The Great:

We avoided a sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks by winning this game 2-1. The inning that that gave us the win was the bottom of the 6^th where the Marlins bats finally came alive— but not at first. We started the inning with Ricky popping out to the seconded baseman; then it was followed by an Adeiny Hechavarria single. Unfortunately, he was not moved up by Placido Polanco who flied out to left field the next at bat. Then came Derek Dietrich who singled to left field moving Adeiny to 3^rd. Up came Marcell Ozuna, who with a 2-1 count and 2 out double off the left field wall scored Hech and Dietrich and the Marlins took a 2-0 lead.  Justin Ruggiano walked and then Chris Coghlan ground out to end the inning… but not without the damaged already done.

The Bad:

Our 9^th inning was not the prettiest inning of the game. We started with Ricky giving up a double to Didi Gregorius ending his day. In came Steve Cishek who started out well by having Paul Goldschmidt ground out to second, but that ground out moved Didi moved to 3^rd. Next came Jason Kubel who sac flied to left field, scoring Didi. Eric Chavez then singled and Martin Prado walked ending Steve’s day. Mike Dunn, who has been on point this season, came in and walked Miguel Montero loading the bases. A. J. Pollock then came up and with a full count and grounded out to the shortstop ending the game and giving The Fish the win. This inning could have been a lot Uglier, but nevertheless it was Bad.

The Ricky:

May 14, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco (47) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

This is the Ricky Nolasco that all the Marlins fans wanted to see all season! Ricky went 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, and a whopping 11 K! He struck out the side in the 5^th and the 8^th. Also having a 1-2-3 inning in the 2^nd (with a double play), the 6^th, and the 7^th. This was his best performance of the season and hopefully he can keep it up for the rest of the season.

In the end, it was a fun game to be at live. The crowd was so alive, the players were playing their hardest, and Ricky was amazing. If we can keep this up all season I can see the fans coming back. Until next time, enjoy your week and Let’s Go Marlins!

The Good:

May 12, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Tim Federowicz (18) looks on as Miami Marlins center fielder Justin Ruggiano (20) heads to the dugout after a solo home run in thesixth inning of the game at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

With hitting being one of our biggest problems this season it is nice seeing some of our young batters come alive. Let’s start with Mr. “I got this” Justin Ruggiano. Going 2 for 4 with a single in the first, his 7^th HR in the 6th, a run and an RBI, even with 2 strike outs he is proving he is going to be one of our power hitters. Next let’s look at Mr. Stanton’s stand in, Marcell Ozuna, who also went 2 for 4, with singles in the 1^st and 4^th inning. It is going to be interesting to see what the Marlins are going to do with him once Giancarlo comes back. Next, in only his 3^rd game as a Marlin, Derek Dietrich went 2 for 4 with a double in the 7^th and a single in the 9^th while also scoring a run in the same inning. He is trying to prove that it’s not too early for him to be called up. Finally, Adeiny Hechavarria went 1 for 4, but that one hit was his 9^th inning double scoring in two of his fellow Marlins. This one hit was also the only real clutch hit in the game (but we will get to that.)

The Bad:

We lost to the Dodgers 5-3. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this was our chance to win our first series on the road; but we continue to look for that first on the road series win.

The Ugly:

Today the Marlins went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 6 people on base. This means that not only are we getting on base, but we are getting runners to second and third, however that’s where they are stranded. It seems to be the story of our season- we are getting on base in scoring position but cannot bring them home. Also Ugly was the bullpen. This season up to this series the Marlin’s bullpen has been on point, with the exception of a few players; and today’s game was no exception for those few players. Jon Rauch came into the 7^th giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 earned runs. This brings his season’s ERA to 7.36; might be time for the Marlins to make a move on him. Mike Dunn wasn’t terrible today, but he didn’t play today how he has played in the past. This game he went 1 inning and gave up 2 hits, 1 run and 1 earned run in the 7^th. Yes, the 7^th inning was ugly. Whoa, déjà vu.

While they might not have been able to see the Marlins win today, I wish all mothers out there a wonderful Mother’s Day. See you all in Miami this Tuesday when the Marlins open up the series against the Reds. As always, go Marlins!

The Good:

We beat the Phillies 14-2 giving us our 2nd victory in a row and splitting the series 2-2 with those dread Phillies.

The Great:

The bats finally came alive to help Slowey get his first victory of the season. This is not saying that Slowey’s pitching has been bad this season, but before this game Slowey had the worst run support per inning pitched in the majors. Slowey went 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB and 7 SO. This helped drop his ERA to 1.81 this season. Ozuna has stepped up in Giancarlo Stanton’s absence. Today his bat was very much alive, doubling in the first to score Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco. His bat didn’t die there. In the 6th he singled scoring Chris Valaika. For the day Ozuna went 4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, and BB with 2 singles and 2 doubles. Finally we come to Justin Ruggiano. He sent 2 balls flying over the fence, a solo shot in the in the 8th and then a 2 run shot in the 9th; but his bat was not his highlight of the game. In the 4th Justin made a diving catch in center field robbing Chase Utley of a base hit. Can you say SportCenter Top 10!

The Hech:

May 5, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (3) celebrates hitting a grand slam home run with left fielder Juan Pierre (9) during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

His name is Adeiny Hechavarria! Today Adeiny had 7 RBI, a 3 run triple in the 1st, and a Grand Slam in the 3rd. Hech made sure that in no way the Phillies were going to coming back this game.

What a way to follow Jose Fernandez first career win! If the bats keep up like this The Ugly Season that everyone is predicting will turn into The Good Season that all Marlins Fans want. Enjoy the rest of the week and as always Go Marlins!

Apr 28, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) connects for a two run homer in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Marlins recap. Today we are going to do something different. Welcome to this season’s first The Good, The Bad, and The Great!  I could find something Ugly about this game, but it was a victory so we are going to focus on The Good and The Great today. The quick recap— The Good: We beat the Cubs 6-4, The Bad: Steve Cishek gave up a home run in the 9^th, and The Great is Giancarlo Stanton! For a more in-depth recap enjoy the rest of the article.

The Good:

We won the game 6-4, avoiding the series sweep. After a rough 1^st and 3^rd inning Ricky Nolasco settled down and had a great outing going 7IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 2 K, earning his second win of the season. We also cannot forget a great shot by Nick Green in the 7^th for his first home run of the season. All in all it was a good game.

The Bad:

In baseball when you bring in your closer you normally want a 1-2-3 performance; this is not quite what our closer did today. It wasn’t an Ugly performance, but it wasn’t good either. Steve Cishek against his first batter had 2 strikes and 1 ball when Dioner Navarro blasted the 4^th pitch over the right field wall.  However, Cishek did finish the inning 1-2-3 after that batter. So his performance is not typically what you want form your closer, but it did get the job done.

The Great:

Two words: Giancarlo Stanton! This is the Stanton we all were hoping for at the beginning of the season. In his last game he hit his first home run of the season; today he doubled it with a shot in the 3^rd with Chris Coghlan on second and a solo shot in the 8^th. Today he also showed us more than just his power, he was patient at the plate drawing a walk and he singled in Juan Pierre to tie up the game in the 6^th. He showed us his great base running ability by moving to 2^nd when Alfonso Soriano threw home, and scored from second on Donovan Solano single to Alfonso Soriano. This game belonged to Giancarlo Stanton.

Hopefully this is the start of the season we all were expecting from Giancarlo and that the starting pitchers continue to perform at the surprising level they are. If it is then we have only just begun and watch out for those Marlins. Till next, let’s go Marlins!

The Good:

Well our bats somewhat came alive. Chris Valakia went 2-3 with 2 singles, 2 RBIs, and 1 BB. Rob Brantly went 2-3 as well, with a single, double, 1 BB, and 2 runs. Giancarlo Stanton finally got his first RBI of the season in the 9^th, but the best hit came in that same inning with Miguel Olivo hitting a 3 run pinch hit Home Run.

The Bad:

We lost 10-6. I really don’t want to write the Ugly part.

Apr 6, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Miami Marlins manager Mike Redmond (11) makes a call to the bullpen during a game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Ugly:

THE BOTTOM OF THE 7^TH INNING! This was a 2-2 game until the 7^th inning. I was enjoying the game really hoping that it would be a great game like the previous day but with us winning instead. The inning started off with Alex Sanabia walking Shin-Soo Choo, followed by a single by Xavier Paul and Joey Votto. That was it for Alex and in came Jon Rauch. He didn’t fare better. Brandon Phillips singled to Stanton scoring Choo, and then Stanton miss played the ball and Paul scored. We are not done yet as there are still no outs. Jay Bruce walked loading the bases for the second time, and Devin Mesoraco singles to left field scoring Votto. Bases are still loaded and there are still no outs. Chris Heisey pops out to second. YAY FIRST OUT! The bases still loaded though. Cesar Izturis pops out to the shortstop. Oh my, 2 outs, are we going to get out of the inning with only giving up 3 runs? This wouldn’t be in the Ugly section if we only gave up 3 runs. Todd Frazier doubles to right field clearing the bases. 8-2 right now person on second and 2 outs. Choo comes back up to the plate and doubles scoring Frazier. Is this inning over yet? It is for Rauch, in comes Tom Koehler. Paul comes up again and doubles scoring Choo. Oh man here comes Votto. What’s that? He struck out? We are out of the inning. Oh man finally after 35 minutes, facing 12 batters, and 67 pitches the inning is finally over! What an Ugly inning.

I have no closing for this game. It was a bad game. Here is hoping we can bounce back in our next game. As always, go Marlins!