July 25, 200322 yr I wrote an article on my thoughts of the upcoming series' against Philadelphia and Arizona. I also compared the Pitching match-ups. The Marlins get Chance to Prove they are Contenders By: Nick Martin The Marlins are going into 2 crucial 3-game series? against the two teams they are battling in the Wild Card Race.? They are currently 5 games behind the Phillies and 1 game behind the Diamondbacks.? In the upcoming series they will be playing the Wild Card leading Philadelphia Phillies on Friday through Sunday.? Then they play the Diamondbacks Monday through Wednesday.? Both series? are at Pro Player Stadium.? The Marlins are coming into this huge 6-game stretch playing fairly well.? They?ve won 3 out of 4 with a series sweep against the expos and a split against the Braves.? During the last week the Marlins starting pitching has really stood out, especially the pitching of Mark Redman, Josh Beckett, and Carl Pavano.? Since the all-star break this trio has gone 3-0 and given up a total of 2 runs in 4 outings.?? The Phillies are on a roll after sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley.?? On the other hand the Diamondbacks have been struggling losing 6 in a row.? A lot of people have doubted that the Marlins are actually contenders.? Some have said they don?t have what it takes to withstand a pennant run.? Well, this 6-game stretch the Marlins will be given a golden opportunity to make a bold statement to prove they are contenders The Pitching Match-ups: Phillies at Marlins July 25-27 On Friday the Marlins are sending rookie phenom Dontrelle Willis to the mound.? He?s coming off his worst start of the season when he got rocked by the Cubs on Sunday.? It will be very interesting to see if he is able to rebound from his first bad start.? Willis is currently 9-2 with a 2.67 ERA.? The Phillies will be sending Brett Myers to the mound on Friday.? He is 10-6 with a 3.55 ERA.? Myers coming off a strong start against the Expos only giving up 2 runs in 8 2/3 innings. On Saturday Josh Beckett will take the hill for the Marlins.? He is coming off a very strong outing against the Expos.? He went 7 innings without giving up a run.? You never know what you?re going to get with Beckett.? Sometimes he?s lights out and sometimes he gets lit up.? Brandon Duckworth will go to the Mound for the Phillies on Saturday.? He got beat around against the Mets in his last start.? Duckworth has been the Phillies most inconsistent starter this year.? He is 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA. In the series finale Carl Pavano will take the mound for the Fish.? Pavano is coming off one of his best outings of the year against the Expos where he pitched a complete game 4-hitter and he only gave up 1 run.? The Phillies will send Kevin Millwood to the mound against Pavano.? In his last start Millwood got hit pretty hard against the Mets in a Phillies loss.? Millwood is 10-7 with a 3.77 ERA. The Pitching Match-ups: Diamondbacks at Marlins July 28-30 The Marlins will send lefty Mark Redman to shut down the Diamondbacks.? In Redman?s last 2 starts he has been as solid as about anyone in the majors, giving up only 1 run in 15 2/3 innings.? Redman has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the National League this year with a record of 8-4 and an ERA of 2.92.? His opponent on Monday will be Miguel Batista.? Batista has also been very solid this year with a 2.66 ERA.? Batista took a tough loss against the Giants in his last start; he pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 unearned runs.? This game should be a very well pitched low-scoring game. Brad Penny will go for the Marlins on Tuesday.? Much like Beckett, Penny has been rather inconsistent this year.? When he?s on he?s really on and will shut down the opposing offense, and when he?s off he?ll give up a bunch of runs.? The telltale sign with Penny is if he can get his curve over.? If he is able to get his curve over then he usually will have a very strong start.? Going for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday will be amazing rookie Brandon Webb.? Webb has had an amazing year so far going 7-3 with a 2.42 ERA.? Expect Webb to give Willis a run for his money in the Rookie of the Year race. The most intriguing match-up will be on Wednesday when rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis will take on the flame throwing future hall-of-famer Randy Johnson.? The 39-year old Johnson is just coming back from an injury, and the Diamondbacks are hoping that he will give them a big boost to help them make a playoff run.? Willis hopes to keep on baffling hitters as he?s done so far this season.? This game will be televised on ESPN and expect this match-up to be followed closely by people around the country. Things To Look For: Jack McKeon?s use of the bullpen: It will be interesting to see how Coach McKeon will use Braden Looper and Ugueth Urbina in the bullpen.? McKeon insists that Looper will remain the Marlins closer for the time being. 6-7-8 batters in the lineup: The 6-7-8 batters in the order have been struggling somewhat lately. Miguel Cabrera is starting to break out of his slump though with a couple of good games against the Braves.? For Miguel to be successful he has to stay ahead in the count and not swing at bad pitches.? The 6th and 8th batters in the lineup, Derek Lee and Alex Gonzalez have been struggling lately.? Lee is batting .150 since the all-star break all though he did come up with a big home run on Tuesday against the Expos.? Alex Gonzalez is mired in a horrible slump right now batting .170 since the all-star break and .170 for the month of July.? If these guys are able to break out and make a big contribution during these two series? it would be huge for the fish. Deadline Deals: Will General Manager Admin Beinfest make a deadline deal?? The Marlins would like to get another bat to play LF, and they may also be looking for another arm in the bullpen.? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ I think it?s safe to say that this 6-game stretch for the Marlins is not only the most important stretch of the year so far for the Marlins.? It is the most important stretch of games for the Marlins post 1997. I've never really wrote an article like this so I would really appreciate feedback.
July 25, 200322 yr Its put up or shut up week at the Pro. Time to show all if we are contenders or pretenders.
July 25, 200322 yr I thought it was pretty good. All your info seemed accurate. but you spelled "Finale" wrong
July 25, 200322 yr Author I thought it was pretty good. All your info seemed accurate. but you spelled "Finale" wrong yeah I just read that and I was just trying to remember how you spell it and I was drawing a blank. I knew I spelled it wrong though.
July 25, 200322 yr For your first article, not bad at all... Read my first article. You'll get a kick... Then read my last article. There's QUITE a differnece... I think the pitching we will be facing the Arizona series is incredible, but I also think we're throwing incredible talent right back at them. And from the looks of it we should win the Phillies series, if not even sweep...
July 25, 200322 yr yeah I just read that and I was just trying to remember how you spell it and I was drawing a blank. I knew I spelled it wrong though. Happens to me all the time... The spell check and my thesaurus are my best friends when writing...
July 25, 200322 yr nicely done I don't think I've ever gotten a review from Ramp that doesn't involve critisism. Fran, you should feel lucky...
July 25, 200322 yr Author Do you want this published on the site? I need your permission. Good work man. sure I'd love that. Thanks
July 25, 200322 yr That was a good article you wrote.......and its true,this is the week we need to show what we got and that we hav what it takes to win this thing,even though i think philli already figured that one out. I just hope people realize hopw important these series r and they show up to support the fish.
July 25, 200322 yr If you want some constructive criticism: On Friday the Marlins are sending rookie phenom Dontrelle Willis to the mound.? He?s coming off his worst start of the season... On Saturday the Marlins send Josh Beckett to the mound.? He is coming off a very strong outing... In the series finale Carl Pavano will go to the mound for the Fish.? Pavano is coming off one of his best outings... The Marlins will send lefty Mark Redman to the mound... Maybe try & vary the wording and structure a little. Best way to get ideas is just to keep reading. Just an opinion... Not bad though, keep it up Fran.
July 25, 200322 yr Author If you want some constructive criticism: Maybe try & vary the wording and structure a little. Best way to get ideas is just to keep reading. Just an opinion... Not bad though, keep it up Fran. Thanks for the comment HC. That's the thing I find most difficult when I'm writing I'm always trying to improve on that hopefully I can do better next time.
July 25, 200322 yr Good article Fran, The wording could be helped like Wildcard said. Excellent content and expression :thumbup
July 25, 200322 yr instead of mound, use hill, or 'toes the rubber' I don't agree. Toes the rubber is not a proper term, like stealing a base is not proper. The mound is proper, the hill is not very proper. Before, the FCC used to fine stations (See KMOX in St. Luois) when they ever did not use proper english on the air. Journalists should always use proper English.
July 25, 200322 yr I don't agree. Toes the rubber is not a proper term, like stealing a base is not proper. The mound is proper, the hill is not very proper. Before, the FCC used to fine stations (See KMOX in St. Luois) when they ever did not use proper english on the air. Journalists should always use proper English. sheesh cape... i thought you were the weather man....now your a journalist too? j/k
July 25, 200322 yr Author I don't agree. Toes the rubber is not a proper term, like stealing a base is not proper. The mound is proper, the hill is not very proper. Before, the FCC used to fine stations (See KMOX in St. Luois) when they ever did not use proper english on the air. Journalists should always use proper English. sheesh cape... i thought you were the weather man....now your a journalist too? j/k He's also the Marlins on TV man, can't forget about that.
July 25, 200322 yr I am very versatile. Anyone want to talk about Floridian History or Baseball History? lol I try to be well balanced in the different fields.
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