Opening Day Gripe

Well, OK, who could possibly complain about a solid opening day victory in which the Marlins score 12 runs? Well, uh, me.... Bottom of the first. Lead off hitter gets on, steals second, scores on batter No. 2's hit. And up comes Hanley, one of the most feared young hitters in baseball. And ... what? three-run homer? sac fly? No ... he bunts.... Why oh why? I sure hope some sports writer asks Fredi and he says it was Hanley's idea and he's going to talk to him about it ....

The Last World Series Moment at Yankee Stadium

This Week in Baseball just gave highlights of the great moments at Yankee Stadium, including the Aaron Boone home run that sent the Yanks to the World Series in 2003. The program did NOT present any highlights of that Series. But we Marlins fans have etched in our memories that final play in that World Series, Josh Beckett celebrating, thrusting his arms skyward.

Managers and outfielders and relievers

1 -- How many times have you seen lineups like the Marlins have been posting recently in which the outfielders hit sixth, seventh and eighth. It happened several times before the arrival of the fabulous Maybin.
2 -- I am going to look back, when I have time, to see how many games Fredi-Pinto lost us after we acquired Rhodes, a solid left hand reliever, and still Pinto was sent out there for continuing disaster.

Rose colored glasses

The Marlins have 12 games left. The Mets have 12 games left, and the Phils have 11 games left.  The Marlins are 5 games behind the Phils and Mets in the loss column. There's a distinct possibility that the wildcard could come from the East, especially if the Marlins take at least one of the next two from the Astros, and the Brewers continue in free fall.

Next week, while the Marlins are playing the Reds and Nats, the Mets will be facing the Cubs. The Cubs have the best record in the NL. The Phillies face the Marlins this weekend, and then play the Braves and Nats. 

So, the Marlins still have a shot, especially if the wildcard comes from the East. Assume they take 1 of the remaining two against the Astros, 2 out of 3 against the Phils (gotta figure they'll lose to Moyer), win the makeup game with Cincy, and take 3 from the Nats. At the same time, the Mets drop another game to the Nats,  2 of 3 to the Cubbies, 2 of 3 in Atlanta. When the Marlins arrive at Shea, they are 1 game behind the Mets in the loss column, with 3 to play. Imagine the pressure on the Mets, and the memories of last year. . .

Obviously, everything has to break right for the Marlins. What's changed has been the central division. Houston's lost 3 in a row, and the BrewCrew 5 in a row. Both teams have games left against the Reds and Pirates, and they don't play each other. The Cards have the same record the Marlins have, but they have 4 left against the DBacks,who are still in it, barely, in the West, plus 3 against the Cubs. Make them a longer shot than the long shot Marlins.

Marlins Outfield?

Trivia question: when was the last time that a team had each of their infielders with more home runs than any outfielder?

Where Are They From?

When I go to games with Orlando, he wants to know where players are from, particularly Hispanic players. For years, I bought the Baseball Register and took it to games, and it listed birthplacees. Alas, the Register appears to have disappeared with sale of its publisher, The Sporting News. I now have a Bill James Handbook, but it's intended mainly for fantasy leagues, I think, and doesn't list hometowns. Anyway, here are the hometowns of some players we saw in the 16-14 slugfest:

Braves
Martin M. Prado – First base –
Born in Maracay, Venezuela.
Lives in Maracay.


Yunel Escobar -- shortstop
Born in Havana, Cuba.
Attended Matires de Barbados school in Havana.
Resides in Miami, FL

Ruben A. Gotay – pinch hitter
Birthplace: Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
Graduated from Dr. Santiago Veue Calzada High School in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Attended Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa.


Omar Rafael Infante – third base
Born in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela
Resides in Guanta, Venezuela.


Jorge Dandys Julio – relief pitcher
Born in Caracas, Venezuela
Attended Fundacion Bolivariana school in Caracas,


Gregor M. Blanco – pinch hitter
Born in Caracas, Venezuela
Resides in Cua, VZ.

Julian Tavarez
Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic
Attended Santiago public schools.


Michael Vela Gonzalez – relief pitcher
Born in Robstown, Texas
Graduate of Harvest Christian Academy in Pasadena, TX... Played one year of baseball at San Jacinto (TX) Junior College in Houston.
Resides in Deer Park, TX


And one Marlin we were discussing:

Jeremy Ryan Hermida
Born in Atlanta, GA
Attended Wheeler High School (GA), where Baseball America rated him as the top pure hitter out of high school his senior season and the fourth-best position player overall in the 2002 draft.

We were discussing whether Hermida speaks Spanish. My guess is that he doesn't.

From ESPN

Here's the second graf of ESPN's game story about the Marlin's victory this afternoon over the Braves

Fewer than 600 people were in Dolphin Stadium's bright orange and aqua seats for the first pitch, leaving most of them to reflect the afternoon sun. While the official attendance, based on tickets sold, was 11,211, the ballpark was so quiet that home-plate chatter could be heard.

McPherson started at 3rd, went 0 for 2 with 2 walks; Andrew  Miller pitched a scoreless inning in relief.