Team Report

We all know the Marlins head into the long off season with a record number of arbitration eligible players set to make more money. While there are 15 arby players, not all of them will return with the Fish next year. With a little help from Yahoo Sports, I will break down our off season outlook…

Free Agents: OF Luis Gonzalez, C Paul LoDuca, LHP Arthur Rhodes, LHP Mark Hendrickson.

The only one from this group that I expect to return is Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes is still effective even as he gets older. Problem is he can’t give you more than a few batters a game. Rhodes was a huge asset down the stretch last year when Renyel Pinto started struggling. A one year offer seems fair for Rhodes who deserves a Kevin Gregg 2008 type salary, considering he was much more effective than Gregg.

Arbitration-eligible: 2B Dan Uggla, RHP Kevin Gregg, LHP Scott Olsen, RHP Ricky Nolasco, 1B Mike Jacobs, LF Josh Willingham, 3B Jorge Cantu, RF Jeremy Hermida, CF Cody Ross, INF Alfredo Amezaga, RHP Josh Johnson, C Matt Treanor, RHP Joe Nelson, RHP Logan Kensing, 3B Dallas McPherson.

We already know the story on most of these guys. I do expect the majority of these guys to be back and battling in Spring Training for starting jobs. Kevin Gregg, Mike Jacobs and Scott Olsen are 80-90% gone and guys like Dan Uggla would be traded only if the Marlins are blown away by an offer. That being said Hermida should get another shot in Spring Training to prove he is worth sticking around. Cantu should be back as well. I also expect McPherson to get a legitimate shot out of Spring Training for third base.

The Marlins Rookie Hazing

The Marlins had there rookies dress up in costumes and ride the 7 Train during the series at Shea this weekend. Fish Bytes has more pictures up on the blog as well as a breakdown of who is who.

Seven in a Row, Say it Ain’t So?

So the Marlins appear to be putting there yearly run together towards the post season. Once again it appears it may be too little too late as the Phillies are also making there yearly September push. It’s a shame it’s taken so long since the All Star Break to get our pitching, defense and hitting running on all cylinders.

In case you haven’t noticed the Marlins have won 7 in a row and are looking to sweep the reeling Astros tonight. They are 5.5 back in the East and 5.0 back in the Wild Card. While I will never say die until there is a “E” next to the Marlins name in the standings.

The good news is we are setting ourselves up nicely for the next few years with a pitching rotation that looks stout with JJ, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. Notice I left off Scott Olsen? While his attitude has changed, I really hope we can find a taker for him and fill a couple of holes.

The Marlins crushed the Astros last night 14-2 behind a strong effort from Nolasco. Cameron Maybin made his Marlins debut and went 1-2 at the plate and ran down some nice fly balls in center.

The future is bright.

Today: Marlins @ Cubs (Game 103)

[[Florida Marlins]] @ [[Chicago Cubs]]
First Pitch: 2:20 PM EST
Pitching Matchup: [[Josh Johnson]] vs [[Ryan Dempster]]
Location: Wrigley Field
Conditions: Considerable clouds this morning. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High 84F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

The Fish look to bounce back from yesterday’s loss at Wrigley with an afternoon affair at the friendly confines. The Marlins’ 24-year-old right-hander will make his first career start at Wrigley on Friday afternoon against the Cubs. All-Star Ryan Dempster makes his first career start against the club he began his big league career with.

Video preview of today’s game can be found here.

As always GO FISH! I am at work today so any updates in the comments would be mucho appreciated.

Thanks.