Fish Fry

 

The Marlins left for the All-Star break 14 games over .500. They have not won a single game since returning from break. 

I figured that the bubble would pop a little for the Marlins, who have been fantastic since late May, but this is an embarrassing start to the second half, and it's a start that's tampering with the team's newfound legitimacy. The team ERA has gone up, and even some great pitchers like Tanner Scott, A.J. Puk, Dylan Floro, J.T. Chargois and Braxton Garrett, are struggling now. Garrett's been fantastic given a full campaign as a starter, and has a 5-3 record with a 4.32 ERA and 111 strikeouts. But like most Marlins starters, he's had a rough go of things recently, and is trying his best to stay statistically impressive even as the team wilts a bit. Johnny Cueto had a really nice, nearly-vintage start on the mound earlier today, and yet the second he got off the mound, the bullpen imploded and the Rockies figured out how to advance. 

And that's the other part- while the initial losses came at the hands of the Orioles, a legitimately good team, the last 5 have come from last place squads, namely the Cardinals and the Rockies. And considering that another good team is up next, as the Rays will be inviting them over in a few days, the Marlins need to find whatever's causing them to implode, root it out and excise it.

I think the most obvious part is that since returning from the ASG break, they haven't scored more than 5 runs once. Soler, de la Cruz, Gurriel and even Luis Arraez are all calming down, and are seeing hits to production. It's nice that, at the very least, Jon Berti and Jesus Sanchez have looked decent during this stretch, and that Wendle and Arraez aided in the early barrage today, but...this is a team that's somewhat formidable on offense, and they're not doing as much damage. Meanwhile, the Phillies, even as they struggle similarly, have lapped them in the standings because they've won games in between consecutive losses. Plus, their first baseman's younger.

The Marlins need to use this stretch as fuel to reignite and recapture the momentum that got them to 2nd in the first place. It's clear that, with the Braves as untouchable as they've been, they're playing for second, and the field's still wide open with the Phillies and Mets also displaying very human traits. This is still a competitive Marlins team with the the superstitious signs present in previous championship wins still appearing before them, and while it's not a foregone conclusion that they go the distance, they still have a lot on their side, and it may only get more interesting for them.

Coming Tomorrow- His brother just got drafted by Oakland, and his other brother plays about 30 feet away from him.