Little fish make splash in big pond

Marlins rallying together after disparaging comment

MIAMI — Their T-shirts say Bottom Feeders, even though the Marlins are showing they’re a different kind of fish in 2020 — the sort that rises to make a splash.

The surprising Marlins have advanced to MLB’s final eight, disproving disparaging adjectives so often applied to the longsuffering franchise by detractors. That includes the opposing-team broadcaster who described the Marlins early in the season as “bottom feeders.”

Instead, they made the playoffs for the first time since 2003, swept the Cubs in this week’s wild-card round, and advanced to the best-offive NL Division Series to face the Braves beginning Tuesday in Houston.

“I don’t think we’re going to be satisfied,” manager Don Mattingly said. “We’re going to be looking to win.”

Don’t count them out: This is a franchise that tends to be an also-ran in the summer but dominant in October, with a 7-0 record in postseason series. That includes World Series titles in 1997 and 2003.

After holding the Cubs to one run and nine hits in two games, the Marlins posed for a team photo in the Wrigley Field infield. A few players wore masks, the rest wore grins, and all wore Bottom Feeders T-shirts.

“It’s a mindset,” said first baseman Garrett Cooper, who hit a pivotal homer in Thursday’s 2-0 win. “You take that to heart and you try to stick it to everybody, because we don’t get the respect we think we deserve. It’s a great mantra, because it shows everybody is riding on the same train.”

By bouncing back from a 105-loss year in 2019, and then from a coronavirus outbreak in July that sidelined more than half the team, Derek Jeter’s Marlins have earned some respect.

Nonetheless, they’re the biggest underdogs in next week’s round, partly because the Marlins have been the Braves’ perennial punching bag in the NL East.

The Braves went 29-9 against the Marlins in 2018-19. Coincidentally, on Sept. 9 they beat the Marlins by that same eye-popping margin: 29-9.

The Marlins won four of 10 games against the high-scoring Braves this year.

“They’ve run this division for a few years now,” Cooper said. “They have that offense, and some good pitching. But anything can happen. They know us; we know them.”