I asked you Marlins fans what to expect from your team in another thread, so I thought you'd appreciate some knowledge of your opponent from a fan that cheered against them all season.

 

 

The Cubs only have three good bullpen pitchers; closer Joe Borowski; right-handed fireballer Kyle Farnsworth; and lefty Mike Remlinger. If you face anyone else consider it a small victory and expect to score that inning. Because Dusty Baker allowed his starters to total high pitch counts the entire year, don?t expect a Cubs starter to tire early (even on shortened rest) allowing you to see anyone other than the 3 bullpen pitchers I just mentioned (unless in a blowout). If you want to get the Cubs starters out of the game early, you must score enough for Baker to take him out, or hope he leaves due to injury: You cannot ?wait out? the Cubs starters. Their arms and stamina has been built up the entire season; they are too strong.

 

I, like many others here, think you can beat them with speed and plate patience. If Marlins hitters consistently show Wood early that they won?t swing at his pitches that would be balls, Wood will become rattled and proceed to labor ? taking his mind out of the game.

 

Pay attention to balls hit to Aramis Ramirez, the Cubs third baseman. He is a horrible defensive player, with throwing being his worst defensive attribute (IMHO). I have noticed often him throwing to second base for a close force out instead of throwing all the way to first base for the last out of the inning because he is not confident in his throwing accuracy. With your speed players, I expect Ramirez?s accuracy to cause even more problems and will cost the Cubs one game in the Marlins series sweep of the North Side flamers.

we gotta knock down bunts and hit them back up the middle and into the gaps. We make contact and that tires people down, but these guys don't tire.

we have to be patient

people like agonz and enc refuse to take a base on balls

If Aramis sucks that bad, then that's playing into a big Marlins strength, with Pierre and Castillo both able to lay down some nice bunts down the 3B line.

Bingo Mabdul, we have just figured out our game plan....Can anyone relay it to Jack?

 

I'm SURE Pierre is aware of this, as he always is aware of the bunting circumstances.

 

Never thought about it until now.

ESPN's scouting on Aramis:

 

Scouting Report:

Another "five-days-a-week player'' & Very streaky at the plate & At third base, has a good backhand and a strong arm he loves to show off, sometimes to his detriment ... Careless in the field (33 errors) ... Slow charging the ball ... A speed team like the Marlins might try to exploit that weakness by bunting on him.

-- J.C.

 

And on 1B Randall Simon

 

Scouting Report:

A good "bad ball'' hitter who steps to the plate in hacking mode ... Walks only slightly more often than the Cubs win the World Series & One NL coach: To get him out, throw the ball down the middle of the plate & His swing is gearing toward pulling the ball & In the field, Simon has bad hands and slow feet.

-- J.C.

 

That's two poor fielders at the corners...It says Ramirez has a good arm, but if he can't get to the ball quick enough it won't matter.

MOST of the fish players rely on contact so Dusty will likely bring in better defensive players late in the game, but by then it could be too late...

The key to the series (to me) as a Sox fan in support of the Marlins:

 

- The Flubs led the NL/MLB is Strikeouts: 1,404 (MLB Record)

- The Marlins had the third fewest SOs (hitting) in the NL (978)

- The Flubs had the third most SOs (hitting) in the NL (1,158)

- The Flubs are a middle of the pack defensive team

- The Marlins are the second best defensive team in the MLB

- The Marlins are in the top half of the NL offensively

- The Flubs are in the bottom half of the NL offensively

- The Flubs have the edge in pitching with a 3.83 ERA/1.32 WHIP compared to the Marlins 4.04 ERA/1.34 WHIP

 

If the Marlins can avoid the strikeouts, be patient and work counts, shorten thier strokes and put the ball in play to force the action - they can win.

 

These teams are fairly even. The Flubs pitching gives them the air of a favorite. But the pitching has relied heavily on strikeouts, take that away with some Marlin plate discipline and the Flubs lose a dimension that is paramount to their recent success. Think about it : 162 games = 4,374 outs; The Flubs got 32% of their defensive outs this season from strikeouts.

Also, its Very Important to Get In The Flubs HEADS EARLY. When you guys

SEE MARK PRIOR, YELL PANTYHOSE really loudly (he wears Blue Womens

PantyHose under his pants)

ESPN's scouting on Aramis:

 

Scouting Report:

Another "five-days-a-week player'' & Very streaky at the plate & At third base, has a good backhand and a strong arm he loves to show off, sometimes to his detriment ... Careless in the field (33 errors) ... Slow charging the ball ... A speed team like the Marlins might try to exploit that weakness by bunting on him.

-- J.C.

 

And on 1B Randall Simon

 

Scouting Report:

A good "bad ball'' hitter who steps to the plate in hacking mode ... Walks only slightly more often than the Cubs win the World Series & One NL coach: To get him out, throw the ball down the middle of the plate & His swing is gearing toward pulling the ball & In the field, Simon has bad hands and slow feet.

-- J.C.

 

That's two poor fielders at the corners...It says Ramirez has a good arm, but if he can't get to the ball quick enough it won't matter.

Great point Mabdul; if we know about Ramirez, I'm sure Pierre and Castillo know about him. I didn't notice Ramirez slow getting to bunts, but I don't doubt it. From the sounds of it, the Marlins probably don't even need very good bunts to get hits.

 

From what I've seen the Cubs first baseman Randall Simon, he's not a below average defensive player. In fact, he's one of the best at leading a pitcher to first base on plays where he can't reach the bag himself. Obviously, this is a small part of the entire defensive package, but I think it's worthy to mention since Marlins bunters should not bunt towards first for hits (IMHO). So if you guys can relay this to the Marlins bench, we should be in business.

Also, its Very Important to Get In The Flubs HEADS EARLY. When you guys

SEE MARK PRIOR, YELL PANTYHOSE really loudly (he wears Blue Womens

PantyHose under his pants)

Hanger, I haven't heard about this. Who does Prior think he is? What a ripoff of Nick LaLoosh(sp).

TSN Preseason Scouting Report: Aramis Ramirez

Hitting:

Ramirez's ankle injury greatly affected his ability to hit for power last season. He was forced to stand more erect at the plate to take pressure off the ankle. That caused him to lose the leverage on his swing. Ramirez is at his best when he can extend his arms, showing power to all parts of the park. However, pitchers jammed him more last year and he didn't adjust until later in the year. Though the numbers didn't bear it out in 2002, Ramirez enjoys hitting in the clutch and has a knack for coming through in RBI situations.

Baserunning and Defense:

Ramirez always has been a slow runner, but he was reduced to a brisk walk on the bases last season because of his ankle. He is a station-to-station baserunner and barely attempts a steal. He is erratic in the field, as he tends to get lazy with his footwork, causing his throws to sail off line. He has only adequate range, but still could become at least a decent defender with good hands and a strong arm.

 

 

Good hands and a strong arm?