Attempt at Miami Marlins optimism fails miserably

After dropping two-of-three to the Philadelphia Phillies, there isn’t much to feel good about as a Miami Marlins fan. And that’s OK.

By record, the Philadelphia Phillies are the worst team in Major League Baseball. The Miami Marlins just lost two games in a row to them at home. They didn’t look good while doing it, either.

Players didn’t mince words following the decisive series finale on Wednesday. Giancarlo Stanton told vented his frustration to reporters after the game. As did Miami Marlins center fielder Christian Yelich, who indicted their play all season.

I sat down to give an optimistic view of the rest of the Miami Marlins 2017 season. It’s hard.

After struggling through the month of May, Miami has been attempting to claw their way to even for nearly two months. They’ve gotten as close as five games after dropping to thirteen under. Hoping to make a miraculous push in the second half, they’ve come out flat.

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Miami is 1-5 in the second half. In an interesting scheduling quirk, the played the best team in baseball, and the worst team in baseball in consecutive series. The Los Angeles Dodgers took all three games, the Phillies took two.

Reinforcements aren’t on the way. Starting third baseman Martin Prado is on the disabled list. That’s bad for reasons other than absence from the lineup. Having battled injuries all year, he’ll be difficult to trade. They’d been in talks with Boston, but those appear to be on hold.

Moving Prado would relieve the Marlins of an overvalued contract, and net high level prospects in return.

The starting rotation has been a hodgepodge all season. Dan Straily is the only rotation starter currently active who was there to start the season.

A potent offense is being wasted, and if rumors are true, other teams are attempting to pick off Marlins players like vultures.

Count em’ out, for now

Dedicated fandom is one thing. There’s something honorable in the realm of fandom of having a never say die attitude. But sometimes, it’s OK. Optimism can’t give way to blindness, and that’s the case if you’re holding out hope for a playoff spot this year.

With 69 games remaining, the Marlins would need to go something along the lines of 50-19 to realistically compete. There has been no indication that this team is capable of doing that. Their starting rotation and bullpen aren’t capable of combining for that level effectiveness.

Even then, it might not be enough. There is a two-headed monster taking over the Wild Card race this season. The Rockies and Dodgers have created significant distance between themselves and the rest of the field. They could each finish the season around 95 wins.

This isn’t the year for the Miami Marlins.

For the rest of 2017, Miami will be auditioning different players. They’ll look to trade bigger contracts and established veteran at the deadline and retool for next season. Several of the homegrown options will be given the opportunity to prove themselves.

Next: Adam Conley pitches well in return to Miami Marlins

There is always hope for next season. With a sale of the team slow, but imminent, brighter days are on the horizon. Rather than grow frustrated and disinterested in the team, watch every game without focusing on the result.

How are individual players performing? Who is improving? Who is making the best case for a rotation spot next season? Those are the kind of things that will get fans through the rest of the season. The lean years continue.

Below you’ll find the kind of inspirational material to keep you going.