2006 Florida Marlins: There's Something Fishy Going On...

[Stix]

is Vargas wearing makeup? LOL looks good KG!

LOL I was thinking the exact same thing. :lol:

[kgbaseball]

Game 5: Florida Marlins @ New York Mets

Rookies Shine in Florida Win

The Marlins took the 2nd game of a 3 game set with the Mets on Saturday, thanks to stellar play by Florida's young guns. Jeremy Hermida reached base 3 times, had 2 steals, and had two amazing catches in right field; Josh Willingham hit his first homerun of the season; Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Chris Roberson, and Eric Reed all contributed at least one hit; and rookie Scott Olsen pitched 8 masterful innings to receive the win.

Hermida swipes second base.

On the mound were Victor Zambrano for the Mets, and Scott Olsen for the Fish. Both pitchers were cruising along until the 6th inning, when the Marlins got all 3 of their runs. Hermida received a one out walk, and Cabrera followed with a monster mash to left field. Josh Willingham connected on his first homer of the year 2 batters later.

Miguel Cabrera crushes his third homerun of the year off Zambrano in the 6th.

Olsen looked like a poised veteran on the mound, setting down Met hitter after Met hitter. "He had an electric fastball," commented Cliff Floyd. "He spotted it well, and when you do that, you always have a chance to dominate." Olsen held the Mets scoreless until the 8th inning, when SS Jose Reyes singled in 2B Chris Woodyard on a hotshot right back up the middle.

The throw to the plate by LF Eric Reed was just a little late.

Marlins closer Travis Bowyer came in for the 9th inning, and set the Mets down 1,2,3 to earn the save.

Final Score:

Next up: Florida Marlins (3-2) @ New York Mets (3-2)

Dontrelle Willis (1-0) vs. Pedro Martinez (1-0)

[kgbaseball]

Game 6: Florida Marlins @ New York Metropolitans

Pedro Makes Quick Work of Fish, Gets Help From Diaz, Floyd

Pedro Martinez showed on Sunday why he is still among the elite pitchers in the game, amid recent toe problems. He struck out 6 in a complete game shutout of the Florida Marlins, allowing 5 hits. "My toe is fine," said Pedro after the game. "I felt like I could've pitched another 9 innings today."

Martinez completes his warmup tosses en route to a shutuout of the Marlins.

Pedro's counterpart, however, didn't fare so well. Dontrelle Willis, the Marlins ace, was roughed up for 6 runs on 10 hits, and gave up homeruns to Cliff Floyd and Victor Diaz. "I just couldn't spot my fastball today like I would've liked to," said Willis. "This is a good lineup, and if you make a couple mistakes, you could be down 4-0 in a hurry."

Victor Diaz connects on a 3-run homerun in the 6th inning Sunday.

David Wright and Carlos Delgado also had RBIs for the Mets, who improve to 4-2.

"It was a rough day out there today. We just couldn't get anything going, and you've gotta give a lot of credit to Pedro," Fish manager Joe Girardi said.

Next up for the Marlins (3-3), the home opener on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres. Tuesday's matchup features Sergio Mitre (1-0) and Shawn Estes (0-1).

Final Score:

Stay tuned for the weekly talk with manager Joe Girardi, and the Down on the Farm report. See you then.

[kgbaseball]

I plan on doing a weekly "talk" with Joe Girardi and an every other week "Down on the Farm" report on the Marlins. I'm going to try it out here, and let me know what you guys think of it. If you enjoy learning about what Girardi (me) has to say about how the team is playing and what various scouts throughout the organization think of the farm system, let me know; I'd appreciate it. I'll wait for a couple weeks to do the "Down on the Farm" since the minor league season just started in my Dynasty. So here's week 1 of my talks with Joe Girardi.

Weekly Sitdown with Marlins Manager Joe Girardi

-Now that you've been a MLB manager for a week, what's it been like?

"I'm enjoying every minute of it. The team is playing well, we haven't had any problems yet, and I believe it's only going to get better. I'm excited to see our hometown fans for the first time. I think they can give my young guys a lot of support for the great work they've done so far."

-Talk a little bit about how you decided on some of the last-minute additions to your 25-man roster during spring training.

"Well obviously we've got a lot of guys with little or no experience in the big leagues, so it was tough down the stretch deciding on who to keep on the big league roster and who to send down. It's not like where I was last year in the Yankees organization where you basically knew who your 25 guys were going into spring training. But I felt good keeping the guys that I did. Taylor Tankersley was one of the guys that we were unsure about, but we decided that we needed a lefty in the bullpen that can come in and throw multiple innings, or just face one batter. He threw well today (Sunday) against the Mets, and didn't allow a hit in his 2 2/3 innings."

-What's your outlook on the starting rotation?

"I think we're in good shape, I really do. We literally have a ton of good, live arms in the big leagues and in the farm system to last us this year and the years to come. Guys like Scott Olsen, Justin Vargas, Renyel Pinto, who I'm sure you'll be hearing more from soon, Anibal Sanchez, who came over in the Beckett and Lowell deal from Boston, and of course Dontrelle as well as many others. The thing I like about our MLB starting rotation is that we can go L,R,L,R,L. This provides us with a huge advantage against other teams. Plus, we've got Josh Johnson, another solid young pitcher, in the bullpen for long relief if anyone happens to struggle in the starting rotation. "

How do you feel about Hanley Ramirez' and Jeremy Hermida's at bats so far?

"Both these guys are really special. I think Hanley is going to be our leadoff hitter for many years to come. He's fast and has a quick bat. Not to mention he can flat out pick it at shortstop. As for Hermida, what else can I say about him other than this kid can flat out hit. He's very patient at the plate, can hit to all fields, and with power. I love being able to put him anywhere from the 2-6 spot in the lineup and know he'll produce and do everything we ask of him. We've also got young kids like Dan Uggla whos been playing a solid second base for us, and Josh Willingham playing either behind the plate or in left field. I just have to get this guy in the lineup somehow; he can flat out hit. I'm really not surprised at all how well they've all been doing against big league pitching. They've all handled it well so far."

'

Last question, coach. What would you rather be doing; managing the Marlins or still playing?

"Managing these guys, no question. I love every minute of this. I love being out there with the guys, and most of all, teaching them the game. I played hard as a player and I try to instill that into every player I've got. You play hard, and I'll find a spot for you."

Thanks coach, and good luck the rest of the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, what do you guys think? Keep or no keep? ;)

[kgbaseball]

Roster Notes: Sent Reggie Abercrombie and Jason Stokes to AAA Albuquerque; recalled Jamal Strong and Yusmeiro Petit.

I'm going to start doing in-depth recaps only of close games, or games that are significantly important.

So here was a game that was neither.

Game 8: San Diego Padres @ Florida Marlins

Cabrera, Jacobs Power Fish Past Padres

Backed by 7 strong innings from Jasn Vargas (1-1), the Marlins had just enough offense to get past Chris Young (0-2) and the Padres. Mike Jacobs opened the scoring with a solo homerun in the 2nd. It was his first homerun and RBI of the season.

Mike Jacobs rounds the bases after his 2nd inning blast.

The Fish then scored again in the fourth inning after Miguel Cabrera's 2-run shot. That would be all the scoring the Fish would need.

Miguel Cabrera hits his 5th homerun of the year.

Vargas allowed 7 hits in 7 solid innings to earn the victory.

Vargas strikes out leadoff hitter Eric Young to open the game.

Final Score:

Next up: Padres @ Marlins, Stauffer (0-1, 18.90 ERA) vs. Moehler (0-1, 6.00)

Current record: 5-3, 2nd in NL East

[steroid]

Kg, looking good bro, nice touch with the weekly sitdown. I love to read, especially sports information, no matter how ficticious it is. Its one good thing about dynasty mode, you can be as ficticious as you want, and still keep us interested in it.............keep it up, looks real good :wtg:

[kgbaseball]

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! After a small delay due to lack of satisfaction with the way the dynasty was going, I'm at it again. For some reason the datafile wasn't working as I would've liked it to during the first few games, so I restarted my Marlins dynasty over, and couldn't be happier with it (except for the few times that the game decides to crash unexpectedly during someone's at bat, late in the game of course). So anyways, I'll be doing recaps of games again shortly. I've played quite a few games already in my new dynasty, and here's the MVPSavReader recap so far:

More to come!

Oh, I'm 17-9 by the way.

[kgbaseball]

Game #27: Florida Marlins @ Washington Nationals

Hermida Powers Fish Past Nats

Jeremy Hermida's had a rough couple of weeks. That all ended on Wednesday with a 3 RBI, 453-foot moonshot to end his homerless drought at 13 games. "I've been struggling the past few weeks, so it was nice to get off the schnide. We won the game, and that's the most important thing."

Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera added RBI singles to lead the Marlins past the Nationals 5-2.

Reggie Abercrombie smacks a single to center in the 3rd inning.

Sergio Mitre (5-1, 4.46 ERA) made the start for the Fish, and allowed 1 run over 6 solid innings. "To hold this tough lineup to 3 hits over 6 innings is no small feat," said Mitre. "My slider was on today, and that allowed us to win the game." Mitre also added 4 strikeouts. The only allowed run was on a Ryan Church solo homerun in the bottom of the 5th.

Church's homerun in the 5th was the only blemish on Mitre's record.

The only other run scored by the Nats was from a solo homerun by SS Royce Clayton in the 8th off of Joe Borowski.

Travis Bowyer picked up his 6th save of the year after mowing down Jose Guillen, Alfonso Soriano, and Daryle Ward in the 9th.

Other notables: Eric Reed picked up the webgem of the night after robbing Soriano of a sure double with a diving grab in the 7th. He is also 4 for his last 9, raising his BA to .232 after starting the year in a bad slump...new cleanup hitter Josh Willingham went 2-4, raising his BA to .361...both managers were thrown out of the game for arguing with the umps.

Eric Reed robs Alfonso Soriano of a double Wednesday night.

Final Score:

Next up: Florida Marlins (18-9) @ Washington Nationals (9-20)

Vargas (4-1, 2.97) vs. Rauch (0-0, 0.00)

[D-Unit]

nice job. impressive record. the nats arent doing so well lol.

[Totte]

Mitre is (5-1) is really doing a good job for you. It's still early in the season but do you consider him your best shot at the CY Young?

[D-Unit]

totte brings up a good question that leads to mym question. can you post some league leaders categories and stuff?

[DustinTheWin]

nice job kg

[kgbaseball]

Mitre is (5-1) is really doing a good job for you. It's still early in the season but do you consider him your best shot at the CY Young?

No. I know I'm off to an excellent start, but eventually the youth of my team is going to start showing, trust me.

totte brings up a good question that leads to mym question. can you post some league leaders categories and stuff?

I'll do that tonight sometime.

EDIT: Maybe not. MVPSav Reader combines the dynasty stats with the 2005 real life stats, so some of the league leaders actually aren't leading anything. I would take screens of the League Leaders page in my dynasty, but that would take forever to do each important stat such as Wins, BA, and ERA.

[kgbaseball]

Game 28: Florida Marlins @ Washington Nationals

Marlins Sweep 2 Game Series in DC

The Marlins earned their 4th victory in a row Thursday night with a 4-3 victory over the Nationals in the nation's capitol. The game featured Jason Vargas (4-1, 2.97) vs. Jon Rauch (0-0, 0.00), making his first start of the year.

The Nats opened the scoring in the 2nd inning when Brandon Watson drove in Matt LeCroy with an RBI single to center. 1-0 Nationals.

Matt LeCroy shows off his superior speed scoring from second on a single to center by Brandon Watson.

The game stayed 1-0 until the 6th inning. Reggie Abercrombie led off with an infield single. After stealing 2nd base, he advanced to third by a single from 3b Wes Helms. Mike Jacobs knocked in the first run for the Fish, delivering an RBI single to score Abercrombie. Later in the inning, C Miguel Olivo pounced all over a 2-1 slider from Rauch, slapping it to right center for a 2 RBI double. 3-1 Marlins. The Marlins weren't done yet - 2b Dan Uggla drove in Olivo with a 2-out single to left center. 4-1 Marlins.

Eric Reed steals his 6th base of the year.

The Nats answered back in the 7th, starting off the inning with an incredible 3 infield hits. Daryle Ward pinch hit for Ryan Church, and hit a sac fly to center, scoring Matt LeCroy. Ryan Zimmerman was up next, and drilled a single to left, scoring Jose Vidro. 4-3 Nats.

That would be all for Vargas, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up 8 hits and striking out 3.

Matt LeCroy was one of Jason Vargas' 3 K's on the day.

Notables: Travis Bowyer picked up his 7th save...Miguel Cabrera was given the day off; his replacement Alfredo Amezaga, went 0-2...

Final Score:

Next up: 3 game series against StL

Game 1: Reyes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Moehler (3-2, 2.02 ERA)

[kgbaseball]

Game 29: St. Louis Cardinals @ Florida Marlins

So Much for the 4 Game Winning Streak; Cardinals Bust Out the Bats in Slaughterfest

Let's just say it was a bad night for the Marlins. Nah, that's an understatement - it was a horrific night for the Marlins.

Backed by 6 RBI's from 3b Scott Rolen and 6 homeruns as a team, the Cardinals poured it on Friday night at Pro Player Stadium, destroying the Marlins 12-1 in front of a packed house. Anthony Reyes made his season debut for the Cardinals, and got plenty of support from his teammates.

Florida starting pitcher Brian Moehler looked like a little leaguer pitching against an MLB All-Star team Friday night. "I obviously didn't have my best stuff, and when you're facing the defending NL champions, that can spell disaster." Thanks, Captain Obvious. Moehler lasted just 3 innings, giving up 7 runs, 5 earned.

Yadier Molina and John Rodriguez got the homerun-fest going in the 3rd with back-to-back shots to lead off the inning. David Eckstein and So Taguchi singled later in the inning. NL MVP candidate Albert Pujols drove in Eckstein with an RBI double, followed by an RBI single by CF Jim Edmonds. 4-0 Cardinals.

They weren't done yet. Next up was Scott Rolen, who with 2 men on, crushed a 3 run homerun to right field, giving the Cards an early 7-0 lead.

Yadier Molina and John Rodriguez round the bases after their back-to-back shots in the 3rd.

THat would be all for Moehler. Josh Johnson came in for relief in the 4th and promptly gave up a solo shot to Eckstein. If it wasn't already clear, at that point everyone knew it wasn't to be the Marlins night.

David Eckstein joins in on the homerun parade Friday night.

Anthony Reyes cruised along until the 6th inning, when he gave up his first hit to Florida catcher Miguel Olivo.

As if an 8-0 deficit wasn't enough, the Cardinals added on in the 7th inning as Pujols hit an absolute rocket to straightaway center, giving the Cards a 9-0 lead.

Albert Pujols does his signature homerun "watch" in the 7th inning after sending one out to center.

The only Marlins scoring of the night came in the bottom half of the 7th, when 1b Jason Stokes drove in Jeremy Hermida with an RBI groundout to first.

Recently acquired free agent Jesus Colome was called on to pitch the top of the 9th, making his Marlins debut. It was one he'll definitely remember, but for all the wrong reasons. Albert Pujols singled to lead off the inning, and then proceeded to walk Jim Edmonds. That man Scott Rolen was up next, and hit yet another 3 run homerun, this time to deep left, giving the Cards an insurmountable 12-1 lead.

It would finally end there, stopping the Marlins 4 game winning streak.

Other Notables: Josh Hancock picked up the 3 inning save for the Cardinals, allowing no runs and 4 hits...Pujols went 3-5, raising his MLB-leading BA to .423...everyone in the Cardinals lineup had at least one hit except for Larry Bigbie, who went 0-5...

Final Score:

Next up: St. Louis Cardinals (20-10) @ Florida Marlins (19-10), Game 2

Chris Carpenter (1-2, 4.41 ERA) vs. Scott Olsen (0-3, 5.55 ERA)

[AstroEric]

Wes Helms went to my high school. It's good to see him doing well in his...uh...virtual career.

[D-Unit]

nice screenshot with pujols.

for the league leader thing, i just typed in the top five in .AVG, HR, RBI, ERA, W, and K. It took me about 5-10 minutes.

[kgbaseball]

Game 30: St. Louis Cardinals @ Florida Marlins

Cards' Bats Keep on "Rolen"

Scott Rolen and the Cardinals put up 17 hits to once again dominate the Florida Marlins Saturday night.

Rolen added a 2 run homer in the 1st inning to give him 3 in the series thus far, after the Cards had already taken a 1-0 lead thanks to a RBI fielder's choice by Jim Edmonds.

Scott Rolen knocks a 2 run homerun in the 1st inning Saturday.

The Cards added another run in the 2nd on an RBI single by LF So Taguchi to make it 4-0.

Cardinals 2b Hector Luna is thrown out by Josh Willingham in the 2nd.

Scott Olsen (0-4, 6.04 ERA) allowed 4 earned runs over 4 innings, surrendering 13 hits. "I've been struggling so far this year, and my command just isn't there. I left too many balls over the heart of the plate tonight."

"He'll be alright," said Marlins manager Joe Girardi. "He's young, and who isn't on this team. These kinds of games are great learning experiences for my guys."

The only scoring for the Fish came in the 6th inning, when Miguel Cabrera knocked in Eric Reed with an RBI single to make it 4-1.

Chris Carpenter (2-2, 3.56) pitched 8 1/3 innings to get the victory, allowing 7 hits and 1 earned run and 5 strikeouts.

Wes Helms was one of 5 Carpenter K's.

After allowing back-to-back hits by Josh Willingham and Mike Jacobs in the 9th, Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen was called on to finish the job. Final score 5-1 Cardinals.

Jason Isringhausen comes in to close out the game.

Final Score:

Next up: St. Louis Cardinals (21-10) @ Florida Marlins (19-11)

Mark Mulder (2-2, 5.82 ERA) vs. Dontrelle Willis (3-2, 3.40 ERA)

[kgbaseball]

I won't be able to show you the 3rd game against the Cardinals because it kept on crashing at different points every time I tried playing it, so here's the first game against the Braves.

Game 32: Atlanta Braves @ Florida Marlins

Mitre Shines Again; Marlins Start New Winning Streak

It was a rough weekend for the Fish as they got swept by the Cardinals by spectacular offensive performances from Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen. "It was good to get a day off yesterday (Monday). It let our guys relax a little bit and focus on our upcoming series against the Braves. We'd like to put that series with the Cardinals behind us," said manager Joe Girardi. The Marlins did just that, taking the first game of the series 3-1.

The view from the Pressbox as the 3 game series between the Braves and Marlins begins.

Today's matchup featured of-injured Mike Hampton for the Braves and Sergio Mitre for the Marlins.

The Braves opened the scoring early in the first with a homerun by 3b Chipper "Larry Wayne" Jones.

Jones takes Mitre deep in the first.

Mike Hampton cruised along until the 5th inning, when he gave up his first hit, and run, to Marlins rookie 2b Dan "Ugly" Uggla. "He absolutely had all our numbers the first time through the order. Luckily, we figured him out by the 2nd at bat to do some damage," Uggla said.

Dan Uggla rounds the bases after his 5th inning round tripper.

The Marlins scored again in the 6th, thanks to a 2 run homer by C Josh Willingham, who drove in Jeremy Hermida after his single. "Chicks dig the longball," Willingham joked after the game. "At least that's what my wife tells me." Josh's wife Ginger gave birth to the Willingham's first son Gilligan on Saturday.

Sergio Mitre has been the best pitcher the Marlins have had all year, and Tuesday was no different. Other than the first inning homerun, Mitre was nearly flawless, allowing 6 hits and 1 earned run, picking up the victory.

Travis Bowyer picked up his 8th save of the year with yet another flawless 9th inning.

Bowyer strikes out Chipper Jones to end the game.

Other notables: SS Robert Andino collected his first hit and stolen base of the year...Joe Borowksi worked a perfect 8th...the Marlins end their 3 game skid...this was Mike Hampton's first start since late 2004.

Final Score:

Next up: Atlants Braves (16-17) @ Florida Marlins (20-12)

Kyle Davies (0-1, 4.77 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas (5-1, 2.93 ERA)