And Down The Stretch They Come?

By: Christopher Baysore (Hotcorner)

MarlinsBaseball.com Columnist

 

Chris' Columnist Page

 

This is all you can ask for as a Marlins baseball fan. Seven series left, all 22 games against NL East opponents. No more pushovers, no more western road trips or games against teams the Marlins aren't familiar with. The unbalanced schedule really kicks in this month, and it's backyard steel-cage grudge match time.

 

Misfortune has threatened to darken the team's cinderella season lately. The struggling offense hit rock bottom on a nine-game road trip against the Giants, Rockies, and Pirates in late August and the team went 1-8. The clutch RBIs stopped coming. Braden Looper gave up a walk-off homer in Colorado. Alex Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera were mired in miserable slumps. Ramon Castro was hit with rape charges while the team was in Pittsburgh. Dontrelle Willis struggled and looked to be wearing down, maybe due to interviews more than innings. Mike Lowell was hit in the hand by a pitch and lost for the rest of the regular season. You could almost hear the whispers of doubt trying to demoralize the club and end the run of these young upstarts once and for all. "You're not good enough." "You don't belong here." "It's been a nice season, run along now and let the big teams have at it."

 

But these Marlins are refusing to lie down. The team limped back home from their road trip, glanced at the standings and found themselves still miraculously tied for the wild card spot. The starting pitchers began a stretch of seven games (and still going) not allowing more than 3 runs. Happy to be home, the team scratched out wins anyway they could; bunting, sacrificing, stealing, and ultimately sweeping the Expos out of town in their first 4-game sweep since '96. The front office made a trade for original Marlin Jeff Conine to fill Mike Lowell's cleanup spot. Then they got some measure of revenge against the Pirates, taking 2 of 3. In the final game of the series Gonzalez and Cabrera finally provided some much-needed offense.

 

The front office has done the job, adding pieces when needed. Urbina, Conine, throw in Chad Fox and Rick Helling for bullpen depth and the team couldn't ask for much more. "As soon we started winning , [Marlins management]said they would make a run for it," closer Braden Looper said. "They weren't joking. Getting Conine was icing on the cake."

 

As of September 5th, the wild card battle may come down to two teams in the end after all. The Phillies and Marlins have built a three-game lead on the pack. What will it take to win the wild card? The Phillies have a marginally easier schedule left, including series against the Mets, Cincy, and Pittsburgh. The Marlins have six games against the Mets. Both teams play the Braves seven times, and then of course there will be six games head-to-head. Anything can happen, as the Marlins witnessed when the Pirates swept them recently, or when the Brewers swept the Phillies.

 

At this stage the difference could come down to one game. Maybe even one at-bat or one pitch.

Be careful you don't miss it.

Thanks, Admin. Nice article, well written. Nothing new, no new perspective. But, looks like a good start on a new feature for us. Much appreciated.