Bob Davidson is an ass

It was a rough series for the Marlins, getting swept by the Phillies would usually be the only story, but the Marlins got railroaded by umpire Bob Davidson, who decided to add his name to a growing list of umpires under fire. In the first game of the series, Davidson took it upon himself to yell into the Marlins dugout after Cody Ross argued a called third strike. Allow me to restate that for emphasis, Davidson, in a play he was not involved in at all, took it upon himself to yell at a player. Remember, Davidson is not the crew chief either.

In the second game of the series, Davidson stopped play to yell at either a fan or into the Marlins dugout with the Marlins batting. Not quite sure what happened, maybe Davidson just wanted to remind everyone his ears were burning.

Tonight, Davidson turned in his finest performance of the series, blowing four separate calls at third base, the most significant of which literally cost the Marlins the game via a walk off win. To make it worse, Davidson did not back down despite conclusive video replay showing he was wrong, saying:

I'm right there. I know what I saw. I'm very confident I got it right.

Talk about exciting stuff! I've been to plenty of baseball games, I've seen all sorts of things, heck, even tonight I saw Hanley Ramirez basically play free safety and retrieve a ricochet off the left field wall and throw the runner out at third, but never, and I mean never, have I seen an umpire get the golden sombrero. Not even CB Bucknor.

Umpires have a very difficult job, they're asked to make split decisions on balls usually traveling in excess of 90 miles an hour. Fair/foul, out/safe, ball/strike. It's not as easy as it looks, I realize that. However, what is absolutely inexcusable is when umpires feel the need to assert their presence, to be larger than the game. As I've said before, when "Cowboy" Joe West has a publicist (and he does) there's something fundamentally wrong with the umpiring process.

That's really where the problem from tonight lies. Davidson not only blew the decisive call tonight, he's made a point of interjecting his presence throughout the series when it was never necessary. That he has the audacity to maintain he made the right call is even more problematic.

Second Half Thoughts

Rather than give a review of the first half, which, unfortunately could be summed up in one word: mediocre, I felt it more appropriate to give a look ahead to the second half, that gets underway tonight with Strasburgmania coming to Miami.


What to expect:

Come August 1, I think that one, perhaps two position players will find themselves with a new address. The names floated about include Cody Ross, Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla and even Ronny Paulino. Of the aforementioned four, only Cantu is a free agent at the end of the year, while Cody and Dan carry with them the Marlin dreaded 6th year arbitration status that, at least for Uggla, figures to be a nine figure payday.

That, combined with at least a passing interest in getting Chris Coghlan back to the infield, makes Cantu the most likely trade bait. Nevertheless, the Marlins tried mightily to move Uggla this past offseason so he is potentially in play too, despite a strong first half that has many, myself included, thinking he deserves an extension that would have him alongside Hanley in the new ballpark

Beyond moving Coghlan to the infield, the organization has top prospect Logan Morrison tearing up AAA to the tune of.302/.412/.475. At some point, the first-baseman turned left fielder should be up with the big club, and a move of Coghlan to the infield would expedite that. Long term, Morrison still figures to be a first baseman with left-field merely serving as a temporary home. In the “it’s a great problem to have” department, both Logan and incumbent first baseman, Gaby Sanchez, profile in the Nick Johnson mold of first-baseman who hit in the top third of the order, not the middle third. Eventually, that situation will sort itself out, but in the near term, more offensively oriented talent is on the horizon.

On the pitching front, Josh Johnson is a Cy Young contender, Ricky Nolasco is basically turning into Javier Vazquez 2.0 and the rest of the rotation is, unsurprisingly, a hodgepodge, though Anibal Sanchez has almost undoubtedly exceeded expectations. The bullpen has been atrocious, but the Marlins are hoping to have found an internal solution in the sensational Jhan Marinez. Marinez is just shy of his 22nd birthday but has found seemingly dominant stuff, registering 60 strikeouts in 40 minor league innings between A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville. His recent promotion has the Marlins feature a trio of strikeout pitchers (Marinez, closer Leo Nunez and lefty specialist Taylor Tankersley) amid a bullpen full of question marks. While it seems that the bullpen ultimately will be the reason for 2010 being a disappointment, the Marlins are trying to lay the foundation for what hopefully is a power pen in ‘11 and beyond with Marinez, Nunez and fireballer Jose Ceda waiting in the wings.

Ultimately, the second half will be more about developing for 2011 than it will be for contending in 2010. The Marlins are, quite fittingly, a model of consistent mediocrity, posting identical home and road records (21-23) and having never won nor lost more than 4 games in a row all season, little hope seems to exist for a Rockies-like run needed to overcome the surging Atlanta Braves. Proponents of a second half surge will point to the 12 head to head matchups left with Atlanta in hopes of gaining ground, but that ignores what the Marlins have shown themselves to be: a .500 team with a few spectacularly talented players.

Fredi Fired

In a somewhat stunning move the Marlins fired manager Fredi Gonzalez. The team has scheduled a 4 PM press conference to discuss the matter in full.

Baker Suffers Setback

John Baker, who was expected to make a rehab appearance for single-A Jupiter tonight, suffered a setback as the Miami Herald reports:

JOHN BAKER SETBACK: Gonzalez said catcher John Baker suffered a setback on Monday with his injured right arm and was scheduled to see the team doctor, Dr. Lee Kaplan, in South Florida. Baker was scratched from a scheduled rehab game with Single A Jupiter after complaining of soreness in the right elbow area when he tried to throw. Baker went on the DL on May 15.

Not good news on a day that has the team feeling guardedly optimistic about its offense going forward. Any time a player sees a doctor, surgery usually results, so it looks like the Marlins may need to find a catcher as neither Brett Hayes nor Ronny Paulino are every day players.

The Day After: Off Day Musings

Although the roster move hasn't officially been made yet, Mike Stanton will debut tomorrow night against Philadelphia and the Marlins have fired their best, and perhaps last, bullet at remaining in the 2010 race. The 20 year old slugger comes in expected to be the savior, rightly or wrongly, at a time when the Marlins desperately need one.

I've complied a few random thoughts on this off-day, which sees the team awaiting perhaps the most anticipated debut in Marlins history, and certainly since June 20th, 2003, when Miguel Cabrera etched his name into Marlins lore with a walk off homer for his first hit.

(1) What on earth can the Marlins do about the bullpen? I still say the bullpen is "OK." Yes, it's not a strength, but for few teams is it rarely a strength. You can look up and down the rest of the National League, quite frankly, most teams would kill to have a legitimate two deep bullpen like the Marlins. While Clay Hensley and Leo Nunez would not garner much excitement or name recognition, the two have been vital in giving the Marlins a perfect record when leading after the 7th inning.

The problem with the bullpen isn't so much that it lacks talent, let's face it, most bullpens are two or three deep at best, the problem is Fredi Gonzalez manages every game in the 7th inning as if he's preparing for extra innings and tries to squeeze an extra batter, inning, whatever, out of a pitcher that clearly doesn't have "it."

Take Sunday as an example, Tim Wood labored through the 6th inning, yet he went out there for the 7th. Up three runs and with the notoriously impatient (and currently torrid) Jeff Francoeur at the plate, Fredi stuck with Wood despite reliable set-up reliever (and sinkerballer) Clay Henlsey not having pitched since Thursday. As if on cue, Francoeur parked one, tied the game and the Mets never looked back. At some point talent catches up, so the Marlins could surely use another arm, but at the moment Fredi isn't even giving the team the best chance to succeed with the limited talent he has, Sunday as merely the latest example in a long line of allowing the inning to get out of hand before going to get his pitcher.

Which brings us to a less heralded callup from Sunday: Rick Vandenhurk. The "Holland Hammer" has dynamite stuff. A huge curveball, which he's inexplicably gotten away from throwing, and a low to mid 90's fastball with late life. He looked like a middle of the rotation starter on the way up, but something happened on the way to the bigs. In his new 7th inning role, Vandy might have found a spot to thrive.

I like him as a max effort reliever. I think that letting him just air it out for an inning and 20-30 pitches might help him find a new gear and a level of effectiveness he has not enjoyed at the major league level. Since the start of last season, this is the role I had envisioned for him and I hope he thrives. At the very least, after this stint, the Marlins will know exactly what they have in him and can either celebrate an effective reliever or can move on with the roster spot.


(2) Can Stanton really save the season? Even if you don't buy into the hype, he's not being asked to be a savior, he's being asked to replace a .225/.290/.341 (.631 OPS) line. That's Cameron Maybin's 2010 output, something Stanton should easily exceed if for no other reason than his tremendous slugging potential. Maybin set the bar so low that Stanton doesn't even need to be a phenom to make the lineup better.

Maybe we will only go as far as Stanton takes us, but making us better won't take much effort.

(3) What are we going to do about the rotation behind Josh Johnson? Ricky's been inconsistent and very hittable (6.5 K/9 & 9.8 H/9) but beyond that, all of our starters have met or exceeded expectations. Robertson has not been good, but by 5th starter standards, he's been passable (1.53 WHIP).

The name that might factor most into the rotation from this point forward is Sean West. The top prospect who was rushed to the bigs out of necessity this season is back and pitching for AAA New Orleans after dealing with some back issues lingering from spring training. He made his season debut last night and tossed 5 scoreless innings, striking out 4 and walking none. Andrew Miller is probably a non-factor for this year, and outside of Ryan Tucker, the Marlins have no higher level pitchers ready to step in. With West being left-handed, he may take Robertson's spot in the not too distant future.

(4) Do you still think the Marlins are a playoff team?

I do. RIght now, with Hanley having a very slow start (by his standards), with Coghlan just finally awakening from a two month slumber, and with the bullpen incredibly shaky beyond Leo and Hensley, we're 1 game under .500 and 4 games out of the division. We're adding the best hitting prospect in baseball and asking him to better a .630 OPS. We're adding a pitcher who should thrive as a max effort reliever, and, most importantly, we're doing this a full two months before the trade deadline. There's plenty of time, we just need to turn things around. Promoting Stanton sends the message, and we're still within striking distance of the division. At the start of the year I had us pegged at 88 wins and the wild-card, I still believe both of those are very possible.

It's Official, The Stanton Era Has Begun

Mike Stanton is on his way up to the big leagues. After Sunday's game the Marlins selected the slugging outfielder's contract along with recalling pitcher Rick Vandenhurk and infielder Emilio Bonifacio.

To make room on the roster, the team demoted Tim Wood and Brett Carroll and DFA'd Mike Lamb for the second time this season.

Stanton is expected to be in the starting lineup Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Stanton To Debut Tuesday?

An unconfirmed report circulating the Internet is that Mike Stanton has received the much anticipated call-up and will join the team Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Fueling the flames is that he is not in Jacksonville's lineup today (Sunday).

Again, this is simply a rumor with enough juicy coincidences, but with his debut imminent, Tuesday now appears to be the day.