Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trudging along
Marlins believe they are better team than 15-28
LOS ANGELES — In a quiet corner of Michael Hill’s suite-level perch, in Don Mattingly’s temporary office, in the chair by Dee Gordon’s locker in the visiting clubhouse, the same sentiment came through Sunday: The Miami Marlins are better than this.
Baseball season passed the one-quarter mark over the weekend, and for a Marlins team that filled spring training with talk of being ready to take the next step and contend for the playoffs, it has been a miserable one.
The Marlins, with the largest payroll in franchise history, have lost 20 of their past 25 games. At 15-28, their .349 winning percentage started the week better than only the rebuilding San Diego Padres’ .348 (16-30). Ineffectiveness and injury have wiped out most of the starting rotation, the lineup has not made its expected gains, and the bullpen has been prone to meltdowns.
“I’d say frustrating is an understatement,” said Hill, the team’s president of baseball operations.
As the Marlins trudge forward into a summer of uncertainty — off the field, with Jeffrey Loria trying to sell the team, and on it, with wins difficult to come by — they publicly maintain their belief they can turn their year around. In the face of mounting evidence that this will be an eighth consecutive losing season, that belief appears based more in pride and faith than anything measurable.
It’s still early, they say. If they can stop this slide, they’re good enough to make a run. Hill said his communication with counterparts around the league is the same as it
“I’d say frustrating is an understatement.” Michael Hill, president of baseball operations.
always is, with periodic check-ins but not much meaty trade talk. Other GMs are not yet looking to pick at the Marlins’ still-wiggling carcass.
“Not in May,” Hill said. “If it’s June, then yeah.
“We are where we are right now. The thing we know is the only way [results] are going to change is if we change them, in that clubhouse. There’s no panic. There’s no panic in Don Mattingly. I’m not panicking. The players aren’t panicking. They know what they’re capable of doing.”
The problem, Hill said, is that the Marlins’ losses don’t stem from any one particular issue. On days the offense provides, the bullpen doesn’t hold up. When the starting pitcher turns in a quality outing, the lineup is quiet. Some days, all of those areas go wrong.
“I wish it was one thing,” Hill said. “When there’s one area where you’re struggling, it makes it a lot easier to focus your energies on trying to make that better. When there are numerous areas, it makes it even harder.”
The offense in particular has struggled compared to preseason expectations. The Marlins rank 24th in baseball in runs (4.14 per game), 13th in batting average (.256), 20th in on-base percentage (.317) and 22nd in slugging (.403).
“For all the talent of our everyday lineup, we still need to score more runs,” Hill said.
Said Gordon: “You have to go play. You can’t say nothing on paper or how we’re built or how we’re set up. You have to play against other major leaguers and that’s what you got to do.”
With Memorial Day, an unofficial checkpoint of sorts on the baseball calendar, looming, the Marlins don’t appear to be in line for any drastic changes — though they’ve had many minor ones in recent weeks.
The Marlins have used nine starting pitchers this month, and it could hit double-digits if or when they deem left-hander Jeff Locke (should tendinitis) ready for the major league rotation early next week. And lineup tweaks — injury-induced or otherwise — have led to 34 batting orders in 43 games.
It hasn’t been all bad for Miami. With a 10-8 start through three weeks, the Marlins had a 90-win pace.
Then, with no obvious warning, it all went wrong. A day off in Philadelphia, a rainout in Philadelphia, and then one of the worst stretches in franchise history. And it’s not over yet.
“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Hill said, “but nobody’s given up on our season.”