January 27, 200719 yr Where does our rotation rank compared to the phillies, mets, nats and braves rotations? In theory if the young pitchers keep progressing like they did last season, I think the marlins have the best rotation in the east.
January 27, 200719 yr I have no doubt that if Sanchez can start the season off healthy that we have the #1 pitching staff.
January 27, 200719 yr There are the inury risks, worries about sophomore slumps and of course few good fielders behind them.... Still, if our staff stays healthy, we should be competing with the Brewers for best staff in the NL in 2007.
January 27, 200719 yr We have one of the best rotations in all baseball if our pitchers stay healthy.
January 27, 200719 yr If you assume that our rotation pitches as well in 2007 as they did in 2006, then we have the best rotation in the NL East and possibly in the entire National League.
January 27, 200719 yr I agree, probably among the top 3 in baseball baring any injuries or sophomore slumps.
January 27, 200719 yr Top 5 In MLB, Def. Tops in NLEAST....of course this depends on a few things Sanchez and his injury Johnson avoiding the sophomore slump Dontrelle and what type of pitcher he decides to be. Id still see Boston, NYY, CHC and maybe one or two others ahead of us.
January 27, 200719 yr So if the Marlins realistically have the best rotation in the NL East and quite possibly in the entire league... then that means we really can't be too far away from contending. All we need is to NOT have a hole in CF (meaning, get slightly below average to average offensive production with okay defense) and have an average to above average bullpen to compete for first place, or at the very least the wild card. I mean, think about it. First ranked rotation. Average bullpen. That makes our pitching staff easily top 3-4 in the NL. Last year our staff ranked 5th in NL ERA with our atrocious bullpen. Make that bullpen league average and all of a sudden we're top 3-4 easily. Without a hole in CF and another monster year from Miggy we become above average offensively - i.e. top 6, maybe top 5. Last year we were 8th in runs scored and the 6th team scored only 23 more runs than we did. We can easily catch the 6th team with an average CFer. So that puts us in the top 3-4 in overall pitching and top 5-6 in offense. That puts us at the cusp of the playoffs. Maybe that's why Beinfest & Co. have stayed pat. They figure someone like Sanchez or someone else that emerges will improve our CF position. And decent relievers can always be had via trades during the season. Why break the bank or trade our future now when we will have other (possibly better) options in the future? Remember, many teams think they have a realistic chance to contend, so they are unwilling to trade their relievers now. Once they realize they are out of it then those relievers become expendable.
January 27, 200719 yr So if the Marlins realistically have the best rotation in the NL East and quite possibly in the entire league... then that means we really can't be too far away from contending. All we need is to NOT have a hole in CF (meaning, get slightly below average to average offensive production with okay defense) and have an average to above average bullpen to compete for first place, or at the very least the wild card. I mean, think about it. First ranked rotation. Average bullpen. That makes our pitching staff easily top 3-4 in the NL. Last year our staff ranked 5th in NL ERA with our atrocious bullpen. Make that bullpen league average and all of a sudden we're top 3-4 easily. Without a hole in CF and another monster year from Miggy we become above average offensively - i.e. top 6, maybe top 5. Last year we were 8th in runs scored and the 6th team scored only 23 more runs than we did. We can easily catch the 6th team with an average CFer. So that puts us in the top 3-4 in overall pitching and top 5-6 in offense. That puts us at the cusp of the playoffs. Maybe that's why Beinfest & Co. have stayed pat. They figure someone like Sanchez or someone else that emerges will improve our CF position. And decent relievers can always be had via trades during the season. Why break the bank or trade our future now when we will have other (possibly better) options in the future? Remember, many teams think they have a realistic chance to contend, so they are unwilling to trade their relievers now. Once they realize they are out of it then those relievers become expendable. The bullpen is worse off right now than it was last year but CF is a bit better off because Reed and Reggie dragged down the '06 CF production. To get to a league average bullpen we need to add at a minimum a couple of reliable arms and maybe more than that. This bullpen, if it stays with the current bunch, will be the worst in MLB. If the starters stay healthy and if the starters don't have sophomore slumps and if we add some reliable bullpen arms and if we add a CF then we can compete for the WC. That's a lot of ifs. As things stand right now I see us 4th in the division with high 70s in wins.
January 27, 200719 yr Author As long as we dont start 20 games under .500 I think we have a great chance to make the playoffs. Even with that terrible start we got to within 2 games of the wild card in septemeber (I think).
January 27, 200719 yr While the Marlins could have the best rotation in the division....if not they're a close second to the Phillies....but, having by far the worst bullpen in the division will negate that strength.
January 27, 200719 yr Top 5 In MLB, Def. Tops in NLEAST....of course this depends on a few things Sanchez and his injury Johnson avoiding the sophomore slump Dontrelle and what type of pitcher he decides to be. Id still see Boston, NYY, CHC and maybe one or two others ahead of us. I don't think the Yankees and especially the Cubs even come close to us.
January 27, 200719 yr So if the Marlins realistically have the best rotation in the NL East and quite possibly in the entire league... then that means we really can't be too far away from contending. All we need is to NOT have a hole in CF (meaning, get slightly below average to average offensive production with okay defense) and have an average to above average bullpen to compete for first place, or at the very least the wild card. I mean, think about it. First ranked rotation. Average bullpen. That makes our pitching staff easily top 3-4 in the NL. Last year our staff ranked 5th in NL ERA with our atrocious bullpen. Make that bullpen league average and all of a sudden we're top 3-4 easily. Without a hole in CF and another monster year from Miggy we become above average offensively - i.e. top 6, maybe top 5. Last year we were 8th in runs scored and the 6th team scored only 23 more runs than we did. We can easily catch the 6th team with an average CFer. So that puts us in the top 3-4 in overall pitching and top 5-6 in offense. That puts us at the cusp of the playoffs. Maybe that's why Beinfest & Co. have stayed pat. They figure someone like Sanchez or someone else that emerges will improve our CF position. And decent relievers can always be had via trades during the season. Why break the bank or trade our future now when we will have other (possibly better) options in the future? Remember, many teams think they have a realistic chance to contend, so they are unwilling to trade their relievers now. Once they realize they are out of it then those relievers become expendable. The bullpen is worse off right now than it was last year but CF is a bit better off because Reed and Reggie dragged down the '06 CF production. To get to a league average bullpen we need to add at a minimum a couple of reliable arms and maybe more than that. This bullpen, if it stays with the current bunch, will be the worst in MLB. If the starters stay healthy and if the starters don't have sophomore slumps and if we add some reliable bullpen arms and if we add a CF then we can compete for the WC. That's a lot of ifs. As things stand right now I see us 4th in the division with high 70s in wins. Tell me, what team doesn't have ifs? Our bullpen right now is about the same as last season. The pitching has not changed. Our overall pitching last season ranked 4th in the NL. That means, regardless of our bullpen situation, our pitching is still one of the best in the NL. Our offense was league average last season. I'd say that because we hopefully won't have Reed and Kool Aid in CF it will be above average. Above average pitching plus above average hitting = above average team.
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