Luis Diaz/ Contributing Writer
It seems as though no matter all the moves the Miami Marlins have made throughout the first half of the season, they just haven’t been able to move up in the standings. The record of 38-51 doesn’t tell the whole story of the season, but it definitely paraphrases it. This is a Marlins team with the individual talent that South Florida hasn’t seen in so long; and, if you want to measure it by All-Star votes, this team has an individual talent level that South Florida has never seen. And yet no matter all the internal changes that have been made up to the All-Star break, sitting in 4th place in the NL East, the Fish have managed to drown in their expectations for this season.
The most notable of the moves made during the first half took place on May 17th. After opening the season with a 16-22 record, manager Mike Redmond seemed to be a worse skipper than the one from “Gilligan’s Island.” And after leaving Jeffrey Loria’s office that day, he left his title as Manager of the Miami Marlins in the hands of the front office. And it seemed like a glimmer of hope for the Miami Marlins as the entire city was awaiting the arrival of the new iteration of Jack McKeon. But instead, what they got was a front office that decided to hold on to the title of Manager, naming instead General Manager Dan Jennings as the new coach for the Fish.
Go ahead and Google all the synonyms for the word “weird.” That’s exactly what this move was. But that wasn’t even the first unexpected change to be made during the first half. Here’s the list, in chronological order, of the most significant roster moves the Marlins made. On May 5th, the Marlins gave the only player on their active roster with a World Series ring the boot, releasing catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. May 17th Mike Redmond joined his family on the couch to watch the Marlins’ games. Struggling closer Steve Cishek was the next to lose his job, however he doesn’t have to watch the games from home like Redmond. On May 18th, AJ Ramos was promoted to closer giving the lanky, side-armed Cishek just another spot in the bullpen. On July 5th, Big Bear Marcell Ozuna was given the news he would now don the uniform of the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate. This move promoted CF Cole Gillespie who already made a splash as a Marlin making a Willi Mays-style catch in one of his first games in the Majors. And after being released in the off-season, last year’s Mr. Marlin Award winner, Casey McGehee, came back to play his home games in South Florida once again when the Marlins signed him on July 10th.
All of these roster adjustments being made during the first 89 games and only two things have remained the same. The first being the Marlins are seriously under performing and can’t move out of the bottom of their division. This team has such great talent and the fans can see it when the Fish go home adding that rare win to their record. But the Marlins are still missing that X-Factor that will led this team to consistent victories. Some say that X-Factor comes with a manager, others demand that spark to come from the locker room. One thing is for sure, the Marlins are living up to their mascots name because there is no fire anywhere near these fish. And the second constant, Jose Fernandez cannot lose when pitching in Marlins Park. Knock on wood!
With one more half to go, there are some individuals that are on pace to break some franchise records. At the break All-Star Dee Gordon has accrued 122 hits. If he can get as many hits in the second act of the season as he did in the first, he’ll finish with 244 hits on the season, shattering Juan Pierre’s total from 2004 of 221. Giancarlo Stanton is on route to break three franchise records this season. The slugger has hit 27 homeruns to go along with his 67 RBIs in the first half. If he can match those totals in after the All-Star break, Stanton will finish the season with 54 homeruns, breaking Gary Sheffield’s stranglehold of that record with a number of 42 that has stood since 1996, and 134 RBIs, dismissing Preston Wilson’s 2000 season where he batted in 121 runs. The last record Giancarlo Stanton is on pace to break was also a part of Preston Wilson’s 2000 campaign. With 95 strikeouts at the break, the Hundred-Million Dollar Man can erase Preston Wilson’s infamous record of 187 strikeouts in one season with his own number of 190.
The Marlin’s 38 wins to their 51 losses is not what anyone wanted this season, except for Braves fans. The talent is in this locker room to surprise some people and to hoist up the World Series trophy. Some have even argued that there is more talent wearing the Marlins uniforms this year than there was in 2003. But the right moves must be made so that this team can make the most important one. If only Jose Fernandez could throw out the first pitch in every home game!
