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Miami Marlins Morning Catch: Giancarlo Stanton for MVP

By Travis Honeycutt

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Good morning, Marlin Maniac readers and welcome to Morning Catch, the new daily morning news and notes column from MarlinManiac.com.

It’s that time of the year once again.

Dare I say, the best time of the year? The old cliche reigns true in the hearts of baseball fans everywhere, as Opening Day is officially just three nights away, or four days away for the Miami Marlins.

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With the regular season looming, along with the final Spring Training roster moves, optimism is rampant in the minds of all 30 clubs, regardless of predicted preseason standings or offseason acquisitions.

Our friends over at Fish Stripes are no different, and provide you with an excellent hype post leading up to Monday’s first pitch at Marlins Park at 4:10 PM.

We’ve covered it ad nauseam all winter and spring long. The Marlins are about to begin what is arguably their most anticipated season since the club premiered in teal in 1993, following a vast roster reshape this offseason and pieces in place to cement Miami as a contender for the next several years. I don’t think I need to remind you of the new guys that will be pegged to lead the club this year — you already know their names.

Giancarlo Stanton probably should’ve won National League MVP last year. I don’t care that he missed the last few weeks of the season. A pitcher, under no circumstances, should be in the running for MVP. No disrespect to Clayton Kershaw, but that’s why the Cy Young award exists.

You’re nuts if you don’t think Stanton is the odds-on favorite to bring home MVP honors this year. If he can stay healthy, fully expect to see the award flown down to Miami for the first time.

Just in case you’ve been under your rock

Maybe you’re not a fan of cold weather. Like, maybe you really hate cold weather (this winter was brutal, and I live in Florida!) and you literally spent the winter under your warm little rock, and missed all the actions the Marlins took to improve for the 2015 season. If so, MLB Trade Rumors assembled this tidy recap of the club’s exciting offseason for your convenience.

The piece mentions the Dee Gordon deal as “the biggest move,” but note that it doesn’t refer to it as the “best” move. It obviously took giving up plenty of talent to acquire Gordon’s services, and many would argue that the Marlins overpaid for the speedy second baseman who is coming off a career season. In fact, 2014 was the first full season of Gordon’s career, and his first permanent go-around at second base.

The tone of the article is realistic and critical, and I caution all Marlins fans to carry the same demeanor into this season.

Marlins 8, Nationals 0

The Marlins dropped a touchdown-plus two point conversion on the Washington Nationals in Wednesday’s Grapefruit League finale. Stanton and Michael Morse both homered and the team jumped all over Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann early. Morse’s blast was a three-run shot in the first inning and Giancarlo had his own two-run shot in the second.

Jarred Cosart on the other hand tossed six shutout innings with one hit, four strikeouts and three walks in his final spring tuneup. It’s nice to see Cosart bounce back so well in his first start since his sports gambling situation was unearthed last week.

Christian Yelich also had a two-run triple in the second inning amidst the early offensive onslaught.

The Marlins are off today before tuning up against their Class-A affilliate, the Greensboro Grasshopprs, in Greensboro, N.C. on Friday.

Next: Will Loria get credit if Marlins find success?

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