Monday Mumbles

I think this maybe the last unemployment Monday but I'm not sure.

One less thing to note - Penny's going to San Francisco.

The new stadium will be specifically designed for people with exuberant asses.

The real news of the day splits off between Coghlan's and Hanley's accomplishments and the tense importance of this series.

Both the Fish and Braves have 32 games left, both are 3.5 games behind in the WC, and yet according to coolstandings.com, the Fish have now only a 5.4 percent hance of making the playoffs; the Braves chances are now 14.4 percent. Those last series must have something to do with it.

Tonight it's Josh and Kenshin on the mound.

Both Florida and Atlanta have lost their last three August 31st games.

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UH-MAKIN-IT-INTERESTING: Fish lose 5-1. (OOPS, Sorry, that's 5-2).

Marlins Win 6-4, Avoid Sweep

And the Rockies get swept by the Giants, meaning during this bad stretch the Fish are now 3.5 games behind the Wild Card leaders. Here's the scores....

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And Chris Coghlan's ripping up the record books too.

Turn-It-Around Game?

Chris and Gaby go back down, and Luis and Tim come back up. For the Pads, Kyle Blanks waited until after he hit a two-run homer against the Marlins to re-injure his foot and is day-to-day.

Ricky Nolasco and the artistically-named Wade LeBlanc start tonight.

The Marlins are on a 2-game losing streak in August 29th games (they're 5-5 in their last 10). The Padres have lost last year but are 4-2 in their last 6 August 29th games.

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The Padres Arrive to Face Hanley

Ethan J. Skolnick details how amazing Hanley's year has been...

"Ramirez hits day (.378) or night (.361), home (.350) or away (.384), against lefties (.313) or against righties (.386). He hits with nobody on (.359) or runners aboard (.373). Most ridiculous? He hits .457 with runners in scoring position and two out, when a lazy fly ball counts against him, not as a run-scoring sacrifice fly. That's the most pressurized situation in the sport. That's money time. That's the equivalent of Wade sinking virtually every game-winning shot, or Pennington tossing touchdowns on virtually every red zone trip."

Kevin Correia and Chris Coghlan will try to fend off the opposing teams tonight.

In August 28th games both the Padres and Marlins have won 5 of their last 8, including 2 of their last 3.

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SPILK: Fish lose.

News Blips

Jacksonville's going to the playoffs. (squarespace.com)

Larry says he may make some moves before midnight Monday. (sun-sentinel)

Ken Rosenthal says the Marlins, among others, have their sights on Brad Penny. (foxsports.com)

The Hurk won't be playing for his country in the Baseball World Cup. (mister-baseball.com)

Hanley will be at the South Dade Brandsmart on Saturday. (blogs.trb.com)

The Marlins embed 'mementos' into the superstructure of the new stadium, things that are safely hidden from prying eyes. (blogs.trb.com)

Bo Porter To Manage 'Marlins'

Boy, that headline's a stretch. Here's what it really means - Bo is set to be the manager of an Arizona Fall League team that will have many players from the Fort Myers Miracle, which used to be the Miami Marlins over 20 years ago. There, that's straightened out. (oursportscentral)

Sweep?????

An afternoon game is scheduled for today to finish off the series, although there is a report, from a news source once trusted in China, that the Mets' season may miraculously already be over.

If that's not the case, Tim Redding and Anibal Sanchez will take the mound, as the Fish try to sweep the Mets for the first time in almost 5 years.

In August 27th games Florida has won 4 of their last 5, while the Mets are 4-4 in their last 8, and both teams are on a 1-game winning streak.

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FLARG!: Not only did Anibal have troubles and the fielding allowed five runs to score, but Kiko gives up his first home run since June 17, 2007Chris' and Danny's homers were the only scoring - Fish lose 10-3.

Game Two Movements

Nick goes on the DL, Brett gets recalled, and Baker's back's sore.

Josh Johnson and Mike Pelfrey start tonight. Mets fans, who lost Johan for the year yesterday, and are seeing the uneven Oliver Perez go down today, may be watching the game just to see if Pelfrey gets hit by a meteorite or something.

Both the Mets and Marlins lost their last two August 26th games after winning the previous two.

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ZOOP: Fish win 5-3.

Don't Naturally Fall Into A State of Complacency, Marlins!

Just because Johan's out for the season, Francouer's thumb is on the bum, and the Mets actually traded Billy Wagner doesn't mean the rest of the team won't be gunning for Fish blood tonight. The Marlins went from 2 games back in the Wild Card race last week to 5.5 back now. Even with disaster all around them, the Mets can't be considered pushovers.

Replacing Santana tonight will be Nelson Figueroa. Sean West starts for the Fish.

The Mets have won their last two, and three of their last four, August 25th games. The Marlins lost their last August 25th game after winning the previous two.

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SQUEAKER: Fish win 2-1.

Some Stuff

Anibal's finally feeling no pain. (miamiherald)

Nick is still feeling it, though. (FishStripes)

Former-Fish Nate Bump impresses the Mud Hens. (pressconnects)

Here's the Marlins' all-time one-and-done team. (sun-sentinel)

Games for the Day Off

The Phillies have already beaten the Mets as of 5 PM today, but San Fran at Colorado start later tonight.

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Decision Time

Brendan goes on the DL, Cristhian is reportedly returning, and Cantu's back in the lineup.

Ricky and Derek start in this game to decide who takes third place in the Wild Card, and second place in the NL East (at least until the next game).

In August 23rd games the Marlins lost last year after winning their previous two, and the Braves won last year after losing their previous three.

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DOWN: Fish lose 7-5

40 Games to Go

Chris Volstad and Tommy Hanson start tonight.

The similarities end: in August 22nd games the Marlins have won 4 of their last 5, while the Braves are on a 3-game losing streak after winning their previous 3.

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More History

'plunkeveryone' posting on FishStripes reveals that the Marlins will be suffering the 1,000th HBP in their history sometime soon. He then lists the amount of times different teams have plunked Marlins players, which showed me two things. First, that the Cubs and Astros hit our players more often than one team that's in the Marlins' own division (thank you, Braves). Second, that the Rays (who started 5 years after the Marlins) have wallopped the Fish more often than 7 National League teams (7.7 if you count the Brewers).

Showdown in Atlanta

The Fish return to Turner Field for the first time since April 14-16, when they swept three games from the Braves (the Fish are 2-3 at home against Atlanta).

Anibal returns to start tonight (and Cristian was sent down, sparking some heated comments in this blog post). Javier Vazquez starts for Atlanta.

Florida and Atlanta have the same win-loss record, 4 games back in the Wild Card race with 41 games to go.

The similarity streak continues: in August 21st games both the Marlins and Braves have lost their last two after winning their previous two.

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YES: Anibal pitches greatly, and the Fish finally win 5-3.

Bounce-Back Rubber Game

(EDITED) The Marlins tonight will try to improve their all-time record in games played in major-league parks named for citrus juice to 24-32, and will try to win its first series in Minute Maid since 2004.

Watch out! It's Josh Johnson and Wandy Rodriguez on the mound.

Continuing and expanding the similarity strain started on August 19, the Marlins and Astros in August 20 games have had the exact same win-loss record for the past 6 years - 1-5, with the one win in 2006.

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FLATTENED: History's over, and the Marlins lose 4-1.

Nerd on the Field

Since the Fish are on the road this weekend, So-Fla fans itching for an experience may want to shuffle up to Port Charlotte on Friday to see (if you can get a ticket) the Stone Crabs take on what used to be the 2nd version of the Miami Marlins, known now as the Fort Myers Miracle, with a special appearance by our era's 'Clown Prince of Baseball', the probably one and only Myron Noodleman. (oursportscentral)

Two More in Texas

Will the Marlins continue to rewrite the history books? It's Sean West and former Marlin Yorman Bazardo on the mound tonight.

In August 19th games both the Marlins and Astros won in 2008, lost in 2007 and 2006, and won in 2005.

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OOF: History continues, but the Fish lost 6-3.

The Rest of The Way

From the top 5 NL Wild Card contenders here are their combined 2009 win-loss records so far against the teams they will be facing for the rest of the season - Colorado 35-27; San Francisco 29-28; Florida 33-21; Atlanta 30-26; Chicago 47-36.

The Cubs will play 12 teams to finish up the regular season, including all their games against the Mets and a make-up game with the White Sox. The Rockies will play 9 teams - the Marlins, Braves and Giants each play 8.

For the last series of the season for these 5 teams, only Atlanta will play a team that they now have a winning record against (Washington, 7-4) - Florida will play Philly (5-7), the Giants play San Diego (5-7), the Cubs play Arizona (1-2), and the poor Rocks face the Dodgers (2-10).

Fish Battle Astros Again

Let's hope the Nolasco-Norris matchup doesn't end up like last week in Miami.

In August 18th games the Marlins lost their last 2 after winning the previous 3, and the Astros have lost 3 of their last 4.

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SUCCESS: Fish win 6-2.

The Shifting Winds

Gaby returns at least until Nick recovers, while the Hurk departs as Anibal may arrive soon. (PBPostBlog)

Just as soon as the Herald does a feature article on Pudge in preparation for tonight's game, the Astros ship him off to Arlington.

And who knows where Smoltz is going? (Google)

Day Off Doings

Anibal starts tonight on possibly his last rehab jaunt until he returns. (squarespace.com)

Hanley owns six cars, "including a Bentley Continental and Mercedes S63 AMG. He parks four at his home in Florida and the other two in the Dominican Republic." (autonet.ca)

2 games back in the Wild Card with 44 games to go, and Tracy Ringolsby builds a case (which Fredi concedes) that the Fish are on a path that is "not realistic for a postseason contender". (Oh, and Jerry Manuel may not be long with the Mets either). (foxsports.com)

Here's tonight's games...

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Sunday Two-fer

Two games today, so you have twice the opportunity to avoid going to the stadium. The weather's much better, rain-wise, so both games should be played. If the Marlins win both games and San Francisco loses then they will be tied with the Rocks for the Wild Card lead. If they go 1-1 they'll stay 2 games back. Or if the Fish lose both games then they will be 4 games back (EWWWWW!).

Cook-Volstad for Game 1, De La Rosa-VandenHurk for Game 2.

In August 16th games the Marlins have a record of 2-2 in their last four (which followed a 3-game win streak), while the Rockies won last year after losing 6 in a row.

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SPLITSVILLE: Fish go 1-1.

Satur-deluge

At this moment (5:45 PM) the stadium area is being inudated with showers. Radar suggests a few more are coming. Expect at least a delay.

Possible starters are the Hurk and Aaron Cook.

In August 15th games the Marlins have lost their last 3, while the Rockies have won 3 of their last 4.

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RAINOUT: Double-header tomorrow.

Factualities

Esteban Yan fails his physical, and Cameron take his first batting pratice in two weeks. (blog.nola.com)

Marlins double-digit hit streak hits 11 games, and Hanley's streak reaches 10 games. (sun-sentinel)

Pujols' secret tip helps Hanley. (miamiherald)

The life of a Marlins scout in the Pacific Northwest. (theoutlookonline.com)

Weekend With the Rocks

The Fish sent Leroux back and brought up Cristhian Martinez.

Colorado, 3 games ahead of the Fish in the Wild Card race, play a projected 3 games against the Fish here in beautiful Land Shark stadium. Josh Johnson and Jason Hammel start.

Florida has gone 3-3 in their last 6 August 14th games, while Colorado has lost 5 of their last 6 August 14th games.

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WHEW: Bullpen almost gave it away, but Marlins squeak out a win 6-5.

The Beginning of the Building

Today they'll start pouring concrete for the foundation of the new stadium. (blogs.trb.com)

Houston's Still Here

Florida wants to win the series tonight - Houston wants to tie. The other Mike Hampton and Sean West start.

The Fish have a record of 3-3 in their last 6 August 13th games. The Astros have won their last 2 after losing their previous 4 August 13th games.

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ADIOS: Fish win 9-2.

The Dish on the Fish

The Marlins pick up Leroux, send worn-out Wood to AAA. (usatoday.com)

Anibal's rehabbing well. (jacksonville.com/)(FishBytes)

This year's winner of 'So You Think You Can Dance' will be throwing out one of the numerous 'first pitches' on Saturday. (latina.com)

Smoltz

Juan C. sez that the Marlins are interested in Smoltz but Clark sez chances of landing him are 'remote'. Me, I'd only consider him if he goes back to the knuckler he threw before his arm surgery.

Sweep Repeat?

Tonight the starters are hot-streaking Ricky Nolasco and hasn't-lost-yet rookie Bud Norris.

Florida won last year after losing 3 straight August 12th games. Houston has won three of its last four August 12th games.

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BLECH: Ricky gets shelled for 10 earned runs as Hou(s)ton wins 14-6.

Hot From The Wires

The Marlins seemed to have signed Esteban Yan, and sent him to AAA. (connpost)

'michaeljong' reflects on last night's happenings. (marlinmaniac)

John Baker's hairdo is making waves. (MLB)(miamiherald)

Dave Van Horne remembers (and kept stats in his wallet of) the '94 Expos, on the 15th anniversary of the strike that may have killed the Expos and certainly knocked the Fish off track. (thesuburbannews.ca)

The Marlins help send a Stone Crab through college. (oursportscentral)

Game Two With Hou

Roy Oswalt returns from resting his back to try and fend off the fighting Fish, who sends Chris Volstad to the mound tonight.

The Astros have won 5 of their last 6 August 11th games (the loss was in 2007). The Marlins lost 5 of their last 7 August 11th games, but won 2 of their last 3 (losing last year).

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ANOTHER-VICTORY: Fish win 9-8 in 11.

Fish Stories

Former Marlin-killer Moyer gets kicked off the Phillies rotation after being fish-whacked on Sunday...

...and former Fish Aaron Boone is back in baseball. (sun-sentinel)

Want a chance for some or all of $5.5 million? Just get 'qualifications' to create a monumental work of art to grace the new stadium. No word on whether Jeffrey's 'taste' in art factors into the process. (deathbyarchitecture.com)

"jesse agler" reports on a brain fart the Marlins TV crew experienced on Sunday. (EarlyEditionIsDead)

Quickie Game Preview

I was mysteriously out of town for a while, but I'm back. The Astros are in town to play the Fish.

It's Big Moe verses the Hurk tonight.

History: The Marlins won their last four August 10th games after losing their previous four August 10th games. The Astros have won six of their last eight August 10th games, including against the Fish way back in 2001.

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QUIK-RECAP: Fish win.

(sweep?)

It's possibly expendable Moyer vs. recently vulnerable Johnson today.

The Fish are 3-3, and the Phils are 4-2, in their last 6 August 9th games. The Fish beat the Phils on August 9, 2007.

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((((((((((((sweep!))))))))))): Marlins win 12-3!

Coghlan on Fire

Chris goes for the Marlins record for multi-hit games in a row today. (PBPost)

UPDATE: He Did It! (FishStripes)

Saturday at CBP

Ayala is spelled with triple A's, which is where he's been sent, as Sean West returns to start tonight.

And Cole Hamels tries to recover from his last start.

On August 8's the Marlins have lost five of their last six games, while the Phillies only lost four of their last six. They beat the Marlins in 2007.

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ALRIGHT!: Fish win 6-4.

Some Phun

Marlins get swept for the first time since being swept by the Phillies July 19, and here come the Phillies again.

Ricky Nolasco and Joe Blanton start.

After losing three-in-a-row the Marlins have won three of their last four August 7th games, losing to Philly in 2007 but beating them last year. Philly also won in 2006 after losing four August 7th games in a row.

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PHANTASTIC: Marlins win 3-2.

Cue the Fat Lady?

Two of the paper boys are asking their blog readers if the Marlins season is now over. (MiamiHerald)(PBPost)

Afternoon Anti-Sweep Brigade

The Marlins, now 6 games behind Philly in the NL East and 4.5 games back in the Wild Card, try to get a win today against the resurgent Nats.

Starting will be Chris Volstad and Craig Stammen.

Washington has lost their last 3 August 6th games, while the Marlins have lost their last 4 August 6th games.

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AGGH!: Fish lose 12-8.

More Things

The Canadian company (yay, locals) that will be installing possibly its first retractable roof on the Marlins stadium had a lousy financial report last quarter. (reuters)

Beinfest was in Jacksonville checking out Matt Dominguez. (jacksonville.com)

Fish Lose Wednesday's Game 5-4

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(Interestingly, before last night the Marlins had an 11-4 record in August 5th games, one of their better days historically.)

Couple of Stuffs

Nick saves money in his La-Z-Boy while the Marlins sleep in posh surroundings. (sun-sentinel)

Willie Glen continues his path to the majors. (nola)

Hey tourists! You're not paying your share of our new stadium! (miamiherald)

Beltway Ballgame

Wes is just 6 hits away from overtaking Alex Arias at the All-time Marlins pinch-hitter. (SunSentinel)

Old Fish/New National Willingham is NL co_Player of the Week. (WashTimes)

Can the Fish keep up their 9-0 record against Washington this year?

(EDIT) Washington has won their last 4 August 4rd games. Marlins have gone 2-2 in their last 4 August 4rd games.

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NO. 5: Washington wins 6-4.

Travel Day Catchup

The Fish are now 5 games behind Philly in the NL East, and 3 games in back of the Wild Card leaders.

Braves fans are making noise (and so is Chipper) about a fist bump umpire Bill Hohn gave John Baker at the end of the game on Tuesday.

Emilio thinks positive about being a utility player. (MLB)

Rubber Match

The Fish and Cubs try to win the series in a late-afternoon showdown. Nolasco and Dempster, attorneys-at-law, start today.

The Marlins won last year after losing 3 August 2nd games in a row. The Cubs won last year, and have a 3-3 record in their last 6 August 2nd games.

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BOOM-BOOM: Dan and Cody connect off Kevin Gregg to beat the Cubs in the ninth 3-2.

Burke Hops to DL: Wood Recalled

(MarlinsNation)

Macho Macho Men

The Village People are the Super Saturday entertainers tonight. And probably there'll be more of the bush-league, 'tasteless' antics that riled up Pinella last night.

The Marlins lost last year after winning 3 August 1st games in a row. The Cubs lost last year after winning 5 August 1st games in a row.

Its Zambrano verses the Hopper. This guy thinks the game will go over.

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FUDGE: Fish lose 9-8 in 10 innings. (HookLineDrive&Sinker)

BUT: Someone had a fun time at the game..(SunSentinelBlog)

Nick Under the Wire

The Marlins get Nick Johnson for Aaron Thompson, and have DFA'ed Andy Gonzales.

Leslie Monteiro thinks its a good move.

Most stories have Johnson displacing Bonifacio, but Craig thinks it's Coghlan who will be benched.

Lindstrom also returns, and going down to AAA is Brett (darn) and Gaby (he was still here?).