The only thing i hate about fredi is his lineup decisions. I wish he would bench players that are struggling more often.

It doesn't matter if it cost them the game, it was still absolutely stupid. The manager doesn't have to do much, except NOT utterly screw up in situations such as these. I accept that our roster is not playoff calibur...but that doesn't give Fredi free reign to act like a retard. What's going to happen years from now when we bring up guys like Stanton, Morrison, etc, and this guy is still being a moron?

 

 

Then you get rid of him. That is, if Stanton, Morrison, etc. are ripping the ball and Fredi is obviously the one holding back the team. Or, if Stanton, Morrison, etc. are failing, but we can't get rid of them all at once, and Fredi has to fall on the sword.

 

But if Fredi is such a moron, how are we at .500, we were (and still are) in the playoff hunt. With all the aspects of the team that are underperforming, the offense and pitching inconsistencies, firing Fredi and replacing him is not suddenly going to make the team that much better. Maybe a new manager will win us two or three games, but who he is managing and how they are playing may be the bigger problem.

 

 

We're .500 because we have really good players. Don't act like we're playing to/past expectations. We're better than a .500 team, for sure.

 

We are definitely a better than .500 team (by how much so, that is up for debate). And we do have good players. But are we at .500 because of Fredi or those good players not playing up to their potential/goodness?

 

Is it Fredi's fault that Ricky was horrible to open up the season or that Volstad continues to give up homers? Or that Uggla is not hitting well? On paper, we should be better. But in reality, we aren't, because the individual expectations are not being lived up to. And when those individual expectations fall short, the team in general falls short. But we are not a .500 team despite Fredi. We are a .500 team despite having a horrible May, an at times spotty rotation, and an offense that is hot and cold over the span of two games.

 

What I've been saying is there are many to blame, if we want to go down that path. It may start with Fredi, but it certainly doesn't end there, and it is much more likely if someone "following" him (a player) was living up to their potential, we wouldn't be having as severe a conversation.

 

I don't know why you believe we are "definitely a better than .500 team (by how much so, that is up for debate)", is it just because you say we are ? What gives you that impression, because the Marlins record so far this year, and over the last 4 seasons, says otherwise. They are what they are, a mediocre team. Not bad but certainly not great and also not a playoff team. The FO has its hands tied by Loria. Its a damn shame but it looks like we will never get it done while Johnson, Uggla and Hanley are here. I suspect all 3 will be gone by 2012. Only a slight chance that Hanely is here. They will need to trade him for a bunch of players to fill out the 2012 roster.

 

Do you guys really, truly believe the new stadium will solve some of the woes or is it we just will never have a decent payroll as long as Loria is the owner ?

 

Maybe because last season we had our best season that did not make it into the playoffs with a 84-77 record? With Johnson out for most of the year and people like Jacobs in the lineup. And that in 2006, the rookie year for for many of our players we were 78-84, right around .500 and the playoff hunt. Except for 2007, when we were 20 below .500, we've been in thick of the playoff race. Setting aside 2007, we aren't a mediocre team. Being around .500 or better, makes us an average team. Mediocre teams are like the Pirates, Nationals and Royals, teams that never even sniff .500.

 

And on paper, we are supposed to be a better team. Ricky was supposed to pitch better, and we didn't expect to see Volstad has such a sophomore slump. Plus, Uggla has struggled more than expected, and Ross struggled in the beginning of the year too. Maybe I shouldn't have said definitely, but we were projected, at least around these parts to be a better than .500 team. There has been a lot of bumps in the road talentwise, meaning unexpected performances (yes, Uggla and Ross are streaky, but this is definitely a career down season for at least Uggla). Doesn't mean we can't be "Better" than .500, at least hypothetically.

Let me guess. You didn't read the rest of the post or are just ignoring it because you found something to argue with me about.

 

Without bothering to check, I would guess his OPS numbers are a result of where he plays half his home games. And I am looking at this...After the ASG, in this series, he was 1 for 9 with 6 Ks going into that AB. I didn't even bother to see what he has done vs that particular pitcher. Just trying to figure out why they did what they did. And I did say I personally most likely would have pitched to Bako and not IBB him. So if I am agreeing with those posts, I have to guess those posts are also wrong?

 

Feel free to ignore, as usual, any part of this post you can't argue with me about. I take it as a difference of style. I like to figure out why something was done, and you like to point fingers, assign blame, and proclaim yourself to be smarter than those in position to actually make the decisions.

 

 

You can hide behind the argument of "Erick just wants to argue with me!", but the fact of the matter is you said something obviously unfounded without looking at it at all. He's got a .922 OPS on the road (believe me, I was surprised too).

 

If you say something obviously factually inaccurate and then someone calls you out on it, you look pretty silly by then trying to change the subject. You are essentially trying to call Erick a bully.

 

^This.

mystiko187 Didn't mean to come off sounding pompous or arrogant. I am new to the internet lingo too (FWIW)-yeah I had no idea what that meant so thanks for clearing that up. I was just trying to state my opinion as I would have played it. Before batting practice I believe everyone of the positon players takes BP and before they start swinging away they have to lay down some bunts. I am not saying that laying a bunt down in BP in the same as in game situations, however, I believe in this situation it would have been the more logical move. If you are in the majors, don't you think, if asked upon to lay down a bunt, you coud probably do that? There are so many more opportunities to score if a player is on third with one out than on second. I was completely shocked when we couldn't push 1 runner across the plate with 1st and 2nd and no outs. I didn't mean to take my frustrations out on a fellow fan and blogger. Please accept my apologies. It's frustrating when you should win games and end up losing them. Whatever the game is over and we lost because we couldn't execute. Good teams execute night in and night out.

 

 

Think about this...wouldn't you expect your cleanup hitter to drive in those runs? If not your cleanup hitter then who?

Also...it's really not that great of an advantage (if at all) just b/c the runner is at 3rd. I'd much rather have Cantu with runners at 1st and 2nd with 0 outs than to have the 6th hitter up with 1 out and the bases loaded.

 

You touched on the right answer but didn't answer the question you bolded. Bunting has become a lost art in the majors. So the answer would be "No." Some players just can't lay down a bunt because they never really practise it. Guys like Cantu that are very dangerous with RISP never work on that skill because they aren't expected to waste an AB just to move runners over. They are expected to drive them in.

 

And if you looked at some of my posts over the past few days, you'd see I've been saying the same thing. But I guess now you're just looking to argue, eh? BULLY!

mystiko187 Didn't mean to come off sounding pompous or arrogant. I am new to the internet lingo too (FWIW)-yeah I had no idea what that meant so thanks for clearing that up. I was just trying to state my opinion as I would have played it. Before batting practice I believe everyone of the positon players takes BP and before they start swinging away they have to lay down some bunts. I am not saying that laying a bunt down in BP in the same as in game situations, however, I believe in this situation it would have been the more logical move. If you are in the majors, don't you think, if asked upon to lay down a bunt, you coud probably do that? There are so many more opportunities to score if a player is on third with one out than on second. I was completely shocked when we couldn't push 1 runner across the plate with 1st and 2nd and no outs. I didn't mean to take my frustrations out on a fellow fan and blogger. Please accept my apologies. It's frustrating when you should win games and end up losing them. Whatever the game is over and we lost because we couldn't execute. Good teams execute night in and night out.

 

 

Think about this...wouldn't you expect your cleanup hitter to drive in those runs? If not your cleanup hitter then who?

Also...it's really not that great of an advantage (if at all) just b/c the runner is at 3rd. I'd much rather have Cantu with runners at 1st and 2nd with 0 outs than to have the 6th hitter up with 1 out and the bases loaded.

 

Yes I would expect the cleanup hitter to drive in those runs but as of late he hasn't been doing that. Jorge Cantu is not a cleanup up hitter. He has 10 homeruns for crying out loud. Earlier in the season he was driving in runs left and right. This isn't the case right now. There is a huge advantage in my mind with a guy on 3rd base (especially Bonaficiout because of his "speed") because a pass ball, wild pitch, sac fly, single, or any error in the infield scores that run. If one of these things happens (except for the single) then the guy is only on 3rd base instead of jumping around on the diamond because of a walk off. If Cantu would have moved the runners over then Dan Uggla (I think he batted behind Canut that evening?) would have been up. He usually tries to hit homeruns every night so you would of thought he could of gotten a ball out to the outfield. Either way you said that most anyone on this board could have managed better than Fredi did. If I would have been managing we would have won that game. Cantu would have been pissed because he would have had to play team ball and bunt, but in the end we would have had a victory because the other way sure didn't work. In the 9th with 2 guys on and no outs I am trying to manufacture a run if players are called upon to bunt three times in a row to get the runners home. Poor execution with runners in scoring position has been the Marlins downfall. Look at everyones average except for Hanley's and it's disgusting, high OPS and OBS or not it doesn't matter unless you score. Sorry for the rant this is just how I feel, but this is what this board is for no?

 

At the moment it's kinda hard to look at his HR totals because he was experiencing weakness from medication for so long. But if you looked at his RBI totals he is second on the team right now. That means he is getting the job done with RISP. I just find it hard to take the bat out of the hands of a guy that is getting the job done when he has the opportunities.

 

Ya it would have been a tough decison and I can see where you would let the cleanup hitter hit in that situation. It's sad however that they couldn't manufacture a run when they needed it most! Good thoughts.

The only thing i hate about fredi is his lineup decisions. I wish he would bench players that are struggling more often.

 

 

 

Kinda hard for guys to break out of slumps when they're not playing.