The Marlins have placed righty reliever Lee Gardner on the 15-day disabled list with eblow inflammation. Gardner pitched really well for the Marlins in 2007 but he’s off to a simply awful start to this season. He has pitched in 7 games for the Marlins this season and he is 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.70 WHIP. Gardner has allowed a whopping 14 hits and 3 homers in only 6.2 innings this season. The Marlins have called up 27-year old righty Doug Waechter to take over as the long man in the bullpen. He did not pitch in the majors last season as he was recovering from major surgery. Waechter has now pitched in 60 games(54 starts) in his major league career and he is 14-25 with a 5.62 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Don’t expect miracles out of Waechter as he is a Devil Rays’ reject.

And the shuttle begins for the Marlins starting rotation. The Marlins have decided that they have seen enough of Rick VandenHurk after only two starts. He started 2 games for the Marlins this season and he was 0-1 with a 11.81 ERA and a 2.81 WHIP. VandenHurk allowed a whopping 12 hits in only 5.1 innings so far this season. The Marlins have recalled 25 year old righty Burke Badenhop to replace VandenHurk in the starting rotation. Badenhop has started 1 game in AA ball this season and he was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Badenhop was part of the huge trade in the off-season with Detroit in which Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera were shown the door so he might be under a lot of scrutiny.

The Florida Marlins traded cold, hard cash to the Phillies for 1B/3B Wes Helms. Helms played in 112 games for the Phillies last season and he was 69 for 280 (.246 avg, .665 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers and 39 RBIs. Helms has now played in 771 games in his major league career and he is 498 for 1,882 (.265 avg, .761 OPS) with 199 runs scored, 63 homers and 265 RBIs. Helms will likely share 3B with Jorge Cantu and he will also be one of the first pinch hitters off the bench. This was a nice move for the Marlins as Helms had his best season of his career for them just two years ago.

The Marlins might be a awful overall baseball team but they won’t likely blow many leads because they have a solid bullpen. 30-year old righty Kevin Gregg was saved off the Angels junk heap last season and he was a good closer for the Marlins. He pitched in 74 games for the Marlins last season and he was 0-5 with 32 saves, a 3.54 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Gregg also whiffed 87 batters in 84 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. Look for him to have another solid season for the Marlins.

25-year old lefty Taylor Tankersley is a solid reliever for the Marlins. He pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 6-1 with 1 save, a 3.99 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Tankersley would likely be an awesome reliever if he just threw more strikes as he has whiffed 95 batters and walked 55 in 88.1 career innings in the majors.

28-year old righty Matt Lindstrom has the best pure stuff of anyone on the entire Marlins pitching staff as he can hit 100 mph on the radar gun. He pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 3-4 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Lindstrom has the stuff to be a future closer for the Marlins.

25-year old lefty Reynel Pinto is another solid reliever from the left side. He pitched in 57 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 2-4 with 1 save, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Pinto also could be a dominate lefty if he could just throw strikes. He has whiffed 92 batters and walked 59 in only 88.1 career innings in the majors.

33-year old righty Lee Gardner came literally out of nowhere last season to pitch very well out of the bullpen for the Marlins. He pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 3-4 with 2 saves, a 1.94 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. It will be hard to repeat the season Gardner had last season because he doesn’t have great stuff, but he will likely be at least decent in 2008.

30-year old righty Justin Miller also was a huge surprise for the Marlins last season. He pitched in 62 games (0 starts) last season for the Marlins and he was 5-0 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. It will be interesting to see if Miller has another solid season in 2008.

25-year old righty Logan Kensing will be one of the first pitchers in the game at the sign of trouble for the starter. He pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Kensing has now pitched in 54 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-6 with 1 save, a 5.50 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.

26-year old righty Carlos Martinez will start the season in the minors but he might get a call early in the season if the Marlins need bullpen help. He pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP. He also pitched in 24 games (0 starts) in A+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

You know you’re in big trouble when 34-year old lefty Mark Hendrickson is your opening day starter. He pitched in 39 games (15 starts) last season for the Dodgers and he was 4-8 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Hendrickson will likely lose at least 15 games this season for the Marlins because he is a terrible pitcher.

24-year old lefty Scott Olsen will be the #2 starter this season for the Marlins. He started 33 games for the Marlins last season and he was 10-15 with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. The Marlins need Olsen to focus this season because he’s a much better pitcher than he showed last season. In 2006, Olsen was 12-10 with a 4.04 ERA and he could get back to that level with the stuff he has.

23-year old lefty Andrew Miller was one of the main players the Marlins got in return for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis so he needs to show why they wanted him this season. He started 13 games for the Tigers last season and he was 5-5 with a 5.63 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. He had problems throwing strikes last season in the majors but he showed decent control in the minors last season so he could start to turn the corner this season for the Marlins. He pitched in 15 games (13 starts) in A+AA+AAA ball last season and he was 3-4 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

23-year old righty Rick VandenHurk will be the #4 starter when the season begins for the Marlins. He pitched in 18 games (17 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 4-6 with a 6.83 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. He has good stuff as he whiffed 82 batters in 81.2 innings in the majors last season but walks killed him as he gave away 48 free passes last year. He will have to throw more strikes this season if he wants to stay in the majors this season.

25-year old righty Ricky Nolasco will be the #5 starter for the Marlins this season. He only pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 1-2 with a 5.48 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. The Marlins are hoping he pitches like he did in 2006 as he was 11-11 with a 4.82 ERA.

27-year old righty Sergio Mitre will take someone’s spot when he returns from injury. He started 27 games for the Marlins last season and he was 5-8 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. The Marlins would be better off if the kids step up and keep Mitre in the bullpen because he just isn’t that good of a pitcher.

21-year old righty Chris Volstad will likely be the first pitcher called up if the Marlins need rotation help because of his solid spring. He pitched in 28 games (27 starts) in A+AA ball last season and he was 12-11 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.

22-year old righty Dallas Trahern was another pitcher brought in by the Marlins in the big trade with the Tigers in the off season. He started 27 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 13-6 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He could get a look at some point of the 2008 season for the Marlins.

25-year old righty Daniel Barone will also start the season in AAA waiting for another chance to show the Marlins what he can do. He pitched in 16 games (6 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 1-3 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He also started 23 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 8-3 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.

The Marlins are hopeful that 24-year old righty Anibal Sanchez will be ready to pitch in a couple of months as he is recovering from surgery. He started 6 games for the Marlins last season and he was 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP. As a rookie in 2006, Sanchez was 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA and he threw a no-hitter.

24-year old righty Josh Johnson will miss most, if not all of the 2008 season as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. He started 4 games for the Marlins last season and he was 0-3 with a 7.47 ERA and a 2.43 WHIP. He was 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2006 for the Marlins.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D-