Marlins baseball is finally back and what a way to kick things off. Here are a few things I took away from Opening Day:

 

- Hanley's performance pretty much speaks for itself. He was the catalyst behind today's win without question. Does anyone else besides me who thinks he went into today's game (and this series) with something to prove with talk of how Zimmerman deserved to be Rookie of the Year? One thing I noticed defensively is that he did not dive for one grounder hit into the hole that he would have dived for last season. Overall though he looked solid on the field today.

 

- Uggla came out swinging. Does that mean that he will match or top last season's rookie campaign? Maybe not. But I like the approach he is taking at the plate early on. And that homer was absolutely crushed.

 

- Miguel was beastly today. Many here may consider him one of the top three or five hitters in the game. But I think this is the season he takes it to another level. Between his coming into the season in near top physical condition and the maturity he has achieved, I think he will establish himself as being one of the top hitters in the minds of fans nationally.

 

- Jacobs looked solid most of the time the plate today and I liked the command he took on the field on the popout in foul ground. Going the other way to drive in a run in the first and the at bat overall was very good. I still noticed some of the old looping swing, especially against Bowie.

 

- Willingham does not look good right now. No way around it. He is turning over on the ball at the plate and still looks lost in leftfield. I think he will fix the problem at the plate (though I think he may be in for a bit of an early funk) but I don't expect much improvement in LF.

 

- Borchard was just hard to watch today. He was completely outmatched at the plate and the Zimmerman triple (though I don't think he really had a chance at catching it) was ugly. Hopefully Hermida comes back soon and comes back strong though I think the chances of both of those things happening are slim.

 

- Olivo seems to be taking a more patient approach at the plate which I like. His glovework is still subpar though and I don't expect much improvement there as the season progresses.

 

- Great debut for De Aza. He looked smooth in the outfield in the limited action he saw there and his first hit was a solid one. He definitely caught a lucky break on that triple.

 

- Dontrelle is definitely more comfortable with the team than he was one year ago, which can only be good for the team. He had the two seamer and slider working today, though the velocity was so-so. You gotta love having a pitcher that can field as well as the D can. A couple of those plays he made really kept the momentum with the Marlins. The way he battled in some of the rough spots he hit was also encouraging.

 

- Messenger looked better today than he did at just about any point last season. Don't underestimate the power of the goatee.

 

- Owens impressed today. A solid outing, though probably uneccesary to call him out of the pen today. More like Gardener time.

 

- Julio was all over the place and his chemistry with the team seems a bit off. But he just joined in, so that will change. But he definitely did not look happy being called in to pitch the 9th against a beaten team.

 

- Fredi Gonzalez had a good debut, but it is hard for a manager of a team that wins like this to look bad. I liked the aggresiveness giving Willingham the greenlight 3-0 in the 1st. The way he handled the bullpen was questionable, but it is Opening Day so he gets a free pass. Overall, I liked what I saw.

If Hermida comes back swinging, this team is going to be very scary.

 

 

You gotta love opening day.. half the fans think they're already done, half think they're on their way to the WS.

If Hermida comes back swinging, this team is going to be very scary.

 

 

You gotta love opening day.. half the fans think they're already done, half think they're on their way to the WS.

 

I was going to post a prediction in Ramp's thread, but JJ's nerve injury really threw a monkey wrench into that. Our chances really depend on how strong he comes back from the nerve injury. And even if he does come back strong, the chances are not the best. But this thread is all about Opening Day and there were a lot of good things to take away from the game.

i pretty much agree with the first post - just finished watching this game on my DVR - was nice to see jacobs get a hit off a lefty as well - hanley was definitely the catalyst - i was watching the nats feed and they were spelling doom when de aza walked to lead off the inning and when cabrera came up with the bases loaded (they kept saying that there is no way you let him see the plate this inning)

 

zimmerman is a really impressive ballplayer and a lot of fun to watch

 

the marlins looked good on the whole though and it was an enjoyable game - insane effort by ramirez and it looks like fredi is going to have everyone running and being aggressive out there

Notes:

- If it wasn't clear before, Borchard cannot seriously be considered to play center.

- Love Jacobs' first inning AB. Worked the count, hit it the other way. Love that.

- Love Boone's Sac Fly. Love that.

- Hate using Owens and Julio in a blowout. Would've preferred to save them for the close games.

- Julio got the job done very Alfonseca-like, but he got it done. So far so good.

 

Overall, great start. They appear relaxed and confident and they executed very well. Very encouraging. Looking forward to game two, and the rest.

as for Owens and Julio being called in, it was their first time out there with the team, and probably did a good job is just shaking off jitters....

 

As a closer it would be horrible for him to go out there bing just as shaky in a 1 run ballgame, so i like the move by Gonzalez, especially since in all likelyhood they wont be needed in BOTH the Tuesday and Wednesday games, and they get that rest day thurs.

better off wasting Julio in a 7 run game anyway

All I can say is I hope Hanley and Miggy can keep it up all year long.

another thing was Willis laid down two nice sac bunts and only because it was Zimmerman that they were fielded at all. God that kid is good.

Why would you not expect much improvement in LF? Willingham will get it going.....Borchard is not good though. He can't play D and he's awful at the plate...hopefully Ross and Hermida will be strong.

I don't have a problem with Owens and Julio being used yesterday. It is called getting your feet wet. I think most managers did the same yesterday, and on Sunday Billy Wagner was used on a non save situation

I think for the most part there is good talent there. What is going to hurt the team is lack of consistency and failure to live to potential.

 

Anyone in particular you're referring to here?