rferry Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 1. Pitching is awesome. When I see other pitchers around the league they don't look like they have their best stuff. They hang more pitches and have trouble reaching their top speed. I think this may because McKeon had our five pitching close to their usual regular season pitch counts late in spring training. How well they'll fare down the stretch is a mystery, I hope Jack keeps them on a tight pitch count to avoid any tiring (see Redman the past two years). 2. We're slugging the heck out of the ball in the 3rd best pitcher's park in MLB (Dodger Stadium, and the new Petco). However we need to get some of those flies to drop. I think if the Expos and Phillies had not caught some line drives we wouldn't even be talking about a lack of hitting. After all we'd be busy eating donuts. 3. My only concerns coming into spring training were outfield depth and middle relief. The emergence of Nunez and the reports of Aguila and Hermida addressed one. Relief pitching this week was just fantastic. Benitez and Fox did their jobs. Perisho is the LOOGY that we had but didn't really have last year (see Tejera's splits). Phelps had a strong showing today. Bump has the talent and with regular work will gain some control. I remember a lot of you were screaming that we needed to sign an established reliever. Well, just look at the Red Sox and Phillies, or the Yankees. Established pitchers aren't any better than young guys. And youngsters like Bump, Neu, Nannini, Wayne, etc. won't drain the payroll and can be sent back and forth between the 'Topes and the Marlins. 4. We are not a small ball team. We weren't last year. We certainly aren't this year. Mike Lowell had it right last spring. We play medium ball. We don't rely on the long ball, we don't rely on speed. We play a full game. We don't play a fatass firstbaseman in left field so we can get his bat in the game. Our middle infielders are some of the better hitters at their position in the NL. Our players play defense, hit well and have decent enough speed and skills to capitalize on our opponents' mistakes. But where are the stolen bases? We aren't even stretching for extra bases (maybe we've had but I haven't picked that up through radio broadcasts). We can't let our speed go to waste. If we had rattled the pitcher more I think we could have smacked a few more fastballs. 5. Jack's management. Bump will learn just as the guys last year did. Starters are getting their innings but [edit: NOT] throwing Dusty Baker-like pitch counts. I've only questioned him on two moves so far: Starting Easley on Sunday instead of Saturday and letting Benitez pitch 3 straight days. Things turned out well. As long as the results turn up good, no complaints. 6. Defense has been shaky, but up to par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djmarco Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 it's always great to start like this, but we need more depth in the pen...can't expect benitez to pitch like this, and his arm will be dead by june...jack doesn't have confidence in anyone else i guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefbob Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 benitez is a closer and sure he's not used to alot of innings, but if he only pitches one inning for 6 days straight, it's only six innings in on week. That's about average for a starter in one game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rferry Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 Starters don't pitch on back to back to back days though. Benitez throws the equivalent of 3 innings warming up each night in the bullpen. That's a heavy work load. I don't see how it might effect him later in the year, but the team needs to open up a few ball games and give him a rest every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlins2003 Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Regardless of what Beckett says, the Marlins are not going to win consistently scoring 3 runs a night. Their hitters need to start hitting and JP needs to get on base more often to set the table. The rest of the lineup too. You can't win hoping for a longball. The most glaring problem is the absense of another closer type in the pen. We need another Chad Fox, a guy who can close and setup, or AB will be worthless by summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rferry Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 Regardless of what Beckett says, the Marlins are not going to win consistently scoring 3 runs a night. Their hitters need to start hitting and JP needs to get on base more often to set the table. The rest of the lineup too. You can't win hoping for a longball. The most glaring problem is the absense of another closer type in the pen. We need another Chad Fox, a guy who can close and setup, or AB will be worthless by summer. I agree on the first point. The second I'm not so sure. Most teams, even contending teams, don't have that second dominant reliever until July or August when they trade for him or call someone up from the minors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotcorner Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I hate to break it to you guys but if you're looking for steals this year, you're going to be disappointed. Except for JP obviously, who could lead the league again if he's running enough. Castillo's opportunities are limited batting behind Pierre, I still think he'll do better than last year as far as %. But otherwise, who's going to be running? We got noticeably slower this year. Lowell can't run, Choi can't run, Alex doesn't steal bases, Castro's much slower than Pudge, Cabrera's much slower than Encarnacion, and even Conine's a little slower than Hollandsworth. As far as the bullpen.... if we get a big lead once in a while, Phelps, Bump or Wayne could pitch the last couple of innings and give Fox-Benitez a break. Unfortunately we haven't had much of a lead in any game yet. (Not that I'm complaining) The starters are going 7 and that's all you can ask for. Benitez and Fox can't go every night, but they can go most nights, and they can manage with Phelps or Perisho or Bump in there once in a while. I think they'd be okay, but I'm pretty certain there's still on the lookout for available arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FishFanInPA Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 The only concern I have besides the LOB is the heart palpitations im getting when anyone besides Fox and Benitez comes out of that door....Let's face it Perisho may be 2-0 but i'm not expecting that to last. Between him, Phelps and Bump we're gonna have a hell of a time gettin to the closer. Also, Oliver worries me because his stuff is too ordinary. He doesnt wow me and looks extremely hittable and on the days when the offense isnt on track, he's not going to win a lot of games. That said, im nothing but ecstatic start 5-1....especially to sweep the hated Phils. Let's see this team take this act on the road though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malman Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Starting Easley on Sunday instead of Saturday and letting Benitez pitch 3 straight days. Things turned out well. As long as the results turn up good, no complaints. Isn't it common to rest regulars for a day game following a night game? Also, Louie tends to hit have a bit more pop from the right side of the plate. Why would you have played Easley or Sat vs. Sun? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FishFanInPA Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I woulda sat Conine on Saturday because he owns Millwood and against a guy like that you need hitters like Jeff in there to make a difference. I hate to think that maybe Nunez is going to join Ralph Millard et al as spring training flashes in the pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rferry Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 Isn't it common to rest regulars for a day game following a night game? Also, Louie tends to hit have a bit more pop from the right side of the plate. Why would you have played Easley or Sat vs. Sun? Just curious. Up until Saturday night Castillo had struggled against Myers. I also didn't like the thought of starting two role players against the Phillies' ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJBurnett34 Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 This week was more than good. We showed very good Pitching like we have always done and our Offense came around even though we didnt score much runs. Choi and Cabrera had very good at bats this week and damian showed a little pop also starting at 2nd base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnylons Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 EVerything has been great thus far. Sure, you would like to see Conine out there hitting in the clutch, but he is not. He is recovering from some sinus thing, but more importantly, you dont have to have everyone on the team firing in order to win. This is a team sport. And this team has done fairly well in advancing the runners. I feel if we can get 4-5 runs a game, we will win 80% of our games. The pitching is very, very good. Although the bullpen may appear to be shaky, I feel confident that Phelps, Bump and Perisho will step it up. One of them will emerge. I would also like to see us get Wayne in the game to see what he can do. Starting pitching, excellent. Bullpen, great. We do need another consistent arm in there, but that has yet to be determined. Besides, it is TOO EARLY in the season to make that decision. Our offense is a little sluggish right now, not taking enough advantage of situations. But that will come around. This team has power - everyone starting, and even some guys on the bench (except Castillo and Pierre) can hit 20+ home runs. Be patient. I think the substitutions McKeon has made have been excellent. Easley, Nunez and Castro should have played yesterday. The starters they replaced, in essence, get two days off. I am concerned with Castro. I think he is pressing too hard to match Fudge (who are 5-1 too!! But that wont last.). He needs to relax, get some games under his belt and Jack needs to make him feel relaxed. Kind of like how Choi is very confident right now because he is playing. Same for Castro. I am very pleased with this team's performance. We are 5-1 and looking really strong here early on while most other teams are having a rash of injuries and just inconsistent play. This team is prepared and ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamarlins3 Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 We have to remember that AJ will be coing back in probably June-July so that means either he or Oliver or Dontrelle will move to the bullpen. That could be that little extra help that the bullpen is going to need. But if one starter struggles and goes out by the fourth. I see the marlins having a very difficult time winning because unless Tejera remembers how to pitch could be in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiamiSpartan Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I also love the fact that we swept the team that the most "experts" have picked to win our division. They are showing the same heart they finished last year with! Gotta love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBMarlin Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 The upcoming road trip will be a good test...Expos, Braves and Phillies...all tough division games. If we can get the best of that road trip, then we will start seeing the naysayers singing a different tune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FishFanInPA Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 The upcoming road trip will be a good test...Expos, Braves and Phillies...all tough division games. If we can get the best of that road trip, then we will start seeing the naysayers singing a different tune! The ultimate test will be the first west coast trip which is rapidly approaching us....I believe its arizona, Colorado and San Fran....The West coast has never been kind to the Fish or the whole NL East. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBMarlin Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Very true. If we can change our fortunes in the west...particularly against the Rockies, then we'll be on a roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malman Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I think the substitutions McKeon has made have been excellent. Easley, Nunez and Castro should have played yesterday. The starters they replaced, in essence, get two days off. Excellent point. :thumbup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreshFish Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Very true. If we can change our fortunes in the west...particularly against the Rockies, then we'll be on a roll. Agree, I'll be happy if we can win 40-50% of those games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotcorner Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 The ultimate test will be the first west coast trip which is rapidly approaching us....I believe its arizona, Colorado and San Fran....The West coast has never been kind to the Fish or the whole NL East. yeah this is the worst road trip all year. 15 of the next 18 on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBMarlin Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Thank God we have built up a good head of steam going into it. :thumbup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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