The Marlins are now 4-2 on the season after taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers over the weekend. They are one game behind the Phillies despite being outscored 32-27 on the season. The Marlins are getting a lot of clutch hitting so far this season and that is the biggest reason they are 4-2. The Reds are coming to town for a four game series and then the Marlins travel to Philly this weekend to tangle with the Phillies. This will be a tough 7 game stretch for the Marlins so I’m sure they would be happy with 4 wins. Anything more than that would be gravy if the Marlins are good enough to do it.

The Florida Marlins are 2-2 to start the season despite being outscored 21-14. The offense and the bullpen have had issues so far this season. The Marlins are having a hard time stringing hits together so far this season but I think they will snap out of that soon as they have a good hitting team. The bullpen however will likely be a problem all year long. The pen is a combined 1-0 with 2 saves, a 5.54 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP so far this season. Hopefully Marlins’ starting pitchers will start working later in ballgames. The starters are 1-2 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP so far this season so they are doing their job.

Dontrelle Willis, Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre have all pitched like crap in the 2nd half of the season.  The D-Train has started 13 games since the All-Star Break and he is 2-8 with a 6.30 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.  In 74.1 innings, Willis has allowed 105 hits, walked 28 batters and whiffed 51.  It seems as if Willis just took his first season making the big bucks off!  He has started 32 games this season and he is 9-15 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.  Scott Olsen is also having a rough 2nd half of the season.  In his 12 starts since the All-Star Break, Olsen is 3-7 with a 7.43 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP.  In 63 innings, Olsen has allowed 90 hits, 16 homers, walked 30 batters and whiffed 46.  Olsen has now started 31 games this season and he is 9-14 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP.  Sergio Mitre has proven that his first half success was a fluke.  In 12 starts since the All-Star Game, Mitre is 2-4 with a 7.27 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP.  In 60.2 innings, Mitre has allowed 88 hits, walked 22 batters and whiffed 25.  For the season, Mitre has started 27 games and he is 5-8 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.  The Marlins are now 65-86 on the season which has them in last place in the National League West, 18.5 games behind the Mets and 3 games behind the Nationals for 4th place.

The Florida Marlins are truly one of the worst teams in all of baseball.  They are now 62-83 which has them in last place in the National League East, 20.5 games behind the Mets.  The Marlins are only 1 game better than each the White Sox and the Devil Rays for draft position in 2008.  It’s a shame because this teams’ future appeared bright after a surprising 2006 season.

The Florida Marlins have sunk to the bottom of the National League East and the main culprit is an awful pitching staff which has allowed 745 runs (5.4 avg) this season which is the most in the National League and the second most in the majors.  On a bright note is that four of their players are really swinging good bats.  Shortstop Hanley Ramirez has followed up his Rookie of the Year season with an even better year.  He is hitting .333, with 106 runs scored, 24 homers, 67 RBIs and 43 stolen bases.  Miguel Cabrera continues to display an impressive bat as he is hitting .316 with 80 runs scored, 31 homers and 95 RBIs this season.  Dan Uggla has followed up his strong rookie season with an even bigger display of power.  He is hitting .247 with 95 runs scored, 28 homers and 79 RBIs.  Josh Willingham has provided good protection in the order for Cabrera as he is hitting .271 with 68 runs scored, 21 homers and 85 RBIs so far this year.  The pitching staff has only had three bright spots this season and they have all been surprises to some degree.  Kevin Gregg has emerged as the Marlins closer after being a mop up man with the Angels most of his career.  He is 0-4 with a 3.05 ERA and he has converted 28 of 30 save attempts this year.  Lee Gardner was hanging on to his career by a thread when the Marlins gave him a chance….and he ran with it.  Gardner was 3-4 with 1 save and a 2.20 ERA for the Marlins so far this season.  Matt Lindstrom was acquired in the Jason Vargas trade with the Mets and he has done a good job out of the bullpen for the Marlins this season.  He is 2-3 with a 3.16 ERA so far this season and he has upside for the future as he has outstanding stuff.