JUPITER, Fla. -- Gradually, the Marlins are lining up their lineup and rotation. With so many spots unsettled, the upcoming games will set a clearer picture of how the team will look on Opening Day.

 

For now, manager Joe Girardi is starting to formulate his pitching rotation. On Sunday, the first-year skipper said he's tagged left-hander Jason Vargas to start Wednesday's exhibition against the University of Miami. And Dontrelle Willis will get the start on Thursday against the Orioles in the Grapefruit League opener at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

"We've got to get Dontrelle prepared to pitch in a game," Girardi said. "

 

 

Willis will throw between 45-50 pitches. The left-hander, slated to start on Opening Day, will leave Marlins camp on March 3 to join Team USA for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Vargas, meanwhile, will toss two innings (or about 30 pitches) against the Miami Hurricanes, in the 3:05 p.m. ET start at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday.

 

The Marlins are in the process of setting their preliminary rotation for the Grapefruit League schedule. Starters will pitch every fifth day. But because there are so many young pitchers competing for spots in camp, the team will frequently give two projected starters work in the same game.

 

In putting together the batting order, Girardi says slugger Miguel Cabrera will bat third or fourth.

 

The idea of a left-right-left scenario intrigues the manager. If the Marlins bat Cabrera cleanup, left-handed hitters Jeremy Hermida and Mike Jacobs are the candidates to bat third and fifth.

 

"I love it," Girardi said. "I love the balance because it does create matchup problems."

 

Factoring into where Cabrera hits will be how the hitters around him perform.

 

"Miguel's position doesn't necessarily depend on Miguel," Girardi said. "Miguel's position depends on the guys around him and how they fit. If I had a for-sure No. 1, and a for-sure No. 2, Miguel would hit third. But I might have to tweak things because I'm not sure exactly how it's going to pan out.

 

"You think about the guy who hits in front of Miguel, he's going to get great pitches. So, who do you want in front of Miguel? They're not going to pitch to the guy in front of Miguel to get to Miguel, we know that. They might pitch around Miguel to get to the next guy."

 

 

Uggla getting defensive: Dan Uggla's chances of making the club and winning the starting second-base job hinge largely on his defense.

 

Battling seasoned Pokey Reese, a two-time Gold Glove winner, Uggla is refining his techniques with respected infield coach Perry Hill.

 

Hill has Uggla working on widening his base while fielding, or getting his feet farther apart and his glove down sooner. Turning double plays is another part of the game that is being broken down more closely.

 

"We're working more fundamentally," Uggla said. "I'm working on more double-play stuff. We're starting slow and then getting a little quicker. I'm always running around, trying to do things more quickly. We're just doing things gradually, so I can make sure I know what I'm doing every time, rather than trying to do things too quick and doing something wrong. Every day we're doing stuff a little bit quicker.

 

"My thing is, I have a tendency to get my feet a little too narrow. The biggest thing I'm working out is getting my feet out. I've been concentrating on getting as wide and getting as low as I can. It's been helping. What I did when I first got into pro ball, but I got away from it."

 

As a Rule 5 Draft pickup from Arizona, Uggla has to make the final roster or he will be returned to the Diamondbacks.

 

"I don't worry about him defensively," said Girardi, who claims Hills is the best defensive instructor in the business. "I think you'll see a lot better defensive player in six weeks. They're all going to school right now."

 

Uggla is considered a solid hitter with power. If he improves defensively, he could win the starting job.

 

"I feel like what I'm doing now should make me better," Uggla said.

 

Advice from Beckett: Like so many others, former Marlins right-hander Josh Beckett is eager to see how the young Florida pitching staff performs. Now with the Red Sox, Beckett plans to follow the progress of friends like Willis, Vargas and Brian Moehler.

 

The 25-year-old Beckett certainly knows about being on the fast track to the big leagues. The second overall pick in 1999, Beckett was a September callup in 2001, and in 2003 he was the World Series MVP.

 

Asked to give some advice to the young Marlins pitchers, Beckett said: "The thing they should not get caught up in is wins and losses. So often, wins and losses are out of a starter's control. What they should do is concentrate on keeping their team in the game."

 

Five years ago, Beckett was projected to be on a group of hard-throwing "young guns" that were being compared to the elite Braves of the 1990s. Beckett was featured in a poster with A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny, Ryan Dempster and Jason Grilli. Of that group, Grilli's career has been affected by injuries, but the others have enjoyed pretty good success.

 

"I came in with Brad and A.J., and we were on teams that lost a lot of games," Beckett said. "You [pitchers] have to stay focused and not get rattled. On a young team, you have to keep things in perspective."

 

Fish bites: Sergio Mitre accidentally struck Matt Treanor in the lower-back area with a pitch during live batting practice on Sunday. Treanor hung in there and two pitches later, fouled a ball off his toe. Cabrera followed with a homer off Mitre ... Infielder Alfredo Amezaga is expected to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. ... On Sunday, Marlins players and Girardi spent some time getting filmed so their images can be used in a video game. "It's amazing. They can do some amazing things," Girardi said of the video-game graphics. "It would help if we could pick a team that way." ... The Marlins have a workout set for the main field at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday, and they also will be going through drills on the back field, beginning about 10 a.m. ET.

 

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

I think that was the mammoth homerun by Miggy.

Treanor is already getting beat up and the Grapefuit league hasn't even started yet :lol .

I'm heartened to read Girardi is considering Miggy batting fourth with Hermida third and Jacobs fifth. It seemed to make so much sense, but when I read that Girardi wanted Miggy batting third, I said "okay, he's the guy who knows what he's doing...".

 

I can hardly wait to see some of these guys play.

A few minutes ago my mom and I were wondering who is pitching Wednesday. Now I know.

I'm heartened to read Girardi is considering Miggy batting fourth with Hermida third and Jacobs fifth. It seemed to make so much sense, but when I read that Girardi wanted Miggy batting third, I said "okay, he's the guy who knows what he's doing...".

 

I can hardly wait to see some of these guys play.

 

just pit Hammer 2nd and voila.... a potentially deadly 2-3-4-5

I'm heartened to read Girardi is considering Miggy batting fourth with Hermida third and Jacobs fifth. It seemed to make so much sense, but when I read that Girardi wanted Miggy batting third, I said "okay, he's the guy who knows what he's doing...".

 

I can hardly wait to see some of these guys play.

 

 

Amen.

 

I could see a 2-3-4 of Hermida, Cabrera, Jacobs working too.

 

I think a lot depends on whether or not Hanley (my personal 2-hole pick) makes the club out of camp.

Or Hammer 6th could make for a deep order, and a deadly 3-4-5-6.

 

If Reed wins CF, have him leadoff with Shadez second. If Aguila wins, bat him second with the Shaded One first.

Reed

Shadz

Hermida

Miggy

Jacobs

Hammer

Olivo

Pokey/ungs

Willis

 

I like it

If Girardi wants to bat Cabs third a possibility could be...

 

Cabrera

Hermida

Hammer

Jacobs

 

and if Cabs if hitting clean up...

 

Hermida

Cabrera

Jacobs

Hammer

Reed

Uggla

Hermida

Cabrera

Jacobs

Willingham

Olivo

Reese

Willis

 

L-R-L-R-L-R 1-6 Batters

 

Now that's nasty

I vote for:

 

Shadez

Hammer

Hermida

Miggy

Jakey

Uggla/Aguila

Aguila/Olivo

Olivo/Reese

 

We need a high OBP guy batting second to get on base for Hermida and Miggy. Having Hammer and Hermida, both projected to be .370+ OBP guys, right in front of Miggy is ideal. Shadez would feel less pressure because those two guys have such high OBP's. An OBP of .345-.350 from Shadez is acceptable, IMO.

Aguila

Hanley

Hermida

Cabrera

Jacobs

Willingham

Olivo

Uggla

I vote for:

 

Shadez

Hammer

Hermida

Miggy

Jakey

Uggla/Aguila

Aguila/Olivo

Olivo/Reese

 

We need a high OBP guy batting second to get on base for Hermida and Miggy. Having Hammer and Hermida, both projected to be .370+ OBP guys, right in front of Miggy is ideal. Shadez would feel less pressure because those two guys have such high OBP's. An OBP of .345-.350 from Shadez is acceptable, IMO.

 

That's what I was thinking too...It makes the bottom half of the lineup much weaker but i feel like that will be the best for run production. I'm not sure I would trust two guys(reed and hanley) for the 1-2 spots in the lineup considering both have extremely limited experience and probably will have some growing pains throughout the year.

While this is all fun and games we haven't heard word one about how Reed, Aguila, Hermida, Jacobs or Willingham are doing offensively so far this spring.

 

While there are a few people here who enjoy playing these guessing games for myself I feel compelled to wait, as frustrating as that is, to get some idea of how well some of these guys are doing with the the bat in real game situations.

 

It won't take long for someone to point out that spring training stats mean nothing (see one Abraham Nunez as exhibit A) but this season, like it or not, careers will be made or shattered between now and April. There's 59 guys out there literally playing for their lives.

 

As much as Hermida, Cabrera, Jacobs looks as close to a lock as we can expect, what happens if Stokes comes in and sets the world on fire? Or Helms or Aguila ends March with a .395 OBP? The world turns upside down.

 

I hate waiting as much as the next guy but like the starting rotation, before we find ourselves filling roster spots, the gamelogs will tell the story.

if Helms has a .395 OBP, that will solidify his bench spot

 

nothing more

 

and yes, I know you were just using him as an example

Miggy said that he's very impressed with Shadez.

Pierre

Luis

Cabs

Delgado

Hermy

Duke

Gonzo

Lowell

Pitcher

 

 

wait....my bad :plain :plain :plain

Pierre

Luis

Cabs

Delgado

Hermy

Duke

Gonzo

Lowell

Pitcher

 

 

wait....my bad :plain :plain :plain

 

meh, this offense will outscore that one anyway

Pierre

Luis

Cabs

Delgado

Hermy

Duke

Gonzo

Lowell

Pitcher

 

 

wait....my bad :plain :plain :plain

 

 

 

remind me how 7/9 of that lineup did last year. oh ya we didnt make the playoffs and basically quit in september.

 

oh ya i remember now.

 

 

as much as i loved many of those guys, simple fact is that a good number of players on this team quit last year and it was fairly evident when watching the games.

Pierre

Luis

Cabs

Delgado

Hermy

Duke

Gonzo

Lowell

Pitcher

 

 

wait....my bad :plain :plain :plain

 

 

 

remind me how 7/9 of that lineup did last year. oh ya we didnt make the playoffs and basically quit in september.

 

oh ya i remember now.

 

 

as much as i loved many of those guys, simple fact is that a good number of players on this team quit last year and it was fairly evident when watching the games.

 

This is true enough. I was shell shocked sitting in the stands at the September 17 game against the Phillies. Dontrelle started and pitched a great game until the Phillies came back in the late innings and shelled the Marlins, winning by a margin I would like to forget. It was then that the nail was driven into the coffin.