Out of the Past

Asking 4 players to put up OPS's over .950 is a very tall order, Polo. The 1927 Yankees only had 2 players with OPS's greater than .950 (albeit each had an OPS ~.1250). Has there ever been a team with 4 players having an OPS greater than .950? If you look at them one by one it's not so unrealistic. Much of it depends on Hermida and what kind of player he'll become. Miguel - I think he's one of the elite hitters. Last year his OPS was .998. The last 3 years his OPS is about .970. He's 24 and should continue to improve. I think he's a pretty good bet to put up a 1.000 OPS or at least something very close to it in '08. Hanley - Since last year's all-star game his OPS is .949 over 449 ABs. He's 23 and and should continue to get better. I also think he's a pretty good bet to put up a .950 OPS or at least something very close to it in '08. Hammer - Last year he put up .852 and has put up .868 so far this season. I'm not sure how much he'll improve because of his age. This year I was expecting something in the low .900s out of him and that may be a more realistic number. Hermida - This one is the really big if and I really have no idea what he'll become but if he lives up to his potential, or the potential assigned to him by scouts, then he could put up the .950 OPS in '08. Off the top of my head the best hitting NL team the past few years were the '03 Braves and they had guys with 1.065, 1.023, .920 and .917.

I really don't mind Staats and Magraine all that much. It seems that everyone on this board HATES any broadcast crew that isnt the Marlins crew, picking out all their errors and the like. I still can't stand Rich Waltz and his many ridiculous mistakes per game cause me to mute the games quite often. Ill be at the Saturday game anyway though. I agree. Personally I would rather watch the games with the other team's announcers as they present an honest assessment of our players and team.

If we can straighten out our strikeout problem and the baserunning blunders I think we can have the league's best offense by 2008. With all due respect, there's no way that this group is the league's best offense. Get another bat to protect Miggy and I could see it, but that's it. Next year if Miguel puts up an OPS over 1.000 and if Hammer, Hanley and Hermida put up OPSs over .950 and if we get league average production from the other spots then we can certainly be the top hitting (run scoring) team in the league. There's a lot of ifs in there but the only really big if is Hermida's. I guess the Hammer's if is pretty big too but not as big as Hermida's.

I guess Obermueller is out of the rotation? I wouldn't take him out as long as he keeps pitching well. He has pitched better than any starter other than Mitre.

Wow. At least Reggie isn't playing so that's good.

Fredi was on WQAM and was asked about Miguel's weight. Fredi said the weight is not affecting his play and that Cabrera is working on it. If it's not affecting his weight why would he be working on it? Last year he came in overweight and got in shape. This year he came in shape and became overweight.

Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs. Now that's absurd. Feast/famine can give you gaudy totals but do very little to develop consistency...or, in this case, help your win total on a consistent basis. The Cards have a low OPS and few Ks. We have a high OPS and a lot of Ks. Who do you think thas the better offense so far this season, the Marlins or the Cards? I'll take the Marlins. When your team is next to last in runs allowed you're not going to win on a consistent basis. That's our problem. We allow too many runs. The focus on the Ks is ridiculous. You also don't win if you have an almost 3:1 K:BB ratio, turn 1/4 of your plate appearances into unproductive outs and don't hit, period, with runners in scoring position. Question: would you take a leadoff triple every inning followed by a walk then three consecutive strikeouts...because that'll give you a gaudy OPS too. Go back to past seasons and look over the team rankings in OPS, runs scored and Ks. You'll find the fiollowing: -- there's a very strong correlation in team rankings in OPS and runs scored -- there's no correlation in team rankings in strikeouts and runs scored

Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs. Now that's absurd. Feast/famine can give you gaudy totals but do very little to develop consistency...or, in this case, help your win total on a consistent basis. The Cards have a low OPS and few Ks. We have a high OPS and a lot of Ks. Who do you think thas the better offense so far this season, the Marlins or the Cards? I'll take the Marlins. When your team is next to last in runs allowed you're not going to win on a consistent basis. That's our problem. We allow too many runs. The focus on the Ks is ridiculous.

Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs.

Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS.

I wasnt aware that anyone had, but it doesnt surprise me. Cabrera, Hanley, Hammer, and hopefully a healthy Hermida can be offensive threats. Uggla can be dangerous down in the lineup, maybe it will take pressure off of him and he should knock in his fair share of runs. Ross going down hurt, but he is so streaky and he cant hit RHP. Olivo sucks, so does Borchard but at least Borchard wont be seeing nearly as much playing time. People are expecting way too much out of De Aza. It would surprise me if he finishes the season batting .260. We have two great hitters, two really good hitters, and alot of meh. Middle of the pack overall. I agree with a lot of what you say but disagree with the overall conclusion. If Miguel, Hanley and Hammer stay healthy I think we'll be a top four NL offense.

Normally I don't allow these threads, but I hate the Nats. Just letting people know in case they care to watch.

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Linkage?> FLORIDA MARLINS-Activated OF Jeremy Hermida from the 15-day DL. http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20070514/APS/705141453

Tankersley is a pretty damn good pitcher. Him and Lindstrom are a tossup as to who are better, and going into last night, Tank's numbers were better Tank is very good as a situational leftie but his career numbers vs righties are terrible and if he closes about 4 out 5 hiters he faces will be righties. Tank closing is a recipe for failure. His career WHIP vs righties is 1.77 and that blows. career vs righties: .222/.368/.300 yea, the walks are high, but they still aren't hitting him The numbers you listed are his '06 numbers, not his career numbers. The '07 numbers are: .333/.440/.619. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/players/...g&year=2007 http://sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/players/...g&year=2006 vs. Right 90 14 20 2 1 1 16 21 1 31 1 0 .222 .368 .300 .668 Including this year http://sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/players/...ng3&three=1 Ramp is right The three-year thing includes 2004-2006.. this is 2007. I think Ramp made an honest mistake...

Tankersley is a pretty damn good pitcher. Him and Lindstrom are a tossup as to who are better, and going into last night, Tank's numbers were better Tank is very good as a situational leftie but his career numbers vs righties are terrible and if he closes about 4 out 5 hiters he faces will be righties. Tank closing is a recipe for failure. His career WHIP vs righties is 1.77 and that blows. career vs righties: .222/.368/.300 yea, the walks are high, but they still aren't hitting him The numbers you listed are his '06 numbers, not his career numbers. The '07 numbers are: .333/.440/.619. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/players/...g&year=2007 http://sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/players/...g&year=2006

Tankersley is a pretty damn good pitcher. Him and Lindstrom are a tossup as to who are better, and going into last night, Tank's numbers were better Tank is very good as a situational leftie but his career numbers vs righties are terrible and if he closes about 4 out 5 hiters he faces will be righties. Tank closing is a recipe for failure. His career WHIP vs righties is 1.77 and that blows.

The Fish should challenge it on 3 grounds: 1. The field deteriorated greatly between the Top and Bottom of the Ninth Inning. 2. The Nationals had no right to complete the frame since the Marlins did not score in the frame. 3. The field was unsafe for the Marlins to play on in the Bottom of the Ninth. I really hope it is challenged because the umpires screwed us again. The Nationals had no right to continue!

I thought Tank allowed four Nats to get on, didn't he? To blame Julio is ridiculous. Blame Tank and Fredi.

I think the objective is to score a lot of runs and that's exactly what this team has done this season. The team is made up of hard swingers. The team is not made up of contact hitters. Hard swingers will strike out a lot. I don't worry about what kind of outs we make when we make outs. I think some people here would be happier if we were scoring fewer runs as long as we were striking out fewer times. I don't get it. The purpose of the game is to outscore the other team. The purpose of the game is not to strike out fewer times than the other team. i agree with that. as long as were scoring runs and a lot of them i really could careless about how much we strikeout. i mean sure if your looking at the stats of players i can see disapointment in the strikeout rate but long as were scoring runs and winning ballgames im a happy fan. Scoring runs is the goal of the team, not the objective of any individual at bat. One individual at bat will not score runs. The players objective is to hit the ball, get on base, move a runner over, and yes, a revelation, get the runner in when he is at 3rd with less than 2 outs. That does not happen on a strikeout. Like most things, when you focus on the execution individually, you reach your goals of scoring runs. It has been said a million times before by baseball people, you hit more home runs when you are just trying to get a good swing on the ball rather than trying for the home run. So if hack-at-it continues, yea, we will score runs in bunches and the average runs per game will look nice, but you will lose too many close games. I would rather win two games in a row 4-3, and average 4 runs a game, than win 8-0 and lose 3-0. I still average 4 runs. Today I read somewhere that we're one of only 3 teams (I think it was 3) that haven't been shutout this season. I don't know if you have the baseball package but if you did you would probably love the way Mark Grace gets excited over productive outs. The guy makes me want to jump through the screen and strangle him.

This is my Friday lineup: Hermida Hanley Miguel Hammer Jacobs (Boone if Jacobs is a no go) Uggla Olivo Fredo Olsen First off there is no way Jeremy will be called up by Friday (tommorrow)....jeremy will get a few more games at A ball before moving to either carolina or albuquerque according to Fredi (who was on the radio this morning with Joe Rose) I think the plan was to send Hermida to AAA and have him earn his way back to the majors but the Ross injury combined with the Borchard free fall will quicken the decision to bring him up ASAP. ============================== http://www.miamiherald.com/591/story/103011.html While manager Fredi Gonzalez said he doesn't believe the Marlins have lost any games because of Jeremy Hermida's absence, he is prepared to make Hermida his permanent right fielder the moment he is activated from the disabled list. That moment could be as early as this weekend. ''It could be this weekend, it could be the middle of next week,'' Gonzalez said. ``There really is no timetable.'' But the Marlins were encouraged by Hermida's first rehabilitation game Wednesday night. Hermida went 3 for 5, with two solo home runs and a bases-loaded triple for Single A Jupiter. Hermida, who has been on the disabled list because of a bruised knee, was to have made another start Thursday for Jupiter. ''He's the mainstay in the lineup when he's healthy and he's here,'' Gonzalez said. ``When he comes up, he's our right fielder.'' Joe Borchard has received most of the playing time in right but has struggled at the plate. He is hitting .209 and has struck out 42 times, the second-highest total in the majors behind Cincinnati's Adam Dunn, who has 45.

I realize his OPS is tops, but coaches wont look at that... he needs more HR and RBI in a hurry His OPS is 3rd.

Extrapolate Hanley's stats over the course of a full season (from the leadoff spot): .339/.425/.543 150 R 227 H 53 2B 14 3B 21 HR 66 RBI 61 SB He's currently 8th in NL average, 11th in OBP, 19th in SLG, 4th in 3B, 4th in SB, and T-1st in Runs. Yeah, getting rejected let me tell you. He's putting up great offensive numbers but at this point those numbers make him around the 4th best SS in the NL.

I think the objective is to score a lot of runs and that's exactly what this team has done this season. The team is made up of hard swingers. The team is not made up of contact hitters. Hard swingers will strike out a lot. I don't worry about what kind of outs we make when we make outs. I think some people here would be happier if we were scoring fewer runs as long as we were striking out fewer times. I don't get it. The purpose of the game is to outscore the other team. The purpose of the game is not to strike out fewer times than the other team.

1. The UM alumni are not fanatical football fans like UF, FSU, ND, and UGA are. 2. Since many leave S. Florida after graduation they often overlook the need. I agree with you and these are more reasons not to use public funds for a UM stadium.