Three stories: Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies

Can The Miami Marlins Find Momentum?

One series win after losing the previous ten does not constitute a positive trend, be it for the Miami Marlins, or even the Washington Generals. It’s more of a fly in the ointment, monkey in the wrench type deal that could lead to bigger things. I mean, if the Marlins win today and tomorrow, that’s called a winning streak.

Yes, that was a lot of dated pop culture references.

More importantly though, this is a real opportunity for the Marlins to find some elusive momentum, and start off June with real hope for progress. It’s also a last respite from elite competition, as the next seven games after this series promise a much tougher draw in the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. Much of the damage during this terrible stretch hasn’t even come from NL East competition either, so there’s still plenty of time to work on improving their division record.

The Phillies have actually been worse than Marlins over the past couple weeks, and if the Fish can take advantage of that fact, it will be arguably be even more impressive than beating the Angels.

Can The Miami Marlins Break Many Negative Pitching Trends?

There are, unfortunately, a lot of obstacles to the Miami Marlins finding that momentum though. And almost all of them have to do with starting pitching.

First off, there is the Curious Case of Edinson Volquez. Personally, I really wanted him to get a win in Oakland, just so we could revel in the fact that the first team he beat since switching to the National League was an American League team. No such luck though, he’s still winless.

Which isn’t that terrible of a thing at first glance, especially in this current era of WAR and WHIP, where wins are less emphasized than ever. But he does also lead the entire league in losses, and that’s a little harder to forgive. Grant it, he’s been better since his return from the DL, and he hasn’t enjoyed a ton of run support.

Still, dude needs to win. And easier opponents than Philadelphia don’t come along too often. If he can’t pull this off, it’ll be fair to start to wonder if he’s going to.

The other part of this are the Philadelphia pitching probables. Jeremy Hellickson has owned the Marlins, and Vince Velazquez always seems to save his odd awesome start for Miami as well. It’s never a good thing when the most winnable game in many ways is the one against the most talented pitcher (Aaron Nola).

The Fish will have to solve a lot of previously unsolvable arms if they are to have a chance.

Will The Big Fella Stay Hot?

The Miami Marlins need that answer to be yes, and for Giancarlo Stanton to keep on mashing home runs.

The Big Fella (don’t tell him I’m calling him that) found his power stroke against the Angels, and what’s more, has been on fire of late- especially since moving into the No. 2 spot in the order. But home runs had been sparse, with the two he hit this weekend being one more than he’d hit in over three weeks. With the power returning, Marlins fans can start getting excited again about the prospect of seeing Stanton defend his title in the Home Run Derby this July.

They can also dare to dream of a winning June, if Stanton is here to stay as a legitimate force in the order. The whole offense has really seemed to come alive in response, and honestly, there really isn’t anywhere to go but up in terms of on field results.

But let’s keep the focus on the long ball here. The dream of every Miami Marlins fan since Stanton arrived in the big leagues has been to see what he could do with an entire season’s worth of at bats. If he gets locked in…he could chase down the league leaders in a hurry. And I know I would enjoy September baseball in Miami a lot more if I thought Gary Sheffield‘s single season record was finally in danger of falling.

Next: Bour An All-Star?

Here’s to hoping the Fish stay hot, and we’ll see you when it’s time to tackle the Diamondbacks.