Don't look now, but Marlins have shot at playoff berth
By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer
September 5, 2006
MIAMI (AP) -- Watching from the bullpen as his teammates mounted a rally, Florida Marlins closer Joe Borowski looked away for one pitch and missed a three-run homer.
"I tied my shoes," Borowski said, "and before you knew it, we were leading 6-5."
ADVERTISEMENT
The moral of the story: Keep an eye on the Marlins. They have a shot at a playoff berth, and for the first time this season, they also have a winning record.
The homer Monday by Joe Borchard helped the Marlins to their fourth consecutive victory. At 69-68, they became the first club in major-league history to climb above .500 after being 20 games under.
Manager Joe Girardi's team was 11-31 on the morning of May 22 and appeared destined to fulfill pundits' preseason projections of a 100-loss season -- or worse.
"That wasn't a fun universe for us to be in," Girardi said. "But we learned a lot in those first 42 games."
The Marlins have since played at better than a .600 pace, second only to the New York Mets in the NL, and they went into Tuesday night's game against Arizona trailing wild-card leader San Diego by only two games.
To recover from such an abysmal start and challenge for a playoff berth is beyond improbable -- especially for a team with baseball's youngest roster, puniest payroll and worst attendance.
"It's nothing short of amazing," said Borowski, who stands out among his cherubic teammates because he's a tobacco-chewing 35-year-old. "I don't know how to explain it, and I don't know if I want to try. Sometimes it's better left not trying to figure it out."
One explanation is that the Marlins are winning thanks to precocious pitchers. Their starting staff, consisting of four rookies and 24-year-old Dontrelle Willis, began the week with baseball's best ERA since the All-Star break.
Florida is also relying on rookies to spark the offense. First baseman Mike Jacobs, second baseman Dan Uggla, shortstop Hanley Ramirez and left fielder Josh Willingham have simultaneously blossomed to combine for 73 home runs through Monday.
Rookie right-hander Josh Johnson, who leads the NL with an ERA of 2.99, said he and the other youngsters settled into their roles when the Marlins began winning in late May.
"After that it was, `OK, maybe we belong here. Let's ride this out, play well the rest of the season and see what happens,"' he said.
The question now: Can the Marlins sustain their surge through September? In mid-May, Las Vegas oddsmakers gave them a 1,000-1 chance to make the playoffs. Now it's 12-1.
Florida will host a four-game showdown series beginning Thursday against Philadelphia, another wild-card contender.
"It's pretty remarkable when you look at where we were on May 22," Borchard said. "We're going to see what we're made of."
The drama will play out before some of baseball's smallest crowds. The perennially attendance-challenged Marlins are last in the majors, averaging less than 14,000 fans per home game.
Backup catcher Matt Treanor fumed about fan support during the last homestand, saying people in South Florida "should be ashamed of themselves." But mostly the Marlins shrug off the tiny turnouts.
"On Labor Day, you look out there and go, `OK, we've got 25 or 30 extra people,"' Borowski said. "You make little jokes to lighten it up a little bit.
"Of course you want the support of everybody. You'd hope that everybody would notice what you're doing. But you've got to go out and perform, whether there's one person or 50,000."
When the Marlins won the NL wild-card en route to World Series les in 1997 and 2003, the bandwagon burgeoned in September. Such a scenario could be repeated this year, and with 16 of the final 26 games at home, it would be crazy to discount Florida and its $15 million roster.
The defense and middle relief may be shaky, but few teams can match the Marlins' rotation, and none can top their youthful zeal.
"These are supposed to be the dog days," Girardi said. "And we're full of energy."
For weeks the rookie manager deflected questions about playoff contention, saying he wanted the team to reach .500 before he addressed the subject.
Now he embraces it.
"Our guys have come a long way," Girardi said. "We're right in the middle of it now. Our players are having a blast. They're relaxed. They enjoy what they're going through. And they're going to learn a lot about themselves."
The Marlins continued their charge into contention even after a rift between Girardi and owner Jeffrey Loria erupted a month ago. Loria has since declined to endorse Girardi, fueling speculation that the potential NL manager of the year may not return next season.
Girardi, under contract through 2008, won't discuss the situation. But he said he's happy in Miami.
"I have a great group of players playing," he said, "and this has been a very enjoyable season for me."
The fun might be only beginning.
I hope they make it. I hope they make it to the World Series while the Red Sox miss the playoffs all together and the Yanks get bounced in the ALCS. 200 Million just doesnt buy youth, talent, and clutch performers like it used to. All of the money in the Bronx still hasn't replaced Brosius, Tino, O'Neill, Williams, etc. All clutch performers.
I am blown away. Are you kidding me? $15million payroll?
Incredible.
Dontrelle Willis can be dominating. He has to step up and lead this team to the playoffs.
if the Marlins make the playoffs i think they will win it all. they remind me of UCLA last year in b-ball when they got to the championship. so much youth and talent that just go out there and have fun and dont worry about the outcome. they are destroying almost every team.
If the Marlins make the playoffs and advance, it certainly should encourage fans in places like Pittsburgh and Milwaukee to ask those ownership groups what in the they've been doing for the last 15 years or so.
The Marlins run this year is proof that a team can have a smallish payroll and still make shrewd decisions that permit it to compete in the current National League. In less than 10 years, the Marlins organization has built a champion, sold off all of its assets for younger, cheaper talent, won another championship, sold off most of that team's assets for younger, cheaper talent, and become compe ive again.
The constant in all of that is excellent scouting and front office decision-making. Sure, they've made some mistakes, but at every step of the process, they've absolutely nailed their scouting of kids in the draft and in the minor league systems of other franchises.
If I were s ing out money to watch the Pirates or Brewers (or better yet, the Phillies or the Cubs), I'd want some explanation for why my team hasn't been able to do the same.
Larry Beinfest is probably the most underrated General Manager in all of baseball in terms of recognition for the job he has done.
This franchise shouldnt have to be doing this every few years, but the worthless situation we have down there in South Florida forces this to happen constantly.
Its not like anything makes the fans come out. Winning sure doesnt. Well a World Series does. Since the strike, only the Yankees have more les than us.
Think about that.
Pathetic.
Having said that, I hope we make it and go all the way again. Sadly after the last two days, our time may be running out.
they could win it all and that stupid ass owner will STILL fire Girardi
Move em to SA for the love of god already.
they could win it all and that stupid ass owner will STILL fire Girardi
Move em to SA for the love of god already.
supposedly they have patched things up. they both want to win, just were seeing things a bit differently.
I won't be shocked if Girardi makes his way to Chicago to relieve Dusty Baker -- nothing like a beloved Cub as the prodigal son.
wilbon has been trumpeting that the last few months.
as long as we got another of their good young prospects for him, i'm game.
though it really wouldnt be fair anymore if we rape them anymore from top studs in their farm system.
although loria has a few yankee roots and those are also very important to joe. hopefully they have patched up their differences, i still think its from wanting to win just seeing things a bit differently.
THe problem is the owner is a nutcase who should shut the piehole.
There is no problem with the owner. The owner wants to win, he took a big ole loss the last couple of years to try to do that.
Its the team president who has problems with his mouth.
The simple problem is that both Girardi and Loria want to win. Girardi has made more than a few mistakes this year in his job, Loria has made a few mistakes this year.
All in all, 82 + wins would be an absolute total success.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
