I thought I was waking up to good news with the Marlins basically saying ok to hell with Slowey lets just call up Fernandez.

 

Then I see Alvarez and Eovaldi are hurt and Morrison to 60-day dl which means he cant be back until May 31.

 

So thats 3 guys who were supposed to be in our rotation that arent.

Nolasco, Leblanc, Slowey... Worst opening starting 3 of all time?

Wait, you mean this team had no depth beyond their dubious starters ....... This is the season we are in for ...... Fernandez is young and i hope the FO really thinks he's ready from a maturity stand point ..... Here's hoping .... I choose to be excited that we get to see one of the top pitching prospects in the game test his stuff and develop while having willful ignorance to the reasons why he's there already

Rookie of the Year?

Nolasco, Leblanc, Slowey... Worst opening starting 3 of all time?

 

Maybe so, but probably not.

I give to you, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

 

                    W  L W-L%  ERA  G GS CG    IP   H   R  ER HR  BB SO   BF ERA+  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
Jim Hughey           4 30 .118 5.41 36 34 32 283.0 403 244 170  9  88 54 1318   68 1.735 12.8  0.3  2.8  1.7  0.61
Charlie Knepper      4 22 .154 5.78 27 26 26 219.2 307 190 141 11  77 43 1024   63 1.748 12.6  0.5  3.2  1.8  0.56
Frank Bates          1 18 .053 7.24 20 19 17 153.0 239 181 123  6 105 13  802   51 2.248 14.1  0.4  6.2  0.8  0.12
Crazy Schmit*        2 17 .105 5.86 20 19 16 138.1 197 138  90  3  62 24  666   63 1.872 12.8  0.2  4.0  1.6  0.39
Harry Colliflower*   1 11 .083 8.17 14 12 11  98.0 152 122  89  6  41  8  483   45 1.969 14.0  0.6  3.8  0.7  0.20
Willie Sudhoff       3  8 .273 6.98 11 10  8  86.1 131  85  67  3  25 10  409   53 1.807 13.7  0.3  2.6  1.0  0.40

 

Haha wow ^

Crazy Schmidt right there

Nolasco, Leblanc, Slowey... Worst opening starting 3 of all time?

 

Whatever year Mark Hendrickson started opening day has to be in the running

This really fucking blows though. I was excited to see Eovaldi and Alvarez go at it this year.

 

Oh and of course Morrison now has about 55 more games to tweet at home.

The Standard Operating Procedure from day 1 with this FO has been to wait on starting the clock. Now suddenly that is not an issue apparently. This is just another example of a FO that is desperate and changing course once again. It seems as if there is very little direction, just reactions and no set plan.

 

this. reeks of desperation. but it all logically follows from their off-season rhetoric. loria's message to the fans all off-season has been, "listen, you idiots, we needed to make these trades to get better." and then you have samson spouting off "you may not know the players but you'll know the wins", guaranteeing they'd finish better than last season's team, and saying "yeah, we didn't make great decisions in the past, but trust us to make the right decisions now."

 

then two-fifths of the rotation goes down, and lomo is out until june.

 

they are panicking and trying to save face. they desperately want to finish better than last season's team because they spouted off a whole lot of bs about how they had to make trades and this'll be better for the team and we'll be better than last year blah blah blah, and they know if they finish worse than last year they'll look like (even bigger) morons. this move was made in the hopes that they'll win 70 games as opposed to 67. because of their defiant we-know-best-and-you-fans-would-see-that-if-you-weren't-such-idiots attitude, the marlins put themselves in an awkward spot where they are paradoxically in both rebuilding mode and win-now mode.

 

"very little direction" is accurate.

Scouts, GM's analyze Marlins

 

 

SUNDAY BUZZ COLUMN

With everybody expecting this to a long and losing season for the Marlins, who open Monday in Washington, we solicited personnel evaluations from three former general managers (John Hart, Steve Phillips, Jim Bowden) and three veteran scouts. Some feedback:

### The rotation of Ricky Nolasco, Nate Eovaldi, Wade LeBlanc, Wilson Alvarez and Kevin Slowey “is going to kill their bullpen because they will have a lot of five-inning starts,� said one AL scout who watched the Marlins a lot this spring. “It might get ugly quickly. Your No. 1 starter [Nolasco] would be in the back of a rotation of a championship team.�

Other views from the three scouts, who asked that their names not be used because of club policy: “It’s a bad sign when Wade LeBlanc is your No. 3 starter. Heck, I would pass on him as a No. 5 starter.�… “Nolasco has gone backward. The only consistent pitch he has left is his curveball.�…. “Alvarez is a better pitcher than he showed in Toronto. The key for him is getting good sink on his fastball.�… “Liked how Eovaldi looked this spring. He’s going to be a solid major league starter.�

Sirius Radio’s Phillips: “It’s a pretty thin rotation. Slowey doesn’t have the stuff to get away with a mistake.� But Hart said the good news is “Eovaldi and Henderson have good stuff. The development of a third pitch is key for Eovaldi.�

### One scout said signing 37-year-old third baseman Placido Polanco, who missed time with back problems in 2012, was “stupid. You’re not going anywhere, and he’s going to end up on the disabled list.� Hart said “I wouldn’t want to play him everyday� because of injuries.

But Phillips said Polanco “is one of the smartest players and best situational hitters around. You’re not going to get power or speed, so he needs to hit over .300 to be a functional asset.�

### The evaluators believe Juan Pierre will be productive, at 35. “He’s a nice place card until Christian Yelich is ready,� ESPN’s Bowden said.

Phillips said: “He’s got something left, but he doesn’t have a great on-base percentage [.346 career] because he’s not the most patient guy. He’s not a prototypical leadoff hitter.�

### Bowden predicts Adeiny Hechavarria “will become an above average shortstop and a No. 2 hitter eventually. I really like his range.�… Phillips: “I don’t expect him to hit much.�… Hart: “I love guy defensively. He’s a special defender.�

### The evaluators bemoaned the lack of protection around Giancarlo Stanton. “He’s going to be in a lot of 3-1 counts and needs to be patient,� Phillips said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but he’s up for it.�

### Some were skeptical whether Justin Ruggiano could duplicate last season’s breakout. “Chris Coghlan has had a great spring, and he needs regular at-bats to be productive,� one scout said. “Give him 250 at-bats, and if he doesn’t hit, then you know [2009] was a fluke. When he’s driving the ball the other way, he’s a pretty good player.�

### On catcher Rob Brantly: “I don’t think [.290 in 100 Marlins at-bats last year] was a fluke,� Hart said. “I’m not saying he’s Buster Posey, but he has a chance for a nice future.�… But a scout who watched him this spring said: “He’s got a ways to go defensively. And he needs to work on his game-calling.�

### A scout said second baseman Donovan Solano “would be more of a utility player on a good team. I’m not sold on him as a starter, but he’s a better player than I gave him credit for.�

### The evaluators are hopeful Logan Morrison will get back on track once he returns from knee issues. “I think he can hit .300 with 15 homers and 80 RBI,� Bowden said. But “is that production good enough at first base?� Despite the 23 homers in 2011, “he’s not going to be a big power bat long term,� Phillips said.

### One scout said Casey Kotchman, who is filling in at first for Morrison, “looks much better than he did last year. Defensively, one of better first basemen in baseball.�

### A scout, on the bullpen beyond closer Steve Cishek: “Really like A.J. Ramos’ arm. To me, Ryan Webb should be better; he has regressed. Mike Dunn overthrows and can’t command consistently.� But “Jon Rauch was a good signing,� Hart said.

### Bottom line? “It going to be a tough year,� Phillips said. “With a lineup without a lot of power, they’re going to have to win a lot of low-scoring games.� But one scout said: “If you factor in the minor league systems, I’d rather be the Marlins than the Mets.�…

And another said: “Mike Redmond will create a more professional clubhouse than Ozzie Guillen did.� Hart: “Redmond is an overachiever. Are they going to make a [playoff] run? No. But I don’t see this as a hopeless case.�

 

-Barry Jackson. Miami Herald.

Yet another person gets Henderson Alvarez's name wrong.

Morrison out even longer than we expected might as well just start adding 30 days to any estimated time line we are given for our players

Morrison out even longer than we expected might as well just start adding 30 days to any estimated time line we are given for our players

 

of course the eovaldi and alvarez injuries will turn into torn labrums.

Shoulder injuries are usually the worst.

Fernandez throws a no hitter at citi field in his debut. Calling it now.

 

And we still lose 1-0.

If Fernandez doesn't stay up but one or two starts what does that do to his Super2 status?

 

It probably won't affect it. It will, however, burn up an option year prematurely.

Wait, you mean this team had no depth beyond their dubious starters ....... This is the season we are in for ...... Fernandez is young and i hope the FO really thinks he's ready from a maturity stand point ..... Here's hoping .... I choose to be excited that we get to see one of the top pitching prospects in the game test his stuff and develop while having willful ignorance to the reasons why he's there already

 

I'm not worried about maturity or confidence with him, not even a little, and clearly they aren't either.

Is anyone else convinced that this is purely Loria's decision to call up Fernandez so early? This definitely seems like a Jeffrey Loria move to me.

Seems like its a loria move. Doesn't fit beinfest MO.

Every move is a Loria move.

I think if Loria were making the calls Yelich would have already been on the roster...

He might have, but he's currently injured according to JCR.

He might have, but he's currently injured according to JCR.

 

So the entire Jacksonville outfield isn't starting the season? Great.

Little nugget from Juan Rodriguez:

 

Since '90, five rookie starters have totaled 100-plus innnigs in age 20 season: Sabathia, Bonderman, Greinke, Kershaw, Porcello.