Archive for November, 2009

If you’re like me, well, first off, you’re in some trouble, as I don’t have a day job yet and graduated three months ago (but it gives me so much time to devote to Marlin Maniac!). To be fair, I am working for Kaplan Test Prep, but it’s a part time gig that just happens to pay well. It also starts next month, which means I’ve been sitting here for a few months now just writing Marlins stuff and taking some courses. Wooh! If you’re like me, you might also be among the many hoping that the Marlins do not [...]

As Marlins fans, we might have to eventually accept the harshest of truths. This truth may be harsher than the fact that the team is once again trading away talent, harsher than the fact that Chris Coghlan is may still be seen as a left fielder, and harsher perhaps than even the possibility that the Marlins will have to reload a great pitching staff once again in a few years. This truth, my friends, is that Emilio Bonifacio may see some significant playing time next season. Oh, the horror! However, even though I was “that guy,” the one who railed [...]

Well, the BBWAA voted, and our very own Chris Coghlan is the National League Rookie of the Year! I congratulate Chris on his excellent season and the award, and as a Marlins fan I am very happy for the whole deal. Any time the team can get some nice national exposure, it’s worth it. I’m happy. I’m also disappointed that the BBWAA got the wrong guy, at least quantitatively.

FanGraphs’ Erik Manning totaled some numbers are spit out the best teams at non-steals baserunning. Data from Baseball-Prospectus’ awesome Equivalent Baserunning Runs stat (thanks, Dan Fox!). Team Runs Rockies 14 Marlins 12 Cardinals 10 … You can check out the rest of the list at the link; I included only teams with more than 10 runs above average. I think this list does not jive well with a lot of people’s opinions on the Marlins’ baserunning. During much of the season, I heard a lot of complaints about the Marlins and their “terrible” baserunning. I had figured they probably were [...]

With all the Dan Uggla trade talk that’s been bandied about the last week or so, I thought it would be pertinent to bring up one of the more important angles with regards to trade talks. Recently, Uggla’s agent Jeff Borris said that Uggla would be reluctant to move positions if he were dealt, preferring to play second base. Teams that are interested in Uggla are considering moving him to either third base or even left field. Now, while there is something to be said about a player’s happiness when it comes to playing baseball, it is ultimately a team [...]

Today the National League Rookie of the Year will be announced, and I believe that I’ve been more than vocal in the past about my vote. Nevertheless, if you wanted a concise opinion, check out my interview with Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel here, where I basically tell you that Chris Coghlan needed to hit a lot better than .014 points of OPS better to surpass Andrew McCutchen given the positions they play. I wanted to thank Juan once again for allowing me the opportunity to discuss this with him and for putting my opinions to paper (and Internet, [...]

Not many surprises here. 1. Mike Stanton, of 2. Logan Morrison, 1b 3. Chad James, lhp 4. Matt Dominguez, 3b 5. Gaby Sanchez, 1b/3b 6. Ryan Tucker, rhp 7. Kyle Skipworth, c 8. Isaac Galloway, of 9. Scott Cousins, of 10. Jhan Marinez, rhp This is one the best and probably most important groups coming up to from the Marlins organization for a while. Not much in the way of homegrown prospects has come up the pipelines for some time, and the Marlins are really going to need players like Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison, and Matt Dominguez to pan out [...]

I’ve gone for much of my time here on Marlin Maniac eschewing doing something like this. I had always run on the assumption that if readers wanted to know what things like wOBA and FIP meant, they could travel on down to FanGraphs to find out. But this process seems a bit impersonal and perhaps still difficult to understand, so I’m going to take over the reins of explaining all the crazy acronyms I call “stats” really mean. Call it the Saber-Terms Series! (Here I’ll remind you that my other blog, Intro to Sabermetrics 101, has more in-depth, but still [...]

This according to Dave Cameron over at FanGraphs. I wonder, though – did the Marlins wait too long to deal [Dan Uggla]? There was significant interest in Uggla a year ago, when he was coming off a +5 win season and was still quite the bargin; he made just $5.35 million in 2010. However, given another year of service time, Uggla is going to be looking at a ~$9 million arbitration award. That salary makes him a little pricey for small payroll clubs. He also turns 30 in May, and his defense is considered poor enough that he’s likely to [...]

Yesterday I discussed two more potential partners for the services of one Dan Uggla. One of the more interesting partners in such a trade would be the Baltimore Orioles, if only for their depth of pitching prospects and outfield candidates. One of the things I’ve been seeing on the Orioles blogs and from comments made here or in other places (special thanks to Bret, the Orioles fan who dropped by and shared some insight on the team’s system and players) is that the team is unwilling to deal a lot of their young talent. In fact, just today Jeff Zrebiec [...]