Kuzul

Heading into the season, the last thing the Miami Marlins needed was something bad to happen to young slugger Giancarlo Stanton.These being the Marlins, it's only natural that something bad has indeed happened to Stanton. And now the Marlins should be worried.Very worried.The 23-year-old Stanton injured his right hamstring running through the first base bag during Monday night's game against the New York Mets at Marlins Park. The pain was bad enough to make him hit the deck immediately, and the injury itself was bad enough to put him on the disabled list on Tuesday.It's not that we're talking about a contender losing a star player. We're talking about a can't-bear-to-watch awful team with an already disillusioned fanbase losing its main attraction. That's the reality team owner Jeffrey Loria is presumably cursing, and for good reason.According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Marlins are drawing 19,331 fans per game. That's second-lowest in baseball ...

Giancarlo Stanton looks like Superman, but injuries have been his kryptonite. On a hustle play in extra innings Monday night, Stanton racked up another injury. This time it is a hamstring strain that could cost Stanton a month or more, depending on the severity.The Marlins pushed Stanton to the disabled list on Tuesday morning, even before an MRI could be taken. The Marlins medical staff needs to have clear indication that this is a significant strain.Manual testing, as well as Stanton's assertion that he heard a pop, indicate at least a Grade II strain. That type of injury will leave what doctors call a "palpable defect," which means that someone with their hand on Stanton's leg would be able to feel the hole that the tearing has left in the muscle.The injury is to his right leg, which is his "power leg" when hitting and the same one he had ...

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, already a pariah in Major League Baseball circles and with every fan in the state of Florida, is back to his old tricks and undermining everyone and everything within his franchise. According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the latest incident involving Loria took place on Tuesday during a day-night doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Loria insisted (Jose) Fernandez, the team's prized 20-year-old rookie, pitch in the first half of the doubleheader at frigid Target Field instead of the scheduled (Ricky) Nolasco because the day game was expected to be warmer. The temperature at Fernandez's first pitch (38 degrees) was actually colder than at the beginning of Nolasco's start (42 degrees).While that doesn't sound all that bad, there is more to the story that Passan notes. Loria actually "mandated" the pitching change, forcing manager Mike Redmond—less than one month into his new job—to break ...

There are few slimier figures in professional sports than Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. From taxpayer-funded stadiums to broken promises to fire sale after fire sale, the few fans who can call themselves Miami diehards can't possibly take much more. On Monday, the team reached a new low by throwing paying customers out of the park for voicing their displeasure with the team, management and direction of the franchise (Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post). A group of fans calling themselves "Rage Against the Marlins," spent the early part of Monday evening walking around the stadium, holding signs and wearing t-shirts voicing their displeasure about the state of the team and management. In what will surely turn into a "he said, she said" incident, the group was thrown out of the stadium. Per Capozzi, Marlins management claims the group was thrown out for "creating a disturbance." However, the group ...

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 ...

The Miami Marlins played an exhibition game against Team Venezuela, set to take part in the World Baseball Classic, and recently deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was not remembered with a moment of silence before the contest. As CNN’s Mariano Castillo and Osmary Hernandez reported on Tuesday, Chavez died after a lengthy battle with cancer. The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Craig Davis reported the following on the exhibition in Miami:  A Marlins spokesman said all parties involved in the exhibition, including Major League Baseball, agreed to not have the moment of silence for Chavez, which was requested by a representative of the Venezuelan team. The Venezuelan flag in the stadium was lowered to half staff for a few minutes, then raised again. Chavez became a polarizing figure after ascending to the presidency in 1999. He attracted negative attention in the United States due to his extreme criticism of George W. Bush, including an ...

When the Miami Marlins sent Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and over $100 million in salaries to the Toronto Blue Jays in November, that would have been a good time for team owner Jeffrey Loria to speak up.Loria owed Marlins fans an explanation. After enticing everyone with a brand new ballpark, a new image and a new team with a big payroll, he needed to explain why the organization had chosen to revert back to its old ways from the bad old days.Instead, Loria has waited until now to speak. It's been three months since the big trade, and the start of the 2013 season is looming just a couple weeks away.As for what he's had to say, well, let's just say it's hard to get a grip on. Loria's words are as slippery as an eel.If you're just now catching up, Loria has been active getting ...

This series will evaluate one team per day, starting on January 23, 2013 and ending on February 22, 2013 (the first game of spring training). It is based on last season's performance, offseason changes since and the author's outlook for the team in 2013. Please keep in mind that rosters can, and will, change before Opening Day. We started in the AL East and now go to the NL side, starting in the East and going in alphabetical order. Next up, the Miami Marlins. 2012 finish: 69-93 (5th place, NL East) Notable additionsRHP Chad Qualls, RHP Henderson Alvarez, RHP Michael Wuertz, RHP Kevin Slowey, OF Juan Pierre, OF Austin Kearns, OF Pat White, 3B Placido Polanco, 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SS Yordy Cabrera, SS Adeiny Hechavarria Notable lossesLHP Mark Buehrle, RHP Josh Johnson, RHP Heath Bell, RHP Carlos Zambrano, RHP Juan Carlos Oviedo, RHP Chad Gaudin, OF Adam Greenberg, OF Scott Cousins, OF Emilio ...

The Miami Marlins and owner Jeffrey Loria ticked off a lot of people by gutting their roster and trading five of their best players to the Toronto Blue Jays in one of the blockbuster deals of the offseason.The Marlins sent shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, catcher John Buck and utilityman Emilio Bonifacio to Toronto, pulling the plug on a team that was expected to contend in the NL East and bringing an abrupt end to what was supposed to be a new era of baseball in South Beach. Fans, commentators and fellow baseball executives were outraged at Miami for selling off talent to save money again—especially after their new ballpark was funded largely with taxpayer money. This wasn't supposed to be how the Marlins did business anymore. No more fire sales.The outrage and uproar over the Marlins reverting to another salary dump was loud enough that MLB commissioner Bud ...

The Miami Marlins are looking to boost their bullpen with a veteran presence. One pitcher they are looking into signing is former Minnesota Twins reliever Matt Capps, according to Barry Jackson of MiamiHerald.com.The 29-year-old reliever is currently a free agent after the Twins bought out his $6 million option for 2013, as reported by Joe Christensen of StarTribune.com.Capps pitched well when healthy in 2012 but missed several months due to shoulder inflammation.The onetime Pittsburgh Pirates closer was the winning pitcher of the 2010 All-Star Game as a representative of the Washington Nationals. In that same season, he was dealt to the Minnesota Twins in a trade involving catcher Wilson Ramos. He pitched for the Twins in the 2010 Division Series against the New York Yankees.The Marlins will go into the 2013 season with a revamped bullpen following the disastrous season with Heath Bell as closer.Steve Cishek, Dan Jennings and Ryan ...