3 reasons Miami Marlins fans shouldn’t give up

The Miami Marlins are not going to the playoffs this season. It’s a sad reality that I wish wasn’t true. I hoped for it as the other fans did, but it’s just not happening for us this year. We’ve been to the playoffs just two years ago, so it’s not really a long drought. In fact there are three reasons why we shouldn’t be upset and bash the team on social media, three reasons why the Miami Marlins deserve our support…

The Miami Marlins aren’t as disappointing as many fans think.

3. The Miami Marlins weren’t expected to make the playoffs.

Many fans are rightfully disappointed to see the Miami Marlins miss the playoffs, but we weren’t really expected to make them anyway. The Fish are just finishing a rebuild, so expecting the team in the playoffs was a bit premature.

We had a lot of bad luck in the way as well. We’re the Miami Marlins supposed to be bad? Look at Jorge Soler and Avisaíl García for example. Soler was in-demand last off-season and batted .269/.358/.524 for the Atlanta Braves last season, on the way to a World Series MVP award. He also batted .265/.354/.569 for the Kansas City Royals in 2019, with 48 home runs and 117 RBI. He received player option incentives as well, so it wasn’t a bad deal. He started the season slow, but prior to injury problems he was hitting over .290 for over a month.

Avi has been a bad contract for the Miami Marlins, but he also is playing uncharacteristically bad and could improve next season. Many fans wanted us to sign Nick Castellanos, but he’s been batting .258/.302/.380 and was already looking like a “contract year player” even before the signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s getting $100 million for 5 years of bad defense (known already) and poor hitting.

The Miami Marlins also had unexpected bullpen issues, but remember that bullpens are volatile. We lost way too many games by one run, and if we haven’t we actually could’ve been in the playoffs. Before you say that we should’ve brought in better relievers, Cole Sulser was a closer last season (for the Baltimore Orioles). No one expected him to get injured or struggle, or for the other relievers to suddenly get injured and struggle. Bad luck isn’t management’s fault.

1. We have a very bright future to look forward to 

Did you know that the Miami Marlins have one of the best farm systems in the Major Leagues?! Look at how well that went for the San Diego Padres recently and for the Kansas City Royals in 2014-2015. We can either watch these prospects turn into stats, or we can trade them for stars. Either scenario should work very well for us.

There are other things for Miami Marlins fans to look forward to as well…we have the best 2B in the game in Jazz Chisholm Jr., who happens to be one of the most exciting players in the game. Watching him play is a joy and he’s with us for the long-term!

What about having one of the best pitching rotations in the game? Headlined by the best starting pitcher in the game in Sandy Alcantara? The likely 2022 NL Cy Young award winner is with us for the long-term as well. Perhaps Kim Ng wasn’t that bad at her job to get him to sign a team-friendly extension.

There’s also the fact that ownership has already promised to spend money. Are we sure that the closer we get to contention that we won’t spend more? What if Bruce Sherman means it and will actually pay up for the right players? It makes sense to wait and see before immediately assuming the worst of him and management in general.

Don’t give up on the Miami Marlins when the team is turning the corner. The future outlook looks bright and it’s just a matter of time until it’s good and going to Little Havana for games becomes the “in thing” in Miami. Remember that “it’s always darkest before the dawn”.