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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. 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Answer: Florida Marlins 2009 Record: 87-75 (2nd, NL East) Key Additions: Seth McClung (SP/RP), Jose Veras (RP), Mike Lamb (3B/1B) Key Losses: Nick Johnson (1B), Ross Gload (1B/OF), Kiko Calero (RP), Matt Lindstrom (RP), Brendan Donnelly (RP) Summary: How do they do it? Florida constantly has a payroll south of Alex Rodriguez's annual salary. They barely draw in that cavernous football stadium (which they are getting kicked out of in a few years). They sell off talent like they are some sort of auctioneer. Yet, they almost always manage to compete. They finished 5 games out of a playoff spot last season, and they did so with a cast that, outside Hanley Ramirez, almost no casual fan would recognize. Maybe it is time to recognize some of these guys. Hanley Ramirez is the top shortstop in the bigs. No need to talk about him, but rather let's talk about some of the talent surrounding him. Jorge Cantu, for the money, is a great supporting piece. He is capable of 25-30 home runs, though he did lose power in 2009 (probably related to his decline in strikeouts). With him, Ramirez and Dan Uggla, you have a ton of power on the infield. Uggla strikes out a ton, but who cares? He walks and homers enough to be an above average hitter. As long as he is never allowed near an all-star game again, he should be fine. Gaby Sanchez is penciled in as the first baseman with the departures of Nick Johnson and Ross Gload. He is 26, and has shown a great eye at the plate in the minors. He looks like he could be a right-handed Nick Johnson: not as much power as you expect from first base, but a great on-base percentage. With Hanley, that is a fine player to have. The outfield consists of decent player Cody Ross, surprise ROY Chris Coghlan and young Cameron Maybin. There is potential there, but I am not as impressed with the outfield as I am with the infield (though with Ramirez, who would disagree with that?). One thing that you cannot argue with is the arms this organization churns out. Back in the day they had Livan Hernandez and one Ryan Dempster come up through their ranks. Earlier this decade they produced Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Carl Pavano, Dontrelle Willis (before he Rich Hill'ed) and Brad Penny. Now they have two solid if not spectacular arms in Josh Johnson and former Cubs prospect Ricky Nolasco. Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad have a ton of potential, and if they realize it, this team will compete for the division. The issues, at least with Sanchez, have been injuries and some inconsistency. I think Volstad could be a dark horse here, as he is young and has shown some decent control. I'm watching out for him. Cubs Connection: Oh that Juan Pierre trade. Why did we do it? The Cubs did not need a speedy, low-OBP center fielder. No team needs that. And to this day, the Marlins are getting fat off of that one-sided trade. Sergio Mitre is long gone, so throw him out of this discussion. While 2009 was a bad year for Nolasco, he showed in 2008 he can be a good starter in the NL. While the Cubs are deciding whether Carlos Silva or Jeff Samardzija will be their #5, imagine having Nolasco alongside Zambrano and Lilly. That would be good. The other pitcher the Marlins got from the Cubs was Renyel Pinto. He is a lefty with some control issues and is almost more effective against righties. In other words he is John Grabow. So while that is no big loss, it would be nice to have the young, cheaper version of John Grabow than the real thing. I will tell you this: the Cubs got them with the Lee-for-Choi deal. I guess between those two trades, they broke even. BIBGLBOOPSARG(tm) LF Chris Coghlan CF Cameron Maybin SS Hanley Ramirez 2B Dan Uggla 3B Jorge Cantu RF Cody Ross 1B Gaby Sanchez C John Baker P Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez, Chris Volstad, Andrew Miller Closer: Leo Nunez Predicted Finish: Fourth place in the NL East. They should be battling the Nationals for last place with the resources they have, but they develop talent so much better than Washington, so I think this will be more of them vs. the Mets. If the Mets struggle with injuries, this is easily third. My issue is that the staff, though talented, is not developed enough to be an asset. The lineup is great for the money being put into it, but it still falls short of Philadelphia, Atlanta and even New York. I should know better than to underestimate these guys. Maybe I am still stinging from 2003. Posted in: 2010 Preview, Florida Marlins | ||