The Marlins clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night in Pittsburgh and it remains hard to actually believe.

Miami lost 93 games just a year ago and a big improvement in 2023 was far from expected. A quick peek at the preseason odds would show you that most oddsmakers, had the Marlins with an Over/Under of 76.5 wins. It is likely that people wagering on that line often went with the under and it was hard to blame them.

So what was the biggest reason for Miami's year to year turnaround? It is easy to look in the dugout and say "Skip!" and that's partially true. For whatever reason, the Marlins underperformed with Don Mattingly at the helm in 2022. Mattingly is a good man and a baseball icon, but he just wasn't the right man for the job anymore in Miami. The players seemed like they'd rather be anywhere else at times and that was reflection of the man in charge. 

Schumaker got the most out of his players this season. The Marlins never gave up and put together countless comeback victories, along with leading the league in 1-run wins. No matter who went on the injured list or who was struggling, Skip had his guys ready to compete every day of this season. The team rebounded from a brutal post-ASG stretch, a string of games which would typically have ended any playoff hopes. The energy Schumaker brought to the dugout daily, along with his postseason experience should continue to pay dividends in the upcoming Wild Card round. Miami's manager will be a finalist for Manager of the Year and is the odds-on favorite to take the award home.

Beyond the dugout, it is important to point out the contributions of Kim Ng and Oz Ocampo in the front office. Ocampo joined the team this season and his impact was noticeable. The duo of Ng and Ocampo put together one of the better rosters possible with the budget provided. Acquiring Josh Bell and Jake Burger at the trade deadline, proved to be the precisely right additions for the club. David Robertson had his struggles, but he is still one of the best relievers in baseball. It is possible that he will still play a big role in October for the Marlins, even if he will not enter the playoffs as Miami's closer.

Where would the Marlins be without Luis Arráez? They hope to not find out. Ng's acquisition of Arraez in the off-season proved to be one of the best trades in franchise history. While Pablo Lopez continued to shine in Minnesota, Arraez was exactly the kind of hitter Miami needed in the lineup. Miami's All-Star is said to be recovering well from an ankle injury and will hopefully be available for the Wild Card round. Arraez pinch hit on Friday and quickly added another knock to his season total, but was promptly lifted for a pinch runner. It goes without saying that Miami's chances of advancing greatly diminish, if Arraez is unable to suit up daily for the team.

Eury Perez dazzled in his rookie season, though he also ran into some struggles at times. Perez is only 20 years old, so it'd be hard not to expect some struggles. While Perez's season was cut short early, he still set a career high for innings and posted some stellar numbers overall. With Sandy Alcantara's status for 2024 currently unknown, Perez's arm will be an even bigger factor in 2024. The Marlins would absolutely not be going to the playoffs next week, without Perez's contributions during the 2023 campaign.

Even though it took 20 years for Miami to return to the playoffs in a full regular season, this is not the end goal for the team. It is worthy of celebrating and the team sure did on Saturday evening, but it is just step one. The Marlins have never lost a playoff series following a full regular season, and they hope to keep that going.

Stay tuned for our full series preview of the Wild Card Playoffs, once Miami's opponent becomes official.

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3 hours ago, Admin said:

Arraez pinch hit on Friday and quickly added another knock to his season total, but was promptly lifted for a pinch hitter. 

 

So good that he gets a hit and he can still be pinch hit for immediately too. No wonder the offense was better with him in it!

4 minutes ago, hovertical said:

So good that he gets a hit and he can still be pinch hit for immediately too. No wonder the offense was better with him in it!

That was a test to see if anyone read it. You passed.

4 hours ago, Admin said:

David Robertson had his struggles, but he is still one of the best relievers in baseball. It is possible that he will still play a big role in October for the Marlins, even if he will not enter the playoffs as Miami's closer.

On this topic, I will say this; Robertson has looked a heck of a lot better since being moved to middle relief and has actually played a pretty pivotal role in the bullpen over the last couple of weeks. Hats off to him for handling the demotion in stride.

Edited October 1, 20233 yr by Valid

Man how big is that contract extension for Kim gonna be?

1 minute ago, Das Texan said:

Man how big is that contract extension for Kim gonna be?

10 years 100 million

18 minutes ago, Das Texan said:

Man how big is that contract extension for Kim gonna be?

Eh, it's probably gonna be on 8×11.5" paper like every other office document. 

15 minutes ago, SilverBullet said:

Eh, it's probably gonna be on 8×11.5" paper like every other office document. 

Would it be on legal size? 8 1/2 x 14?

1 hour ago, Admin said:

That was a test to see if anyone read it. You passed.

do i get a badge for passing the test?

Just now, hovertical said:

do i get a badge for passing the test?

Wear it with honor.

I really need to update the stock badges, that superstar one is not great.

5 minutes ago, Admin said:

Wear it with honor.

it's the only thing i will wear

@Adminbeen active as fuck today. Probably got his dick sucked during last night's celebration and now he's all excited and posting like crazy 🤣 

 

Just now, SilverBullet said:

@Adminbeen active as fuck today. Probably got his dick sucked during last night's celebration and now he's all excited and posting like crazy 🤣 

 

3 minutes ago, SilverBullet said:

@Adminbeen active as fuck today. Probably got his dick sucked during last night's celebration and now he's all excited and posting like crazy 🤣 

 

it's actually his dick that's posting.  the sucking cleared the blockage.

edit:  probably using a "palm pilot" to post from too

Edited October 1, 20233 yr by hovertical

1 hour ago, Valid said:

On this topic, I will say this; Robertson has looked a heck of a lot better since being moved to middle relief and has actually played a pretty pivotal role in the bullpen over the last couple of weeks. Hats off to him for handling the demotion in stride.

Yes, my impression without checking the numbers is he’s been very good lately. I actually feel pretty solid about our chances to win a game if we have a lead after six innings. Robertson, Nardi, Scott is a very strong back-end.

i hope Bruce remembers how excited he was on the field last night and stops being cheap

 

but then i saw he was boasting about how the Mets and Padres spent so much but didn't get to the playoffs while we did...and well...that likely torpedoes that hope

Just now, mystikol87 said:

a very strong back-end.

who wants to get this one?

4 minutes ago, hovertical said:

i hope Bruce remembers how excited he was on the field last night and stops being cheap

 

but then i saw he was boasting about how the Mets and Padres spent so much but didn't get to the playoffs while we did...and well...that likely torpedoes that hope

Spending =/= winning

but being cheap also =/= winning unless you’re the Rays

1 minute ago, rmc523 said:

Spending =/= winning

but being cheap also =/= winning unless you’re the Rays

dunno..i'd like our odds of returning to the playoffs next season and beyond if they signed Ohtani 😃

4 minutes ago, hovertical said:

dunno..i'd like our odds of returning to the playoffs next season and beyond if they signed Ohtani 😃

Correct.  I meant excessive spending like what the Mets did

 

i should’ve said spending =/= automatically winning

Edited October 1, 20233 yr by rmc523

It's about smart spending instead of just overspending. 

19 year old Eury with an apple juice instead of a beer in the clubhouse celebration 🤣 

2 minutes ago, SilverBullet said:

19 year old Eury with an apple juice instead of a beer in the clubhouse celebration 🤣 

they could have at least given him something carbonated lol

6 minutes ago, hovertical said:

they could have at least given him something carbonated lol

Pfft I'm sure he put some Brugal rum in it anyways.