All Star Break in Arizona, Congrats Gaby!

     It's the All-Star break, a time for many major leaguers to rest and get fresh for the 2nd half. The only Marlins not resting is Gaby Sanchez, and I am sure he is not too mad about that. congrats to Gaby on his 1st all-star appearance. He made it at a tough position to get in, NL 1st baseman. Among Votto, Fielder, Howard, Pujols, and many others, Gaby is being recognized a true all-star in Arizona. He will not start but he will most likely come into the game in the later innings.    
    
       Meanwhile, as far as the Marlins, they are riding a 5 game win streak into the all-star break and are now only 10.5 games behind the Braves in the wild card. While this seems steep, the Marlins will have the opportunity to play the Braves directly and make up ground. The schedule after the break starts with a 4 game set in Chicago, then a 1 game makeup at Citi Field, followed by a home series with San Diego. This seems like a time where the Marlins can gain some ground, as the Cubs and Padres are pretty weak teams.
      
       I've read some reports that think the Marlins should be sellers this year. I tend to disagree. While we should look into some options such as getting a good prospect from a team like the Yankees for a lefty in Randy Choate they might value, we should not sell the team, especially with the new stadium next year. I can only imagine the front office wants the Marlins to be a contender when they open the stadium. Speaking of the new stadium, all accounts I have heard point to the opening game being on April 4th to start off the new MLB season next year. The team will then go on a roadtrip after the one game and tweak any problems they found from the first night.
    
      Well Marlins players and fans, enjoy the break, root on Gaby Sanchez, and get ready for an exciting 2nd half, starting on Thursday at Wrigley Field. Go Fish!

The Problem with All-Star Voting

Last year, Braves 2B Omar Infante was putting up great numbers. Even eith these numbers, he was not selected for the all-star game, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who was the NL manager, chose Omar to be on the team. Ofcourse Infante is a Marlins this year, and even though he is not worthy of a nod this year, even if he was hitting 40 HR's, he would not be in the all-star game, why? Because he is a Marlin.While Hanley Ramirez has made it 3 years, it is because he has been proven as a star, but the point of the all-star game is to get guys that have earned it that specific year, but it is based on popularity, just like a high-school election. This seems to eliminate Marlins players as a whole because of their small market. But two players this year deserve it, Mike Stanton and Gaby Sanchez. Gaby Sanchez has been in the top 10 in NL stats all year, and Mike Stanton is in the top 5 of HR's and slugging %. Stanton nor Sanchez are listed on the top 10 or 5 respectively in their respective positions. It's sad. So Marlins fans, vote for our two studs, and get them some recognition. Not to mention what Stanton would do in the home run derby.

Preview coming soon for the game against Arizona.

Arizona Diamondbacks (35-30) @ Florida Marlins (32-31) 6/11/11 Summary

Marlins lose to Diamondbacks 9-5, fall to 32-31:

Stanton homers again, but Marlins fall 9-5.

Notes and thoughts: 

• Well, on a rain delayed game in Miami, the Marlins dropped a bad loss against the Diamondbacks, falling 9-5. 
• Javier Vasquez looked promising, striking out 6 through 3, but fell apart in the 4th. He ended up going only 3 2/3 innings, giving up 7 earned runs. He now has an ERA over 7.00, the only SP with a 7.00+ ERA with at least 10 starts. 
• I feel Edwin needs to look into finding a different option at starter, Vasquez just is not cutting it. Good thing he is only a 1 year contract.
• As far as hitting, the Marlins started solid, getting a leadoff homer from Coghlan, and a RBI triple from LoMo in the 3rd. Gaby and Stanton added bombs, their 11th and 16th, respectively. 
• The Marlins need to win the next 2. 6 games behind the Phillies is scary; they may need to look into the WC mainly. 

Key Plays:
In the 1st inning Ryan Roberts homered to right.
In the 1st inning Chris Coghlan homered to right.
In a 6 run 4th, Javy walked Ian Kennedy leading to a Ryan Roberts walk with the bases loaded, making it 3-2.
In the biggest play of the game, Kelly Johnson cleared the bases with double. DBacks up 6-2.
Justin Upton added an RBI double to make it 7-2.
Gaby added a 2-run HR in the 5th, making it 7-4.
Next batter, Stanton launched a solo HR.
All key highlights can be seen here

Wrapup:
Well, the Marlins fall to 32-31.
MVP of the game was Ian Kennedy. He went 8 strong innings and after the Stanton homer, he retired 10 straight batters. Prediction: Stanton will lead the MLB in homers after the season is over. Man is a beast. Brad Hand starts tomorrow for Florida, a must win in my opinion. Preview will come sometime tomorrow. Fish lose, but keep your heads up, its a long season. However, taking 3 of 4 from Arizona before heading up to Philly would be ideal.