Now thats how you start a road trip.  Last night, Ricky Nolasco pitched a complete game shutout, the first for a Marlin starter in 301 attempts, a Major League record.  Ricky only gave up two hits (should have been just one, but who cares) and struck out 10 batters on a chilly August night in San Francisco.  Ricky had all of his pitches working for him last night, leaving the Giants batters looking like they wouldn’t even crack the starting lineup for the Jupiter Hammerheads.  Ricky was absolutely filthy, without question this was the best start of his career so far.  Maybe its because of the cold weather, I don’t know.  But that might have been the best start by a Marlin pitcher in two years.

Might this be the spark we need to revitalize our fading NL East hopes?  No way to know for sure.   Lets just worry about tonight.

Share/Save

The series loss to the Cubs crippled the Marlins a bit as they fell further back into the depths of the NL East now trailing 4.5 games in back of the re-surging Mets. Sporting a record that is just 3 games over .500, it remains to be seen how much longer the Marlins can hold on.

Their bullpen has been failing them. Reynel Pinto, who was arguably the Marlins most consistent reliever up until now, has been sliding. He faced 7 batters yesterday and 5 of them scored. He has not had much success of late, but still Fredi Gonzalez turns to him in the hopes that something will get worked out. Pinto has a 10.33 ERA since the All Star Break. Pitching coach Mark Wiley maintains that Pinto’s mechanics are still sound, but there seems to be some suggestion that he is tiring - Pinto has pitched 63 innings this year. Last year he lead relievers with a league high 58 2/3 innings pitched.

Maybe the Marlins will get everything firing on all cylinders on the road. They have 3 games against the Giants on the opposite coast, far away from bad weather, and then 4 games against the D’Backs. The Marlins will wind things up in Atlanta. Each series presents an opportunity for the Marlins to get back into this race, they will need to focus on themselves and trying to win each series in order to do that. Maybe Paul Lo Duca’s return can help?

It isn’t just the bullpen though - the offense has become anemic. Too many strikeouts and not putting the ball in play will do that to you. Gonzalez asserts the Marlins’ hitters are trying to hit home runs, but others just note the increase of K’s. When looking at the Cardinals series, the Marlins saw a team that can hit the long ball, but was hugely successful in putting the ball in play and limiting their strike outs. The Marlins still have not yet been able to consistently string hits together in bunches, instead relying on the big fly to garner most of their run support. The approach has worked for most of the year, but right now it is hurting the Marlins.

Share/Save

So, if you don’t have any plans for tonight, now you do.  GET YOUR BUTTS TO THE BALLPARK!!!!!  NO EXCUSES, SOUTH FLORIDA!!  I’ll be there, me and a couple of my buddies scored club level tickets last week.  Keep in mind that this is a huge game against a big team with a huge out of town following, so if you do come arrive early and be prepared to wait in line for tickets.  I’d definately reccomend that you pick up your tickets online at www.floridamarlins.com so you don’t have to wait on line at the booth surrounded by drunken Cubs fans talking smack.

LETS GO FISH!!!

Share/Save

Billy the Marlin has been nominated for the Mascot Hall of Fame, and needs your support! Of all the changes that have occured during the 16 seasons that the Marlins have been in the majors, only two constants have remained: Dolphin Stadium and Billy the Marlin. So, show the big fish some love and go vote!

Share/Save

Oh, and your wife happens to be the winningest female player in beach volleyball history. And she’s easy on the eyes.

It would be a difficult thing to swallow, I’d think, seeing your wife (and various parts of her) plastered on the internet. But I got to ask, how the hell did Matt Treanor land Misty May as his wife?

“We met in November 2003 at a sports therapy center in Orange, Calif. I was rehabbing my knee, and she was there training. I had no idea who she was. I went home and told my little brother, Markell, I was planning to ask out some volleyball player. I called her Missy May. He’s like, ‘What’s with you, man? You’ve got problems. She’s one of the most famous players in the world.’ We eventually went out in January, and we were engaged in March.” [Source: SI]

Started dating her in January and they were engaged by March? Three months? That is amor, my friends. But imagine how hard it would be that your wife is playing in the Olympics in Beijing at the same time you are working on the Mets in Shea Stadium? This is a huge event in your household, or any household for that matter - the Olympics. Yet you can’t be there to see your wife at her best going for gold. Its something to keep in mind as we fans tune in to watch the 4 year spectacle we call the Olympics; there is a story behind every athlete there.

Treanor admitted it is tough, that he actually had a friend hold up a cell phone and give him the play by play so he could somehow feel like he was there with his wife when she was playing in Athens in 2004. Seems like Treanor may have actually wanted his recent rehab stint to last a few more weeks so he could at least escape to Beijing to see his wife play. Who could disagree with that? Guess he will just have to watch like the rest of us.

It is an interesting story, though for us Marlin fans. Treanor is a likeable guy, the heart of a lion. He toiled in the minors for 10 years and almost gave up when the Marlins finally gave him his shot. In fact, it was Misty May who encouraged him to keep working at it as she knew how much he loved baseball. It’s also funny to note how Treanor gets teased in the clubhouse about his wife. She does play in a bathing suit, after all. Treanor recalled one year in Spring Training when Jeff Conine re-wrote Treanor’s name on the board as Matt May. To this day the rest of the clubhouse rags Treanor by calling him Mr. May.

But like they say, it takes a real man that will allow himself to take a backseat to his wife’s career ambitions and it doesn’t seem to bother him. May-Treanor, as her name has been changed since their marriage, admits that she sees her volleyball partner Kerri Walsh more than she does her husband these days. Seems like Treanor is the patient type, however, as he waited for his opportunity to finally play in the majors and he is waiting patiently for his wife as well. Of course, he is on the road most of the time, too.

Like they say, pimpin’ ain’t easy.

Read more about Misty May-Treanor and Matt Treanor.

————————————————————

The Marlins have a bit of a history of players charming famous women. Carl Pavano was linked to Alyssa Milano while teammate Josh Beckett was dating model Leeann Tweeden back in 2004.

Share/Save

1. LA Angels- Just picked up Big Tex from Atlanta to fix their only weakness.  This team is scary good, and now they may just be the team to beat in the AL.

2. Chicago Cubs- I hate him, but I do hope Mark Cuban does buy the team… he could be great for baseball.

3. Tampa Bay Rays- If these guys were just a mirage they would have fallen off by now.  Now with the Red Sox out of the picture they have a clear path to their first AL East title.

4. New York Yankees- They have had a good couple of weeks and seem to be finally putting it all together for a strong stretch run, and got some really good news when Manny left the AL… but then Joba left last night’s game with a “stiff shoulder”.  If he is out for any significant ammount of time than the nice little run the Yanks put together will be for naught… he is the lynchpin.

5. Minnesota Twins- Liriano gives them a chance for the wild card

6. Philadelphia Phillies- yuck

7. Chicago White Sox- God I hope Ozzie replaces Fredi one day… if only for the entertainment value

8. Milwaukee Brewers- Well they failed that test against Chicago pretty miserably… hello wild card!

9. Florida Marlins- Big opportunity coming up with series against Philly and NY, the revamped rotation is looking pretty good

10. Boston Red Sox- I think Jason Bay will fit in well on this team, and they still have the pitching… but make no mistake, when they traded Manny they traded away all hope of repeating this year.  Remember, David Ortiz hasn’t exactly been the frontrunner for Cal Ripken’s Ironman Award this year, and he is their only big bat left.

11. LA Dodgers - Manny definately helps their nonexistent offense… but I’m not so sure they make the playoffs

12. New York Mets - They may be playing better now, but they needed to take that series in Florida, and they also didn’t look too hot against Houston.  Sorry, NY, the Willie Randolph Error screwed you guys from the get-go this year.

13. St. Louis Cardinals - Just not good enough to overtake Chicago or Milwaukee at this point.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks - Very quietly they have been playing much better in the second half.  The NL West should be an interesting race if you can forget the fact that it is the weakest division in baseball.

15. Detroit Tigers- Screw them for trading Pudge to the Yanks instead of back to FL.  Seriously.  Dave Dombrowski has officially earned a top slot on my personal shitlist for that move.

16. Texas Rangers- I’m kinda surprised nobody tried to trade for Hamilton before the deadline

17. Kansas City Royals- The AL wild card is pretty wide open since it looks like Boston and NY have bowed out… nah, what the hell am I talking about?

18. Hous… forget it, its not like teams ranked less than 17 mean anything at this point of the season.

Share/Save

Manny wouldn’t have added anything to this team that we didn’t already have, and he would make our team defense even worse playing in right field (if that’s even possible).  What he would have added to the Marlins is a HUUUGE distraction and a “Manny being Manny” incident away from sinking our playoff hopes.  Jeremy Hermida is having a very big second half, and we are the last team in baseball that should be giving away prospects on a rental that we don’t even need.  I feel pretty strongly that this team is good enough to win the division, and possibly even win the series the way it is.  Yeah, I said it, I believe this team can win the Series.  I did not say I think we WILL win the Series, just that we can.  Manny wouldn’t have changed that assesment by much.  Frankly, the Dodgers and to a lesser extent the Pirates both did us a big favor.

At the end of the day, we added a very big piece to our bullpen in Arthur Rhoads, and thats all we really needed to do.  We could have used a catcher, but the one that made the most sense went to the Yankees.  I would have much rather seen Pudge back in teal than Manny.

The Dodgers?  They do play in the weakest division in the game, they have the best pitching in the NL (league leading era), but the 13th best offense.  He does help out that weak offense and forces either Andruw Jones or Juan Pierre to the bench, which is a very good thing for them.  So, Manny probably does help them, especially if he goes on one of his tears, but he doesn’t exactly guarantee the playoffs for them.  I wouldn’t be too worried if I were a Dbacks fan.  As for the Sox, they get rid of a major distraction who also happens to average 34 homers and 110 RBIs for them.  This could work out, Jason Bay is no slouch, but he can hardly carry a team like Manny does.  This was a deal they had to make, however, as Manny would have never stayed.  Now they replaced him with a quality outfielder.  Do they make the playoffs this year?  50-50, especially considering how the Yankees have improved themselves.

Whew.  Well, that was a hell of an afternoon…

Share/Save

Share/Save

Share/Save

FOX now has changed their headline from “Dead” to “It’s Alive”.  Rosenthal only mentions that the trade may be “back on”.  Peter Gammons just said on ESPNnews (TV) that they may be bringing Tampa into the discussion.

I am totally going nuts right now… 2 minutes to deadline.

Share/Save