Hanley Ramirez was called out by [insert name here] and the result was.

• Dan Uggla scolded ... then traded.

• Fredi Gonzalez ... fired.

• Wes Helms ... released [ same as fired although Helms should have retired last year].

• Chris Coghlan ... demoted to the minors.

• Logan Morrison ... demoted to the minors.

• Cody Ross ... given away for free.

• Jeff Conine ... reprimanded.

• Dave Trembley ... rumor has it calls were made by David Sampson to Baltimore to have Trembley demoted to single A.

• future Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen ... quit (with final words of [censor] that [censor] mamas boy and [censor] [censor] Loria [censor] ... M [censor]).

• Josh Johnson ... rumor has it he's not injured but actually tied up in a basement somewhere in the Caribbean for giving bad looks at Hanley.

• Fan in seat number 23B ... kicked out by security and banned from attending Marlins games.

• This blog ... rumor has it Hanley Ramirez is contacting CBS Sports any moment now to have the writer banned and picked up by the Men in Black.

Seriously ... when will it end?

The resignation of Edwin Rodriguez coming this weekend is not suprising considering recent play in the past two weeks, losing 20 of the last 23 games. The Marlins were once a 1/2 game behind the Phillies, but now sit at 13 games back and right next to the Washington Nationals in last place.

What went wrong for Edwin Rodriguez?


Was trading Dan Uggla a bad move that hurt the offense?

Answer: NO. Dan Uggla has a batting average well below .200. He is having a worse season than Hanley Ramirez.


What about dealing Jorge Cantu and Cody Ross from last season?

Answer: NO. You can Wahh wahh cry all you want about these guys getting dealt off. Cameron Maybin was traded off also and no matter how bad Chris Coghlan is playing, Chris is still better than Maybin. On paper and on the field Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison are flat out raking the ball. Cantu and Ross got replaced with better overall talent period.

Is this all Hanley Ramirez's fault?

Answer: Maybe, but I still say no. If Hanley lost anything I would say he lost two things. First thing he lost was his competitive edge. He lost his rival in Dan Uggla. The Marlins had two guys who were critical of each other and had to put up or shut up. To me it is no surprise that the separation has led to Uggla and Hanley having the worse season of their careers. They may hate each other, but they need each other also.

The second thing Hanley lost is his game. He wanted to become a power hitter and he did for a while when Jim Presley was his hitting coach, but now with Presley gone, Hanley's power game is gone too.

Hanley's Numbers since his rookie year, through June 19th shows a steady decline in his stolen base numbers and inconsistency in his power numbers. He was a leadoff hitter who turned into a decent number 3 hitter, but there comes a point where reality has to kick in and the Marlins need to realize that Hanley is not a true #3 hitter. He is at best a #2 or #6 hitter, otherwise leave him as the leadoff hitter.

Hanley's Stats through June 19th over his career.
2011 - 4 HRs   12 SBs    .204 Avg
2010 - 11 HRs 12SBs     .286 Avg
2009 - 8 HRs    9 SBs     .324 Avg
2008 - 15 HRs   17 SBs  .294 Avg
2007 -  9 HRs   22 SBs   .325 Avg
2006 -  3 HRs  20 SBs    .268 Avg

Should the Marlins trade Hanley Ramirez?

Answer: Hell no. Hanley is entering his prime right now. One bad season doesn't mean you should trade a guy. Today is June 19th. Ask me that same question in July of 2012. Until then the Marlins need to consider options of getting Hanley some extra batting help and a better spot in the lineup. Right now Hanley is the only guy who you can seriously consider as a leadoff hitter on the Marlins team. Coghlan has been great, but Coghlan is no leadoff hitter.

Can any blame be focused on the injury to Josh Johnson leading the Marlins to their bad streak of losses?

Answer: Yes. Before Josh Johnson got hurt, he was among best pitchers in baseball. Of the last 20 losses, if JJ was healthy you're looking at a better rested bullpen, because with JJ on the mound you're looking at a 7-8 inning pitcher. He gives the bullpen a rest. You can't count on Nolasco, Vazquez, or Volstad.

Can blame be shifted to the Marlins 2-5 starters?

Answer: Nolasco yes. Vazquez Yes. Volstad Yes. Sanchez no. Ricky Nolasco deserves a lot of blame, because he has been just as bad as Javier Vazquez the past month. Javier Vazquez needs to simply retire. Someone needs to sit down with Chris Volstad and work with him. The Marlins rushed Volstad to the majors and he has been unable to develop since having a great rookie season. Anibal Sanchez right now is the Marlins second best pitcher behind JJ and probably has the most competitive spirit in the Marlins entire rotation, probably even moreso than JJ.

The ultimate changes needed to get the Marlins back on track would be to send Chris Volstad down or trade him to an organization with a pitching coach who can help him. Javier Vazquez needs to retire. Ricky Nolasco has had his chances and up to this point has not been able to get any consistency. Now is the time to trade Nolasco if he cannot get his stuff together. The Marlins have Alex Sanabia and Brad Hand available and ready to start. Brian Sanches started one game and looked excellent as well, but Sanches has been one of the Marlins better relievers. Ryan Webb is also another potential candidate for the starting rotation. Where do you go?

Trade Nolasco, coax Vazquez into retirement or release him, and trade or send Volstad to he Minors.


Can Leo Nunez be blamed for the Marlins and Rodriguez's failure?

Answer: Maybe. Nunez is a decent closer. He's not the best, but he is not the worse either. He can get the job done, but he can't handle pressure or pitching against good hitting teams. He is good enough to be a closer, but he doesn't have the right set of balls to take his game to the next level.

What abut the Marlins bullpen?

Answer: Yes, but this goes back to the starting rotation. Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez has been great this year. Nolasco was good in the month of April, but turned to crap afterward. Javier Vazquez and Chris Volstad has been batting practice for 95% of their starts. The bullpen was doing great, but they can't go out there every day when your starting pitcher can't reach the 5th inning two to three times a week. The Marlins bullpen is solid when rested, but as a unit when they're tired they can't get the job done. You have to look at that and speculate, if this is October and the playoffs are they going to step up and get the outs or get run out of the ballgame?


Final Verdict:

Edwin Rodriguez is not the person to blame for the Marlins failure. As the manager his job is to direct the team. He is a spectator with a front-seat view of his players strengths and weaknesses. The organization's goals likely will not be met with the current losing trend shown. As a manager, Rodriguez needs to use a strategy that will end the losing streak. He utilized unfavorable line-ups that did not produce when hitters such as Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison, and Mike Stanton was hot. Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco in several of their outings were left in one inning too long which led to the opposing team coming up with victories.
Edwin has the potential to be a decent major league manager, but this Marlins team needs a leader with experience. Fredi Gonzalez was not the answer and is still not the answer. The Marlins team needs leadership and experience, and right now Rodriguez cannot bring either.

Rodriguez can take 50% of the blame for the Marlins recent failure. The other 50% of the blame can be distributed evenly among the pitching coach, Hanley Ramirez, the batting coach, Jeffrey Loria the owner, and injuries.

Some of Mike Lowell's comments he said on 790 The Ticket on the Dan LeBatard Show on June 3, 2011. Comments are in regards to the incident involving Buster Posey and Scott Cousins, and the comments by San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean.

“If Posey knocks out Buck, Sabean is telling everyone how good of a player Posey is.”

 

“I’m kind of sick of that. That’s ridiculous. I thought Posey said right after the next day 'I don’t want to vilify Cousins.' All this stuff. I mean, did he have a lane? Maybe. What people fail to understand is that the ball beat him. You’re taught that in baseball if the ball beats you and the catcher is going to get in there, you crush him. And you know what, he crushed him. And he didn’t crush him down low, and he didn’t crush him dirty. He hit him at the top. He didn’t even hit his leg. His leg got caught underneath, that’s baseball man.”

“I dislocated Piazza’s shoulder on a play at third. He slid head first. I felt terrible, I called over. He said ‘hey man it was baseball. You caught the ball I was sliding away from the bag.’ I dove and I kind of tagged him and landed on his shoulder and I heard him go ‘ohh’ right away. And you feel terrible. I mean hey Buster Posey is great, but he’s not Mike Piazza yet.  And I felt terrible and I called him. I said Mike I apologize, and he said ‘you don’t need to apologize.’”

Click here to see video.

After yesterday's performance by Anibal Sanchez coming 1 inning away from tossing a no hitter against the Colorado Rockies, I came to notice that all of the Marlins no hitters have come against NL West teams. Marlins have no hit 4 of the 5 NL West teams. Only the Dodgers have yet to get no hit by a Marlins pitcher.

Al Leiter threw the first Marlins no hitter on May 11, 1996 against the Colorado Rockies.
The second no hitter was by Kevin Brown on June 10, 1997 against the San Francisco Giants.
Third was by A.J. Burnett on May 12, 2001 against the San Diego Padres.
The fourth by Anibal Sanchez against the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 6, 2006.

The Marlins also have 13 1-hitters. Almost half of them, 5 of 13, came against NL West Teams.

Brad Penny and Anibal Sanchez are tied for the most 1-hitters in franchise history (2 each), but Anibal beats out Penny with his one no-hit.


Marlins should consider signing Anibal Sanchez to an extension if he continues to improve and stays healthy. He is the Marlins second best and most consistent starter after Josh Johnson.

There is one thing I find unacceptable regarding Miguel Cabrera's current problems and that is the fact that he is driving while intoxicated. He is a rich man who can afford a taxi. He is a rich man who can afford a limousine. He is a rich man who could call me up and pay me $50 to drive his drunk #$% home.

He was charged with 2 misdemeanors, DUI-Misdemeanor and Resisting an Officer w/o violence. It is quite clear he is one of many people around this nation that act like a complete inconsiderate retard while drunk. But does he have a serious personal problem? Perhaps. Keep in mind he is not from this country, and his culture is a lot different from ours .

Should he go to jail for 364 days? Heck no.

Should he be rahibiltated and educated on the seriousness of driving drunk? Certainly yes.

Is he a dirtbag for doing what he does while drunk? The hell if I know. I don't know the dude personally and probably neither do any of you. So why should we judge him or his reasons for drinking?

Should Miguel miss an entire season for this incident? Joba Chamberlain didn't so neither should Cabrera. Scott Olsen didn't either, neither did Daryl Strawberry, Gary Sheffield, or Tony Larussa and they did much worse than Miguel.


Miguel needs to be educated on how to drink properly, because a lot of us do it responsibly. To say he has a drinking problem is absurd. How do you measure "a drinking problem"?

Dear Mr. Bud Selig.

I have many ideas on how to improve baseball. My suggestions will make baseball more fun for the fans who watch and attend baseball games, more competitive for teams, and provide better opportunities for many players around the league! You may not receive this in good faith though if you consider hiring Joe Torre for President of Baseball Operations, which in my opinion is a horrible choice.

Here I give you 9 issues to take to the plate.

Issue #1: Eliminate the East Coast Bias.

If you draw a line down the center of the country, you will find 22 teams on the eastern part of the United States and a mere 8 teams on the west coast. I propose the solution to this is EXPANSION. The following areas I recommend should have a baseball team:

1. Sat Lake City, Utah
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Des Moines, Iowa
4. Yellowstone, Montana
5. Las Vegas, Nevada
6. Mexico (yes the country)
7. Tulsa, Oklahoma

These 7 areas should have a Major League Baseball team in their state, or Country. There should also be 4 divisions, which brings me to Issue #2.


Issue #2: Realignment
This offseason we all witnessed the Tampa Bay Rays team get completely dismantled thanks to free agency. I ask myself why is the Rays, a small-market team, in the AL East where they will never win a championship if they are unable to retain the cose of their team longer than 5 seasons?

Solution? The Tampa Bay Rays need to go to the National League East and the N.Y. Mets need to go to the American League East. Yes allow the big money markets to do battle with each other if there will be no salary cap. This may include dumping the Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers in the AL East as well and moving the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates to the National League East.

Now this brings up the next issue ...


Issue #3: Year-Round Interleague Play

It is time to catch up with the other major professional sports known as the NBA, NHL, and NFL where teams get an opportunity to face every team in the league. Some of us fans would love to see teams from the opposite league on the opposite side of the country come into town. If our team can take a trip to Cali to face the Dodgers and Giants, then why not have an extra series against the Angels or Athletics?


Issue #4: Eliminate the Designated Hitter

Notice I have not brought up a "salary cap" yet. Really baseball does not need one with the current revenue sharing in place. The elimination of the DH eliminates the need to pay a guy $10 million if he can't field his position anymore. Plus it aint baseball if the pitcher doesn't get a chance to bat or run the bases like everybody else has to.


Issue #5: Not Every Team Needs Representation

Since the All-Star game is now worth something -- winning league gets home field advantage -- how about we put the players who deserve to be there. In Issue #1 I suggested expansion which means not every team will be represented. Not every team needs to be represented anyway.

The All-Star Roster needs to consist of the best 30 guys in the game. Not a crippled DH who can't field his position. Not some random guy from 19-year loser a/k/a the Pittsburgh Pirates. We want the best and the game needs the best. Those teams who want to be represented have another option to be represented, it is called the homerun derby which really is MEANINGLESS to the game. Sure it is fun to watch, if you're a kid, but it no longer has the value it once had.


Issue #6: Shortened Season

Baseball should be shortened to 144 games. Teams should play just as many games against other divisions as they do against their own division, not double like the amount is currently. By shortening the season, sure stats will go down and players will seem overpaid, but aren't players being paid grossly for one thing -- to win championships? Yes they are and it is about time teams get their bang for their buck which brings me to how they do it.


Issue #7: Playoff Expansion

I proposed 4 divisions in Issue #1, and #2. With 4 divisions, let there be 4 division winners and 4 wild card teams. This become spossible with a shortened season. The format becomes similar to that of the NBAs old format where the first round is best of 3, and each round after is a best of 7.


Issue #8: Penalties Based on Precedent

MLB needs to set penalties that every team will be aware of. If a player goes on a rampage such as what Nyjer Morgan did last season then he needs to be suspended appropriately. Players who charge the mound need to know they will be suspended 3 games with no appeal. What is there to appeal really? The act was committed and it embarassed baseball and your team mates in front of millions.

There also needs to be penalties issued to Major League Teams. The Florida Marlins 2 years ago got hit by the MLBPA for failing to use revenue sharing money to sign ballplayers. As a result they got put on probation and could lose draft picks. This offseason and last they were forced to spend. Now here is the question, what about those other teams? The Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, and Kansas City Royals. When are they going to be penalized for not spending?

Issue #9: REPLAY REPLAY REPLAY

We need more of it. We need it for questionable calls on balls hit down the line, foul-tip pitches rules as no-tip wild pitches causing a runner to advance, runners thrown out while stealing, runners thrown at at first base, and trapped-ball catches.



Sincerely yours,
The Don Rey

2011 Rankings <!-- [endif]-->

 

1.       Felix Hernandez

2.       Adam Wainwright

3.       Roy Halladay

4.       Cliff Lee

5.       Zack Greinke

6.       C.C. Sabathia

7.       Tim Hudson

8.       Josh Johnson

9.       Roy Oswalt

10.   Tim Lincecum

11.   Chris Carpenter

12.   Johan Santana

13.   Justin Verlander

14.   Jaime Garcia

15.   Ubaldo Jimenez

16.   Clayton Kershaw

17.   Cole Hamels

18.   Mat Latos

19.   Matt Cain

20.   Carlos Zambrano

21.   Josh Beckett

22.   Tommy Hanson

23.   Shaun Marcum

24.   David Price

25.   Ryan Dempster

26.   Chad Billingsley

27.   C.J. Wilson

28.   John Lackey

29.   Jair Jurrjens

30.   Ricky Romero

31.   Jonathan Sanchez

32.   Javier Vazquez

33.   A.J. Burnett

34.   Trevor Cahill

35.   John Danks

36.   Jered Weaver

37.   Fausto Carmona

38.   Jon Lester

39.   Derek Lowe

40.   Bronson Arroyo

41.   Yovani Gallardo

42.   Jeremy Guthrie

43.   Ted Lilly

44.   Carl Pavano

45.   Phil Hughes

46.   Andy Pettitte ***** Might Retire

47.   Jake Westbrook

48.   Anibal Sanchez

49.   Edwin Jackson

50.   Dan Haren

51.   Rick Porcello

52.   Matt Garza

53.   Wandy Rodriguez

54.   Daniel Hudson

55.   Clayton Richard

56.   Gio Gonzalez

57.   Edinson Volquez

58.   Brett Myers

59.   Madison Bumgarner

60.   Brett Cecil

61.   Dallas Braden

62.   Ervin Santana

63.   J.A. Happ

64.   Jeff Niemann

65.   Wade Davis

66.   Max Scherzer

67.   Randy Wolf

68.   Chris Volstad

69.   Hiroki Kuroda

70.   Tommy Hunter

71.   Jon Garland

72.   Daisuke Matsuzaka

73.   Brett Anderson

74.   Scott Kazmir

75.   R.A. Dickey

76.   James Shields

77.   Colby Lewis

78.   Joel Piniero

79.   Livan Hernandez

80.   Ricky Nolasco

81.   Mark Buehrle

82.   Francisco Liriano

83.   Brian Duensing

84.   Mike Pelfrey

85.   Scott Baker

86.   Carlos Carrasco

87.   Jorge De La Rosa

88.   Gavin Floyd

89.   Joe Blanton

90.   Kevin Slowey

91.   Jhoulys Chacin

92.   Mike Leake

93.   Jake Peavy

94.   Brandon Morrow

95.   Ian Kennedy

96.   Johnny Cueto

97.     Jonathon Niese

98.   Jason Hammel

99.   Jason Marquis

100. Tom Gorzelanny

The Florida Marlins refused to give Dan Uggla a 5yr/$70 million dollar deal. They had good reason to. Chris Coghlan is most likely the second basemen of the future. Until then Omar Infante will be making a pit stop here for 2011.

So what does the Marlins do with the $15 million that Uggla was asking for?

Javier Vazquez - 1yr at $7 million.
John Buck - 3yrs at $18 million.
Randy Choate - 2yrs at $2.5 million.


Rumor has it the Marlins signing of John Buck may open up the possibility of a trade for his former team mate Zack Greinke if Greinke would be willing to sign long term with the Marlins. Greinke has made it clear he does not want to play in a big market and would be willing to take a discount. Two teams, the Marlins and Rays are likely landing options since they both are near home. The Malins are expected to contend in 2011 and 2012, while the Rays are just now starting a rebuilding phase.

Rumor has it the Marlins are looking to deal Ricky Nolasco, Logan Morrison, and possibly Chris Volstad involved in the deal for Zack Greinke, although the Marlins deny the rumor. The trade is expected to be a 3-team blockbuster deal possibly involving the Seattle Mariners or the Arizona Diamondbacks.

With Nolasco gone, this would open up the possibility of Greinke becoming the second starter behind Josh Johnson. He would be in a no-pressure situation with a much better offense. Coghlan could move to left field with speedster Scott Cousins taking over center field. Alex Sanabia would fill in the 5th spot in the rotation.

With Vazquez being on a 1 year deal the Marlins would not have financial issues for at least another 3 years when Michael Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Chris Coghlan are arbitration eligible.