July 4, 200422 yr Trying to find middle ground Florida's 11th loss in its past 15 games dropped its record to 41-40, prompting a closed-door visit from club owner Jeffrey Loria and GM Admin Beinfest. By CLARK SPENCER cspencer@herald.com The Marlins don't issue midterm report cards, but general manager Admin Beinfest -- with owner Jeffrey Loria observing -- addressed the club Saturday night after it limped into the season's halfway point reeling from yet another loss. ''I don't do it often,'' Beinfest said of the closed-door meeting after Florida's 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Pro Player Stadium. ``But the message was not one of panic because that's not what's going on in the organization.'' Beinfest might not be panicking, but the Marlins (41-40) are providing reasons to believe otherwise. They have lost four straight and 11 of their past 15 and, with Saturday's setback, fell into a second-place tie with the New York Mets in the National League East, two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. ''We're going to get out of this,'' Beinfest said. Not unless the Marlins play a lot better than they have of late. Starter Brad Penny, who was 6-2 after defeating the Cincinnati Reds on May 27, fell to 7-7. He gave up three consecutive doubles in the third, the last of which represented pitcher Victor Zambrano's first major-league hit. Three-run deficits for the Marlins have become insurmountable, and Saturday's was no different. They failed to produce a run until the ninth inning and have scored just five runs in their past 33 innings. Marlins hitters went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position Saturday and are batting .239, the third-worst mark in the majors, in those situations. Penny has received little run support during his skid. The Marlins have come up with only one for the right-hander during the 29 1/3 innings he has spent on the mound in his five recent defeats. He left the clubhouse Saturday before talking to reporters. ''We just need someone to get their name in the paper, for someone to step up and star,'' hitting coach Bill Robinson said of the scoring drought. ``We're trudging, the whole team.'' Not so for the Devil Rays, who now have a higher winning percentage than the Marlins and have beaten their cross-state rivals four out of five times. The Devil Rays have won 30 of their past 40 overall. The Marlins, on the other hand, have won only 18 of their past 40. It wasn't hard to tell the teams apart Saturday. Juan Pierre doubled leading off the game for the Marlins, but Zambrano -- who has won six straight decisions -- set down the next three hitters. The Marlins had runners at first and second four more times but failed to score with any of them. It wasn't until the ninth, when Pierre tripled to score Matt Treanor from first, that they avoided their second shutout in eight days against the Devil Rays. ''These guys are better hitters than what they've been showing,'' Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. ``I'm just trying to keep them from getting down. It's not the end of the world. They have to keep their heads above water, and our sanity.'' McKeon told reporters before the game that he had considered batting Hee Seop Choi in the leadoff spot, so desperate is he to find a lineup that works. Such a move might raise eyebrows, but he was one of few bright spots Saturday, reaching base in all four trips to the plate. He leads the Marlins in on-base percentage (.402). At this point, McKeon might be willing to try anything.
July 4, 200422 yr Author McKeon told reporters before the game that he had considered batting Hee Seop Choi in the leadoff spot, so desperate is he to find a lineup that works. Such a move might raise eyebrows, but he was one of few bright spots Saturday, reaching base in all four trips to the plate. He leads the Marlins in on-base percentage (.402). Cool! Cool! Cool!
July 4, 200422 yr McKeon told reporters before the game that he had considered batting Hee Seop Choi in the leadoff spot, so desperate is he to find a lineup that works. Such a move might raise eyebrows, but he was one of few bright spots Saturday, reaching base in all four trips to the plate. He leads the Marlins in on-base percentage (.402). Cool! Cool! Cool! 439712[/snapback] easily the best news of the past week
July 4, 200422 yr McKeon told reporters before the game that he had considered batting Hee Seop Choi in the leadoff spot, so desperate is he to find a lineup that works. Such a move might raise eyebrows, but he was one of few bright spots Saturday, reaching base in all four trips to the plate. He leads the Marlins in on-base percentage (.402). Cool! Cool! Cool! 439712[/snapback] Choi in the lead-off spot is not quite the right thought. Choi should be hitting 3rd to advance Pierre and Castillo, and to put him on base so Lowell and Cabrera can hit him in.
July 4, 200422 yr McKeon told reporters before the game that he had considered batting Hee Seop Choi in the leadoff spot, so desperate is he to find a lineup that works. Such a move might raise eyebrows, but he was one of few bright spots Saturday, reaching base in all four trips to the plate. He leads the Marlins in on-base percentage (.402). Cool! Cool! Cool! 439712[/snapback] Choi in the lead-off spot is not quite the right thought. Choi should be hitting 3rd to advance Pierre and Castillo, and to put him on base so Lowell and Cabrera can hit him in. 439719[/snapback] Exactly, PBMarlin. We need to get someone at the 3 that can advance the runners and possibly get on base so Lowell and Cabs dont have to do all the work themselves and when they do, we get an extra run out of the deal. This is why I was calling for Conine to hit 3rd - because Choi was not blossoming then like he is now (but I really have liked Choi all along) and because Conine makes a lot of contact. Conine also is hitting really well of late. But this is only part of the problem. Instead of trying something drastic, McKeon needs to wise up and try something more subtle - like lump you better hitters together and put them in a line of supporting one another instead of spreading them out. JP Castillo Choi Lowell Cabrera Conine AGon Red/Treanor P OR JP Castillo Conine Lowell Cabrera Choi Agon Red/Treanor P
July 4, 200422 yr Considering Choi has never had a full year of MLB experience, I think he has done very well for himself...I believe he is gonna get even better...That said, he would make a strong candidate for 3rd spot...If Pierre or Castillo get on base, it opens up that side of the infield for Choi to find holes to get hits
July 4, 200422 yr Choi in the lead off spot is not best as he doesn't have the speed on the bases. We don't need shock effect from Jack. We need a line up that takes advantages of the strengths of our players. Moving Choi to the 3rd spot will be more productive.
July 4, 200422 yr Choi in the lead off spot is not best as he doesn't have the speed on the bases. We don't need shock effect from Jack. We need a line up that takes advantages of the strengths of our players. Moving Choi to the 3rd spot will be more productive. 439818[/snapback] He doesn't have the speed, but he's a smart base runner. We don't need to keep shaking up the lineup, because frankly nothing has worked. We need to make some trades, that's what we need to do.
July 4, 200422 yr i'm glad it has actually ocurred to jack that perhaps choi should be moved up in the order.
July 4, 200422 yr Personally I'd like to see Big Choi batting third ahead of Lowell/Cabrera or Cabrera/Lowell. Give the guy some protection and I think he's capable of adding another 50 points to his OBP.
July 4, 200422 yr I really like our owner and GM. They went in and said we support you, we believe in you, and we know you are slumping and will break out of it....but please break out soon. Jack is starting to get the mind at work. Choi is going up in the order.
July 4, 200422 yr McKeon told reporters before the game that he had considered batting Hee Seop Choi in the leadoff spot, so desperate is he to find a lineup that works. Such a move might raise eyebrows, but he was one of few bright spots Saturday, reaching base in all four trips to the plate. He leads the Marlins in on-base percentage (.402). Cool! Cool! Cool! 439712[/snapback] Choi in the lead-off spot is not quite the right thought. Choi should be hitting 3rd to advance Pierre and Castillo, and to put him on base so Lowell and Cabrera can hit him in. 439719[/snapback] exactly why is mckeon so blind to the thought of choi batting third?
July 4, 200422 yr We don't need to keep shaking up the lineup, because frankly nothing has worked. We need to make some trades, that's what we need to do. 439839[/snapback] Outside of once or twice this season no player has been moved more than 2 spots from the opening day lineup. It only seems like McKeon has been shaking up the lineup a lot because of the unusual amount of playng time he's given to reserves. Which is another thing about McKeon and many managers I don't understand. Players don't hit any better just because they're batting in a certain position in the lineup, the pitches they get and situations they are thrown into are dependant on who is batting around them. So if you're going to disturb the lineup by playing a reserve why put him in the same spot? Recreate the lineup to get the best out of those nine, not the nine you were playing yesterday. i'm glad it has actually ocurred to jack that perhaps choi should be moved up in the order. 439844[/snapback] Exactly. OBP?
July 4, 200422 yr Personally I'd like to see Big Choi batting third ahead of Lowell/Cabrera or Cabrera/Lowell. Give the guy some protection and I think he's capable of adding another 50 points to his OBP. 439869[/snapback] 50 points to his OBP.? :compute = .452 :o WOW. I would die if this happens
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