Marlins Are They Better?

[Schwks]

The Marlins went on a spending spree this fall. They will add at least $40 mill to their payroll this year in the form of three players, Reyes, Buerle and Bell. Is it enough for them to compete? And how much help did they get?

To me Buerle is a mediocre sign. Sure he will eat innings, some of which might be pretty good. He is a guy who struck out 4.8 hitters per 9 innings in 2011. He is in his early 30's and frankly the Marlins flat out overspent for a 4th starter. I don't see Buerle being significantly better then replacement level pitcher who will be left over for small contracts when the shouting ends in late January. Frankly I think Vazquez is a significantly better pitcher, and how did he help them?

With Buerle, the rotation looks like:

JJ, Buerle, Anibel, Nolasco, Volstad. Obviously the key is JJ, but with two straight years of shoulder issues, I would not be betting on anywhere near a full season from him. The other four guys do not compare favorably with the rotations of Atl, Philly or even Washington(they have the Mets beat, I'll give them that) If JJ is shot, no matter who they sign they are not making the playoffs.

We all know of H Bell's decreasing velocity, and decreasing peripheral stats(K% importantly). I do feel like with the Marlins overall needs, Bell for 3 years at 9 mill, was not a wise investment. Had the team been 100% ready but for a closer, Id say ok, but I just don't see Bell as that significant an upgrade over Oviedo(formerly Nunez) that it will add enough wins to make this signing worthwhile or a difference maker. Still the bullpen looks fairly solid with Bell, Oviedo, Ceda at the back end.

Jose Reyes is a nice add. I think that the team best served by signing Reyes would have been the team built to win now. I don't see Reyes' skill set holding up for more then a couple of years, especially in light of his injury history. Reyes is a plus, but not enough to put the Marlins in the same breath as Atlanta or Philly.

The lineup looks like: Reyes, Infante, Hanley, Stanton, Sanchez, LoMo, Buck Bonifacio...not bad, but not a dominant offense. Certainly not good enough to carry a staff, fronted by Buerle, if JJ is not healthy.

Overall the Marlins improved themselves just marginally...maybe 2-4 wins tops. For $40 mill per, the Angels did significantly better. In my mind the Marlins are losers this off season.

[Hells Satans]

With Guillen, whoever bats 2nd will have 82 sac bunts

[Captain Hook]

Who give an H?

You are missing one ingredient from Buehrle - he speaks OZZ and can translate for the team

Also considering the fragility of that rotation a guy who takes the ball every 5th day and will give you 200+ innings is a plu in itself.............and he can teach the rest of the staff the virtues of not walking so many batters and playing such good defense that you help yourself.

An H of lot better than signing Edwin Jackson for anywhere close to that price

[Rainiers]

The Marlins went on a spending spree this fall. They will add at least $40 mill to their payroll this year in the form of three players, Reyes, Buerle and Bell. Is it enough for them to compete? And how much help did they get?

Overall the Marlins improved themselves just marginally...maybe 2-4 wins tops. For $40 mill per, the Angels did significantly better. In my mind the Marlins are losers this off season.

I think you are overlooking the marlin's most important addition...the wizard of Oz. If anyone can convert that underachieving boat-load-of talent into a competitive team, it's Guillen. They are easily five to ten games better because of him. And the White Sox five to ten games poorer without him. Jmo.

[Schwks]

Wow two interesting news pieces 1) marlins trade for Zambrano and 2) this likely means Javier Vazquez is making good on his threat to retire.

On item one: huge loss for two teams. Cubs are paying Zambrano $15 mill per year NOT to pitch for them, but got $3 million in salary relief. Paying that much money to a player on someone else's roster is an enormous burden to a franchise. Yet it is addition by subtraction in that Zambrano had become such a huge sideshow

Florida gets a huge headache, in seeming full on decline, as a fifth starter, for $3 million per. Still, in my mind, a lot of money to risk, but when Chris Capuanos of the world are reaping $4 MILL PER, not such a ludicrous deal.

Still, Marlins essentially swapped out Volstad and Vaz for Buehrle and Z...not a favorable swap IMO. Vaz was solid in 2011 after rocky start and Volstad is still 25.

On item 2: you have to wonder why Vaz is retiring after seemingly righting the ship following the Bronx debacle. He is 35 years old, kind of end of prime age for a sp.

[Winston's Empire]

I think there will be a lot of excitement around the Marlins at the start of the season for the Latin Feel they are trying to bring to Miami in the form of Ozzie, Reyes, and Big Z etc... but I honestly think this thing is a tinderbox.
Hanley SAYS he is cool with moving to 3B, but if there is one thing you can count on from Hanley its to stay healthy and give it his all for the the sake of the team !
Ozzie is going to SNAP at some point when either Big Z comes back to the dugout and grabs a bat or Hanley turns into a turd and just doesn't feel like playing hard for that month. Either way, once this thing starts down the wrong path it would take a Fredi Gonzalez type to get it back on track and didn't Hanley get him fired?!?!

Exibit A - Hanley Kicks Ball... Good news is he will be closer to the Corner where he kicks it!


Exibit B - Big Z in Anger Managment 101 Class


Exibit C - Ozzie just being Ozzie

[Rainiers]

Max,

We can harken back to Billy Martin-managed ball clubs to remember that volatility and greatness are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Would Billy Brawl clubhouses eventually implode? Sure. But there was an awful lot of winning ballgames beforehand.

Ozzie reminds me of a Latino Billy Martin. Less booze, obviously, and more stability, believe it or not. Both forty when they started to manage, both former mlb middle infielders. Same fire. Same desire to win. The ability to drive players to win. Both shooting off their mouths at times. Very,very smart in-game strategists.

Ozzie liked Chicago, but got fed up with Kenny's inability to judge talent. When he realized that he was better at it than Kenny, he talked his way out of his own job.

A fresh start. A say in personnel decisions. A better cultural connection to Hanley and Carlos than Fredi and Lou could ever hope to have.

Loads of talent. Lots of speed. Adequate pitching. And a new, very good motivator and manager to stir the pot. I think they have a chance to be 10-20 games better than last year. Twenty games better would mean a winning record and a huge improvement.

No matter what happens, it should be entertaining. I have a feeling that there will be no middle ground on how the Marlins do in 2012. They will be greatly improved or get even worse. I think the former, you the later. We shall see. It will be fun to touch base on this at the end of the season.

Robert

[Schwks]

I will take the under.

[Winston's Empire]

Max,

We can harken back to Billy Martin-managed ball clubs to remember that volatility and greatness are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Would Billy Brawl clubhouses eventually implode? Sure. But there was an awful lot of winning ballgames beforehand.

Ozzie reminds me of a Latino Billy Martin. Less booze, obviously, and more stability, believe it or not. Both forty when they started to manage, both former mlb middle infielders. Same fire. Same desire to win. The ability to drive players to win. Both shooting off their mouths at times. Very,very smart in-game strategists.

Ozzie liked Chicago, but got fed up with Kenny's inability to judge talent. When he realized that he was better at it than Kenny, he talked his way out of his own job.

A fresh start. A say in personnel decisions. A better cultural connection to Hanley and Carlos than Fredi and Lou could ever hope to have.

Loads of talent. Lots of speed. Adequate pitching. And a new, very good motivator and manager to stir the pot. I think they have a chance to be 10-20 games better than last year. Twenty games better would mean a winning record and a huge improvement.

No matter what happens, it should be entertaining. I have a feeling that there will be no middle ground on how the Marlins do in 2012. They will be greatly improved or get even worse. I think the former, you the later. We shall see. It will be fun to touch base on this at the end of the season.

Robert

Hey Robert,
Don't get me wrong, they will be better and God knows they will have more fans in the stands to help cheer them on!
I just don't think a guy like Hanley will be happy once he starts booting balls at 3B. If things start to go bad in Miami, I think Hanley could talk himself off the team.
Big Z will say the right things at first and throw a couple of Gems that will get Theo in Chicago 2nd guessed, but Big Z is CRAZY and its just a matter of time I think... Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock!
Will be fun to watch, but I don't think they will be 10-20 games better, but I do think 5 - 7 is very possible. JJ has to pitch 175 Innings for this to happen though.
Max

[DOUGHBOYS]

Much will be written about the new Miami players. It is the returning players I'll keep an eye on. Gaby Sanchez looked like a different hitter during the second half of last years games. Can Mike Stanton stay healthy for a whole year? Can Josh Johnson?
Bonifacio almost felt like Jack's son, how does he do with Ozzie pulling strings?
And don't forget, while there is a lot of talk about the meshing of Hanley, Reyes, Zambrano, and Ozzie, returning outfielder Logan Morrison is a loose cannon too.
Max is right. There are a lot of ticking time bombs on this team.

But, it could be worse. The Marlins have gone on a free agent spending spree, but there is one free agent left that they have not made an offer.
A free agent who could put a capper on this whole team.
Milton Bradley.

[Winston's Empire]

Much will be written about the new Miami players. It is the returning players I'll keep an eye on. Gaby Sanchez looked like a different hitter during the second half of last years games. Can Mike Stanton stay healthy for a whole year? Can Josh Johnson?
Bonifacio almost felt like Jack's son, how does he do with Ozzie pulling strings?
And don't forget, while there is a lot of talk about the meshing of Hanley, Reyes, Zambrano, and Ozzie, returning outfielder Logan Morrison is a loose cannon too.
Max is right. There are a lot of ticking time bombs on this team.

But, it could be worse. The Marlins have gone on a free agent spending spree, but there is one free agent left that they have not made an offer.
A free agent who could put a capper on this whole team.
Milton Bradley.

What? I thought Milton Bradley was in Rehab for being such a HUGE Jerk and is most likely a whole New Guy now!
Good stuff Dough!

[Rainiers]

But, it could be worse. The Marlins have gone on a free agent spending spree, but there is one free agent left that they have not made an offer.
A free agent who could put a capper on this whole team.
Milton Bradley.

Way too funny but I think your spell checker is on the fritz again..you left the "r" out of capper...