Marlins Can't Handle Pennant Race

The Marlins are a tight bunch.

How else can one explain the Marlins failing to sweep the Mets and losing two of three to the Padres?

Last night brought more credence to this theory.

The Marlins failed to win a game with Josh Johnson pitching last night in a crucial four-game set against the Braves at Land Shark Stadium.

The Marlins accomplished nothing against Kenshin Kawakami, who might as well be Cy Young last night, and Johnson could not hold on to get an elusive third out in the seventh inning as the Braves scored three runs off him to take a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish.

This was a game the Marlins could not afford to lose. Now, the Marlins need to win three straight games to take the series, and that's likely not going to happen based on their recent play.

One figures the Marlins are going to lose at least one more game with Anibal Sanchez or Rick VandenHurk pitching. Maybe they lose both in the next two games.

A split is not going to cut it, and to win the series, the Marlins needed to win last night.

If they couldn't win last night's game, how are they going to win the series?

Chances are good that the Marlins will lose three of four to the Braves after a devastating loss. Sure they are resilient, but this is a young team that does not have a strong veteran leadership to lean on like they did with Jeff Conine in 2003.

It's easy to be resilient in June or July, but in late August, it's another story.

Maybe the Marlins overachieved to the point they can't handle the pressure of being in the pennant race. It looks like it with the way they have played lately, and they finish the month of August at 14-14.

For them to only get one run is not going to cut it at this time of the year. While it's easy to blame Johnson for this loss, the onus should go to the hitters for not having a good game plan against Kawakami.

That's called being tight, folks.

We thought maybe this team could overcome the pressure of a playoff race, but that apparently is not the case here.

At this point, this team is not good enough to be a playoff team.

The back end of the rotation has been well-documented to the point of redundancy.

It seems guys are making mistakes at the wrong time whether it's an error or taking a bad at-bat or throwing a wrong pitch. The manager is making mistakes of his own like inserting Luis Ayala in a tight game the other night or leaving a tired Johnson in to get the final out after the Braves took a 2-1 lead.

Something is not right with the Marlins.

Maybe their luck has run out.