July 23, 200323 yr Definately not my best. Just haven't writen in a while, thought it was time... Marlins Balance Hard to Beat By Josh Clinton They aren't one of the more recognized teams in baseball. In fact, many fail to acknowledge the exist. But the Florida Marlins could very possibly have one of the most balanced teams in the game. A rare combination of immense speed and scintillating power give Florida an extremely potent offense, as well as an entertaining show for fans. Juan Pierre currently leads the Majors in stolen bases with 46, one short of his career high, which he set last season (47). Both Juan Encarnacion and Derrek Lee also have 15 stolen bases, as both also provide good/great power. Mike Lowell is currently ranked fourth in the Majors with 28 home runs (four more than his former career high, 24) to give the Marlins a big power threat. Lee also has 21 home runs. Not only are the players in the batting order very good hitters, but are also one of the best defensive squads around. It could even be argued that any one of the Marlins five infielders could win a gold glove. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez already has ten. The rest are still looking for their first, lead by first basemen Derrek Lee, who is most likely to pull off the feet this season. But it seems that if anything makes the Marlins as good as they are, starting pitching tops the list. Coming into this season, former Tiger Mark Redman was slated as the teams fourth starter. But after loads of success in the first half of the year, the slow throwing Redman has jumped to the front of Florida?s fearsome five. Behind him is Brad Penny, who probably has better "stuff" than anyone on the team with a 12-6 curveball and a mid 90's fastball . If he can stay consistent, Brad may play a large part in the Marlins winning. Third in the rotation may be the most promising rookie in baseball, Dontrelle Willis. He throws a low to mid 90's fastball, great change-up and slider. He has already shown that he takes pressure in strides, and can perform to the height of his ability when needed. Josh Beckett, another youngster (23), is fourth. He?s only made three starts since coming off the DL in early July, but in two of them has given up zero earned runs and struck out more batters than innings pitched. Beckett, as well as Penny, can be a key to the Marlins second half success, as he throws a very good curve, a mid to high 90's fastball and a great change-up. Carl Pavano could be considered one of the best fifth starters in the game today. Coming off a four hit complete game, Carl has proved he is a genuine player. He throws a low 90's fastball, as well as a great change-up and a stellar slider. Although his statistics may mislead you to believe otherwise, Carl has walked fewer batters per nine innings pitched than anyone except for David Wells and Greg Maddux, an accomplishment on its own. Some great teams win with power alone. Some win with pitching. But the Marlins win with everything. An amazing balance of speed, power, defense, pitching, and heart. A rare and somewhat deadly combination to find in a team. If the Marlins can continue to apply it all in each game, look out for black and teal come October. The Marlins contenders
July 23, 200323 yr Another quality literary supplement to the content of the site. Needed to throw in that Pavano has the 3rd lowest run support in the bigs, though. And although some would disagree, I like your ranking of the P staff 1 to 5. Redman is the #1 on this team, and would probably be on 15-20 other teams this year too.
July 23, 200323 yr Feedback? i think it's really good...im not joking You should submit it to the Herald and if they print it, the fans will realize we have a pretty good team and come out...after they read all your facts and points in the article :shifty
July 23, 200323 yr Author Another quality literary supplement to the content of the site. Needed to throw in that Pavano has the 3rd lowest run support in the bigs, though. And although some would disagree, I like your ranking of the P staff 1 to 5. Redman is the #1 on this team, and would probably be on 15-20 other teams this year too. Coming from you Filet, that's a huge complement. I thought you were gonna say one thing. "Fluff" :lol
July 23, 200323 yr Author Mr. Texan, I would like to hear your thoughts... Same goes for Admin... And Ramp... And Rune...
July 23, 200323 yr Yeah, you've got a lot of typos... Like misspelling the word "typeo". DOH!!! :blink:
July 23, 200323 yr Author Mr. Texan, I would like to hear your thoughts... Same goes for Admin... And Ramp... And Rune...
July 23, 200323 yr Yeah, you've got a lot of typos... Like misspelling the word "typeo". DOH!!! :blink: haha, my B
July 23, 200323 yr the truth: nice job, well done the awful truth: it's like you went to 10 different sites, copied a paragraph from each and put it together.... very few original points....
July 23, 200323 yr the truth: nice job, well done the awful truth: it's like you went to 10 different sites, copied a paragraph from each and put it together.... very few original points.... ...at least it's better than..."Meh"
July 23, 200323 yr Author the awful truth: it's like you went to 10 different sites, copied a paragraph from each and put it together.... very few original points.... This whole article came frm my head... I'm all original...
July 23, 200323 yr Your writing style is improving Josh. Not bad for 14. Keep it up. I don't think Ramp's saying you copied it necessarily, just that it's stuff we've all heard before. Doesn't make it crap or anything, heck most of what we read in the papers is all rehashed from somewhere else. "Scintillating power" might be a bit of a stretch for this team....lol I agree Pavano's been better than a 7-10 record shows. He's earning his money this season.
July 23, 200323 yr Author "Scintillating power" might be a bit of a stretch for this team....lol It was the best adj. I could think of...lol
July 23, 200323 yr I don't think Ramp's saying you copied it necessarily, just that it's stuff we've all heard before. Doesn't make it crap or anything, heck most of what we read in the papers is all rehashed from somewhere else. dammit, stop reading my mind HC
July 23, 200323 yr I agree that Redman is our #1 starter because he's proved he has great stuff and is the leader of the staff. If I were to rank our pitchers this season I would definetly have Willis in front of Penny, but if I were setting up a rotation I would split up Redman and Willis. All in all a nice article.
July 23, 200323 yr Author I agree that Redman is our #1 starter because he's proved he has great stuff and is the leader of the staff. If I were to rank our pitchers this season I would definetly have Willis in front of Penny, but if I were setting up a rotation I would split up Redman and Willis. All in all a nice article. Thanx Fran... And I'm still waiting on Das, Admin, and Rune's feedback... :blink:
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