ShookMyBones

Well here we are again. Ready to start up another season with a clean slate. Everyone has their reasons for optimism and pesimism. And we are no different. The only thing that sets our Fish apart from the majority of other teams is that if we had an owner with even an AVERAGE sized pocket book (for a MLB owner that is), we would be discussing how many games we will be winning the division by, rather than how many games under .500 we are going to be.... As it is, this is NOT a good team. It is a team loaded with players that have plenty of potential, but it is NOT a good team. Take a look at our starting lineup... 1. SS Hanley Ramirez- Okay, he's good. And I expect a decent year from him... next. 2. 2B Dan Uggla- yeah, this might be beating a dead horse, but Uggla is going to SUCK this year. I'm talking a sub .200 batting average with frequent strikeouts and numerous pop ups. Not to mention the very occasional homerun that will constantly have broadcasters and fans saying "okay he's coming out of it", only to have him go 10 at bats without a hit every time. He will be benched by the end of May. This guy will be out of baseball within 3 years. nnnnnneeext!!! 3. 3B Miguel Cabrera- Miggy is a great hitter. he will have a very nice OBP again this year and hit over .300. The homeruns will come now and then, but there's only so much this great player can do when nobody wants to throw him anything. Could you imagine the numbers he'd put up if we still had Delgado in the lineup at this point??? His line will look nice this year (.320, 20-30 hr, 100-110 rbi, .430 obp), and it will land him a nice multi year deal with another team in '08. NEXT! 4. 1B Mike Jacobs- UGH..... This guy is awful. The uppercut in his swing makes him unable to make solid contact on a consistent basis... But take that uppercut away and he has no power... The only thing worse than his bat is his glove, which I'm sure Andy Fox will not be able to help out much! Mike Jacobs could start for maybe 3 teams in the majors... Unfortunately, we are one of them. Find me a starting first baseman that is worse than Mike Jacobs.. Can't do it? Didn't think so.. NEXT! 5. LF Josh Willingham- I like him. He has a nice compact swing that is really simple and should keep him out of any realy long batting slumps. There is a lot of room for improvement in left field- but the guy has never been allowed to get comfortable with a position before and unlike Jacobs, he at least shows the ability to be a decent fielder. I expect a solid year from this guy. It should be his 5th solid year in the majors though, rather than his second. I don't know what the hell took so long to bring this guy up. NEXT! 6. RF- Jeremy Hermida- I am beginning to think that somehow Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are much older than they claim and that they somehow had a child together and named her Jeremy Hermida. She won't see a full season in the majors. Get ready to see lots of Joe Borchard and a bunch of other .230 hitters in there killing rallies night after night. NEXT!!!! 7. C Miguel Olivo- He may as well close his eyes and start swinging when he sees the pitcher winding up. This guy is not a hitter. He is always guessing, and will occcassionally get lucky and run into a baseball with the good part of his bat. And the only thing he does well as a catcher is throw down to second base. He comprises part of what is easily the worst bottom part of any major league lineup. 8. CF Eric Reed- come on... The pitching will be DECENT enough to frustrate us with many close losses.. The defense will be atrocious- especially with the loss of Perry Hill. This isn't going to be a 100 loss season- we aren't the nationals (we actually have some talent).. But it will be a long season in the sense that the broken pieces are going to be so obvious, and yet will not be replaced. We will come so close to winning so many games that the blowout losses we suffer are going to be a relief. Everyone thinks Beinfest is such a genius. Ask the Twins what they think of Beinfest. Ask the Mets while you are at it. In fact, ask anyone who is not part of the Red Sox organization what they think of doing business with the Marlins. We robbed the Cubs of Dontrelle Willis, but what did we get for Juan Pierre??? Please.