Kuzul

It's no secret the Miami Marlins were in heavy pursuit of free agent slugger Albert Pujols this past offseason and dangled nearly $200 million for 10 years to get him signed, sealed and delivered to sunny South Beach. Fast forward to May 15 and the front office should be breathing a sign of relief they missed out on him, but maybe kicking themselves that they didn't deal their own first baseman, Gaby Sanchez, after an All-Star season in 2011. Here is the tale of the tape on both Sanchez and Pujols this season (via ESPN): Sanchez, who had a 2.4 WAR (wins above replacement) in 2011, currently has a WAR of -0.8. And while Pujols is getting all the headlines—and with good reason after signing a massive contract with the Angels—Gaby's struggles have gone under the radar. A deeper look reveals Sanchez's struggles could be tied with an increased tendency to extend the strike ...

With all these soft openings, the Marlins are starting to realize their interesting creation in left-center field might pose a problem for batters. Already, the batter's eye in straight-away center field has been repainted black from the green color that is evident throughout the walls of the outfield. The home run feature, which goes off when a Marlins player launches one over the fences, was designed by renowned artist Red Grooms. The nearly 75'-tall structure has an abundance of color from aqua to pink to green and everything in between. It also features moving waves along the bottom and spin cycles of Marlins, seagulls and flamingos. Corner infielder Greg Dobbs, a left-handed batter, also already voiced his concern in an interview with the Miami Herald and what could await what most fans consider a "hideous" structure. “If it is an issue, it can no longer be there,” Dobbs said. “I won’t be the only left-handed ...

After relentlessly attempting to land local product Gio Gonzalez and add another established pitcher to the rotation, the Marlins are forced to look elsewhere as the division rival Washington Nationals augmented their rotation with another young arm. It was disappointing for the Marlins because, in this particular case, they were willing to deal their top prospects, a change of times for a franchise who usually keeps and molds their farm system and deals their established starting players. The Oakland Athletics asked the Marlins for either Logan Morrison or Mike Stanton in a package deal for Gio Gonzalez and the team has deemed both "untouchable". So where does the team go from here? The current rotation of Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Ricky Nolasco, and Anibal Sanchez has an array of question marks to the point that it might not even be within the top 3 in the crowded NL East.The trade market currently consists of Wade Davis (Rays), ...

The Miami Marlins will enter the 2012 season with a very dynamic lineup, featuring Jose Reyes at the top of the order, Emilio Bonifacio continuing the bullet train behind him, Hanley Ramirez capping it at the three spot, followed by the powerful bat of Mike Stanton, the lefty bat of Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, John Buck, and Omar Infante.The Marlins will also feature a very solid rotation spearheaded by Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez, and Ricky Nolasco. However, the question is whether their new ballpark in Miami will be a hitters haven, pitchers paradise, or somewhere in between. The new free agents all asked whether the same question and team president David Samson said to the media contingent: "We don't know, some days I come here and it looks tiny. Other days I come here and it looks giant, there's no way you'll know until the players play."The roof is ...

Just as the Marlins were coasting enthusiastically through the offseason, wining and dining, and recently signing closer Heath Bell to a lucrative deal, they were dealt the usual blow when the US Securities & Exchanges Commission (SEC) opened a probe Friday investigating the controversial stadium deal green-lit by the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County. Usual you say? Why of course. The Marlins have gotten used to the highs and lows since their inception. They began as a thriving franchise with booming attendance numbers in 1993 but not even two seasons in and MLB grew dark as part of a players strike in 1994. This caused the attendance figures to never even come close to the over three million achieved during the inaugural season and with continuing mediocre play for these figures to get lower. Then a savior for the "Fighting Fish" was the 1997 season which saw the ballclub make strides and finally make ...

The Miami Marlins—and just about every team—have been really quiet during the Hot Stove season. There has been loads of sizzle, but not enough to bring out and chew on just yet. The Marlins are the lone team expected to deliver on being the winner of the Hot Stove season. They've wined and dined a handful of free agents, which include Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle (although he skipped that and just toured the new ballpark) and most recently, CJ Wilson, who is expected to visit the Marlins brass during Thanksgiving weekend. The market for the areas of need (starting pitching, third base and center field) is scarce, and thus, I expect the Marlins to pull off some trades to fill the voids. Already, the team has engaged in trade talks with the Oakland A's regarding ace southpaw Gio Gonzalez and has expressed interest in the Rays' James Shields. With the peak ...

In a matter of a couple of weeks, the Marlins have driven their winning vehicle off course and are struggling to bring it back on the road as the team is in a tailspin with eight consecutive losses that includes back to back sweeps at home. Enter knee-jerk reaction owner Jeffrey Loria, who couldn't continue watching such losses from his home plate seat near the Marlins dugout. The Marlins owner ordered the firing of hitting coach John Mallee Wednesday after a six-game skid that happened primarily because of Hanley Ramirez's absence from the lineup. Of course, many would argue that Ramirez's struggles are the main reason for Mallee's firing and the skid gave Loria the ammunition for a move. The Marlins replaced Mallee, an experienced coach, with one with no major league coaching experience—although he is a former major leaguer—in Eduardo Perez, now former analyst with ESPN's Baseball Tonight. But more to the point ...

Despite a victory from the Florida Marlins last night, the team received a loss off it when Josh Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of right shoulder inflammation.The injury is not related to the line drive hit off his forearm in his last start that came against the New York Mets, which happened to be delayed by a soggy infield caused by rain earlier that Tuesday. Johnson had not warmed up until the game was officially scheduled to be held; however, his velocity was down to 91 mph on his fastball.  Johnson was shut down last season because of back problems. It is a familiar place for Johnson, who missed parts of the 2007 and 2008 seasons after Tommy John surgery.Johnson led the NL with a 2.30 ERA last season and was tied with the Cardinals' Jaime Garcia with a 1.64 mark this season and his second with a 0.98 WHIP.This now ...

Already, the Florida Marlins are in excellent shape to make a run at the postseason for the first time since 2003. The Marlins have gotten a Cy Young worthy performance out of Josh Johnson and solid outings out of Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, who nearly repeated his gem from 2006. Yet, they're still waiting on Chris Volstad and Javier Vazquez to follow suit. The bullpen has been tremendous, leading MLB in ERA (1.63) and BAA (.178), as of Saturday, they are one of two teams that has yet to blow a save this season (Dodgers).  The starting lineup has gotten surprises from Logan Morrison, leading the team in home runs and RBIs despite now being out for the next two to three weeks with a foot injury, Gaby Sanchez, Emilio Bonifacio and even Brett Hayes. Nevertheless, they have yet to get production from their best bats in Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton ...

Commissioner Bud Selig is ready to move towards his goal of expanding the current format of the playoffs from three to four rounds, and from eight teams to ten (five in each league).  On Thursday, Selig had this to say to the Associated Press, "I would say we're moving to expanding the playoffs, but there's a myriad of details to work out, 10 is a fair number." Indeed it is, out of the other three professional sports leagues (NBA, NFL, and NHL), MLB has the lowest percentage of teams entering the playoffs, a near 27 percent. The NBA and NHL each have 53 percent of their league entering the playoffs and the NFL has a moderately higher percentage than baseball at 37.5 percent.  Originally added after the 1994 players strike, the Wild Card has given teams who fell short in first place of their division a chance to get into the playoffs. Four ...