"Florida is somehow good enough (and healthy enough) to be the only one of 14 losing-record teams with a winning mark on the road; that's the positive spin. The ugly mirror of that is the worst home record (17-25) in the majors, bar none.
"The Marlins have had zero winning homestands this season. That's a plain embarrassment....
"Likewise, Florida somehow has managed a slightly better record against teams at .500 or better (.475) than against teams with losing records (.466). The Marlins are just 9-9 against the worst of the worst: division cellar-dwellers.
"That, like the home record, can't be pinned on injuries. That's indicative of a team that isn't taking care of business. A team wasting chances.
"The Marlins rank 17th (of 30 teams) in hitting, 21st in pitching and 29th in fielding. The fundamentals don't always seem so fundamental with these guys; nor has new manager Fredi Gonzalez been above second-guessing at times.
"The team isn't doing anything exceptionally well, except getting injured, and yet they are one strong month, maybe one decent winning streak, from being back in the playoff chase for real.
"If only by the benevolence of NL mediocrity the Marlins are close enough to contention that management should stick with the positive possibility when considering trades during the next month or so." (MiamiHerald)
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