The Florida Marlins recent nine game winning streak saw the cheapest team in the league rise out of the cellar of the NL East and provide confidence for a young team. In the past five seasons, the team with the lowest payroll have averaged a 67-94 season. However teams like the 2001 Minnesota Twins (85-77) and 2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (55-106) have proven its a crapshoot.
This 15 million dollar Marlin team has won 20 of their past 27 games due to reliable pitching and timely hitting. The Marlins rank sixth in the NL with a .263 batting average. They have been led not by two time All-Star Miguel Cabrera (.340-10-47), youthful Hanley Ramirez (.269-3-20), or powerful Mike Jacobs (.268-10-39). Dan Uggla has been the man this season. In his rookie campaign so far, he ranks third in batting average (.313), first in homeruns (13) and RBI (43) for NL second basemen. Quite remarkable after starting the season hitting just .205 with one homerun in mid-April. Uggla has been a strong force in the Marlins last 27 games. He's swinging a .326 average with seven homeruns in the month of June. In the nine game winning streak, the rule five pick was a hero in many occasions. Uggla had three hits in a 4-1 victory over Toronto, drove in two runs in a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays, and homered in three of his past five games. Not bad for a player who was fighting for a position on the Marlins roster in March.
Without quality pitching, Uggla's stats would not matter. The Marlins pitching squad lead the NL with a 2.92 ERA in their past 30 games. In their past 30 games, the Fish have had three starting pitchers with an ERA under 3. Josh Johnson has a sick 1.38 ERA with only a 3-2 record to show with it. Dontrelle Willis (3-1, 2.63) and Scott Olsen (4-0, 2.31) have also achieved success in the past month. Olsen has not lost in his past six starts.
The Marlins bullpen has also seen its share of success, the Marlins had only one complete game during this streak, a 8-1 victory pitched by Dontrelle Willis on June 7 against the San Francisco Giants. Ironically, Willis pitched a complete game in a 3-0 loss on May 21 in Tampa, the 28th game for the Marlins.
In the past month, closer Joe Borowski has picked up eight saves with a mean 1.74 ERA. Nine pitchers from the bullpen had an ERA under 2, and a whopping 19 holds. Not bad for a "AAA" team.
I understand what you're saying. Its June, we're still below .500, and 13.5 games out of first place. But the glass is half full. If for 27 games we played like a 20-7 team it shows our future. No one expects much out of the Marlins this season. Many compare us to the 1998 squad that lost 108 games. But for a team thats has seen 18 rookies go from 9-24 to 31-39 shows promise.
This 15 million dollar Marlin team has won 20 of their past 27 games due to reliable pitching and timely hitting. The Marlins rank sixth in the NL with a .263 batting average. They have been led not by two time All-Star Miguel Cabrera (.340-10-47), youthful Hanley Ramirez (.269-3-20), or powerful Mike Jacobs (.268-10-39). Dan Uggla has been the man this season. In his rookie campaign so far, he ranks third in batting average (.313), first in homeruns (13) and RBI (43) for NL second basemen. Quite remarkable after starting the season hitting just .205 with one homerun in mid-April. Uggla has been a strong force in the Marlins last 27 games. He's swinging a .326 average with seven homeruns in the month of June. In the nine game winning streak, the rule five pick was a hero in many occasions. Uggla had three hits in a 4-1 victory over Toronto, drove in two runs in a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays, and homered in three of his past five games. Not bad for a player who was fighting for a position on the Marlins roster in March.
Without quality pitching, Uggla's stats would not matter. The Marlins pitching squad lead the NL with a 2.92 ERA in their past 30 games. In their past 30 games, the Fish have had three starting pitchers with an ERA under 3. Josh Johnson has a sick 1.38 ERA with only a 3-2 record to show with it. Dontrelle Willis (3-1, 2.63) and Scott Olsen (4-0, 2.31) have also achieved success in the past month. Olsen has not lost in his past six starts.
The Marlins bullpen has also seen its share of success, the Marlins had only one complete game during this streak, a 8-1 victory pitched by Dontrelle Willis on June 7 against the San Francisco Giants. Ironically, Willis pitched a complete game in a 3-0 loss on May 21 in Tampa, the 28th game for the Marlins.
In the past month, closer Joe Borowski has picked up eight saves with a mean 1.74 ERA. Nine pitchers from the bullpen had an ERA under 2, and a whopping 19 holds. Not bad for a "AAA" team.
I understand what you're saying. Its June, we're still below .500, and 13.5 games out of first place. But the glass is half full. If for 27 games we played like a 20-7 team it shows our future. No one expects much out of the Marlins this season. Many compare us to the 1998 squad that lost 108 games. But for a team thats has seen 18 rookies go from 9-24 to 31-39 shows promise.
