As the Florida Marlins 2008 season concluded we look back on what went right, what went wrong, and what leaves us with hope for the 2009 season:

The good: The Marlins set a new club record for homeruns in a season. They smashed the ball everywhere they went and shared the wealth with 7 players hitting over 15 homers. Worried about an innings eater the Marlins had 2 pitchers throw for over 200 innings and Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad averaged 6+ innings a start from the time they were brought up. Jorge Cantu signed in the offseason to replace Cabrera did a solid job of it and finished as the Marlins 2nd best all around hitter with 29 homeruns, a team high 95 RBI’s and a solid 277 batting clip. Also a pleasant suprise was Jon Baker who was brought up due to injuries to the catching group. Baker not only provided a lift offensively by hitting 299 and driving in 32 runs in less than 200 at-bats, but he was able to call some great games. Johnson and Nolasco’s complete games were caught by Baker and he may have saved the Marlins from having to pursue a top flight catcher this offseason.

The bad: Defense while improved, was still a big factor and the Marlins struggled all year. Also the team struck out too many times and struggled moving runners up and scoring with a man on third and less than two outs. The Marlins can’t live on the 3 run homer forever and need to stop leaving easy runs out on the field.

The Hope” The hope for 2009 is strong. Cameron Maybin played great as a September call-up and will no doubt be the Marlins opening day center-fielder. The pitching staff took huge strides this year and with a healthy Johnson, Sanchez and Nolasco to go along with a matured Olsen, Volstad and Miller, the Marlins have a starting staff that can carry them to a Division title next year.

The Marlins just lost to the Chicago Cubs. I noticed some problems with the team tonight, and I feel there are ways to fix them going into the 2009 season. No I’m not a pessimist, already giving up on the 2008 Marlins, I’m just a fan who sees some glaring weaknesses and how we can fix them.

1. 1. The Defense: With Jorge Cantu leaving this off season for a bigger contract than the Marlins can offer, there will be a hole at third base again. I already can hear you screaming Dallas McPherson’s name with his 40 homeruns this year in the minors, but I suggest a different approach. Hanley Ramirez has great range as a short stop, the problem is consistency. Moving him over to third base will give the Marlins their best defensive everyday 3rd baseman since Mike Lowell. But who plays short you ask? How about a platoon? Alfredo Amezaga and Robert Andino both are better defensively at short than Hanley. Alfredo can start against right handed pitchers and Robert can start against left handers.
2. 2. Consistent hitting: For leading the league in homeruns the Marlins sure do ruin it by also leading in strikeouts and being one of the worse teams in hitting with runners in scoring position. The struggles of moving runners up and bringing a runner home with a sacrifice fly this year have driven poor Tommy Hutton insane this year.
3. 3. Management: While I like the way Freddy manages this team, Girardi demanded more, and got it. Crack the whip Freddy, crack it! Furthermore you can get more aggressive on base. Start sending runners, forcing these kids to hit in a hit and run situation will make them focus more on making contact.

Ok, I fixed it. No worries fans were going to be good next year. By the way, did anyone notice I haven’t mentioned the pitching? Why would I, Johnson, Volstad, Nolasco, Miller, Olsen, Sanchez, with Tucker, Vandenhurk, and Badenhop waiting in the wings. The pitching is strong, and no longer a weakness. If this team can attack with a small ball mentality, like the 2003 Marlins the sky is the limit. We have better pitching than that team, Mark Redman, Carl Pavano, and let us not forget that we only had 2 arms we could rely on from the bullpen. This new Marlins team can be special, we’ve sensed it for 3 years, but pretty soon potential will become present, and were tired of waiting.