A Marlin is an extremely fast fish.
The use of that adjective can also be used to describe the typical Florida Marlins rebuilding process.
Super quick.
In the last 10 years, the Florida Marlins have won two World Series titles.
That’s more than 28 other teams.
What’s crazy is that every few years, the Marlins brass completely tears apart the roster, basically starting from scratch in an attempt to make the payroll as low as possible.
What’s even more absurd is that they win more than most using that method.
Their prize pieces from the past few years, Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, have both been dealt. Leaving with them is about a one-third of the entire payroll, which is music to owner Jeffery Loria’s ears.
And even though their two young stars are gone, several more may be on the way.
In the deal with Detroit, the Marlins received a plethora of young talent, with the headliners being starting pitcher Andrew Miller and outfielder Cameron Maybin.
Miller is a young, strapping gentleman, at 6’6, 210 lbs. He has a rocket arm, but lacks control and is perhaps a year or two from making a noticeable impact. In 13 starts with the Tigers last season, Miller was 5-5 with a 5.63 ERA.
Maybin is no slouch either, standing 6’4, 205. Scouts say he is a legitimate 5-tool player, basically meaning he will be able to do it all. He too needs experience and seasoning to hone his skills.
The Marlins also received three other pitchers to bolster their system for down the road.
But the moral here is that the Marlins cleaned house yet again. And it will most likely work.
A good friend of mine once told me that he despises the Marlins because they always seem to be lucky. There is definitely more to it than luck.
In 1997, the Marlins turned a World Series roster of players like Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield and Moises Alou into youngster like Derrek Lee and Mike Lowell in the following seasons.
By 2003, they had another championship and turned players like Josh Beckett and Brad Penny into the roster of players like Hanley Ramirez and Josh Willingham.
They have accumulated a great deal of youngsters over the pas few season, with Ramirez being the latest prize of the bunch.
We should give the scouting staff more credit than just luck, right?
They also have a new Stadium in the works that will be coming to South Florida by 2011, which may keep the talent around for several more years beyond that. Hopefully, the retractable roof will bring fans there too.
As for this year, the Marlins look to be an NL bottom feeder. They have a wholly inexperienced roster, save Luis Gonzalez and lesser-known veterans like Matt Treanor and Jorge Cantu.
However, the Marlins have proved us wrong in the past. If Fredi Gonzalez can get this team to play with a passion and an attitude of “we aren’t going to let the rest of the league take us for granted”, then the Fish could surprise a lot of people.
It will be interesting to see where this season goes, but in a loaded NL East, the Marlins could play a larger part than expected in the playoff chase. Simply put, this potentially pesky team will be a nuisance.
Between 72 and 76 wins should not be out of the question for the FLA. That would be just about the same as last year. So, basically, they won’t miss a beat without Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.
What we should see though is a rapid improvement as the season progresses.
More importantly, don’t be surprised to see the Marlins in the postseason in a few years.
Because in Florida, this sort of thing happens all the time.
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