Before delving into the topic du jour, another great outing from Ricky Nolasco. He gave up two early runs then retired 20 of the last 21 batters he faced. Since returning from his demotion to Triple-A, Nolasco has not allowed more than two earned runs in five outings and has earned the 'W' in three straight. Looks like he's back, giving the Marlins that one-two-three punch with Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad they hoped would carry them to meaningful baseball in September.

 

Also, Hanley Ramirez continues to play like the MVP. The average is back up to .339 after his third three-hit game in five days. He knocked in another run, giving him at least one RBI in a franchise record-tying eight straight games (18 RBI over that span). He's leading baseball hitting with runners in scoring position. Anybody else get the feeling if Ramirez doesn't win his first MVP this season he's looking like a pretty good bet for runner up to Albert Pujols?

 

To Bonifacio...for all the buzz about Gaby Sanchez moving from first to third at Triple-A New Orleans, it's looking less and less likely Bonifacio is going anywhere. Are the overall numbers still disappointing? Yes. Even aftera 1-for-3 performance with a triple and sacrifice fly that knocked in the deciding run in the eighth, Bonifacio's OPS remains .601. His on-base percentage (.298) has been south of .300 since May 22. He's been error-prone at third, a position he hadn't played before this spring.

 

Yet for all that, I thought manager Fredi Gonzalez had a telling quote about him afterthe game: " Boni, even through all the stuff he's been going through, at the beginning of the year and hitting .900 and people expecting him to hit .970, he comes every day to work and he's getting better. He's got a nice little hitting streak going. He's hitting a little over .300 from the right side...He's doing fine. He's one of those guys you characterize as a winner because he'll find something to do during the course of a game to help you win a ballgame."

 

Can't really disagree with Gonzalez here. We haven't seen many games from Bonifacio like he had that first week, but for all his shortcomings -- and he has his share -- he does seem to do at least one thing a game that makes you say, 'Ok, let's keep him in there a little longer and see what he can do.' If nothing else, I'm impressed by the fact he's shown no signs of being a "me" player.

 

Monday, he extended his hitting streak to a season-high seven games, matching his personal best, and is batting .346 (9 for 26) over that stretch. This might not be saying much, but for the second time this season he's gone three straight games without a strikeout. Overall, the strikeouts are diminishing. He whiffed once every 3.9 at-bats in April. That figure has climbed to 5.0 in May and 5.5 in June.

 

Would the Marlins be a better team with Mark DeRosa starting at third every day? Probably, but this notion that the only reason Bonifacio is still here is so the Marlins can justify the trade that sent Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Nationals is absurd. If that was the case, why isn't Cameron Maybin here to justify the Miguel Cabrera trade? Come on.

 

I know Bonifacio's fan base has dwindled to next to nothing since his flashy first week, but if I were a Marlin fan I'd get used to him being in lineup in some capacity. It doesn't look like he's going anywhere.

 

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_baseball_marlins/

They can win games yes,But they can't win it all with him...

A better question is if they can win without Bonifacio.

A better question is if they can win without Bonifacio.

 

That's a pretty bad question, actually.

We could win with Bonifacio, but we could probably win with one of the countless upgrades floating around the league, so I'm not sure how to answer this.

We could win with him, we could win way more if we got a better player in his place.

No, he's a liabilty defensively and offensively. If he stays as our 3rd baseman, we will not win the division.

He's hitting a little over .300 from the right side...He's doing fine. He's one of those guys you characterize as a winner because he'll find something to do during the course of a game to help you win a ballgame."

 

 

That description sounds like someone you could throw in as a pinch hitter against a lefty. He's just not good enough defensively to be an everyday player.

 

There's plenty of options. Give Wes Helms or Gaby Sanchez a chance; Try Coghlan out at third (He played there in the Minors a bit); or as I saw in an article on ESPN.com, move Uggla to third, Coghlan to second, and Brett Carroll to LF. If you go with the third option, you could also alternate Carroll and De Aza or maybe Cameron Maybin

 

Espn article

Well, once again we'll get an answer to our question:

 

1) Coghlan, LF

 

2) Bonifacio, 3B

 

3) Hanley, SS

 

4) Cantu, 1B

 

5) Hermida, RF

 

6) Uggla, 2B

 

7) Ross, CF

 

8) Baker, C

 

9) West, P

Bonifacio HAS improved.

I must say.

no we can't win with him. he was given the 3rd base job during spring training because of his defense and he's had 13 errors. we need an upgrade at 3rd base more than at closer. i think nunez would do a good job at closer if given the opportunity. if we're still in it the front office will find a solution at 3rd.

I don't even know what this question is asking, can we win games? The pennant? The wild card? The WS?

 

I'm going to assume you are referring to winning games and seeing as they've won 40 games with Boni playing most of them, I'll say yes. The Marlins can win with Bonifacio but I'm sure they could win more games with a better 3rd baseman.

Yeah, you can win games, but its like tying one arm behind your back before going into a fight. Why do you do it to yourself when there are better options? How can you not figure it out, when everyone watching realizes what you are doing is so stupid?

 

Oh yeah, Bonifacio has "improved". His "improvement" is easily bested by just about anyone else playing instead of him.

Tonight's game is a good example. He had yet another opportunity to get in the free run with us down by 1 and he failed to do it, if Hanley doesn't get that 2 out single the rain delay ends it with us being down 5-4 and we lose...so yeah he needs to go.

Tonight's game is a good example. He had yet another opportunity to get in the free run with us down by 1 and he failed to do it, if Hanley doesn't get that 2 out single the rain delay ends it with us being down 5-4 and we lose...so yeah he needs to go.

 

 

And yet you leave out the run he produced with his speed.

People always thought I was crazy but I tried telling you guys CATCHER is our problem more than 3rd base.

 

Baker is not a great hitter like you guys think and he can't throw ANYONE out. Baker is a solid backup but we need a starter.

 

Boner is what he is. A .260 minors hitter and a .250 pro hitter with 17 steals. I'd like to see a Sanchez/Boner platoon at least.

People always thought I was crazy but I tried telling you guys CATCHER is our problem more than 3rd base.

 

Baker is not a great hitter like you guys think and he can't throw ANYONE out. Baker is a solid backup but we need a starter.

 

Boner is what he is. A .260 minors hitter and a .250 pro hitter with 17 steals. I'd like to see a Sanchez/Boner platoon at least.

 

We are at or near the top ten in basebal in production from our catchers, and I can't imagine we are much higher than dead last at 3rd.

 

Replacing bonifacio is a much bigger need than replacing baker. It's not even close.

 

I mean, this is so obvious it's not even worth discussing.

 

What is your reasoning on thinking we need to replace boner less than baker?

Tonight's game is a good example. He had yet another opportunity to get in the free run with us down by 1 and he failed to do it, if Hanley doesn't get that 2 out single the rain delay ends it with us being down 5-4 and we lose...so yeah he needs to go.

 

 

And yet you leave out the run he produced with his speed.

 

I don't understand how people can argue in his favor. Speed is the only thing he has going for him, and that only matters if you're on base, which rarely happens. He can't hit, he can't walk, he's bad defensively...why on earth would anyone want him on this team?

 

f***ed up again just now, Zimmerman makes a sh*tty throw to let him on 2nd for free, and as soon as he realizes Hanley is up (someone likely to drive him in), he tries to steal 3rd with no lead and is out by several feet.