man the hot corner for the next 3 seasons.

Left Field

Josh Willingham

.265/.388/.468

He hasn’t become a qualifying batter yet for the team, and his 166 at bats put him 222 short of the team leader (Hanley Ramirez) so there isn’t a whole lot that can be safely concluded from Willingham’s up and down first half. He was great, then he got hurt, then he came back and hit under the Mendoza line. It appears that the team is not only committed to him, but to keeping him in the top half of the lineup. What he does in the second half will have a large impact on how far the team goes, if the Marlins are just 1 game out of first with him hitting .179 since his return from the disabled list, it is a testament to the capability of the lineup, and any additional contribution from Willingham could push the team over the top.

Midterm grade: B- He started out so great, but he’s been awful since his return, save his one game against Washington. He’s without question the key to our second half, a good Willingham will help us keep pace, if not pace, the Phillies and Mets.

Luis Gonzalez

.264/.338/.398

He filled in capably for an injured Josh Willingham, and he’s fifth on the team in doubles despite not being a qualified batter. Much like Willingham, though, he’s a liability in the field and, unlike Willingham, he has a very weak throwing arm that teams show no hesitation to run against. If Willingham continues to struggle, it is not out of the question to see Gonzalez become the left field starter where, if nothing else, he could fall out of bed and hit doubles.

Midterm grade: C+ His power stroke is gone, but he’s still a doubles kind of hitter. He’s about dead even in strikeouts to walks (29:31) so that’s a plus, but while he may be a debatable upgrade on Willingham (at least at the moment) he’s not a well above average player any longer.

Center Field

Cody Ross

.266/.313/.521

Depending on whom you talk to, this is either a surprise or expected. Cody’s shown off a tremendous power stroke, putting him on pace for 28 homers. He’s gotten some huge hits, and he’s made some tremendous improvements in the field. He still strikes out a lot, but that’s improving; he still doesn’t walk a lot and that doesn’t look like it will change.

Midterm grade: B Cody is what he is, and if he keeps up his torrid pace, he might find himself still starting even when Cameron Maybin is ready, hear that Jeremy Hermida?

Right Field

Jeremy Hermida

.266/.329/.422

32 extra base hits, 34 walks; both staggeringly low totals for a player many expected to take the jump this season. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with those totals, but when the 2-hole hitter in waiting is being “out walked” by Dan Uggla, well, something’s wrong. It’s also not as if this newfound low walk total is being replaced by aggressiveness, as Hermida has struck out 87 times (good for second on the team) and as can be noted above, his slugging percentage isn’t anything to write home about, plus, his glove still sucks. Jeremy’s still just 24, but he needs to have something “click” somewhere sometime and soon.

Midterm grade: C as I can’t find anything he does exceptionally wrong, nor can I find anything he does really well either.

Rotation

Ricky Nolasco

10-5, 3.78

The unlikely ace. Nolasco has come out of nowhere to lead the staff in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts. There isn’t much that can be added to Nolasco’s list of staff superlatives, simply put, he’s the best we’ve had this season, and after a rocky start to the season, he’s been the steadying force the rotation needs.

Midterm grade: A+. Seriously, no one saw this kind of brilliance coming from Ricky.

Scott Olsen

6-4, 3.84

The #2 to Nolasco’s #1. His win total is underwhelming, but in no way overly indicative of the way he has pitched. At the start of the season, his starts felt as if they were automatic wins. He worked fast and delivered 7 quality innings just as quickly. He teased a complete game against the Brewers earlier in the season, and struggled after, but his numbers are still there. While his stuff is not overpowering and he may already be at his ceiling, he is a valuable asset to the rotation.

Midterm grade: B+. As I said above about Olsen, he’s better than his win total, but you wonder how much more true “improving” he has to do. For this year, at least, he’s one of our three most important pitchers and he’s sure acting like it.

Andrew Miller

5-9, 5.63

Honestly, before I wrote this, I didn’t think Miller had 9 losses, nor did I think he led the entire team in losses. Miller’s been a rollercoaster, he was awful, then he turned in a brilliant performance against the Phillies and seemed to be well on his way, then he regressed and finally punctuated it with a trip to the disabled list with the pitcher’s best friend knee tendonitis (AKA we have no idea why it’s sore, just rest it for two weeks). I have no idea what his immediate or long term future holds for him as it seems the only think keeping him with the big club is his big contract (well, by our standards anyway).

Midterm grade: C-. It’s been said many times, but it’s worth noting; if Miller were our own guy and not a jewel from the Detroit blockbuster, he’s probably still in the minors, which is where he belongs at the moment. However, as has also been noted, he’s too good for AA, and AAA for us is worthless as a development level.

Mark Hendrickson

7-7, 6.01

He started off hot, he showed his true colors and was ultimately demoted. That he has been with the big club since opening day (which he started) been demoted to the bullpen and then passed over to fill a rotation spot vacated by the injured Andrew Miller tells you all you need to know about Hendrickson.

Midterm grade: D+ He’s not a total failure, but if you can be passably awful, Hendrickson sure is showing how.

The Fifth Starter

Here’re the names we’ve used: Burke Badenhop, Rick Vandenhurk, Ryan Tucker and of late, Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad. Simply put, it went from train wreck to promising, and that’s just awesome.

Midterm grade: Incomplete The motley crew we ran out there every 5th day before Johnson and Volstad was ugly, but at least now there’s promise. We’ll see what kind of stability those two, plus Anibal Sanchez, can add.

Closer

Kevin Gregg

20/26 SV’s, 2.49 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

No lead is safe. He gets the job done most of the time, but rarely is it routine, or easy. As his ERA shows, teams struggle against him, but as his WHIP shows, Gregg has no problem helping the other team out. It seems the league has figured out his splitter as it’s not the swing and miss pitch it was a season ago, and any pitcher worth his roster spot will tell you a splitter should rarely (if ever) be a called strike; that leaves Gregg with a decent fastball and a big inbetween slider-curve that can be easy to lay off of when he has no feel for it.

Midterm grade: C-. The numbers are there, but the way they were gotten is just not pretty. I really have a hard time watching Gregg pitch now, and I truthfully have no faith in his ability to hold any lead, but seriously, it’s hard to argue with his strikeout totals, his batting average against, and his ability to keep the ball in the ballpark.

Midterm Verdict

The rotation’s not great, and really doesn’t figure to get a whole lot better in the second half as any gains added by our returning pitchers will likely be countered by regressions elsewhere. Our offense is great, but we need Willingham to step up and be at least average, and our offense is going to have to continue to be great because our pitching and team defense isn’t going to take a whole lot of runs off the board from the other team.

Pepsi challenging the team’s overall numbers sure seems to suggest we’re a 4th place kind of team, but somehow, we keep on keepin’ on. After 100 games, you are what your record says you are, and that leaves us a good team in a mediocre and eminently winnable division. How the rest of the season plays out largely depends on what the team decides to do in the 8 days leading up to the July 31st non-waiver trading deadline. There are too many holes to plug them all, but if the Marlins focus their efforts (and limited resources) on a quality catcher and a decent reliever, you have to like how we match up with the rest of the division, especially since it seems the Phillies and Mets have less “trade upside” than the Marlins.

[McLevin]

I agree with most of this, and it's rare that I agree with Swift.

Great read. Rep'd.

[Flum]

Fantastic as always, Mr. Swift.

[miami15]

Excellent read.
I think Cody Ross is deserving of an A+. It's almost a joke that he's hitting .270 with all of these clutch home runs and his chantable name has made him a fan favorite. Definitely my biggest surprise of the season.

[bobbob1313]

Cody's played some great defense and is one of the top 5 offensive center fielders in the NL. That went from a system wide black hole to arguably our strongest position top to bottom, with a capable guy in at least 2 or 3 places.

[Juanky]

Fun Fact:

Cody has hit 8 homers which have either tied a game or given the good guys the lead/win.

[Daft]

Couldn't agree more about Jacobs and the "unofficial stat" of leading the team in bailing out the opposing struggling pitcher. I LOL'd.

I disagree about the starting pitching not getting better in the 2nd half but overall, nice read and rep'd.