No Fish Story: Marlins playing some serious ball

Posted June 20, 200618 yr

MIAMI (AP) - Joe Girardi is as surprised as anyone.

"I knew we would play better," the Florida Marlins' rookie manager said, "but I did not expect this." He's surely not alone. No one could have expected this - a four-week run where the untried, rebuilding and rookie-loaded Marlins were the hottest team in baseball.

Led by a bunch of relative unknowns, the Marlins are 18-6 in their last 24 games and have climbed out of last place in the National League East. Josh Johnson leads the majors with a 2.01 earned-run average. Dan Uggla has 12 home runs. Scott Olsen has won four consecutive starts.

Who, exactly, are these guys?

They're the future, which right now is looking pretty good.

"I just like how, regardless of how we were playing, we were still coming in and working hard and still believing," said left-hander Dontrelle Willis, who was second in the NL Cy Young award voting last year but is off to a 3-6 start in 2006. "Now it's starting to pay off."

Willis and third baseman Miguel Cabrera - among the NL leaders with a .342 average, 83 hits and 23 doubles - came into this year as the veterans of sorts in the Marlins' clubhouse.

Never mind that Willis is still only 24 and Cabrera just 23, they are the sages on a team that split with Carlos Delgado, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Alex Gonzalez, Juan Pierre, Todd Jones and Luis Castillo from last year's team - slicing $45 million US in payroll, down to a major league-low $15 million in 2006.

But a bunch of guys getting their first chance at being major-league regulars - like Johnson, Uggla, Mike Jacobs (.273) and Hanley Ramirez (.268, 20 stolen bases) - are making the most of their opportunity.

"When you've got young guys, rookies, they always want to prove themselves," Girardi said. "It's like they need to show themselves that they can really play on this level."

If there was doubt, it's starting to be erased.

"I don't think in this game you can catch anyone off guard," Uggla said. "People in the game know who's a good team and who's not.

"We can see who can play and who cannot. At this level, very few people can't play."

The Marlins were 11-31 on May 21, losers of seven straight. They beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1 the next day, and the roll hasn't stopped since. Postseason tickets probably aren't being printed yet, but there's a clear sense of confidence accompanying Florida's current eight-game winning streak - one shy of the team record.

During this 24-game run, Florida has outscored opponents 117-74, is 8-2 in games decided by two runs or less, and has a team ERA of 2.82.

"It all starts with starting pitching," Girardi said. "When you've got that, you've got a chance."

And in the eight-game winning streak, the Marlins' numbers are even better. Team ERA: 1.85. Batting average: .279. Run differential: 37-16.

Florida went 6-0 on its homestand that ended Sunday, capped by a win over Toronto's Roy Halladay - who was 8-1 coming into the Marlins-Blue Jays series finale. Halladay was OK on Sunday, giving up four runs in six innings and striking out seven. But Johnson was better - yielding one run in 5 2-3 innings.

Since moving into the starting rotation in early May, Johnson is 5-2 with a 1.63 ERA. And over his last five starts, he's beaten some of the game's top aces: Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and now Halladay.

"Even when things were bad, this team knew it would get better," said the six-foot-seven Johnson. "And now it's getting better. It's coming together for us."

Hard as it may be to believe, the Marlins were only 3 1/2 games out of second place in the NL East entering Monday's play. They were a half-game behind Washington for third - and maybe in the most stunning development of all, were a game ahead of Atlanta, the perennial division champion that has sunk to last.

True, they are just 29-37. But, finally, there's reason for hope.

"It means a lot," Uggla said. "You put that much effort into a ballgame, you want to win it.

"Putting a streak together like we've put together is pretty special."

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/200...1641635-ap.html

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