Doakle

he is doing good in the 3 hole but miggy horrible in the 4 Well while Miggy went 0-11 against the Giants in SF, his previous 9 games, all batting cleanup, he hit 17-35. No struggles there. Plus lets not forget we won the World Series with him hitting cleanup.

As mentioned above, injuries etc have played a part. I'd add though that he is a rookie. All of our rookies will have slumps, and yes I hate to be a jinx, but Uggla has a slump coming. Its part of life at the major league level, especially for the younger guys. What matters is that they find their way out of them and become better players as a result. Jacobs got to have a big slump early, and now he is hitting as well as anyone.

I think it was just a case of getting the most talent we could in each trade, and hoping that would fill our needs as best it could. When you throw a bunch of rookies out there, some of them arent going to cut it, plain and simple. Anyone remember top prospect Todd Dunwoody? I think this year is about evaluating what we have, both in the majors and the upper levels of our minors in terms of the new additions there. We should be in a position to focus more on actual needs next offseason, and we'll have a lot of ammunition in terms of young pitching prospects to do so. Exactly what we do will depend on how much payroll, Willis and Miggy contracts, etc. Our young guys on offense will continue to be very inconsistent, because thats what young players always tend to be. Just enjoy the good days:) Oh and its worth adding that we did have some options like trading for Gathright, but we decided to give the marginal guys we already had like Abercrombie a shot. I think it was the right move, as this way we get to know for sure exactly what we had in the system in the way of older outfielders, and of course the young pitching it would have cost us in a trade has proved very valuable to the club.

Need to see Doolittle replicate this performance at a higher level, he is a 23 year old in low A so his dominance whilst great to see, isnt a sure guide yet.

The Florida media is also Miami Heat obsessed right now, and understandably so as they're the big story right now.

I'd say its too early to draw any conclusions on any of our players we picked in the draft for a good while, the earliest inkling we'll have will probably be around this time next year. Combined with the pick of Hayes last year (and to a lesser extent Davis the year before), the picks at catcher are starting to give us the kind of catcher depth an organisation needs. Catcher was a position that was neglected for a good while so its good to see this change. We still have a need to improve at the major league level, and its doubtful any of these young catchers will impact that for another couple of years. Thing is, its doubtful barring a Willis trade that anything else will either. I think our main goal for the short term will be to get good defense (which Treanor certainly provides) and hope the rest of our lineup gets the job done with the bat.

Keep in mind this was his second game against the Giants in a short span, and so its a big validation of his stuff to go and dominate the second time out. Mentally he just seems a lot more organised than most of the big arms we've had through here the last few years.

The review on mlb.com is here.. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...t=.jsp&c_id=fla One interesting note, albeit a not very meaningful one. Jacob Blackwood, our 16th round infielder out of Maple Woods CC, was a teamate of Logan Morrison who we gave a reasonable bonus to as a sign and follow before the draft. No idea how he is defensively, but he actually put up better numbers than Morrison did.

The mlb.com draft tracker is about three picks ahead... Bad news about a certain Miami HS 3b, I wont announce anything as Superman has it in hand.

Mike Berardino today, Third baseman Chris Marrero of Opa-locka Monsignor Pace could go in the top 15, but if he slips to the Marlins they are expected to pounce. Fort Pierce high school right-hander Colton Willems also has gained the attention of the scouting department. Listed at 6 feet 3, Marrero has shown raw power. He has signed to play at the Univeristy of Miami. Willems, who is 6-4 and has seen his stock rise in recent weeks, has signed with the University of Florida.

I think its fair to say we currently have two above average backup catchers. Olivo has tools galore, but in terms of pitch selection (as a hitter) and his resulting on-base percentage he is currently not good enough to be a regular starter in the majors. As a hitter he actually reminds me of Alex Gonzalez in some ways (good and bad). If Olivo is able to develop his ability to work an at bat, develop patience and stay back, he could could be one of the better starters in the NL. Unfortunately chances of that aren't too high at this stage.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft...res/261627.html This is based from them working the phones to find out what teams might do, its not a straight best talent projection. For the Marlins, 19. Marlins: Florida has strong ties to the state of Oklahoma, which makes Anderson a candidate, and an affinity for local talent, which puts Marrero in the running. The Marlins will take whichever player the Phillies leave behind. Projected Pick: Brett Anderson, lhp, HS/Stillwater, Okla. I know most want a position player, but Anderson would still be a pretty solid selection. Its possible catcher Hank Conger may fall all the way to our comp pick (36th overall) and that may be something to look for. Also of note they have top rated college arm Andrew Miller slipping all the way to the Diamondbacks at 11 due to signability issues. If he does fall there, and Miller turns out to be for real and only a short amount of time away from the majors, then their interest in Dontrelle may decrease.

Morrison might be worth keeping an eye on, he is a left handed hitter, and has some promise. He only struck out twice his senior year in HS, and in JC ball this spring he hit .425 with 8 HR and 34 RBI in just 106 ABs. He has pitched at both levels too, but he looks to be a first baseman all the way from here. Although listed as a catcher, Adam Howard has been playing in the infield and pitching as a starter in JC. He hit .382 with 9 HR and 63 RBI in 220 ABs this spring, and pitched 61.2 innings with a 3.79 ERA, striking out 61. No idea how they'll use him. Also on the plus side, the Mets failed to sign Pedro Beato who they drafted in the 17th round last year. Sounds small news on the face of it, except Beato is now a projected first round draft pick this year, and could go in the top 15, so we caught a break there.

With Vargas' stuff being somewhat average, I think his long term future for us may well end up being in the bullpen, especially with all the other talented pitchers we have. That said, I think he could end up being a very good reliever indeed, with the ability to spot start. As for last night, it is a hitters league and both teams were launching the ball out of the park all game long. Its going to be a good test for Vargas to improve and settle down, and he'll have to start getting lots of ground balls in the PCL or last night will happen again.

Well on the bright side, a generous inside corner on the rhbs is going to help Dontrelle a lot too, his missing inside was a big reason for his struggles earlier in the year.

Kind of bizarre that if you were in Antartica with a satellite net connection, you'd be able to watch the game:)

Its our vs. Lefty lineup, hence Ross hits before Jacobs.

Yep with Hermida taking a bit of time to get going again, it makes sense to spare him an 0-4 against Glavine.

Since I'm the one who mentioned it let me jump in here. What I was saying was (and first it was a compliment to Josh and second, it was nothing more than a wild-azz speculation on my part) Willingham in my mind is the premier player excluding the "untouchables" on the team - Cabrera, Willis, Hermida, Ramirez and I'd throw in Dan Uggla - that "might" (operative word) be expendable with all the outfielders in camp, and would fetch more than several other players we could name. Don't advocate it, don't expect it, but it did cross my mind. I'd say he is in the untouchable group, as young hitters with the combo of good on base and power are hard to come by. When you consider that Willingham could also play 1B at least as well as Jacobs does, combined again with the possibilites of him behind the plate, it seems pretty clear. How many other hitters do we have in the minors ready to go, who can put up numbers like Willingham?

With 4 straight wins we're getting close to stick with the lineup till it loses territory, but obviously with Cody coming in he needs to be evaluated so maybe he'll get the nod. With Glavine going today they might sit Jacobs or Hermida (Hermida prob more likely), so that could open up a spot for him.

I just wanted to bring this up in discussion b/c it was briefly mentioned in the Cody Ross thread, but it warrants its own thread. I dont think theres much to gain at this point from trading the hammer. That move might have made sense last year, when hammer had no where to play. But I see no need to trade a rookie of the year candidate, who we have locked up for several years AND who can also play behind the plate. Thoughts? Playing devil's advocate...one might say Willy's value will never be higher. The guy is an AL player all the way. I've got to guess a Beane, Shapiro or Epstein would love a type of player such as Willingham. Wouldn't it be higher with 3 straight seasons of 30 hr and 100 rbi, along with a .375+ obp? Of course really good GMs will be after him, he is an excellent player who will make the minimum for the next two seasons. He has played LF about as well as Miggy did, and he still has some potential behind the plate. Trading him would be absolute lunacy. There is no financial need to do so, and he is major contributor to this team.

Who had the first stolen base?

First home run in marlins history was hit by?

So who is the Marlin that has struck out the most? I don't know the answer by the way...my guess is Preston Wilson ******** (answer edited out!) Preston might have the worse figure per AB (I haven't checked).

Vidro should be the starting NL all-star 2nd baseman by vote. Uggla should be picked by the coaches. Obviously, Utley is right there as well. I think we have a diamond in the rough in Uggla - in the long haul - his value will be priceless for a Rule 5 draft . . . Might go down as one of the better steals in the Rule 5 draft to date. Can anybody name others in years past that have made significant impacts at this level? Hector Luna is one that comes to mind - but he is considered a utility guy. Well we selected Johan Santana in the Rule V draft, we just didnt hang onto him:)