Wednesday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves went according to plan for the Florida Marlins. Needing a win to keep pace, the Marlins defeated the Braves 5-3 to take the series, winning 2 of 3 games. Hanley Ramirez homered and doubled to lead the Marlins in their victory. Rookie Chris Volstad was again extremely effective, but left with the game tied at 3, reliever Doug Waechter got credit for the win.

However, the win and the stats are not the story of the game, the story is the 600 people that showed up to watch the game. Thats right, not a typo, 600. No, not 6,000, 600. Yes, it is true that 11,211 tickets were SOLD for this game, but only 600 people came to the game. A wonderful South Florida afternoon was wasted on unappreciative fans that don’t know what they have. Lets look at some important figures. The Marlins have long suffered the worst attendance in the league, averaging 16,576 fans this year, and have had a total of 1,176,916 come out to Dolphin Stadium for games. Dolphin Stadium holds 36,331, meaning that the Marlins average a less than half full house.

These figures are pathetic when you consider that the average cost of a ticket for a Marlins game this season is $18.69, 24th (out of 30 teams) in Major League Baseball. The cost index for the Marlins is also extremely low, $164.26 will get you on average 4 tickets, 2 small beers, 4 small sodas, 4 hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs, and two adult hats (according to an MLB Team Marketing Report published on Boston.com). This number ranks 21st among the 30 franchises in baseball in this category.

What this all means is that a Florida Marlins game is very economical and affordable, yet only 600 people showed up to see the game. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? For a city that put up a stink when MLB threatened to contract its worst teams, or allow them to move, where are these same people to suppor their team now? The threat is over so you disappear? Let me tell you what is wrong with this, 3 simple things. First off, few people go to a Marlins game and buy all the things included in the cost index, so in reality 2-3 friends could enjoy a Marlins game for $50 each, easily! Second, this is not a Marlins team that is on the verge of finishing the season with 100 or more losses. They are a winning team, and though they may not make the playoffs, this is a quality team with great talent and is set up (assuming our wonderful owner doesn’t decide to have a fire sale in the offseason) to do well again next year. Lastly, are the people of Miami telling me they would actually prefer to go to work on a Wednesday afternoon and be chained to their computers and desks than sit outside at the ballpark, have a cold beer, and catch some baseball?! I guess the economy in this country is better than most think, 10,611 South Florida residents had money to burn since they decided to purchase tickets and never show up.

Often in life we have to look to minor actions to find victory. With the Florida Marlins slumping horribly in August, finishing the month below .500 and not winning two games in a row at all during the month, you need to look to the small things for victory. On the next to last day of the month, New York Mets’ pitcher Mike Pelfrey provided the Marlins a victory with some puzzling, if not all together stupid remarks.

During a 4-3 loss to the Marlins on August 30th, Pelfrey plunked Marlins’ outfielder Cody Ross with 2 strikes against him. Normally one of two things happens, the benches clear as the plunked player charges the mound and the opposing teams clear the benches in a show of force, or the plunked player calmly takes his base. Pelfrey decided to stoke the flames a little and comment that he “did Ross a favor” by plunking him with 2 strikes against him.

Baseball is full of guys that run their mouth, but this event is quite unusual. Typically you see experienced and/or All Star caliber players run their mouths to the media about other teams and/or players. Pelfrey is none of these things. In his 3rd season in the majors, Pelfrey is in his first season in which he has started all the games he’s appeared in, and while he has a decent record at 13-8, his career record is 18-17 with a 4.34 ERA, far from All Star. To top it off, Pelfrey is 0-3 against the Marlins this season in 4 starts (his one no decision was still a loss for the Mets) and has an ERA of 7.91, so he really has no standing to talk smack about the Marlins in general. As for Ross, he is 3-9 with a double, triple, and 3 RBIs against Pelfrey. It would appear to me that Ross is in no need of “charity” bases from Pelfrey, he’s more than capable of taking them from him on his own.

Pelfrey should perhaps wait a few more years, make sure he is going to actually become something in the MLB before he goes running his mouth about a team and player that have his number this season. He does himself no favors either as the Marlins will no doubt eagerly anticipate their next meeting with Pelfrey.

September 1st marks the point in the MLB season at which teams can expand their rosters for the final month of the season, either to give rookies a chance at the major league level or add depth for a playoff push. Dallas McPherson, Robert Andino, and Eulogio De La Cruz were the 3 players the Marlins have added to their roster for September’s push.

Among the group, McPherson brings the most potential in the present. McPherson, a 3B by trade who is also capable of playing 1B, brings power to the Marlins line up. McPherson leads all professional baseball players with 42 home runs this season. Although all his homeruns have been hit in the minors, mostly at AAA Albuquerque, they are not cheap shots that just drop over the fence. Many of McPherson’s are tape measure 500+ foot shots.

Andino is a reliable infielder, capable of playing SS and 2B and though he might not be as clutch at the plate as Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla can be, he is a much better fielder and less prone to making errors. De La Cruz adds another arm to a bullpen that quite frankly has been pathetic.

I’m not going to suggest that any of these men can make a big enough difference to bring a World Series title to South Florida. However, McPherson in particular should be able to have an impact and perhaps help push the Marlins toward the playoffs. If nothing else, the Marlins will get a look at players (McPherson and Andino in particular) that could have starting spots on the 2009 Marlins. Good performances from them in September 2008 could land them important roles in April 2009.

If you read the title of this article and answered yes, SHAME ON YOU! No true fan would ever say their team is down and out when mathematically and realistically speaking the Florida Marlins aren’t finished yet. Despite Sunday’s loss, the Marlins aren’t out of the race for the NL East yet. Sure, they are a dark horse at best now, but don’t fillet them just yet. Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Mets put the Marlins 7 games back of first place. A brief look at history will tell you that entering September last season, the Mets looked a lock to win the NL East and make a tear through the playoffs. Except the Philadelphia Phillies, 7 games back, had other ideas. Why can’t the Marlins be that team this year?

First, lets examine the negatives. Aside from Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco none of the Marlins’ starters have been living up to their billing. Scott Olsen was unable to pull himself out of his horrible slump as of late, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up 7 hits and 6 ER. Olsen has 2, yes 2, wins since May 6th and even those 2 wins haven’t occured sine July 9th and 19th. Rookie Chris Volstad continues to pitch extremely well, but is still just that, a rookie. The Marlins batters are horribly inconsistent, often failing against starting pitching and then feasting on the scraps of beat up bullpens, a strategy which clearly doesn’t work night in and night out.

So what about the positives the Marlins face. Perhaps the greatest advantage the Marlins have is the lack of expectations. This team was picked by ALL experts prior to the season to win 50 games at best. Instead, the Marlins sit after today at 69 wins and have lots of opportunites to finish the season above .500. The Marlins have a chance this week to bounce back with 3 games against the Atlanta Braves in Miami. The Marlins also still have 6 games against the Washington Nationals as well. On top of all this, they still have 6 games against the Phillies and 3 against the Mets.

The Fish aren’t done yet, this team has accomplished too much this season to roll over and die. Tomorrow is September 1, and the Marlins are 7 games back with opportunities to erase that deficit. Changes may be necessary, but consistency will be the key. Come to the park each and every night prepared to do all you can and do that each night, and we could be in for a very exciting September. I’ll count the Marlins out only when they truly (mathematically, physically, and mentally) stand no chance of making the playoffs. Until that time I’ll put on my jersey and hat and catch every game along with the other true fans and say, GO FISH!

As if management didn’t have enough ammunition to show Kevin Gregg the door, they certainly got it tonight. With their backs against the wall and the nets closing in on the Marlins, they came out agains the New York Mets, 6 games out of 1st place and put in a great effort. Rookie Chris Volstad, facing the Mets for the first time in his career, held the Mets in check going 6 1/3 innings allowing 5 hits and striking out 5.

Naturally, as the 9th inning rolled around and the Marlins were ahead 2-1, Manager Fredi Gonzalez turned to closer Kevin Gregg to save the game and move the Marlins closer to 1st place. Unfortunately, as he’s getting much better at, Gregg blew the save opportunity in spectacular fashion. Gregg easily retired the first two batters before allowing a Luis Castillo single, David Wright single, and then hit Carlos Delgado with a pitch to load the bases. Then to top it all off, Gregg served up a Grand Slam to Carlos Beltran, and though the Marlins fought back in the bottom of the 9th, they ultimately fell 5-4. The loss moves them to 7 games back of 1st place.

Gonzalez dodged questions after the game as to whether or not he would replace Gregg as the closer. There is a very good argument in favor of it. From a morale standpoint, Gonzalez needs to strongly consider doing so as Gregg’s errors late in the season are really starting to cost the Fish. Starters and bats are putting in great efforts only for Gregg to throw it all away. In his last 7 outings, Gregg is 0-4 with a 16.20 ERA.

Unfortunately, the Marlins really don’t have many options to replace Gregg. Renyel Pinto is on the DL, Doug Waechter is returning from a shoulder injury, and Mark Hendrickson is in the bullpen because he faded mid season after a strong start in the starting rotation. Youngster Logan Kensing or Matt Lindstrom may be options, but are inexperienced and Jonathon Papelbon aside, many youngsters don’t experience early success closing. Arthur Rhodes may be a possible replacement, though he hasn’t had much work since joining the Marlins and has long been more of a hold pitcher. Its a tough gig, which makes it all the more important for the Marlins to go out and get a solid closer in the offseason if they wish to make a challenge next season.

Last night’s loss to the Atlanta Braves leaves the Florida Marlins’ playoff outlook very bleak. Over the course of the season Marlins’ fans have blamed ownership, the bullpen, or the manager for the Marlins struggles at different points in the season. The past three days however must leave all fans questioning the team itself, the 25 men who call themselves professional baseball players.

Last night the Marlins were bested by an Atlanta Braves pitcher that hadn’t won in his last seven outings, and were finally put away by a three run homer from a player who hadn’t gone deep since August 9th and had 0 hits in his last 15 at bats. The Marlins act as though they don’t care if they get into the playoffs. They return to Miami tonight after a 9 game road trip in which they had the luxury of playing the slumping San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves. Instead of a glorious return, they limp home after losing 2 of 3 to each of those squads and find themselves 6 games back of 1st place with the Mets coming to town tonight.

It would be easy to say Fredi Gonzalez isn’t demanding enough of his players, or hard enough on them. It would be convenient to blame the ownership for not spending more. But the bottom line is, these men are PROFESSIONALS. OK, so they aren’t paid on the level of Alex Rodriguez and so many other superstars, but they are paid more than you or I will ever see to play a GAME! If they want to make it into the playoffs, they should man up and show up to the park everyday. When they face, lets be honest here, terrible teams like Atlanta or Washington, anything but a sweep is unacceptable. It does you no good to get up for only the Phillies and Mets, because if you can’t beat the teams you should you won’t even be in contention to begin with.

As always though, I refuse to count them out. Yes, the Marlins are 6 games out of 1st and have 28 games to play. They get the New York Mets in Miami this weekend, they won’t have to face Johan Santana, and the Mets rotation and bullpen outside of Santana and closer Billy Wagner are awful. Now is the time, time to step up and prove you are men and professionals and get yourselves back in the race. If not, well then maybe we don’t need any of you back next year if you can’t step up when needed.

Wednesday night the big guy took to the mound for the Marlins, and the team cashed in an important victory to move back within 5 1/2 games of 1st place in the NL East. Josh Johnson has proven in the past that he is capable of using his entire 6’7″ 230lb frame to intimidate and dominate opposing batters, he did just that against the Atlanta Braves tonight.

Johnson allowed only 4 hits and 1 ER while striking out 8 in pitching a complete game. All in all it was a good night for the Marlins. The bats were consistent with Dan Uggla working his way out of his post All Star slump going 2-3 and hitting his 28th homerun of the season. Hanley Ramirez, who has been struggling with runners in scoring position, solidified the Marlins 4-1 victory by driving in two runs in the 5th.

Perhaps most importantly, Johnson’s complete game allowed a weary (and pitiful) bullpen to get a night off. After blowing a 3 run 9th inning lead last night, Gregg et al were allowed to kick back and watch Johnson blow smoke past the Braves batters. The bullpen could learn a thing or two from watching Johnson. In the 8th, with runners on 2nd and 3rd and the Marlins up 3-1, Johnson buckled down and struck out two in a row to retire the side and end the threat. Composure and poise in tight spots are what we need out of the bullpen, not shaky knees and wild pitches. Hope you boys were watching closely in the bullpen.

Regardless of how the Florida Marlins finish this season, miss the playoffs, booted in the first round, or magical run; when the off-season rolls around the Marlins need to make a closing pitcher their TOP priority. Forget signing Dan Uggla long term, forget Mike Jacobs, forget Jorge Cantu, the core piece of every teams bullpen is a closer who can come out night after night and do exactly what you pay him to do, dominate.

Kevin Gregg is not that guy, and can’t be that guy for the Marlins. Not now, not in the future. Lets briefly compare him with some of the more prestigious closers in the league. Gregg is 10th in the majors with 29 saves this season, however, among the top 10 closers he has the MOST walks and the FEWEST strike outs. Kevin Gregg is effective (when he’s effective I should say) because he has a great fastball and a very good slider, his problem however is that very good slider. Gregg doesn’t have the greatest control on that slider, sometimes it makes batters look ridiculous, other times it lands in the dirt before the mound resulting in wild pitches.

Kevin Gregg is just too inconsistent, the Marlins’ loss on Tuesday night showed it. He had a 9-6 lead going into the bottom of the 9th and absolutely imploded giving up 5 hits, walking 1, and giving up 4 ER and the game. For a team needing a win to get them rolling and keep the pace, a loss instead to one of baseball’s worst teams could be the straw that breaks Florida’s back and ends their wonderful season.

Bottom line, this season’s issues, particularly in the stretch run have been the bullpen. Sure, the starting pitching hasn’t been stellar, but they’ve more often than not kept their team in the game and 7 out of 10 games the bats are hot enough to offset it. The bats and the starters can’t do anything to prevent the bullpen from imploding and losing a game.

In the end, you just never know which Kevin Gregg will grace the mound each night, thats why he’s not really a top 10 closer despite the ranking. When Fransisco Rodriguez, Joe Nathan, Jonathon Papelbon, and Mariano Rivera come on to close a game for their team, the other team is shaking, not the closer’s manager. Those teams know their closer will get it done, when he doesn’t its just the world evening out because nobody is perfect, even those men make mistakes once in a blue moon. When Gregg takes the mound we all have to hold our breath, well I’m turning purple, we need a new closer.

There will never be a more opportune time for the Marlins to strike at the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets than in the next two weeks. The ease of schedule pendulum swings back in favor of the Marlins over the course of the next two weeks, giving them the perfect opportunity to get within 2-3 games of 1st place in the NL East.

Over the next two weeks the Florida Marlins have 6 games (3 home, 3 road) against the Atlanta Braves, 3 at home against the Mets, and 3 on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals. Not as easy as the Mets and Phillies had it the past two weeks, however, the Mets and Phillies now have significantly more difficult competition facing them. In the next two weeks the Mets have 1 game at home versus the Houston Astros, 3 in Miami against the Marlins, 3 games at Milwaukee, and 6 games (3 home, 3 road) against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets and Phillies may do enough damage to each other to assist the Marlins even if they falter a little.

The next two weeks become even more important when you look at the final 19 games for each team. The Mets by far have the biggest cake walk, with 12 of their final 19 games against the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. The Phillies have 9 of their final 19 against those same two clubs. The Marlins have only 6 games, all against the Washington Nationals.

The Braves and Nationals are a combined 103-159, 56 games BELOW .500 and have terrible records against the rest of the NL East. The Marlins on the other hand have the 2nd best record in the division, against the other teams in the division, the Mets are two games better.

The window is open starting today. The Marlins get a day off to travel to Atlanta while the Phillies finish a 4 game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Mets finish a 4 game set with the Houston Astros. By this time tomorrow, the Marlins (without playing a game) could be back within 4 games of 1st place, and all the chips in front of them to make their run.

If you didn’t believe me after last weeks outing, perhaps you’ll believe now. The Marlins took on the Arizona Diamondbacks in game 3 of their series Sunday afternoon and Ricky Nolasco mowed down another team of batters in route to a Florida victory.

Nolasco went 7 1/3 innings Sunday afternoon allowing only 2 hits, 3 ER, and struck out 10 Arizona batters. Nolasco is making himself fearsome at the plate as well as on the mound, knocking an RBI double to deep right to drive in a run in the top of the 2nd inning. Florida bats woke up and gave Nolasco all the run support he needed. Josh Willingham was 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs. Kevin Gregg kept his recent string of positive outings going. Though a little shaky, he still nailed down the save in the bottom of the 9th for his 29th as the Marlins won 5-2.

Nolasco is really stepping forward as the dominating ace of this staff, something every team needs in order to make a playoff run. In the month of August Nolasco has stepped up his game to help his team’s drive for the playoffs. He’s 3-1 in 5 starts with 43 Ks and only 3BBs. If the Marlins can make the postseason, Nolasco will for sure be their greatest asset.

Speaking of the Marlins’ postseason aspirations, the New York Mets lost today 6-4 to the Houston Astros. That puts the Fish 5 games out of 1st place, can you feel it? Do you believe yet?