Florida Marlins: It's a Classic Example of Storm Before the Calm for the Fish

A mere month ago, the Marlins were in the driver's seat and cruising as they stood 29-19 and within a game of the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Everything was in their favor: the Marlins were hoping to get Josh Johnson back at the turn of June, and Hanley Ramirez was expected to heat up with the weather. 

However neither of those expectations came into fruition, and the Marlins' month of June can be best compared to as them crashing into an iceberg and watching their ship slowly descend into the dark sea. 

Edwin Rodriguez jumped ship a week ago, and now an 80 year-old manager has retaken control of the ship, hoping to salvage whatever is left.

McKeon's arrival sparked the intrigue of the struggles of Hanley Ramirez and raised up the possibilities of Ramirez being dealt.

Furthermore, SI.com's Tom Verducci stated that in the wake of the recent firings and resignations, the Marlins position was the worst managerial job in the Major Leagues. This is ahead of teams with a financial disaster, such as the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Yes, owner Jeffrey Loria has had quite the impatience for not winning, but we can't deny the fact that his firings since he has been owner have resulted in one World Series title (2003), which is as many as teams who haven't had much turnover.  

Already kicked out of their current stadium in lieu of a U2 concert, the Marlins have recently received news that there were cracks found in the new stadium's garage.

So you see the Marlins are in a familiar place, one they were in as recently as 10 years ago when they were perhaps the third team the local fans cared about, with the Dolphins and Hurricanes leading the way. You can even point out the Heat, coming off of when the height of the Mourning/Hardaway era had an edge over the Marlins in that respect. 

Now in 2011, the Heat lead the South Florida landscape, with the Dolphins a close second despite their struggles, and the Hurricanes will never fall out of the top 3 in the interest department. 

The front office wanted momentum, but that all went up in smoke this past month. Could anything be salvageable?

For how quickly the Marlins went from 10 games over to how they fell 10 games below .500, anything, no matter how impossible it may seem, can be had.

A light is shining for the Marlins with the progress of Josh Johnson, who is expected back right after the All-Star break, and the awakening of Hanley Ramirez, who has hit .412 with 4 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and 3 runs scored in five games since McKeon's arrival.

Will it continue?  

For a fan's sake, 2012 should be seen not as a rebirth of a franchise, but rather a reboot. This is truly Loria's redemption opportunity to show that there is money to be spent and that at a time where you will have fans flocking to the ballpark in numbers, you must execute in keeping them going there. 

The Marlins have a wonderful foundation in the offense department having Hanley Ramirez, Logan Morrison (Mr. Twitter), Mike Stanton (ability to be 40-50 homer threat), Gaby Sanchez (who is having a standout year), Chris Coghlan (2009 NL ROY), and a Gold Glove caliber third baseman in the waiting with Matt Dominguez.

With pitching, the Marlins are going in with a predominantly three-headed rotation that is led by Josh Johnson (who can be one of the better pitchers in baseball when healthy), Anibal Sanchez (potential all-star candidate this season), and Ricky Nolasco (who, when consistent, is usually the second best starter on the staff).

An Early Glance at Free Agent Targets

The Marlins will have to look at the pitching market this offseason regardless to shore up the rotation with Javier Vazquez becoming a free agent. 

Even with a healthy Sean West and Alex Sanabia in the minor leagues in 2012, they are more of insurance options in case the team loses one of their starters (a la Johnson this season) to injury.

The team will more than likely sign Anibal Sanchez to a multi-year contract similar to Nolasco during the offseason (3 yrs/$26.5M), so something in the neighborhood of that should follow. 

With that said, the Marlins aren't expecting to break the bank, and the realistic options would be Edwin Jackson (4-6, 4.13 ERA) and local products Livan Hernandez (4-8, 3.97 ERA) and Joel Pineiro (3-3, 4.09 ERA).

For a look at the Marlins' future in the starting lineup, if the Fish decide not to sign Omar Infante in the offseason, the only "sexy" names with the possibility of being free agents would be Brandon Phillips (which would take a contract along the lines of an Uggla extension, perhaps more if he wins a Gold Glove) and Aaron Hill (however Blue Jays hold club option for the next two seasons at around $8 million, and prospect Brett Lawrie is going to play third base to keep Hill at second). 

And again, the Marlins will only have enough money for a average signing if they want to pay their other players. 

Possible Managers Taking Talents to SoBe in 2012 

According to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine and current White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen remain Loria's top target for the managerial seat in 2012. 

If the Marlins were to make the playoffs this season by a sheer miracle, Jack McKeon could return if Ozzie isn't let go by the White Sox, and perhaps could be targeted for 2013. 

If the White Sox miss out on the playoffs after predictions have them winning the division, if not the World Series, then Ozzie could be let go, paving his way to be back home in Miami.

Guillen might be in the news for mostly all the wrong reasons, but that's why Loria wants him: to put the Marlins in the headlines. If they are winning in the new ballpark, it would be even better.

In the end, you can bet that the Marlins will want to bring in a veteran manager because their last go-arounds with rookie managers (Girardi, Gonzalez, Rodriguez) have all fallen under the Loria regime.

My money is on Guillen, and for the Marlins' sake they better hope so too if they want the dark cloud lifted over their heads.

For all the latest sports news and tidbits revolving around South Florida, follow me on twitter @james_bondman.