Miami Marlins: Still playing a waiting game that seems to have no end

Has the timetable changed on when MLB and the players will decide if the Miami Marlins and 29 other teams play baseball again?

I know I may be in the minority and I might be hoping for a miracle, but I still believe the Miami Marlins will defy the odds and surprise the masses this coming MLB season.

As one of the smaller budget teams in the league that made changes over the past two seasons with the hope of one day becoming one of the big boys of baseball. With Derek Jeter pulling the marionette strings on moves that have helped make the Miami Marlins a better ballclub for the future.

What happens this season is still a process.

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With MLB still awaiting the decisions by the Players Association on whether to accept the terms and conditions of playing 82 games this year, everyone associated with this game is in a holding pattern. While they wait, fans are still hoping for the best and expecting the worst. In South Florida, this was supposed to be the year they saw progress from the seats. It’s unlikely they will see anything live and in living color.

The Marlins are in the same boat as the Tigers, Padres, Royals, and Orioles – teams hoping to show they are better than the analysts believe. Miami has a solid pitching rotation that is young led by Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith. The bullpen looks different with a new closer in Brandon Kintzler. There are veteran middle relievers who should be able to hold onto leads. There is power in the middle of the lineup.

Oh, and the Marlins did spend money this offseason, although it was moderate at that.
I feel the 2020 MLB season will something out of a Tom Petty song.

Into the great wide open
Under them skies of blue
Out in the great wide open
A rebel without a clue

Truth is no one in this great game of ours has no idea how the season will pan out and if teams that are supposed to dominate the landscape will run away and hide or will it be the “Little Engine That Could” type of team, like the Miami Marlins who keep telling themselves “I Think I Can, I Think I Can.”

As the month of May comes to a close this coming week and we wait to see if indeed a deal will get done to play ball and games mattered, I still hold hope the Miami Marlins will shock the world. I could be a symptom of not seeing any real development the past week. It could also be that I miss the game I love.

What I do know is small market baseball might defy the odds this season. And if that is the case, then why not the Marlins?

That might be the best way for Miami’s fanbase to prepare itself for the unknown. It could also be the best thing to happen to this organization since 2003. We will all wait together and see.