The Chicago Cubs needed to start hot in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series after dropping Game 1 to the New York Mets, 2-4, on Saturday.
Chris Coghlan almost gave the Cubbies just that. But Curtis Granderson had other plans.
The veteran center fielder scaled the wall and brought the would-be dinger back, preserving New York’s 3-0 lead.
[MLB]
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For a team that’s probably going to finish last in the National League East for the third consecutive year, the Miami Marlins don’t have many issues thus far.
Ricky Nolasco has already been named the Opening Day starter—shocking. Jacob Turner, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez are still slated to follow Nolasco while Wade LeBlanc continues to make his case to be the team’s No. 5 starter after throwing four shutout innings Sunday against the Atlanta Braves.
Among position players, second baseman Donovan Solano has hit .480 in 25 at-bats and Casey Kotchman is batting .435 in 23 at-bats. Kotchman is trying to win a spot on the team which, in his case, comes with the designation of starting first baseman if Logan Morrison isn’t ready when the season begins.
According to Morrison’s agent, Fred Wray, Morrison could be playing by April 15 after having surgery to repair a torn patella tendon in his right knee.
Meanwhile, with Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is hitless in seven at-bats, but he’s broken a windshield with a home run during batting practice.
Stanton’s teammate, closer Steve Cishek has two scoreless appearances, which includes the biggest out of Sunday’s 9-4 win against Canada when Cishek induced Tim Smith to ground out to second baseman Brandon Phillips to end the eighth inning with the bases loaded while preserving a one-run lead.
And as far as the kiddies go, they have impressed as well. Future ace Jose Fernandez struck out two in two scoreless innings in his only spring training appearance while the Marlins’ other star prospect, Christian Yelich, has been scorching hot as he’s batted .375 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 32 at-bats. Yelich has been so good, it’s prompted first-year manager Mike Redmond to sing his praises to MLB.com:
I’ll tell you, man, I love putting him in that lineup. Every opportunity I have to put him in there, I get him in there. He gives you a great at-bat. It doesn’t matter who he faces. Believe me, we go around and around [on where he’ll start the season]. That’s something that we’ll have to talk about.
But not everything has been rosy with the Marlins…
We are still a little over a year away from the Florida Marlins entering their new stadium; however, noteworthy is their recent trip which involved members of the Marlins brass (Jeffrey Loria and David Samson) and players Hanley Ramirez, John Buck, Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison, Chris Coghlan and Mike Stanton who took the unofficial first batting practice at the new stadium while being on hand for the first seat installation.
Now it was just batting practice, but a few home runs throughout the process may have forecasted a potential flaw with the plans of the stadium. Of note: a few baseballs came close to leaving the stadium, specifically one hit by Mike Stanton which cleared the stadium by essentially shooting through the invisible glass panels in left field and exiting the building.
Even Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria felt worried his “Pitcher Park” would end up being something else, perhaps being a repeat of what happened to the Yankees in their first season at Yankee Stadium.
“Some of those fly balls—I’m not sure this is a pitcher’s ballpark anymore,” Loria said. “The building is gorgeous.”
Let’s examine the future home of the Marlins and current one for a second, shall we? Sun Life Stadium, while mostly considered a pitcher’s park is really a neutral park.
According to ESPN’s Park Factor, which measures a stadium’s ability to be a hitters paradise or a pitcher’s park, the Marlins’ Sun Life Stadium ranked 10th in runs scored but 24th in home runs per game with 0.822.
In terms of dimensions, the Marlins new stadium will be 10 feet further in left field (340 feet), 23 feet further in left center (384), 12 feet further in center (416 feet), 17 feet further in right center (392 feet), and 10 feet less in right field (335 feet).
Nevertheless, dimensions aren’t the full cause of a stadium’s ability to be hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly. The Marlins haven’t truly played baseball in South Florida indoors, so only time will tell how playing indoors and outdoors in the stadium will effect playing conditions come 2012.
Last season the Minnesota Twins opened their new stadium, Target Field, and ranked last of all 30 Major league ballparks in home runs per game, with 0.641 per game. Target Field’s dimensions are a bit closer to home plate than the Marlins’ new ballpark, but again, only time will tell whether the Marlins’ new stadium is truly a hitter’s or pitchers paradise in South Beach.
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Everybody knows about Hanley Ramirez: 2009 batting champ, five-tool stud and perennial first rounder.
Everybody should know about Josh Johnson: Cy Young contender, career ERA of 3.10, a ton of potential.
But what else, if anything, do the Marlins have to offer fantasy owners?
In spite of the organization’s everlasting dedication to penny pinching, the Marlins have a handful of players that are sure to impact this year’s fantasy season.
Here they are, by order of importance, along with their 2011 projection:
1. Michael Stanton—.265 BA, 36 HR, 93 RBI
The first thing you notice when you watch Michael Stanton is how hard he hits the ball. He is listed at 6’5″, 235 pounds, and he’s only 21-years-old. The guy is like an athletic version of Adam Dunn. However, his plate discipline is abysmal. He’s going to challenge Mark Reynolds for the major league lead in strikeouts. Nevertheless, his upside is still tremendous. He’s going to hit his fair share of home runs this year, but it’ll just be the tip of the iceberg. If you’re in a keeper league, Stanton is your guy.
2. Javier Vazquez—15 W, 3.65 ERA, 194 K
So the guy with a 4.41 ERA in three years with the White Sox wasn’t a success as a Yankee? Big shocker there! Yes, he was coming off of a career year with the Braves, but let’s face it, no one expected much out of him, and the NL is a pitcher’s league. I’m not counting on Javy to replicate his superb 2009 season, but he will be successful as a Marlin. He won’t have to worry about New York City expectations or intense media scrutiny. He will get comfortable in front of embarrassingly small crowds and become the No. 2 starter.
3. Chris Coghlan—90 R, .283 BA, 11 HR, 62 RBI, 13 SB
The party was over very quickly for the 2009 Rookie of the Year as he hit .195 to start 2010. His 2009 batting average was impressive, .321, but he only hit nine HR and stole eight bases in 128 games. We know that he has the potential to hit for big average, as confirmed by his .377 average last June, but his season ended in July because of a torn meniscus (it’s hard to throw a pie sometimes, you know). His erratic performance makes it hard to predict how he will do long-term, but he is an extremely hard worker, so don’t count him out. He will likely be a top of the order staple, in front of three powerful hitters (Ramirez/Stanton/Sanchez). I’d look to steal him in the mid-to-late rounds because he has the potential to contribute in multiple stat categories.
4. Gaby Sanchez—.278 BA, 23 HR, 88 RBI
Everybody in South Florida fell in love with Gaby Sanchez when he rushed to Chris Volstad’s defense and violently clothes-lined Nyger Morgan (MLB villain and 2010 fantasy disappointment). Aside from his WWF moves, Sanchez had a productive rookie year (.273/19/85). He likely will bat cleanup or fifth, behind three players with the potential to consistently be on base (Prado/Coghlan/Ramirez). He represents a favorable option for those teams who were unable to secure a top 1B.
5. Ricky Nolasco—14 W, 4.41 ERA, 182 K
Some people picked Nolasco over Josh Johnson in last year’s draft. That would not be a good idea this year, to say the least. Nolasco is very streaky as he usually puts together a string of good starts, but he will similarly devastate you with a few awful starts here and there. Depending on where he is projected, fantasy owners may pay a high price for a largely over-rated pitcher. I’d steer clear unless you can pick him up late.
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The Florida Marlins enter this year with a new ball club. They have so far made some necessary subtractions and some great additions,but as the Marlins make these changes division rivals are making strong notable improvements and these worry fans within the NL East.
Never the less the Marlins have made some big moves this off-season and here we will review their importance and value to help the marlins offense secure a playoff spot this 2011 season.
This review will take an in depth look at each position and how it has changed for the 2011 season.
With the majority of the major offseason activity behind them (trading Dan Uggla, Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin; acquiring Omar Infante, Mike Dunn, Dustin Richardson, Ryan Webb, and Edward Mujica; signing Javier Vazquez John Buck, and Randy Choate; extending Ricky Nolasco until 2013), we take a glance at the potential Florida Marlins lineup, starting rotation, bullpen, and bench and put it all together to come up with bold predictions for the 2011 season in a crowded NL East. Let’s take an early look at what we can expect to see from the fish in their final season at Sun Life/Land Shark/Dolphin(s)/Pro Player/Joe Robbie Stadium.
Come March, when Spring Training rolls around, the Florida Marlins will without a doubt turn to Matt Dominguez for a shot to claim the third base job. Originally, Chris Coghlan was destined to man the hot corner until the Dan Uggla and Cameron Maybin trades left him in the outfield only this time in center.
But what if Matt Dominguez isn’t ready with the bat? His defense is major league ready at this point but at 20, many wonder whether the offense is a year or two away. He hit .252/.333/.411 with 14 HRs, 81 RBI in 138 games.
If the worst case scenario were to occur and Dominguez end up back in AA Jacksonville, who can replace him at third base?
One automatic name that pops up is Emilio Bonifacio, the team’s speedy utility player but the last time he maned third base, he committed 14 errors in 86 games back in 2009.
Even with the presence of Perry Hill, Bonifacio is better suited as the teams’ bench, pinch runner, and occasional starter perhaps taking over for Chris Coghlan, Omar Infante or playing a third when a player needs a day off.
That leaves one available free agent bargain who was an Oakland Athletic since 1998, Eric Chavez. Let’s take a look at why the Marlins should pursue Chavez as third base insurance policy.
The Marlins, a young franchise, with two World Series titles on their resume, have to be excited for the future. Over the years they have been the subject of ridicule for their attendance numbers and low payroll. The fan base has witnessed not one, but two World Series teams get dismantled for financial reasons.
However, now more than ever, the enthusiasm behind this team is growing and here are the ten reasons why:
In MLB, a sophomore slump, also refer to as sophomore jinx, is identified when a player is not able to live up to the standards set by their rookie season.
Reasons to blame for the “slump” may be injury or lack of adjustments.
Pitchers seem to be more likely to regress because of fatigue. The innings pitched in their rookie season may have dramatically surpassed the prior season; think of the “Verducci Effect”.
A young hitter will have to succeed by making adjustments. As the league sees the player, more videos and scouting reports will be available. Success will be determined on how fast the hitter adjusts to the new pitches being thrown and the location.
But is this term overused by many or is this cliche warranted?
Are players susceptible to this “jinx?
To answer these questions, I reviewed the second year seasons of the top 90 rookies to enter the Major Leagues since 1995.
The number of players identified to have struggle in their season was 20 (or 22%). Approximately 50 players had similar seasons as their rookie campaign with the remaining 20 surpassing their first year totals.
Surprisingly the split was almost even between hitters and pitchers.
The 11 pitchers identified were:
1. Livan Hernandez (1998)
2. Jason Dickson (1998)
3. Kerry Wood (1999)
4. Rolando Arroyo (1999)
5. Jeff Zimmerman (2000)
6. Rick Ankiel (2001)
7. Rodrigo Lopez (2003)
8. Shingo Takatsu (2005)
9. Josh Johnson (2007)
10. JA Happ (2010)
11. Rick Porcello (2010)
What Was Identified:
Wood, Ankiel, Johnson, and Happ were injured in their second season. Probably due to being overused.
Josh Johnson is the only pitcher to fully bounce back to become an All-Star.
The nine hitters to make the list were:
1. Quilvio Veras (1996)
2. Todd Hollandsworth (1997)
3. Jose Cruz Jr (1998)
4. Travis Lee (1999)
5. Warren Morris (2000)
6. Bobby Crosby (2005)
7. Troy Tulowitzki (2008)
8. Geovany Soto (2009)
9. Chris Coghlan (2010)
What Was Identified:
Hollandsworth, Crosby, Soto, and Coghlan join Kerry Wood as the ROY winners to make this list.
As basically all bounced back to have productive years, Morris is identified as a “One Hit Wonder”. He is the one player who didn’t. Will Coghlan, Happ and Porcello join Morris.
Tulowitzki has bounced from his 2008 season to become the best shortstop in baseball.
The results of this review proves that an average of one top rookie suffers the “jinx”. So it proves that the label “sophomore slumps” may be a cliche, but cliches exist for a reason.
The question that everyone should be asking, especially fantasy baseball owners, who will suffer the “slump” next year out this year’s rookie crop?
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In 2012, the Florida Marlins will move into a new ballpark in downtown Miami and will be renamed the Miami Marlins with an all new logo, color scheme, and young nucleus.
Most of their stars will be 30-years-old or younger, and I will highlight that here. Certainly, they have one of the most talented nucleus of players in the Major Leagues, and there is no telling what they can do once they move into a new environment, a true baseball stadium with the top players in the game.