Dan Uggla Remains as the Third Best Second Basemen of 2010
Four out of the top five second basemen remain on the list from early July. The only newcomer is a big surprise, after years of hype he is finally doing what everyone expected him to do. Out of the four players who remained, only one of them moved from their top five position.
3. Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins: After I put Uggla down back in early June, he has completely proved me wrong since. Uggla and the Marlins may be making a run in the division after all. Since early June Uggla raised his average 17 points from .262 to .279, he hit seven more home runs to raise his total to 21 and his RBI total moved up by 24 for a total of 61. Uggla did not move in the top five standing remaining at number three, but that is a lot better than what I predicted for him back in June. I thought Uggla would be off of the list back in June and I didn’t give much hope to the Marlins either. Now the Marlins made it to a .500 record at 50-50 and Uggla is on pace to have his best season ever. The Marlins are seven and a half games out of first and might actually have a chance at making things interesting in the NL East if they are buyers at the trade deadline.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
Hanley Ramirez is Not Predicted to Make it Into the Second Round of the 2010 Home Run Derby
The 25th annual Homer Run Derby is taking place in Angels Stadium in Anaheim. Last year Prince Fielder took home the derby trophy. This year Fielder will not be back to defend his title. There will be five new derby contestants this year, it is time for a fresh young batch of players to liven things up a bit. Here are my predictions for how everyone will do tonight, starting from least favorite.
7. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins: Ramirez is entering the derby with the least amount of home runs out of everyone participating. Ramirez has 13 home runs and is slugging .485. Ramirez is having an average year so far. Ramirez is on pace to have about the same number as last season except his average is down 41 points. Ramirez is not generally know as a power hitter, the most home runs he had in one season was 33 back in 2008. Ramirez is also at a disadvantage as a right-handed batter. I think Ramirez will hit about four home runs.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
Josh Johnson Makes #3 of the Best Starting Pitchers of 2010
This year is the first year in a long time that starting pitchers are dominating more than hitters. ERA’s are so low this year for many pitchers, which made it very hard to pick a top five. A lot of people probably know who number one is going to be, but the other four can be anyone’s guess.
3. Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins: Johnson is turning out to be a solid starter for the Marlins. I don’t know what it is with the Marlins, but they do produce some of the best pitchers every year. The problem with the Marlins is the pitchers are too good and wind up getting traded because they are rarely in contention or they become free agents and leave because the Marlins can’t offer them as much money as other teams. Last year Johnson, who was only 25 at the time, proved that he is a great pitcher. Johnson went 15-5 with an ERA of 3.23 and 191 strikeouts. This year Johnson is looking even better with an 8-3 record, 1.83 ERA, which is tied for the best ERA in baseball, and on top of that he has 107 strikeouts. Johnson’s stats are impressive and he would probably have a better win/loss record if he were playing for a winning team. With the Marlins currently in fourth place in their division and seven and a half games out of first, they don’t really have much of a chance of any future success this season. The Marlins are in the second weakest division and they are still in fourth place. Johnson may be another one of those Marlin produced pitchers that will be saying goodbye once his free agent season comes by.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
Dan Uggla Makes #3 of the Best Second Baseman of 2010
Second base isn’t producing many offensive numbers this year. One man stands far and beyond at the best second baseman of 2010 so far and probably for a long time to come.
3. Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins: If it wasn’t for such weak stats all around for second baseman this year, Uggla would not even be on this list. Uggla is having his typical, consistent year of hitting for power and nothing else. Uggla is only hitting .262 but, he does have 14 home runs and 37 RBI’s. Uggla’s power numbers alone is the reason why he is ahead of Prado and Phillips on this list. There’s not much to say about Uggla, his numbers are the same every year, around 30 home runs and 90 RBI’s. Maybe if Uggla played for a different team besides the Marlins, whose field is actually a converted football field, he would have even better power numbers. As long as Uggla is on the Marlins he will always be known as a good player, not a great player. The Marlins are still in the playoff hunt this year because of their week division. They are one game under .500 and are only five and a half games out of first. I do not see the Marlins making over .500 by the end of the season though and maybe if they really fall behind by the end of July they will do Uggla a favor and trade him to a hitter friendly ballpark.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports-Fan Blog Network
Ronny Paulino Makes #5 of the Best Catchers of 2010
There aren’t many big name catchers in the majors anymore, there are only a handful that come to mind as top tier catchers in the league.
5. Ronny Paulino, Florida Marlins: Paulino has the best average on the Marlins with a .308 batting average. The Marlins who were recently swept by the Mets have fallen to two games under .500 and are now fourth in their division. The Marlins are still in there though, only five and a half games out of first in a very close division race. Paulino hasn’t played more than 100 games in a season since 2007 when he was with the Pirates. If the Marlins have any chance of making the playoffs they are going to have to keep Paulino healthy because he has been a big part of their offense this year.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
Ricky Nolasco’s goal: Issue 25 or fewer bases on balls in 2010
One time in his life he couldn’t do it. Ricky Nolasco couldn’t throw strikes.
Fresh out of middle school, Nolasco joined the summer ball team at Rialto (Calif.) High School. He transferred there and was earmarked to play for the varsity team as a freshman.
“I was a little stressed out about that,” said Nolasco, who will make his 2010 debut Wednesday night against the Mets. “I remember that summer walking a ton of guys. That was the only time in my life I walked guys and had that taste of it. I hated it.”
Still does. Nolasco berated himself after his final Grapefruit League outing. He walked the last hitter he faced after getting ahead 0-2. It was the first and only batter that saw four balls from Nolasco in 25 1/3 innings. He added another five innings without a walk in Friday’s exhibition game at Double-A Jacksonville.
In 2008, Nolasco walked 42 in 212 1/3 innings. The only Marlins starter to total fewer bases on balls while amassing 200-plus innings was Kevin Brown in 1996 (33 in 233 innings). Brown won’t own that distinction much longer if Nolasco accomplishes his 2010 goal.
Click here to read the full article – By Juan C. Rodriguez of Sun-Sentinel
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Florida Marlins’ Chris Coghlan named NL Rookie of the Year
Chris Coghlan returned to his home in Tarpon Springs Monday empty handed from a two-week hunting trip to Kansas.
But the Marlins left fielder then bagged a trophy bigger than any potential deer on Tuesday when he was named the National League Rookie of the Year.
Coghlan, 24, beat out runner-up J.A. Happ of Philadelphia and third-place finisher Tommy Hanson of Atlanta, both pitchers, in becoming the third Marlins player to win the award. He joins pitcher Dontrelle Willis in 2003 and shortstop Hanley Ramirez in 2006.
Coghlan received 17 first place votes, six seconds and two thirds for 105 points. Happ had 94 points with 10 first place votes. Hanson had 37 points, followed by Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen (25) and Milwaukee infielder Casey McGehee (18) in the voting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
Click here to read the full article – By Tom D’angelo of Palm Beach Post
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Ramirez should give team its first batting champion
By virtue of Albert Pujols going 0 for 4 Saturday and Hanley Ramirez going 1 for 2, the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! will probably have their first batting champion.
Ramirez, who entered the game 11 for his past 62, hit an RBI double in the first and lined out in the third before exiting with a right knee contusion suffered on a steal of third in the first inning.
Ramirez raised his average to .342, 13 points ahead of Pujols. Pablo Sandoval began the day at .329. The Giant could finish 8 for 8 and still wouldn’t catch Ramirez.
“I know I was struggling, but I wasn’t looking on the computer to see what they were hitting,” Ramirez said. “I don’t think I did it myself. Everybody gave me little tips. I dedicate it for everybody in here.”
Click here to read the full article – By Juan C. Rodriguez of sun-sentinel.com
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Florida Marlins know a larger payroll means some players won’t return in 2010
The Marlins fell short of the playoffs despite a winning season, which is causing conflicting thoughts for second baseman Dan Uggla: He can’t wait to see how they fare next year, but he knows he might not return.
Uggla is not alone. It will cost at least $43 million to bring back the current 25-man roster, and players know that won’t happen.
The Marlins, who conclude the season with a three-game series in Philadelphia starting Friday, aren’t expected to spend much more in 2010 than the $36.8 million they spent on this year’s payroll.
That means the organization will have to make some hard decisions regarding 13 arbitration-eligible players and three free agents.
“Maybe one or two guys are gone. You’ve got to deal with that and move forward,” said veteran infielder Wes Helms, who is signed through next season. “This is a very promising organization. They’ve shown they can win with a low payroll, with different players every year.”
Click here to read the full article – By JOE CAPOZZI of palmbeachpost.com
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Marlins rally past Phils in walk-off fashion
All the odds are still stacked against them, but until they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the Marlins are going to enjoy the ride.
They did so on a soggy Wednesday night. Few victories this year felt as sweet as the walk-off effort against the first-place Phillies.
Brett Carroll’s two-out pinch-hit single off Brad Lidge capped a two-run ninth inning that rallied the Marlins to a 7-6 victory in front of 31,042 who sat through a 45-minute rain delay at Land Shark Stadium.
The game, carried nationally on ESPN, was thrilling and featured plenty of drama.
Jorge Cantu, who went 4-for-5, pulled Florida even with a two-out single in the ninth, setting up Carroll’s first career walk-off hit. It was Florida’s 10th walk-off victory and 40th comeback effort of the season.
Click here to read the full article – By Joe Frisaro of MLB.com
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