Florida Marlins news and notes

Florida Marlins mid season review

Every number I look at for this team show a team that cannot win, or does not now how to win. They already fired their manager, Fredi Rodriguez, but his replacement is off to a 3-7 record since then. They had a losing record in interleague play. Have completed just one winning month in May when they went 15-14, and with an overall record of 37-43 they find themselves 9.5 games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves.

Florida Marlins fire their manager

When I went to sleep last night the Florida Marlins were 35-35. Not great, but not that terrible either. When I awoke this morning it was to the kind of surprising news that they had fired manager Fredi Gonzales. I don’t know why I found it surprising, as many reports have indicated that they have wanted to fire him for some time now, on top of that Owner Jeff Loria has had a long history of sacking the club’s manager. For now it seems Gonzales earned a reprieve during that whole Hanley Ramirez mess. Thanks heavens that Loria has finally learned that you cannot fire a manger right after he gets tough on one of the players.

2010 MLB season preview: Florida Marlins

The notoriously cheap Florida Marlins signed a few free agents this off season; of course they signed them to Minor League contracts. They were forced to spend some money on a few players or risk running afoul of the MLBPA. However this is a team that features one of the best young roster in all baseball. National League Batting Champion Hanley Ramirez, Ace Josh Johnson, and reining National League rookie of the year Chris Coghlan are all on this club and they could be something special.

Florida Marlins forced to increase their payroll

It seems that the MLB players union has filed several grievances with the MLB about the way in which the Florida Marlins have managed their payroll, most notably the money they get under the revenue sharing provisions.

2009 MLB season in review: Florida Marlins

Finally the Florida Marlins started playing like a team that was getting a new stadium, without doubt someone in the front office said hey we are getting public monies to build a new home it is time to start playing like it. While the 2009 Marlins were not the best baseball team, they took a big step towards looking like the two time World Series champions that they are. However, when it counted, and a wild card spot was on the line, this team could not beat the bums. This team lost six of their final nine to the Washington Nationals. In the end they tried to tweak their offense, and they had a winning season, something upon which their future can be built.

Can the Marlins handle the pressure?

The Florida Marlins really have three kinds of pressure on them. Since they are within shouting distance of the National League Wild Card there is the pressure of the playoff race. Since they are getting a new stadium built largely with public funds there is the pressure to perform to make the city’s investment in the club worthwhile, and finally there is the pressure of being one of the most successful expansion team in history, not just in MLB, but in the entire sports world.