Miami Marlins suffer structural problems as they experience another dismal season - Part 1
Despite having all on the roster that was needed to help them experience an amazing season, the Miami Marlins have fallen short by miles.
They spent millions on acquiring stars. They fine-tuned their rotation by adding Mark Buehrle and perfected the offence by incorporating Jose Reyes. Yet, the way they surrendered before opponents this year, it seemed as if one of a Minor League teams was
playing against the Major League clubs.
By the time the Marlins resorted to a spending spree during the off-season, the experts that went with the flow of events and began rating the club for achieving something substantial this year failed to fathom fundamental issues plaguing the organisation
back then.
While the addition of new players strengthened the team, in no way had it rendered the club to start feeling ahead of any other side in the Division.
The existing material that they carried into the season was actually overshadowed by the new luminaries that made their way onto the Marlins’ roster. This in turn raised excitement for undue expectations from the club.
However, the fact is none of their starters boasts the characteristic of throwing shut-out games on a regular basis. It is easy to blame the newly entered Buehrle for the losses, but it is unfair to gloss over the role of the rest of the starters in the
rotation.
Ricky Nolasco, who has been with the club for years, is as much to be blamed as any other pitcher on the rotation. This means that the Marlins did not address those issues that were prevalent before they felt that they have streamlined their roster with
the off-season spending extravaganza.
Similarly, the case of Heath Bell, who has proven a handy scapegoat for the fans, can easily mislead them and miscalculate the way the other relievers have performed in the season.
While there is nothing wrong with the fact that Bell caused defeats in number of occasions and that he should be criticised, the rest of the relievers must not be allowed to hide behind him.
Who knows if the existing Marlins’ bullpen was strong enough, one of their relievers could come to the rescue of Bell. The fact the manager Ozzie Guillen had little options when it came to the Marlins' bullpen handicapped him for helping Bell take some time
out and re-enter after resting for a few games.
After every poor show by Bell, there emerged severe criticism. Yet, right in the next game, we saw the same relief pitcher throwing. It was only because none of the remaining relievers was considered capable by the manager, which in itself was an inadvertent
acknowledgement of the fact that Miami lingered with the fundamentals issues in spite of spending $191 million in the off-season.
There took place scores of instances in the season, which clearly indicated that expecting the Marlins to win a play-off spot this season was incorrect in the first place. Perhaps, while harping on the chances of the Marlins in the season, one had ignored
players that featured on the roster of the other teams.
The players like Martin Prado and Jason Heyward with the Atlanta Braves have been so consistent on the plate in the season that one wonders how come even a single player from the Marlins can sustain the great performances for such a long time.
Similarly, when one looks upon the nearly perfect rotation of the Washington Nationals and their quality relief pitchers, one cannot end the discussion without the conclusion that the fans’ expectations were lifted on lofty sentiments, which had nothing
to do with the reality on the ground.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Continued in Part 2
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