Miami Marlins fans: Time to panic?

By Miller Lepree |

Miami Marlins fans share a complex, as a result of being mistreated for years by the consistently erratic franchise. We have been taught to trust nothing, and to try and limit our emotional investment in the team. I’m pretty poor at the latter, and this first week has already left several holes in my wall.

Yes, the Marlins are 1-6, at the bottom of the National League East, while the Braves have feasted on the Fish and are 6-1 at the top of the division. No, it’s not September, or even May; we have only seen seven games thus far. Those seven games however, have raised red flags and lowered the amount of hope I currently hold for this team, probably more significantly than one week should. But, these are the Marlins, and living on a week-to-week basis is nothing new.

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Why am I worried? Well, without Jose Fernandez for at least the first two and a half months of the season, Henderson Alvarez was supposed to be the ace, and Mat Latos was supposed to be 1A. Alvarez is currently on the 15-day DL with another shoulder issue, and Latos has looked like 2014 Brad Penny through two starts.

Not only is this bad for the present stretch of games, but it could wind up impacting what the team does with Fernandez. After shelling out big dollars for 13 years of Giancarlo Stanton, selling the farm for Dee Gordon and acquiring Latos, Martin Prado and Michael Morse, this team was built to win now. Currently, the Marlins look like the worst of the NL Wild Card hopefuls, and there are lots of them.

Maybe I’m just overreacting, or maybe the Marlins are due for some misfortune (Like they haven’t endured enough.)

Here are some facts in an attempt to reassure myself (and you) that this isn’t 2012:

Giancarlo Stanton will eventually hit a home run this year, likely lots of them.
Giancarlo Stanton will not hit .130 for the entire season.
Jose Fernandez will be back soon (ish).
Adeiny Hechavarria can’t be that bad of a hitter? Can he?
Henderson Alvarez might only be gone for two weeks.

Maybe that will work, but what would really do the trick is a win streak, please?

The bottom line at the end of these incoherent thoughts is this: The Marlins are off to a bad start, but it’s only been seven games. If the Fish are still this bad in a month, maybe then we can cross off the playoffs and hope (again) for next year.

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