Miami Marlins: What to Take out of the Opening 2 Games

The first two games in Miami Marlins history have not exactly impressed anyone. The team has looked overwhelmed at the plate and has not had much go right through 18 innings on the season. Obviously, with 160 games left on the schedule, conclusions cannot be drawn just yet, but there are certain unavoidable judgments we can make already. 

The Hitting May Struggle All Year

This batting order, when looked at individually, seems like one of the best in the National League. The talent of Reyes, Ramirez, Stanton, Morrison and Sanchez are very unique. The speed of the top three in the order may be unparalleled in all of baseball.

Having said that, its incredible how poorly this lineup has hit through two games. 

Be aware, this is a trend that carried over from a month of spring training, where the team scored an abysmal 2.6 runs per game. They faced two extremely talented pitchers these past two games, but seven hits and one run in 18 innings is pitiful. 

Hanley Ramirez Is Reverting to Old Form

Last year the undeniable criticism of Hanley Ramirez was his big swings, his poor eye and his below average at-bats. 

Through two games, we've seen Hanley swing for the fences (resulting in pop-ups), we've seen him roll over on balls for double plays and we've seen him take two quick strikes and then swing ineffectively at strike three. 

If Hanley is right, he's an incredible player. If this is the Hanley Ramirez the Marlins are in store for, it could be a long season. 

Marlins Park May Be Too Big

Citi Field adjusted their fences after one year. Marlins Park may need to do the same. Again, I'm fully aware it's only one game, and the park will play differently with the roof closed, but it's a pretty good bet the home run sculpture in left-center field will not go off much this year.

Giancarlo Stanton hammered two balls to center field last night which barely even took Jon Jay to the warning track. If the Marlins keep these fences at their current distance, they may be heavily damaging the numbers their big run producers could total this season. 

Mark Buehrle Is Going to Be a Good Addition

Many already knew that. Thursday afternoon confirmed it.

Buehrle threw a lot of strikes and gave the team six quality innings. The team will love how quickly Buehrle works, and rarely will he pitch the Marlins out of a game early. Oh, and hes far from injury prone, like so many of the Marlins' other main starting pitchers and position players. 

Pitch Velocity Seems to Be Down

Most notably in Josh Johnson last night, who barely cracked 94 on the radar gun all night. When Johnson settles into a groove, hes at 96-98 MPH consistently. 

Also notable was Aroldis Chapman's velocity. Although he pitched a marvelous inning today, Chapman was in the mid 90's with his fastball, about 5-6 MPH less than he normally throws at.