Archive for the 'Spring Training' Category
There are still more than two weeks left in spring training, but the Marlins already have seen enough of Reggie Abercrombie to know that he won’t be their center-fielder this season. Abercrombie was sent to minor league camp this morning as the Marlins narrowed their starting center-field candidates to Alex Sanchez and Eric Reed.
Skipper Fredi Gonzalez goes on to say…
“We met with him this morning. I’m sure he was upset,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said after the team arrived in Fort Lauderdale for today’s game against the Orioles.
“We haven’t closed the chapter on Reggie by any means. There have been guys who’ve come up and gone back down and when they came back up they stayed a long time and had a heck of a career. That’s what were hoping will happen with Reggie.”
I wish Reggie nothing but good luck. This move should have been made last season. It did no good for Reggie to struggle all season last year instead of working on his game and preparing to compete for this season. He is basically back at square one this season. I’ve never been a supporter of Reggie and all this 5-Tool-Player hoopla everyone tries to throw at you, but we did see some flashes of greatness last year. You can basically sum up Reggie’s Major League career so far from his Mamoth HR’s he hit at Great American Ballpark last year to his HR Off The Rocket at Dolphin stadium.
As Hard Ball Times puts it, “Some guys are just plain strong”
Volstad, a 2005 graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High, will throw two innings and be followed by three other pitchers selected in the first round of the ‘05 draft: right-hander Jacob Marceaux, right-hander Ryan Tucker and left-hander Aaron Thomson. They’ll each throw one inning along with right-handers Gaby Hernandez, Paul Mildren, Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom.
Left-hander Scott Olsen will start Wednesdays Grapefruit League opener against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Marlins will throw relief pitchers Thursday against the Orioles in Jupiter.
Here is the projected lineup for today’s UM game:
Hanley Ramirez (SS)
Dan Uggla (2B)
Miguel Cabrera (DH)
Josh Willingham (LF)
Mike Jacobs (1B)
Aaron Boone (3B)
Jeremy Hermida (RF)
Miguel Olivo (C)
Reggie Abercrombie (CF)
I’m hoping to get up to Jupiter for the Saturday game at Roger Dean against the Cardinals. I’m so pumped for baseball season and the Marlins look excited to get it going and start off strong this year. Anyone else planning on attending any games for Spring Training?
The Japanese sensation is slotted to pitch on March 2 against Boston College in Fort Myers. So if he makes that March 6 start in Jupiter, the Marlins would be the first big-league club Matsuzaka will face. Hopefully the Sox do not make any changes to the rotation up until then.
And in case you were wondering, that March 6 game has just standing-room only seats available.
Yahoo is starting to update it’s photo stream with pictures from Spring Training facilities around the country. The shot above features Perry Hill working on infield drills with the boys. Check out the rest of the photos here.
Remember you can also visit the South Florida Photo Stream on SporTech Matter. It’s updated by the second!
Injuries, injuries, injuries - The Marlins had some scares this offseason in the injury department. Josh Johnson and Anibal “The Cannibal” Sanchez both had some sore shoulder’s this offseason. The good news is Anibal has reported no arm problems since joining catchers in Jupiter. Sanchez was on the mound throwing a 10-minute bullpen session on Sunday morning at the Roger Dean Stadium complex. A few weeks ago, Sanchez underwent an MRI exam after his shoulder acted up. He took it easy for a while, but was able to get three bullpen sessions in before Spring Training started.
“My arm feels better,” said Sanchez, who is on a regular throwing schedule like the other pitchers who worked out Sunday.
“He was fine, I saw him throw a little bit,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Closer questions - Who will put an end to games this season? Last year the Marlins had one of the worst bullpens in baseball and gave up alot of leads. In fact there as a stretch in May when the Marlins lost in four walk offs to the Rays and Braves. Pretty much the lowlight of the season. This year, we need a strong bullpen with some veteran presence. If there is one mistake Beinfest made last year was throwing these young bullpen arms to the wolves without any help. And when I say help, Matt Herges does not count. So who will close out games? The Marlins are currently looking internally for closer candidates. Anyone from Taylor Tankersley and Ricky Nolasco can pickup saves. One key might be Felix Rodriguez who the Marlins picked up in the offseason and invited to camp. The 34-year-old right-hander appeared in 31 games and threw 29 1/3 innings for the Nationals in 2006. In 2005, he was with the Yankees, seeing action in 34 games, turning in 32 1/3 innings. From the 2000 season to the present, Rodriguez has the second-highest amount of holds of any reliever in the Major Leagues. He has 131 holds in that span, second only to Arthur Rhodes’ 143.
Sophomore slump and breakdown after the jump