After running Joe Girardi out of town and trading five of his best players last season, team owner Jeffrey Loria is one of the most hated men in Miami.
The Marlins spent big money last season to open its new state-of-the-art stadium. The entire NL East got better and the Marlins didn’t produce. He decided to blow up the team and trade Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, and others in another salary dump by the Marlins.
Will Miami fail to reach one million in attendance this season?
Here is the 2013 MLB season preview for the Miami Marlins.
2012 Win/Loss Record: 69-93
Key Additions: 3B Placido Polanco, P Jon Rauch, P John Maine, 2B Placido Polanco, 1B/OF Joe Mahoney, P Chad Qualls, OF Juan Pierre, P Scott Maine, C Jeff Mathis, 3B Chone Figgins, OF Austin Kearns, 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, P Kevin Slowey, P Mitch Talbot, P Michael Wuertz
Key Losses: SS Jose Reyes, P Josh Johnson, P Mark Buehrle, C John Buck, OF Emilio Bonafacio, P Carlos Zambrano, 1B Carlos Lee, P Heath Bell, 2B Donnie Murphy, P Chad Gaudin, P Juan Carlos Oviedo (Leo Nunez)
Interleague Schedule: AL Centra + Tampa Bay Rays
Projected Starters: Rob Brantly, Logan Morrison, Donovan Solano, Placido Polanco, Adeiny Hechavarria, Juan Pierre, Justin Ruggiano, Giancarlo Stanton
Projected Starting Rotation: Ricky Nolasco, Henderson Alvarez, Wade LeBlanc, Nate Eovaldi, Jacob Turner
Closer: Steve Cishek
Fantasy Sleeper: OF Gorkys Hernandez – Once regarded as a #100 prospect by Baseball America in 2008 & 2009, Hernandez has yet to show much worth at the Major League level. He is predicted to be the fourth outfielder in Miami this year, but has a shot to earn playing time. Juan Pierre is getting long in the tooth and Justin Ruggiano could have hit his peak last season. Hernandez would be an excellent source of steals when given at-bats. If you’re in a deep NL-only league and want to gamble on a guy would could rack up steals, he’s worth a stash.
Team Analysis: How does a team come back from trading most of their best players AND pissing off the team’s best player (Giancarlo Stanton) in the process? I doubt Miami would trade Stanton, only because he has a cheap contract right now. The NL East is improved and the Marlins are at the beginning of another rebuilding process. They have a load of prospects, but most aren’t expected to reach the Majors until 2014, at the earliest. If you’re a Marlins fan, your morale is very low. Loria did have a point that he “didn’t break up the 1927 Yankees”, but those players are fun to watch. Even if the team was sub-.500, fans would still come to see what Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes would do. Rob Brantly, Adeiny Hechavarria, and Donovan Solano are three unknown players set to be in the starting lineup for the Marlins. This team will end up in the basement of the NL East and you would be hard pressed to find anyone to say otherwise. I’m sorry Marlins fans, you deserve a better team than this.
Sportsbook.ag’s 2013 Wins Over/Under Line: 63.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2013 Projected Win/Loss Record: 59-103 (5th in NL East)
…because people often find my site on Google by trying to find MLB players with their shirt off (I have zero idea how this started). Here is a picture of Giancarlo Stanton shirtless on a boat.
