Even though the Marlins failed on what would have been a miraculous comeback to end the season, they still should hold their heads high for a successful season. They made it practically until the end of the 2008 season playing meaningful baseball – and if not for an August swoon, they may have been doing so in October as well.
The fact of the matter is, when you have a team payroll hovering around $28M, you are bound to have flaws. The biggest flaw, it seems, was really the Marlins were not able to get their starters healthy until almost after the first half of the season.
Still, there is plenty to play for. Jorge Cantu has 3 games to hit home run number 30 and join the 30 HR club with his fellow infielders Dan Uggla, Mike Jacobs and Hanley Ramirez. This infield has already set history, but to surpass the 30 HR mark with each member would be a most impressive feat.
Then there is the fact that we are playing the Mets, who are in the midst of a wild card hunt themselves. Sitting 1 game behind the Phillies for the NL East title, the Marlins can help the Phillies stay there by winning two games against the Mets. Talk about bitter sweet. Thankfully for Philly fans, there is an incentive for the Marlins to play well – they could also spoil the Mets season, again, by pushing them out of the wild card spot which they currently share with the Brewers. Also competing for the NL Wild card are the Astros, who were swept by the Marlins recently.
Nothing would be sweeter, except to end up in the postseason of course. And may Cody Ross hit a home run off of Pelfrey tonight.
About John Ricard
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