Tonight begins a three-game set against the lowly Miami Marlins, a franchise that has seen better days. The Marlins are on pace to lose 102 games this season, the second highest total in franchise history behind the infamous 1998 "Fire Sale" team that managed to lose 108 games despite winning the World Series the previous season.
There are only two reasons to watch the Marlins, and their names are Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez. Stanton isn't putting up the obscene numbers he posted in 2012, but he remains one of baseball's most coveted corner outfielders. The consensus seems to be that he will be traded at some point, be it during this season (unlikely) or before next season (more likely). Fernandez has been dominant, despite not having pitched more than 150 innings above A-ball in Miami's minor league system. The Cuban-born righty has paired with Ricky Nolasco to form a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the Miami rotation. Fortunately for the Braves, he will not pitch in this series, and unless the rotation is shuffled, they won't see him when they travel to Miami next week either.
The Marlins have played good baseball of late, finishing June 15-10, the best record of any NL east squad, winning series against St. Louis, San Francisco, and San Diego in the process. They have faced the Braves only three times in 2013, getting swept at home in the midst of Atlanta's hot start to the season. The Braves have a 17-4 record against Miami since the start of the 2012 season, easily their best record against any NL east rival.
Although the team has been beleaguered with bad press recently, that's
certainly nothing new to the much-maligned ownership. Jeffrey Loria has
been the target of copious amounts of criticism and much of it is
well-deserved. However, the franchise has shown time and time again
that it is capable of pulling itself up by its' boot straps and defying
the odds, usually by way of talent development. Although 2013 is an
obvious punt for them in terms of fielding a competitive team, there is
talent in their minor league system, and they've already shown a
propensity to buck baseball orthodoxy by playing these guys at the major
league level, service time and financial considerations be damned.
Future editions of this team promise to be more dangerous than this one,
so let's enjoy their relative ineptitude while we can.
Series matchups:
Tonight, 7:10 (local broadcast)
Tom Koehler v. Kris Medlen
Wednesday, 7:10 (local broadcast)
Ricky Nolasco v. Mike Minor
Thursday, 7:10 (local broadcast)
Henderson Alvarez v. Julio Teheran
Tonight's lineup:
Simmons (sigh)
Heyward
J Upton
Freeman
McCann
Uggla
BJ
Johnson
Lastly, two quick notes on injured Braves. According to Dave O'Brien, Evan Gattis still has not been cleared for baseball activities. It's looking more likely that he may not return until after the ASB. Also, Cristhian Martinez's shoulder is still bothering him, and he is being examined by team doctors today. That's not good.
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