Florida Marlins Baseball

2006 Florida Marlins vs. 2006 "Florida Marlins"
An interesting look at what might have been


Part II- Pitching

The off-season saw the Marlins part ways with three starters along with their set-up man and closer. In their place, the Fish have used nine rookies.

Had the Marlins signed AJ Burnett, kept Josh Beckett, Todd Jones, Guillermo Mota and Antonio Alfonseca, the price tag would have been 18.1 million dollars. Burnett struck gold with the Blue Jays (5 years- 55 million). Todd Jones saw his salary increase from 1.1 million to 5.8. Beckett joined a rotation where he was no longer the ace.

Five of the 2005 Marlins pitching squad are no longer in the majors. Al Leiter and Jim Mecir retired. Nate Bump and Antonio Alfonseca were sent back to the minors. And Ismael Valdez is listed as "unsigned".

The starting rotation for the 2006 Marlins has been anything but typical. Four starters weren't even in the rotation at the start of the season. Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco began the season out of the bullpen, while Yusmeiro Petit and Anibal Sanchez started in the minor leagues.

Starting Pitchers
Josh Beckett- 11-4 4.75 Salary 4.3 Million
AJ Burnett- 1-3 4.58 Salary: 2.2 million

vs.

Josh Johnson 8-4 2.21 Salary: 327,000
Scott Olsen 6-4 4.17 Salary: 327,000
Ricky Nolasco 6-6 5.00 Salary: 327,000

Synopsis: Josh Johnson has been making a name for himself this season. Johnson has been one of the most reliable arms for manager Joe Girardi. The two time NL Rookie of the Month has not allowed more than four runs this season. Olsen and Nolasco have had an up and down season but both have avoid the Disabled List, a place Beckett was all too familiar with while a Marlin. Beckett has kept his blister problem away and is one of the reasons the Red Sox sit on top of the AL East. Burnett however has no had the same luck. The former eighth round pick spent the first two months of his contract on the DL because of his elbow. In three of his four starts since coming back from the DL, Burnett has a 0-2 record and 6.06 ERA. While it's hard to pull away from Beckett's success this season, Johnson has been lights out.

Edge: 2006

Bullpen
Jones 1-5 5.82 23 Saves Salary: 5.8 million
Mota 1-3 6.12 Salary: 3 million
Alfonseca- 0-0 9.82 Salary: 275 Million

vs.

Borowski 0-2 3.71 16 Saves Salary: 327,000
Logan Kensing 1-1 3.20 Salary: 600,000
Matt Herges 0-2 4.05 Salary: 327,000

Synopsis: Todd Jones has saved 23 victories for the surprising Detroit Tigers. His ERA is high but has saved his last seven chances. Mota failed in his audition for the Cleveland Indians set-up man. Alfonseca has had even worse luck. He never fit in on the Texas Rangers bullpen and was placed off waivers.
Borowski is a member of yet another turnaround closer for the Florida Marlins. Since 2003, General Manager Larry Beinfest has seen a closer more than double their previous season save total. In 2003, Braden Looper increased 15 saves. In 2004, Armando Benitez upped 26 and last season Jones jump from two saves in 2004 to 40.
However, the Marlins have failed to produce quality arms to take them from the starting pitcher's arm to the closer. Mota was the set-up man last season and it appears Kensing or Herges to be it this season.

Edge: Draw

Posted by Brian Saal on Sunday, July 09, 2006 at 10:31 AM | Permalink