2013 Marlin Maniac Miami Marlins Season Preview Introduction

The Miami Marlins season is almost here. There is less than a month till the Marlins kick the season off against the Washington Nationals, in Washington, on April 1st. The excitement that was felt around the season just a calendar year ago is no longer there. Fans anticipating a big 2012 season have already begun to fear the worst for the 2013 season, while many have already made the decision to abandon the team altogether.

I do not blame those fans for giving up on the Marlins front office, as they have been nothing sort of apathetic towards Marlins fans of late. But the Marlins players have done nothing wrong to deserve the hate that should be directed towards Loria.

Fan favorite Juan Pierre will be one of the few reasons to watch the Miami Marlins in 2013. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

With so many factors working against the Marlins in 2013, this will no doubt be a very long season for the Marlins. That however does not mean that Marlins fans don’t have anything to look forward to. After all, Giancarlo Stanton will still be in a Marlins uniform, along with the additions of fan favorite Juan Pierre and former gold glove winner, Placido Polanco.

The Miami Marlins will also have an assortment of new faces, some of which could be major contributors, not just to next season’s team, but for the next Marlins winning team. Over the course of the next month, leading up to Opening Day, we will be covering everything we can to preview the Marlins 2013 season. This will include:

• Continued Marlins prospect coverage, which includes my top 20 prospect list, which is still on-going.
• In-depth analysis position-by-position for each starter.
• The battles for each starting position, including first base, outfield, and fifth starter.
• Predictions from each staff member, as well as an analytical guess at the Marlins final win count.

Starting tomorrow, we will take a comprehensive view on each Marlins starter, as well as their backups, and a look at the teams depth in the minors at each position. For each starter, I will also provide the best case and worst case scenarios that could unfold for the players.

As for what you can expect from the Marlin Maniac staff as the season gets going, here is what to expect:

• Marlins Way will go from being a one day segment to being done three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I will also be starting the Marlins Way: A Look Around the NL East that I had told you guys about in the site update.
• Continued look at the performances of Marlins players in the minors, including a look at how the Marlins best prospects, Jose Fernandez and Christian Yelich, are performing and how close to the majors they are.
• We will have a series preview as well as a game thread for each and every game. We’ll make sure you have all the information you need to know before a game starts.
• Tune in after each game to see the game recap, which will be done by each of the Marlin Maniac writers.
• We will also do some live game blogging, a chance for you guys to join the action and talk with the MM writers and other MM readers as we watch the game live.
• Finally, in the next few weeks, we will be revealing a brand new six-on-six discussion where we look at the top issues surrounding the Miami Marlins and the rest of the MLB. We will have more details on this as the season nears.

The Marlins are likely in for a very long 2013 season, but if we do this together, we can survive this season and eventually reach the bright future that some of the Marlins top prospects can provide us with.