Results tagged ‘ Miami Marlins ’
Stanton Heating Up: Still Bound For A Subpar Season?
After failing to hit a home run in his first 17 games of the season, Giancarlo Stanton has started to heat up lately, as he’s blasted (and I do mean blasted) three home runs in his past two games. But while this is certainly great for both Stanton and the Marlins, you have to question whether 
it will actually play out over the remainder of the season.
If Stanton continues to tear it up at the plate, it’s likely he’ll find himself getting walked more and more, as there’s really no one in the Marlins’ lineup that can hurt a team as much as Stanton.
If Stanton can’t swing the bat, he can’t hit home runs.
Taking a look at Stanton’s stats so far this season, the additional walks are already taking place. Having only been walked 46 times last year, in which he hit 37 homers, Stanton is on pace to reach base via walk 78 times; that’s going off him playing 123 games like last year.
Assuming Stanton stays healthy for most of the season, resulting in more games played, it’s not all that hard to imagine him getting walked over 100 times. If he still continues to rake, perhaps even more than that.
So where does that leave Giancarlo Stanton?
The absolute best thing that can happen to Stanton is for him to get traded. A big blockbuster trade would be beneficial to both Stanton, helping him to somewhat salvage what’s sure to be a non-Stanton season, as well as the Marlins, gaining them some key pieces that will help them win more games down the road.
Stanton alone, while he’s an incredibly talented player, isn’t going to win the Marlins games. Maybe a few, here and there, but not enough to affect the outcome of a season. They need more than just one guy.
Therefore, sitting just four home runs shy of the 100th for his career, while Giancarlo Stanton will undoubtedly reach the milestone sometime within the next week or two, I see it being the last milestone he’ll achieve in a Marlins uniform.
Yoenis Cespedes Signs With Oakland
When I woke up Monday morning the rumor was still that the Miami Marlins were the front-running candidates to sign Cuban phenom, Yoenis Cespedes. That’s why it was a huge shock to me, and most of the baseball world, when it
was announced that Cespedes had signed a 4-year, 36 million dollar deal, with the Oakland Athletics. As far as the move goes, I’m not sure what the logic is behind it, on both Billy Beane, and Yoenis Cespedes’s part. As far as Billy Beane goes, we all know this guy makes crazy moves, but in my opinion this move is crazy even for him. The Athletics traded away three of their best pitchers (Trevor Cahill, Andrew Bailey and Gio Gonzalez) during the offseason. Replacing them with a big bat will only go so far in helping your team. You need starting pitching, as well as a good offensive lineup to help your team win games.
The Athletics did pick up pitching prospect Jarrod Parker from the Diamondbacks, but to me they still need one more guy on the roster to help this team be even slightly more successful than they were last season. Manny Ramirez could be the addition they need, as rumor has it that Oakland is still looking to sign him. Although I feel Ramirez’s career in MLB has run it’s 
course I’m not going to pitch a fit if he ends up signing with the Athletics; or any team for that matter. I think it’d be interesting to see whether or not he still has the ability to help a team win, or do just the opposite.
Moving on, let me take a minute to tell you how I feel the Yoenis Cepedes signing will effect the team. First of all, I’d like to point out (in case you’ve forgotten) that the Athletics finished next to last this past season, just beating out the Mariners. I feel that the Mariners will flip flop spots with the Athletics this year. Reason being, the Mariners have several young guys that I feel will come through big for them this season. The main guy to watch being Jesus Montero, who was traded by the Yankees. If Montero can put up big numbers in Seattle I can see the Mariners doing well this season. As far as the Athletics go, I just don’t see enough talent there to give them a chance at coming in any higher than last place in the AL West division. But Oakland, if you’re reading this (haha), prove me wrong.
If you’ve got a minute (or 20) take the time to watch ‘The Showcase’ video of Yoenis Cespedes, if you haven’t already seen it. The guy’s in freakishly good shape:
Miami Marlins New Look
The Marlins’ new look began to take shape back on September 28, when the signing of Ozzie Guillen, as their new manager, was made official with a press conference. Things took off from there. Next came changing the team name from Florida Marlins, to Miami Marlins, 
which subsequently lead to a new logo, as well as new uniforms. But the biggest news thus far isn’t the new uniforms or manager, but the newest members of the Miami Marlins, Heath Bell and Jose Reyes. Reyes–who signed a six-year, 106 Million dollar contract–is sure to help the Marlins out tremendoulsy, with his great speed and hitting ability, while Bell–who signed a three-year 27 Million dollar contract–is sure to close out plenty of games. Both of these signings were great ones for the Miami Marlins, but all this money spent so far brings up a major question: Will the signing of Bell and Reyes increase attendance for the 2012 season?
So, will the addition of Heath Bell and Jose Reyes to the Marlins spark baseball fans’ interests enough to get them to buy tickets and take a trip to the ballpark? The Marlins better hope so. I need not remind you of the scene that took place at a Marlins-Reds game in August of this past season. A mere 347 “fans” attended that game:
The Marlins needed to find a way to boost attendance levels, and I think they found it. With the additon of Guillen, Bell and Reyes–with talk of Pujols recieving a ten-year offer exceeding 200 Million dollars– combined with the new ballpark and uniforms, I think the 2012 attendance levels will be up, and stay up as long as the Marlins begin, and continue, to win. If not, I can very easily see the Marlins’ attendance going back to their well-known levels.
Please take a moment to vote in the polls below.
1) On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being AWESOME) how would you rank the Miami Marlin’s new uniforms?
2) On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being AWESOME) how would you rank the Miami Marlin’s new logo?
3) Lastly, do you think the Miami Marlin’s attendance levels will increase for the 2012 season?
If you have any further comments, please feel free to leave one below.
Matt Huddleston
