Giancarlo Stanton the Miami Marlins First Half MVP

Jun 25, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Miami Marlins celebrate a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eileen Blass-USA TODAY Sports

The only expectation the Miami Marlins came into the 2014 season with the expectation that they would not be as bad as the season before. The 2013 Marlins were proud losers of 100-games, the second most defeats in Marlins history.

A hot start to the season had the team riding high and sitting in first place when everything started to fall apart. On May 9th, because the team was sitting in first, Marlins ace Jose Fernandez decided against telling his team about a sore elbow that was ailing him. As he pitched through this, he tore his UCL and had to have season-ending Tommy John Surgery.

The Marlins have gone 19-26 since Jose went down with his injury. This slump put the Marlins 3 games under .500 after 81 games and four games back in the National League East race.

Here is a look at how the Marlins have fared in the first half (81 games) the past two seasons and the end of season results:

While the Marlins have the same record as they had in 2012 at the half way point, the team is in a better place for a playoff position due to the new wild card rules and the mediocrity of the division. The team still has it’s work cut out for them if they want to sniff the playoff chase come August.

I consider the 81-game mark the end of the first half, not the All-Star Break. For that reason, I am handing out the Marlins mid-season awards today. The numbers don’t include the game from yesterday, as Sunday’s game was game #82.