Mar 9, 2013; Melbourne, FL, USA; Miami Marlins first baseman Joe Mahoney (25) against the Washington Nationals during a spring training game at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

After the Miami Marlins won their third game of the season, defeating the Washington Nationals 8-2, the Marlins made a roster move to accommodate one of their first baseman coming back from injury. Catcher Kyle Skipworth was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans and the team will reinstate Joe Mahoney off the disabled list tomorrow.

#Marlins move: Kyle Skipworth optioned to NOLA; Joe Mahoney to be reinstated from DL tomorrow

— Joe Capozzi (@joecapMARLINS) April 17, 2013

Mahoney will likely step right into the starting first base role for the Miami Marlins. This will allow veteran Greg Dobbs to go back to his role as the Marlins primary pinch hitter. He had been in the competition with Casey Kotchman to be the Marlins starting first basemen until Logan Morrison returned, but an oblique injury knocked him out of the race.

Joe Mahoney is a former sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Richmond. Mahoney has recieved some love as a prospect in the past, being ranked as the tenth-best prospect on the Baltimore Orioles prior to 2012 by FanGraphs’s Marc Hulet. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus ranked Mahoney as the 13th best prospect in the O’s system just last season.

Mahoney has a big frame 6’7 and should provide an additional batter to provide some pop for the Marlins in their lineup, beyond Justin Ruggiano and Giancarlo Stanton.

Kyle Skipworth was brought up by the Marlins when Kotchman went down with a hamstring issue. The Marlins did not have an immediate first base option in their minor league system, so the team decided they would give catcher Miguel Olivo a crack at first. Hence, the team decided a third catcher would be necessary. Olivo never played at first for the team.

The Good:

Apr 14, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Kevin Slowey (45) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Slowey was on point this game. Going 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 4 SO. Yes he gave up 9 hits but only one of those turned into a run. He did get in trouble in the 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th but with great pitching, defense, and help from the bullpen he came out of it giving up only 1 run. Also Chad Qualls came in and gave a good performance too with 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, and 1 SO. That’s where the good pitching stops.

The Bad:

We lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies. Roy Halladay and Slowey were both on their A game. This game was a great pitching dual.

The Ugly:

Jon Rauch gave up a Home Run to Laynce Nix in the 9^th to give the Phillies the lead and the win. However, Jon isn’t the only one to blame. Once again our offense could not produce the runs to help their pitching out. The Marlins went 1-6 with Runners in Scoring Positions and left 5 runners on base. Even a sac fly in the 2^ND with Greg Dobbs on third with 1 out would have been a great help, but there was no scoring for him.

Our record isn’t a good reflection of our playing. Our starting pitching has been a good surprise this season, but our bats need to come alive so we can compete in this division. If our pitching continues to be this good I don’t see us being as bad as everyone expects us to be, as long as we are able to score the runs. It now time for the bats to step up and making this team better. See you all next week, hopefully with more good than bad.

Apr 7, 2013; Flushing, NY,USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (16) pitches during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

At the beginning of each week and month, the MLB usually names a player from each league to be the player of the week or month. Although this is not a huge honor, like winning the season MVP, players do get excited to receive these type of awards.

I thought it would be a fun idea to do a player of the week from our Marlin Maniac site each week. I will give you guys a group of candidates each week, along with their statistics from the week. After I present all the numbers to you guys, I will have a poll for you  to vote for player of the week. We will leave the poll open until Thursday night and the player of the week will be named Friday morning.

We will do this every week for the season and tally at the end of the season which player wins the most Marlin Maniac Player of the Week awards. It’s going to be a fun exercise and although the Marlins are in for a rough season, it will be a way to celebrate the #minorvictories, the hash-tag Fishstripes has been promoting, for the team.

Here is a look at the candidates for the first Marlin Maniac Player of the week award:

Of all the players, Solano has the weakest line, as his lack of power drags down his line, especially the slugging percentage. He has been the best Marlin in terms of getting on base though.

Here is a look at the candidates for the Marlins pitcher of the week:

I believe that Jose Fernandez‘s start was the most impressive of the three, in what was his MLB debut. He was overpowering hitters with his fastball all day long. LeBlanc had a start that the advanced statistics loved, as evidenced by his excellent FIP. Nolasco out pitched his peripherals, quite the opposite of what he has done since his breakout 2008 campaign.

All the numbers are out there, now is your chance to vote on the Marlins player of the week. Will you go with one of the Marlins hot hitters: Greg Dobbs, Rob Brantly, Justin Ruggiano, or Donovan Solano? Or will you go with one of the three Marlins pitchers: Ricky Nolasco, Wade LeBlanc, or the kid?

As always, if you feel there is another deserving candidate I missed, feel free to vote “other” and write in your vote for that player. We at Marlin Maniac believe in the democratic process. Every vote counts here!

The Good

Looks like Greg Dobbs is getting to the grove again. Greg went 3-3 as the Marlins DH with a pair of doubles. He is proving that he belongs on the roster, and will be a great  utility man the Marlins need. To add a little bit more good Giancarlo got the only RBI the Marlins had this game scoring Juan Pierre in the off a single. Now let’s move on to the not so good.

July 15, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins first baseman Greg Dobbs (29) after hitting a double against the Washington Nationals at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

The Marlins lost to the Astros 1-4. A lost is always bad, but the Astros are the team this year projected to be worst then the Marlins, so this could be taken as a bad sign. Though it is still Spring Training and neither team this game had there best roster of the field. The really bad was Jacob Turners pitching. Jacob is one of many players fighting for that last spot in the Marlins rotation. This outing might have just dropped him back to AAA. Jacob gave up 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 HR and only stuck out 1 batter. I think Jacob can bounce back from this and make the starting roster later on in the season, but for right now he need to improve back in the minors.

Mar 9, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jacob Turner (33) reacts in the first inning during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Ugly

The weather was horrible! The game was called in the bottom of the 5th due to insane rain and wind. Most of Central Florida was under Tornado warning and down the street from the game was the Arnold Palmer Classic which was also called due to rain. It was not a fun sunny day to be in Central Florida.

Hope you enjoyed this weeks The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Join me next time and enjoy the rest of the site.

July 8, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA outfielder Christian Yelich hits a single during the sixth inning of the 2012 All Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports via USA TODAY Sports

Dark days, indeed.  Cynical ownership.  Shady deals cut with borderline use of public money. Empty promises to the league, the fans, and the players. There’s just so much bad news I can handle before I run screaming to the nearest pastoral landscape to dream of rainbows and leprechauns and unicorns…

Pitchers and catchers reported to camp yesterday, and against my better logic and common sense, I hold onto hope for an interesting season.  We still have some names on the roster that I thought looked pretty good last year. Donovan Solano, Justin Ruggiano, and Rob Brantly looked like solid defensemen last year, and Ruggiano’s bat started looking better.

Greg Dobbs came up with some clutch base hits last year, and with the deep fences at home, I think a squad of good singles hitters would beat a team with just one or two sluggers.

Juan Pierre returns this year, and is likely to be the leadoff man.  Although he’s past his prime, he remains a potent threat. The ability to get on and get around never goes out of style.

Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob Turner looked good last year. Still in the category of developing pitchers, this season might see one or both deliver a breakout season. Also, Steve Cishek will likely develop into the go-to closer that we needed so badly last year.

Our top two holdovers, Giancarlo Stanton and Ricky Nolasco are entering their fourth and fifth big-league seasons, respectively. Being the only certified rock stars not traded over the winter has to be frustrating for both players. I believe they are both pro enough to put up their best effort, despite the myriad reasons not to.

I really do think that Stanton is capable of dropping 50 bombs this year. I hope we have a clear threat to hit behind him. Maybe Domingo Ayala, if we’re lucky enough to sign him. Maybe Logan Morrison, if his knees finally get cleared for full-throttle work.

Out of our very promising farm system, Christian Yelich looks like he’s going to see some big-league time this year. I see him as the 5-tool rookie that makes the highlight reels, like young Mr. Harper did in Sodom-on-Potomac last year.

See?  Not so bad, from some angles.

I’m going to try and hang around at Roger Dean this weekend, and listen for some buzz.  Spring is here, and hope is on the horizon after a dark and dreary winter.