May 18, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins relief pitcher Steve Cishek (31) throws during the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

According to a report from Joe Frisaro at MLB.com, the Miami Marlins are not considering trading relievers Steve Cishek and Mike Dunn.  However, starter Ricky Nolasco and possibly reliever Ryan Webb are available for the right offer.

Here is a look at how these four pitchers have fared so far this season:

Nolasco has lived up to his preseason billing as the ace of the staff as he has been the Marlins’ best pitcher so far this season.  It comes as no surprise that the Marlins are willing to move him.  As a matter of fact, the poor guy probably never unpacked his bags after arriving at spring training in anticipation of the day when he would finally be dealt.  The Marlins will have to hope he goes on a good run so that they might extract more than a mid level prospect from a team in contention.

Dunn has been the Marlins best reliever, while Cishek has struggled to the point of losing his closers job.  No matter the results so far this season, though, I cannot agree with the Marlins’ plans to hold on to either of them.  Relievers are probably the most volatile position on a baseball team and the easiest to replace.   Very few of them are able to have consistent success for more than a few seasons so it surprises me that a team in the Marlins current situation  would want to hold on to them if they can get something in return.  Both Dunn and Cishek are eligible for arbitration next season so a big raise is likely in their future.

The Marlins more than any team should realize that comparable replacements will be available this offseason.  After all, this is the team that coaxed outstanding seasons from the likes of Leo Nunez, Joe Borowski, and the memorable Antonio Alfonseca.

MLB Fan Cave Top 52 Marlins Fan, Andres Salgado, with fellow Die Hard Marlins fans.

This year I could see that there weren’t as many people at this event as years past, but the people in line with me were die-hard fans. Unlike in the past years when I would ask someone who your favorite player is, and he responded “Oh I don’t watch baseball, I’m just here cause it’s free.” The fans I met this year were amazing! They were nice, talkative, in good spirits, and really excited about this year’s team. Granted, there were fans who are still not happy with Mr. Loria, but I tried to stay away from those fans because I wasn’t going to let them bring me down. However, despite not having as many people as the past years, a good amount of people still showed up to the Winter Warm Up.

I got to see my old high school, Arch Bishop Edward A. McCarthy, play a game at the park (they won). There were plenty of vendors selling Marlins stuff. Yeah I spent a good chunk of money buying Marlins memorabilia that I’ve missed the 10 years I’ve lived in Orlando. All the games and music in the West Plaza created an exciting atmosphere. Although my favorite part of the whole Winter Warm Up was meeting the players and talking with fans!

My goal this Winter Warm Up was to thank in person all the players and fans who have supported me in my quest to make it onto MLB Fan Cave. I was on a mission! With the smaller crowd size the players were able to talk more with the fans as they got their pictures and autographs. I got to personally thank Tom Koehler, Chris Hatcher, Brad Hand, Dan Jennings, Steve Cishek, and Ryan Webb for their promotion of me on Twitter. But it wasn’t just a thank you and a hand shake. They actually took the time and had a conversation with me. At past Fan Fest it was hi, how you doing, thank you, here’s your autograph, and move on. This year the players really did take their time with everyone, and they seem to be really enjoying themselves as they met and talked to us. Tom Koehler was especially outgoing and friendly with the fans (watch this video to see what I mean). This year I felt the players really cared about us fans. I’m not saying that in years past they didn’t care but when you have a 2 hour long line and only 45 minutes to get through it, there’s not a lot of time to have a conversation. The players were just able to have more fun with everyone this year!

Moving onto the fans, that same video above with Tom Koehler also shows how excited the fans were yesterday. Not only were the fans who came up to me to congratulate me on making it to Top 52 awesome, but all fans who were around enjoy the event were awesome. They were all talking about who is going to start where, what farm system player is going to make it this year, how many homers is Stanton going to hit, I can’t wait to see Tino Martinez in a Marlins uniform, and so on. Though unlike news reporters, who may say those things with a hint of disdain  the fans were really excited to be talking about all those questions! I cannot say it enough how much fun it was to hang out with true Marlins fans and thank all the fans who supported me on my quest into the MLB Fan Cave!

I realize that I have said it countless times that the way the Marlins are going to get fans back is to start winning. But this Winter Warm Up wasn’t for those fans, it was for fans like me. These fans got to go around and get excited about this year, meet fellow fans like themselves, talk to players who are excited that the fans are here to support them, and most importantly to show that we do still care about baseball in Miami. The rest of the fans and I hope you will join us at the park this year (maybe not me because I really hope to be representing our Miami Marlins in the MLB Fan Cave!)

Aug. 21, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher

In a 10-inning 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, Ricky Nolasco had to dig deep and find what it takes to overcome adversity.  Starting his outing with an awful 5-run first inning, Nolasco demonstrated that extra something that differentiates elite competitors from ordinary mortals.  In the teeth of an awful season, and despite the horrible first inning, he went five full innings, allowing no runs after the first. He gave up four of his six hits and both of his walks in that first inning, notching two strikeouts in the remainder of his appearance.

A who’s who of bullpen-dwellers finished the game for the Marlins. The sixth brought in Mike Dunn and Ryan Webb. Following Webb, with an inning each, came Carlos Zambrano, Heath Bell, Chad Gaudin, and Steve Cishek. Six walks were issued in relief, but only Dunn and Cishek gave up one hit each. No runs were scored by the Diamondbacks after the first inning.

While notable for the utter absence of any trace of a quitter’s mentality, the defense was only part of the story.  Despite going 7-21 in team RISP and leaving ten runners in scoring position with two outs, the lineup managed to put up 15 hits last night.  After tying the game in the 6^th, it took a 10^th-inning slap shot single by Giancarlo Stanton to tally the coup-de-grace RBI.

The Marlins looked like a solid team last night, with both sides of the ball contributing to a tough skin-of-the-teeth victory in the desert. If there is a late-season momentum shift, it looks to be swinging to Miami. The Marlins are now only one game behind Philadelphia, and may yet crawl out of the cellar to finish the season with a modicum of self-respect.

August 3, 2012; Washington D.C, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman

Brad Hand came up for a cup of coffee to fill in for a rain makeup game.  His outing was, unfortunately awful.  In is 3 2/3 inning appearance, he threw 96 pitches, walking six batters.  He gave up seven earned runs on six hits.  The Marlins were hoping he would be able to go at least six innings to help the bullpen get through the doubleheader. Needless to say, he’s back in New Orleans today. In relief, Ryan Webb and Chris Hatcher kept the Nationals from scoring for the rest of the game, but the damage was done. The Marlins fell, 7-4.

Despite the awful start, the Marlins scored four runs, with extra base hits logged by Jose Reyes, Donnie Murphy, and Brett Hayes.  Reyes’ hit streak was extended to 21 games with his bunt single in the first inning.

The second game last night was a horse of a different color.  Josh Johnson had a terrific outing, going to all but the last out of the game. Striking out nine in 8 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs, only one of which was scored as an earned run. Out of the 115 pitches he threw, 77 were in for strikes. The bite on his curveball and slider was better than usual, and his fastball location was spot-on.

Jose Reyes added game #22 to his streak with 3 hits and two runs scored across five at-bats. The Nationals were held to just five hits in a 5-2 Marlins win.

A struggling Mark Buehrle faces Jordan Zimmermann tonight for the third of the four-game series.  Buehrle hasn’t gotten to the fifth inning in his last three starts, and is due to regain his pinpoint command. However, despite minor shoulder inflammation that delayed his start by a day, Zimmermann has been on an tear. He brings a Major League-leading 0.97 ERA to the park tonight. I suspect Reyes will need a little luck to extend to #23.

Prediction:  Nationals take the win, and the Marlins don’t post three runs.

July 14, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins center fielder

Line drive singles.  Base hits behind the lead runner. Sacrifice bunts. Suicide squeezes.  All of these classic baseball ingredients were blended together last night in a 5-3 Marlins win over the Nationals.  Despite giving up eight hits and four walks, Carlos Zambrano yielded only three earned runs, one of which was atoned for when he ignited a 4-run rally in the third inning with a sharp line drive single. Ten pitches later, Carlos Lee drove him across the plate with a 2-RBI double. Shortly thereafter, Hanley Ramirez lit the fish for two runs.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, emerging slugger Justin Ruggiano doubled while pinch hitting for Zambrano, then reached third on a Jose Reyes sacrifice bunt. The sacrifice set up the next play, a suicide squeeze.  As Ruggiano broke for home, Emilio Bonifacio laid a sacrifice bunt down the first base line, flushing catcher Jesus Flores from behind the plate to throw Bonifacio out at first.

Wade LeBlanc, Ryan Webb, and Randy Choate handled the top of the seventh, setting up Heath Bell for the eighth. After giving up a leadoff single, Bell retired the next three batters. Mike Dunn got the nod for the close (and his first save) , as Steve Cishek was still on the sidelines recovering from the flu.  Dunn retire the first two batters, and allowed Bryce Harper his first hit of the game.  With Ryan Zimmerman at the plate and Adam LaRoche on deck, the picture was looking grim.  The left-handed Dunn walked Zimmerman, putting runners on first and second with the go-ahead run at the plate. with a 1-2 count, LaRoche watched the game end on a four-seam Dunn fastball right down the pipe.

With the win, the Marlins divide the series and keep pace with the 9-game separation from the best-in-the-National-League Nationals. Next up is a trip to Big Z’s old stomping (literally!) grounds on the north side of Chicago. The 36-52 Cubs will be a welcome respite from the tough schedule we’ve endured recently, but that doesn’t imply a cakewalk. Anibal Sanchez starts the series against Travis Woo, followed by Josh Johnson vs. Jeff Samardzija.  The series wraps up with Mark Buehrle facing lefthander Paul Maholm.  While the Cubs have been playing well lately, they’re due for a little regression, and the Marlins have shown improvement in their offense.

Prediction:  Marlins sweep the series. Ozzie and Big Z catch three days of boos from the crowd.  Ruggiano will continue to impress, and Morrison will continue to disappoint.