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Miami Marlins righthander Josh Johnson said he “felt good” Wednesday, one day after the Marlins ace threw off a mound since September. He mostly threw fastballs, working out near his home in Las Vegas.

JJ has been cleared for regular mound work, and should enter spring training late next month with a clean bill of health. Johnson fully expects to be ready to take the ball on Opening Day for the Miami Marlins. He is likely to be squared up against the St. Louis Cardinals and Chris Carpenter, whose last start was game 7 of the World Series.

The Marlins will need a fully healthy Josh Johnson in 2012 for any chance to compete. My question is for you guys, do the Marlins need Johnson to go all out and throw 200 innings or should the Marlins be conservative with the oft-injured hurler?

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The NL East has always had three of the primer shortstops in all of baseball. This season, one of those shortstops is no longer there. No, not because he demanded a trade, but because he will be switching to third base. I am referring to Hanley Ramirez. The NL East still boasts two of the better shortstops around the league. Both were free agents this off-season, one signed with a new team, but stayed in the division. One resigned with their team.

Here is a glimpse of the starting shortstop for each NL East team in 2012. Continue reading this post »

Today I would like to continue with the NL East Preview of the 2012 second baseman. Second base is an interesting position in this division. Two of the teams have second basemen that they trade for each other and one team has an oft-injured superstar manning second.

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January 24th, 2012 will probably be remembered as a historic day in baseball history. It is the day that a major free agent signed the fourth largest contract in Major League baseball. In some smaller scale news, Yoennis Cespedes finally gained citizenship in the Dominican and is eligible to be a free agent. It was a day that Miami Marlins fans will soon not forget, as it brought plenty of good news for them.

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Al Yellon is a closet Miami Marlins fan. He wants to buy a Marlins jersey and has memorabilia from the Marlins 2003 World Series. Problem is, he is also a Chicago Cubs fan. If you watched the 2003 playoffs, you can see the dilemma here.

Al posted an article on Saturday calling the Miami Marlins the worst thing ever. I do not know about you guys, but I can name a lot of stuff worse. Has this guy seen Lebron James forehead?

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We have already taken a look at the catcher, first base, and second base, third base, and short stop positions. Here is a look at how the current team that you guys have voted on looks like:

• Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez
• First Base: Derrick Lee
• Second Base: Luis Castillo
• Short Stop: Edgar Renteria
• Third Base: Mike Lowell
• Left Field:
• Center Field:
• Right Field:

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We will continue today with the NL East Preview of the 2012 first baseman. First base is not a set position in the NL East as of yet. The Washington Nationals are still on hot pursuit of Prince Fielder. Since they are the favorites to land Fielder, I will include him as their first baseman. If Fielder signs elsewhere, I will have an update this post to show the changes. Also, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, Ryan Howard, is expected to miss opening day, but since he clearly is the best first baseman the Phillies have, and will have a job upon arrival, he is included as well.

Update: Prince Fielder has signed with the Detroit Tigers. Here is the updated rankings.

Here is a glimpse of the starting first baseman for each NL East team in 2012. Continue reading this post »

Carlos Zambrano’s August ejection, short lived retirement, and subsequent suspension is hardly the only incident guaranteeing exciting reality television if the Miami Marlins end up featured on season two of Showtime’s “The Franchise.” In fact, another Big Z blow up from the previous season mixes Zambrano’s antics with another character about to spend his first season with the team. Continue reading this post »

With about one month until spring training, the Miami Marlins have obviously improved their roster since last season. Following an impressive offseason the Marlins have added Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell into the fold to fill several key needs. Pending any major acquisitions within the National League East, I see the Marlins as an 86 to 92 win team. Barring injury and expecting bounceback seasons by Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson this prediction puts the team right on the cusp of earning a spot in the playoffs. Continue reading this post »

On January 5th 2012, the Miami Marlins completed their circus, which they have decided to call a baseball team, by acquiring pitcher Carlos Zambrano from the Chicago Cubs for Chris Volstad. At the time of the trade, I asked a simple poll question to all MarlinManiacs. Here is the question and the results of the poll:

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Most of you guys agreed that the Marlins were indeed smart to trade for Carlos Zambrano. If Josh Johnson can stay healthy in 2012, this is what the Marlins potential rotation looks like:

• Josh Johnson
• Mark Buehrle
• Anibal Sanchez
• Ricky Nolasco
• Carlos Zambrano