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Speaker 1: Welcome to the new look Fish Stripes podcast. Be sure

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Speaker 1: to subscribe, rate and review the podcast. We're always looking

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Speaker 1: to improve and love your feedback. My name is arm Layton.

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Speaker 1: I'm a writer for sp Nations, Marlin's affiliate, Fish Stripes,

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Speaker 1: and I am joined by Fish Stripes writer Connor Newcombe.

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Speaker 2: How are we today?

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Speaker 1: Are good man? I'm ready to talk some baseball. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna start with the Martine Prato injury. What does this

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Speaker 1: mean for the Fish? Potentially Dietrich, could Rojas Villain, maybe

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Speaker 1: Brian Anderson, Our takeaways as spring training winds down, the

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Speaker 1: fifth outfielder potentially being added to the roster. There's a

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Speaker 1: lot of roster decisions that Marlins need to make with

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Speaker 1: Tyler Moore a fifth outfielder, Den Decker. We're going to

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Speaker 1: talk about the starting Conley especially and the keys to success,

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Speaker 1: and finally our predictions around the league, but more importantly

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Speaker 1: in the NL East and with the Fish. Connor, what

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Speaker 1: do you think about the Martine Prato injurying What this

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Speaker 1: means for the Fish?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's it's a tough situation just because you

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Speaker 2: know it's an indefinite injury right now for Prato, Mattingly

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Speaker 2: and the Marlins just don't know when he's going to

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Speaker 2: be back. And obviously he had a very productive season

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Speaker 2: last year earned him that contract extension. But I think

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Speaker 2: right now the best option is Derek Dietrich over at

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Speaker 2: third base. Miguel Rojas. You know, he gives you a

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Speaker 2: good glove on the defensive side, but his bat's just

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Speaker 2: not there yet, like Dietrich is. I mean, he hit

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Speaker 2: two seventy nine last season, got on base at a

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Speaker 2: three seventy four clip, seven homers, forty two RBIs, and

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Speaker 2: about three hundred and fifty at bats, so I mean

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Speaker 2: he can swing it. He has a little bit of power,

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Speaker 2: but he hits for a good average, and he gives

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Speaker 2: the Marlins a solid left handed bat until Product can

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Speaker 2: come back and stick himself back in the middle of

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Speaker 2: the lineup.

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Speaker 1: And I agree with that. You know, it seems that

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Speaker 1: the Fish really like the pop that Dietrich can provide.

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Speaker 1: But it seemed like towards the end of last year

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Speaker 1: he really didn't seem to be providing that, you know,

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Speaker 1: home run pop from his bat, and he was really

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Speaker 1: seemed to be more of a singles guy, if at

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Speaker 1: all he was hitting you slumping a lot as he

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Speaker 1: assumed that role. But I think the dark horse here

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Speaker 1: is Brian Anderson because he's hitting three forty nine in

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Speaker 1: this spring. You know, he's not going to knock the

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Speaker 1: ball out of the park like a third baseman should,

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Speaker 1: but neither does Martin Prado. He also could fill in

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Speaker 1: if there's a tough left he on the bump against

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Speaker 1: Dietrich because as we all know, Dietrich does not love lefties.

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Speaker 1: Like you said, Rojas is a great guy to have

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Speaker 1: on the team, a great, you know, utility player. But

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Speaker 1: with the way some of these guys have been swinging

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Speaker 1: at the spring, between Tyler Moore Anderson Den Dekker, there

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Speaker 1: might be a chance that Rojas starts the season in

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Speaker 1: triple A. He's hitting the ball really well also, so

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Speaker 1: I'm curious what you think. Do you think Rojas his

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Speaker 1: spot on the team could be in jeopardy from what

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Speaker 1: we're seeing from these other guys.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's always a possibility, just because you know, although

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Speaker 2: he may be hitting well, his bat, you know, hasn't

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Speaker 2: always been there. It was a two forty seven hitter

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Speaker 2: last year in just about two hundred at bats. But

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Speaker 2: I think what he brings defensively for this team. I mean,

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Speaker 2: he's not an incredibly elite defender at uh, you know,

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Speaker 2: at shortstop. I would say shortstop is probably his best position.

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Speaker 2: But the thing is he can play every single infield

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Speaker 2: position for you. I mean, he even spent some good

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Speaker 2: innings at first base last year, which you know could

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Speaker 2: be a situation he could play a little first platuning

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Speaker 2: with Justin boor if Tyler Morten to make the roster.

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Speaker 2: But the fact that he can play every infield position,

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Speaker 2: and you know, you could stick him out in the

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Speaker 2: outfield and he could hold his own a little bit

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Speaker 2: out there too. It's just sometimes even if the bat

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Speaker 2: isn't there, it's helpful to have a guy who can

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Speaker 2: play pretty much anywhere. So you're basically ready for an

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Speaker 2: injury at any position at any time. With Rojas still

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Speaker 2: on the roster.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's funny you brought that up because you actually

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Speaker 1: touched on my next question. I was gonna say, if

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Speaker 1: Rojas can play first base, why should the Marlins keep

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Speaker 1: Tyler Moore? Do you think Tyler Moore is worth the

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Speaker 1: roster spot if you can have a versatile guy like

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Speaker 1: Miguel Rojas who's younger, plays more positions better. Goove obviously

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Speaker 1: doesn't have the same pop that Tyler Moore has, and

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Speaker 1: you know you need that power at first base. It'd

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Speaker 1: be nice, you know, he has five home runs to

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Speaker 1: spring Tyler Moore does, so you'd like to have that

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Speaker 1: pop against the lefties. But other than that, why not

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Speaker 1: just keep Rojas and have Tyler Moore and triple A

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Speaker 1: and if you need Poppy bring him up.

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Speaker 2: I think that's the biggest decision really for the Marlins,

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Speaker 2: you know, in the next couple of days when they

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Speaker 2: make their final roster cuts. I mean, as you said,

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Speaker 2: more five homers in spring training. The problem is he

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Speaker 2: hasn't played in a major league game since twenty fifteen

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Speaker 2: with the Nationals. That year, you know, he hit six

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Speaker 2: home runs and just under two hundred at bats. His

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Speaker 2: best power season in the majors. He had ten homers

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Speaker 2: back in twenty twelve and just over one hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty at bats. But he you know, earlier in his

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Speaker 2: career he had seasons in the minor leagues where he

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Speaker 2: would hit thirty plus homers and hasn't totally translated to

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Speaker 2: the major leagues. But then again, he's never really had

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Speaker 2: a full season as a starter with the Nationals, he

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Speaker 2: was more of a bench bat. So I mean, if

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Speaker 2: the Marlins are looking for the offense, I could see

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Speaker 2: them going with More and maybe Rojas loses his spot

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Speaker 2: on the team. But I just think he's so versatile

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Speaker 2: position wise. I mean more you can really throw it

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Speaker 2: first and maybe in left field, but that's about it,

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Speaker 2: and Rojas can pretty much play anywhere. I mean, he's

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Speaker 2: probably mattingly, you know, emergency catcher as well, just because

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Speaker 2: he's so versatile. So I think he just means too

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Speaker 2: much to the team that if it comes down to

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Speaker 2: Rojas or More, I think they would go with McGaugh Rojas, and.

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Speaker 1: I agree with that sentiment as well. But the only

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Speaker 1: thing that makes me hesitate a little bit is just

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Speaker 1: how power deprived, you know, the Fish were at the

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Speaker 1: second half of the season. Yes, Stanton was hurt, Yes

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Speaker 1: Borr was hurt. But should you have an injury to

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Speaker 1: those guys, one of those guys, or should they not

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Speaker 1: be swinging the bat like they like they can? You're

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Speaker 1: gonna need that pop in the lineup, And you know,

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Speaker 1: you have that kind of feeling when Miguel Rojas is

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Speaker 1: at the plate with nobody on that. He's not going

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Speaker 1: to change the score. You know, his goal is to

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Speaker 1: get on base, work the count, et cetera. But Tyler

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Speaker 1: Moore does have the ability to put the ball out

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Speaker 1: of the park at any time. And there's something to

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Speaker 1: be said about having a guy on your roster that

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Speaker 1: can just come in, whether it's off the bench or

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Speaker 1: in the game, that can just, you know, at any

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Speaker 1: time change the ball game. And I think that's what

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Speaker 1: makes Stanton so valuable obviously on a much grander scale.

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Speaker 1: So it'll be very interesting, Like you said that, that

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Speaker 1: might be the biggest decision that Marlins have this spring

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Speaker 1: before the season starts, to you know, decide whether they

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Speaker 1: want to have the versatility with Rojas or the power

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Speaker 1: with Tyler Moore. Also another a big trend in spring

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Speaker 1: training has been the outfielders have been swinging it. And

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Speaker 1: you know we mentioned the roster spot Tyler Moore or

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Speaker 1: Rojas will take up. Is it worth the Marlins keeping

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Speaker 1: a fifth outfielder with the way Den Decker and Sierra

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Speaker 1: have been swinging it? Or is it best that these

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Speaker 1: guys stay in Triple A and Tyler Moore and Rojas

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Speaker 1: make the team.

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean Matt den Decker and Moyest year. I

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Speaker 2: mean they've they've been at the major league level before,

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Speaker 2: they've hit a little bit at the major league level before.

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Speaker 2: If the Marlins are really that impressed with them, I

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Speaker 2: wouldn't be too surprised if one of them makes the

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Speaker 2: team as a fifth outfielder. I just think that with

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Speaker 2: the Prato injury, and you know, still thinking about more

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Speaker 2: at first, and still thinking about Anderson maybe being on

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Speaker 2: the roster as another third baseman, I just don't see

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Speaker 2: a place where they would have a spot for a

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Speaker 2: fifth outfielder. I mean, right now, obviously you have Ozuna, Stanton,

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Speaker 2: and Yelich as you're starting outfield, and each hero is

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Speaker 2: solidified as your fourth outfielder. I think a big part

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Speaker 2: of maybe them not having a fifth outfielder is all

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Speaker 2: of the bullpen arms they have available to them this season.

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Speaker 2: I mean they've obviously named the rotation with Adam Conley

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Speaker 2: coming as the fifth starter. So now you have a

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Speaker 2: guy like Hose Arena who is probably gonna end up

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Speaker 2: in the bullpen, and they've brought in so many good

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Speaker 2: bullpen arms that they want to maybe have a bigger

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Speaker 2: bullpen this season than last, which may take a roster

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Speaker 2: spot away from a bench hitter and keep the Marlins

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Speaker 2: at four outfielders.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's something to be said about that bullpen

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Speaker 1: because you know, the Marlins rotation is just it's not

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Speaker 1: elite by any by any means. And I think the

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Speaker 1: Marlins strategy going into the off season was, you know,

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Speaker 1: the price on starters is just way too high right now.

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Speaker 1: And with the Marlins in their mind, they're probably thinking,

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Speaker 1: you know, we don't have the farm system to acquire

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Speaker 1: these types of high profile pitchers. I mean, as Baseball

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Speaker 1: America just ranked them twenty ninth, ahead of only the Angels.

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Speaker 1: And if they don't have have, you know, the farm

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Speaker 1: system to acquire a starting pitcher, and they don't have

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Speaker 1: the money or want to spend the money on a

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Speaker 1: starting pitcher, the only way they can really keep themselves

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Speaker 1: in ball games is to is to solidify that bullpen

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Speaker 1: and shorten the starts. So now you have a deep

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Speaker 1: bullpen from they add to Zawa and Siegler and and

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Speaker 1: now you know your starter only has to go five innings.

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Speaker 1: Maybe because that you bridge that gap to the ninth

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Speaker 1: to aj Ramos or to the eighth rather and you

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Speaker 1: have Baraclon Ramos. So that I think ended up being

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Speaker 1: their their strategy because it was a much cheaper maybe

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Speaker 1: not as effective as having you know, an ACE, but

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Speaker 1: it is an interesting approach to remedying a week rotation.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, obviously everything the Marlins do, they're already

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Speaker 2: going to be behind the eight ball with the you know,

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Speaker 2: the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez last season. But I

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Speaker 2: think they're taking the right approach. I mean, they no

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Speaker 2: longer unfortunately, they no longer have an ACE, but they

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Speaker 2: did the right thing. Instead of trying to go after

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Speaker 2: a starting pitching market, which you know, it wasn't great,

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Speaker 2: especially the free agent market, they went and got Volcz,

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Speaker 2: who was, you know, one of the better options, but

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Speaker 2: not really a bona fide ace. The trade for Strali

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Speaker 2: a lot of backfire there with the prospects they gave up.

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Speaker 2: But Dan Strelli had a great twenty sixteen. The Marlins

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Speaker 2: are hoping he can build on that. But I think

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Speaker 2: they did the right thing in building up the bullpen.

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Speaker 2: Taz always had a great career in Boston. Now he

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Speaker 2: comes to Miami where hopefully he can do the same,

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Speaker 2: and Brad Ziegler has been one of the most really underappreciated,

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Speaker 2: most effective relievers in baseball the last five years as

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Speaker 2: Arizona's closer and then heading over to the Red Sox

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Speaker 2: last season where he at least got a little more

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Speaker 2: of the spotlight when Boston went to the playoffs. But

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Speaker 2: I think those two guys will be huge, and David

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Speaker 2: Phelps might be the biggest name for helping out the

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Speaker 2: Marlins rotation, even though he won't be in that starting rotation.

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Speaker 2: David Phelps can be a guy who can give you

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Speaker 2: two three inning every three or four days, and as

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Speaker 2: you said, bridge the gap. I mean, if you can

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Speaker 2: get a starter like Adam Conley or Tom Kohler to

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Speaker 2: give you, you know, five solid innings of maybe two

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Speaker 2: run baseball, and then you can hit another team with

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Speaker 2: two and a third of David Phelps, then you can

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Speaker 2: get the ball to the back of that bullpen. And

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Speaker 2: really that's the key to success for the Marlins.

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Speaker 1: It seems like, yeah, that's that seems to really be

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Speaker 1: how the Marlins are gonna need to win ball games

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Speaker 1: this year is just you know, you're not gonna get

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Speaker 1: very many complete games. If at all from that rotation.

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Speaker 1: So if you can put up some runs, and we

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Speaker 1: know the Marlins offense is capable of doing that, and

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Speaker 1: just get a decent start from from one of those starters,

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Speaker 1: one of you know, Australi volcz Chen, one of those guys,

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Speaker 1: just to give you five maybe six solid innings. They're

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Speaker 1: in great shape, so they don't need too much out

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Speaker 1: of that out of that rotation, which I think was

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Speaker 1: a great move because you then take a lot of

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Speaker 1: pressure off of a rotation that is not impressive to

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Speaker 1: be blunt. But going back to what you said about Ziegler,

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Speaker 1: I mean the guy has just been steady his entire career.

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Speaker 1: He had a late start to his career. He's twenty

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Speaker 1: eight years old when he really broke in, but in

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Speaker 1: his nine years, his era is under two point five

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Speaker 1: and he's just a save machine the last few years.

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Speaker 1: He's mostly served as a setup man in his career,

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Speaker 1: so I don't think he'll have much problem transitioning back

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Speaker 1: into the setup role though he's been a closer the

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Speaker 1: last couple of years. And Ramos seems to be one

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Speaker 1: of those guys that benefits from the energy, I guess,

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Speaker 1: and the energy you have when you're coming in the

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Speaker 1: ninth inning. Seems to be much more pumped up when

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Speaker 1: he comes in the ninth versus the eighth. He seemed

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Speaker 1: to get touched up a little more in the eighth.

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Speaker 1: So some guys are like that, and some guys really

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Speaker 1: like the big stage like that, and Ramos is one

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Speaker 1: of those guys. Siegler seems to be one of those

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Speaker 1: guys that can pitch in any situation and he's gonna

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Speaker 1: make hitters get themselves out. So the bullpen definitely is

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Speaker 1: a plus for the Fish. I also think they really

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Speaker 1: dodged a bullet by not getting Chapman and Jansen. As

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Speaker 1: crazy as that sounds, but they would have been giving

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Speaker 1: up a first round pick. I thought from the jump

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Speaker 1: that it was crazy to go after those guys anyway,

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Speaker 1: especially for the price tag that they wanted. With the

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Speaker 1: twenty ninth ranked farm system, you really don't need to

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Speaker 1: give up any more first round picks. And with the

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Speaker 1: way the Marlins have drafted the last couple of years,

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Speaker 1: they've already traded away one of their first round picks

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Speaker 1: and Nailor Josh Naylor and now Tyler Kollik has not

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Speaker 1: pitched and correct me if I'm wrong. Almost a year

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Speaker 1: over a year. So the Marlins, to say the least,

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Speaker 1: need their draft picks. So I think they definitely dodged

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Speaker 1: a bullet there. Did a great job of getting a

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Speaker 1: low budget but very effective arms in the bullpen in

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Speaker 1: a bullpen that was already solid, And it'll be interesting

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Speaker 1: to see how that bullpen shortens games for the Fish

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Speaker 1: and if that strategy will work.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you talked about Jansen. I mean I'm a big

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Speaker 2: proponent of having a closer like Kenley Jansen. I mean,

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Speaker 2: anythink he's the second best closer in baseball. Second all

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Speaker 2: is Zach Britton in Baltimore. At least last season he was.

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Speaker 2: And Jansen showed his worth in the playoffs being able

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Speaker 2: to go two winnings to you know, to close out

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Speaker 2: the Nationals in the NLDS in in Game five. But

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Speaker 2: I mean they also in a way did dodge able

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Speaker 2: Itt by not you know, paying those big contracts to

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Speaker 2: either Chapman or Janson. I mean, it's nice to have

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Speaker 2: a shutdown closer who's gonna save you know, forty six

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Speaker 2: out of forty seven games in a season. You know,

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Speaker 2: it's big when you get a lead going into the

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Speaker 2: ninth to almost know that you're gonna keep it, but

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Speaker 2: you don't want to give up that draft pick, you know,

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Speaker 2: with the qualifying off rules where you have to give

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Speaker 2: up the draft pick, and you don't want to give

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Speaker 2: up all that money instead. You know, they spent it

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Speaker 2: on Sozawa, they spent it on Ziegler, and they made

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Speaker 2: the bullpen very good, and they already had a good

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Speaker 2: eight to nine combination with Baraclaw and aj Ramos. Now

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Speaker 2: you put Ziegler in the mix, you put Tazawa in

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Speaker 2: the You've a guy like Phelps who I think they're

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Speaker 2: making the perfect decision by instead of putting him into

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Speaker 2: the starting lineup, making him that bridge guy, the two

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Speaker 2: three inning reliever. I think even with a bad starting rotation,

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Speaker 2: I think the bullpen can mask a rotation that won't

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Speaker 2: be very good this year. We'll touch on it later.

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Speaker 2: I do think Chen will improve and some other guys

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Speaker 2: can get better. But I think and the other thing

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Speaker 2: they have, which is very which is a very good sign,

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Speaker 2: is they have depth in that bullpen too. I mean

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Speaker 2: we haven't touched on Dustin McGowan, who pretty much had

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Speaker 2: a career year last year, being you know, kind of

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Speaker 2: a mop up guy, but then also was trusted with

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Speaker 2: some big situations in seventh and eighth innings because he

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Speaker 2: pitched so well. You have guys like Nick Whitgren, who

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Speaker 2: you know won't be the most relied on reliever this year,

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Speaker 2: but he you know, still is going to be a

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Speaker 2: part of that bullpen. And then guys that are going

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Speaker 2: to start the season in Triple A like Hunter Servenka,

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Speaker 2: who's a solid lefty as a good slider, can get

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Speaker 2: left handed hitters out. Brian Ellington, you know, he can

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Speaker 2: touch one hundred with that fastball. He'll be waiting in

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Speaker 2: Triple A to possibly get his shot. I mean, they

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Speaker 2: have some guys justin Nicolino, maybe he doesn't work out

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Speaker 2: as a starter, but could be a good left handed

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Speaker 2: reliever who they could still go to. And a guy

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Speaker 2: who may start in Double A Drew Steckenrider, who I

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Speaker 2: think the Marlins just as a whole love as a

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Speaker 2: right handed reliever who could be up this year or next. So,

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Speaker 2: you know, even if some of these signings don't work

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Speaker 2: out in the bullpen or these other guys aren't pitching well,

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Speaker 2: they have so much depth there in the Major's end

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Speaker 2: and the miners in their bullpen that I really don't

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Speaker 2: think it'll matter too much. You know, they won't. They

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Speaker 2: won't win the division with this rotation, but it can

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Speaker 2: be masked by this bullpen and the Marlins can still

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Speaker 2: have success.

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Speaker 1: It's funny you said that, I've been hearing a lot

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Speaker 1: about second Rider and people are really really excited about him.

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Speaker 1: And there's not a lot to be excited about in

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Speaker 1: this with this Marlins farm system, but a lot of

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Speaker 1: people believe that second Rider can have an impact on

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Speaker 1: the roster this season and come into the bull And

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Speaker 1: it's an excellent point that you make. Yes, the Marlins

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Speaker 1: have a paper thin farm system, but one thing they

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Speaker 1: seem to have is arms on the majors and in

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Speaker 1: the minors. Like you said, Phelps, I think is the

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Speaker 1: best move possible is to keep him in the bullpen

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Speaker 1: because he seemed to just be a very average starter,

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Speaker 1: but he also was much more injury prone in the

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Speaker 1: starting role. I just don't think he could handle throwing

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Speaker 1: that many pitches every fifth day. But the really interesting thing,

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Speaker 1: like you said, these underrated guys like Witgren, who was

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Speaker 1: very effective for a great portion of the year and

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Speaker 1: McGowan is a very interesting arm because he has great

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Speaker 1: reverse splits, so he was mowing down left handed hitters

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Speaker 1: as a ready pitcher. His change up, I think was

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Speaker 1: really the main reason as to why he did that.

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Speaker 1: But he had like a two point eight two e

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Speaker 1: RA during the season, but his average against for lefties

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Speaker 1: was phenomenal. And I don't have it in front of

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Speaker 1: me right now, but you're gonna have to take my

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Speaker 1: word for it. But left He's definitely struggled much more

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Speaker 1: than Rioty's against McGowan, but nobody really hit him period.

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Speaker 1: And yes, he was putting positions for success for the

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Speaker 1: most part, because, like you said, sometimes he was a

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Speaker 1: mop up guy, you know, came in up six runs, whatever.

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Speaker 1: But I think he's ready to start to be eased

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Speaker 1: into those more pressure situations because he did show the

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Speaker 1: ability at times last year, like you said, to get

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Speaker 1: out of those jams. And if he has the ability

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Speaker 1: to get left handed hitters out, maybe the Marlins aren't

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Speaker 1: in so much trouble with a guy like Cervenka's starting

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Speaker 1: in the minor leagues, who I was a fan of

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Speaker 1: that trade. Though he still has some things to learn

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Speaker 1: and some command issues. Cervenka definitely can be an impactful

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Speaker 1: player on the major league level next year. So the

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Speaker 1: bullpen is something to be excited about. And it's very deep,

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Speaker 1: like you said, so I'm not worried about the bullpen,

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Speaker 1: and they take some of the pressure off that rotation.

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Speaker 1: So pitching may not be as much of an issue

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Speaker 1: as some Marlins fans think. It seems to be something

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Speaker 1: that many Marlins fans are nervous about. Not many people

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Speaker 1: are nervous about the offense, but you're hearing a lot

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Speaker 1: of rumblings about what is that pitching and bullpen gonna do.

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Speaker 1: Are they gonna hold up their end of the deal,

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Speaker 1: and that remains to be seen, but the Marlins definitely

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Speaker 1: did all they could to give some sort of stability

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Speaker 1: in that area, going off of kind of the pitching.

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Speaker 1: Like we were talking about a guy that's kind of

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Speaker 1: seemed to fall off the map a little bit. Is

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Speaker 1: just a Nicolino. He came over, you know, a couple

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Speaker 1: of years ago in that Toronto trade, and of course,

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Speaker 1: not to beat a dead horse, but as many Marlins

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Speaker 1: fans are painfully reminded, they picked Nicolino over Noah Cinderguard,

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Speaker 1: and that's something that's kind of stuck with a lot

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Speaker 1: of fans for a while, but not to focus on

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Speaker 1: the hindsight. Here they have Nicolino. So now the Marlins

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Speaker 1: need to realize, you know, is it time to give

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Speaker 1: up on Nicolino or is it time to fully move

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Speaker 1: him to the bullpen or what should the Marlins approach

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Speaker 1: be with Nicolino.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean he's going to start the season

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Speaker 2: in Triple A and you can almost guarantee he's going

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Speaker 2: to be in the Triple A starting rotation. I mean,

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Speaker 2: if they do want to turn him into a bullpen arm,

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Speaker 2: maybe they start getting him to do that in the minors,

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Speaker 2: but they're going to keep trying to turn him into

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Speaker 2: a starter. I mean, he's only had twenty five career

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Speaker 2: major league starts, so he's still a really young pitcher

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Speaker 2: and could still improve drastically. I mean, last season, an

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Speaker 2: Era just to touch under five and seventy nine and

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Speaker 2: a third innings. He made thirteen starts and five appearances

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Speaker 2: out of the bullpen, and you know he was he

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Speaker 2: wasn't great. But one thing about him is his FIP number,

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Speaker 2: which kind of projects how well you'll do, was lower

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Speaker 2: than his ERA, which means in an average season, he

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Speaker 2: should do better than what he pitched. So I mean

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Speaker 2: that number kind of shows that he should get better

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Speaker 2: if he gets more major league starts. But I mean,

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Speaker 2: I mean with the rotation how it is now, it's

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Speaker 2: not great. Obviously we've talked about it. It's one of the

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Speaker 2: definitely in the bottom half of the major leagues. But

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Speaker 2: he's not right now better than any of those five

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Speaker 2: starters in the Marlins rotation, which puts him in Triple A,

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Speaker 2: and he's he hasn't shown enough as a reliever to

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Speaker 2: be trusted, you know, in the bullpen to start the

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Speaker 2: season where he could make a couple spots starts. So

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Speaker 2: he's just got to go to Triple A to start

430
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,040
Speaker 2: the season figure things out. And I don't think the

431
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:30,920
Speaker 2: Marlins are close to giving up on him. As I

432
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,359
Speaker 2: said before, twenty five starts in the major leagues, you know,

433
00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,640
Speaker 2: it's a solid chunk of starts. But over two seasons,

434
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,119
Speaker 2: you know, you still give the guy another chance. But

435
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,359
Speaker 2: if he isn't producing in Triple A, then maybe that

436
00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:45,920
Speaker 2: conversation comes back, you know, is it time to move

437
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,560
Speaker 2: on from Justin Nicolino and.

438
00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,440
Speaker 1: What is starting to make things a little unsettling for

439
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,840
Speaker 1: Marlins fans, I think is the fact that Nicolino struggles

440
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,800
Speaker 1: in the majors, but when he's sent down he tends

441
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,240
Speaker 1: to struggle a little bit as well. He's not having

442
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,520
Speaker 1: that success that a top former top prospect should have

443
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,760
Speaker 1: at the double triple A level. So I bring up

444
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:12,159
Speaker 1: the when do you give up on Nicolino idea, because

445
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,200
Speaker 1: at some point you have to realize, you know, he's

446
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,080
Speaker 1: not doing well in the bigs, he's not doing well

447
00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,480
Speaker 1: in the minor leagues. I know the Marlins were talking

448
00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,520
Speaker 1: about getting rid of his slider. They didn't like his slider.

449
00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,680
Speaker 1: There's a few things they want to change about his pitching,

450
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,240
Speaker 1: and you know, sometimes it just takes one pitch for

451
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,040
Speaker 1: a guy to develop and makes all the difference in

452
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,000
Speaker 1: the world. So of course it's not time to give

453
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,639
Speaker 1: up on Nicolino. But the clock starting to tick, I believe,

454
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,359
Speaker 1: because it seems like he just can't figure out how

455
00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:40,400
Speaker 1: to get guys out, just to put it simply, and

456
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,320
Speaker 1: his pitch seems very fat coming into the zone because

457
00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:47,040
Speaker 1: he gets knocked around in both levels. But like you said,

458
00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,199
Speaker 1: the fifth is encouraging and it kind of leads me

459
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,560
Speaker 1: into the next question I was going to ask, is

460
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,960
Speaker 1: the Dan Strali trade was a bit scrutinized As he

461
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,720
Speaker 1: came in, Marlins gave up, you know, Luis Castillo and

462
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,560
Speaker 1: some other prospects in a paper thin farm system that

463
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,040
Speaker 1: they really couldn't afford to give anymore. And the Strali trade,

464
00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,520
Speaker 1: no matter how you put it, the Marlins bought high.

465
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,160
Speaker 1: To put simply, they bought high, and you know they

466
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:19,040
Speaker 1: bought high, but in a market where you're kind of

467
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,560
Speaker 1: forced to buy high. The big issue is Dan Straley

468
00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,199
Speaker 1: is a late bloomer. You know, he hasn't had a

469
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,200
Speaker 1: season like he had last year in his entire career.

470
00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,800
Speaker 1: And the big question is is it sustainable? You know

471
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 1: that some of the sabermetrics say no, You know, sabermetrics

472
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,399
Speaker 1: aren't the end all be all, at least to me,

473
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:46,639
Speaker 1: they aren't. Just some people they are. But his FIP

474
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,760
Speaker 1: was over four point eight, and that's a little scary.

475
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,199
Speaker 1: And you're looking at some of these numbers and you

476
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,159
Speaker 1: can't help but wonder is Dan Straley's season that he

477
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,240
Speaker 1: had last year somewhat replicable?

478
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 2: I mean, he's going into his age twenty eight season.

479
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:06,240
Speaker 2: As you said, you know, last year, twenty sixteen with

480
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,760
Speaker 2: Cincinnati was his best year ever, and it was it

481
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,320
Speaker 2: was interesting to see because you know, he made thirty

482
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,840
Speaker 2: four appearances last year, thirty one of them were starts,

483
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,480
Speaker 2: so essentially he was a starting pitcher, made a couple

484
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,959
Speaker 2: appearances out of the bullpen. But the interesting part was

485
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:27,000
Speaker 2: those two years before, in twenty fourteen, he ended up

486
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,639
Speaker 2: only appearing in fourteen games between the Cubs and A's

487
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 2: and made eight starts. And then in twenty fifteen, you know,

488
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,680
Speaker 2: he just made four appearances with Houston, three of them

489
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,560
Speaker 2: being starts, so you know, he was a relied on

490
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,160
Speaker 2: starter all the way Back in twenty thirteen with Oakland,

491
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,760
Speaker 2: he made twenty seven starts, all of his appearances were starts,

492
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 2: and he had a solid season a three nine to

493
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,919
Speaker 2: six ERA and one hundred and fifty two innings. But

494
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,280
Speaker 2: after that, you know, he struggled a little bit, didn't

495
00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,160
Speaker 2: play as much, was up and down, had a little

496
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 2: bit of injury problem. But it's interesting that coming off

497
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,600
Speaker 2: of twenty fifteen where he made three starts to a

498
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,240
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen where he makes thirty one and his numbers

499
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,240
Speaker 2: just are the best of his career. You know, the

500
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,840
Speaker 2: one thing with Strali he allowed thirty one homers. That's

501
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 2: not ideal in a season where you pitch one hundred

502
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:23,359
Speaker 2: and ninety innings. But it's not the worst thing in

503
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,959
Speaker 2: the world, because if you're keeping homers to solo homers,

504
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,320
Speaker 2: they really don't matter. But you said his FIPS at

505
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 2: almost four to nine, which is concerning. It's almost a

506
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,160
Speaker 2: projecting stat that says, you know, this year, his era

507
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,199
Speaker 2: is not going to be three seven six. His strikeouts

508
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,360
Speaker 2: per nine were not really any better than they've been

509
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,240
Speaker 2: the rest of his career. So it wasn't the strikeouts

510
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,440
Speaker 2: that got better to make his numbers better. So I mean,

511
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,080
Speaker 2: the advanced stats say he may not be able to

512
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,320
Speaker 2: maintain what he did last season. But you know, the Marlins,

513
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,879
Speaker 2: as you said, bought high. They bought off of what

514
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,280
Speaker 2: they saw last year. And if it works out, if

515
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 2: he can replicate last season what he or replicated this

516
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:05,920
Speaker 2: year what he did last year in Cincinnati, it could

517
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:07,840
Speaker 2: end up being a good deal and he could, you know,

518
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,439
Speaker 2: really be the number two starter, the number three starter

519
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,440
Speaker 2: for Miami. But you know, you never know with a

520
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,480
Speaker 2: guy like Dan Strelli, who that was twenty sixteen was

521
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 2: his first full pitching season really in the big league

522
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 2: since twenty thirteen, So you just never know.

523
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,000
Speaker 1: And that's the big thing. Like you were saying, his

524
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:29,119
Speaker 1: fIF is concerning, but at least to an extent. You know,

525
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,040
Speaker 1: those solo shots affect the FIP a little bit more

526
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,320
Speaker 1: than you can account for. So maybe the thirty one

527
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:38,000
Speaker 1: home runs, like you said, if most of them were

528
00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,439
Speaker 1: solo shots, maybe the FIP is a little exaggerated. But

529
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,040
Speaker 1: it's it has to be a little concerning if you're

530
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,760
Speaker 1: a Marlins fan, because you can't help but wonder whether

531
00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:52,439
Speaker 1: he will be able to sustain that going into the

532
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,359
Speaker 1: next man up in the rotation. Is you know, way

533
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,200
Speaker 1: in chen the Marlins are a year removed of giving

534
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:02,080
Speaker 1: him eighty million dollars and he is not pitched like

535
00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,960
Speaker 1: an eighty million dollar man. And he was the Marlins

536
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,080
Speaker 1: you know, he was the Marlins opening starter last year,

537
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 1: opening day starter, rather excuse me. And he just has

538
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:18,080
Speaker 1: not shown any signs of his oriel self. And he's

539
00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:20,520
Speaker 1: not been that eighty million dollar guy. And yes, he's

540
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,880
Speaker 1: only been one season in Miami, but he also had

541
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,719
Speaker 1: a problems with the long ball, giving up way too

542
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,120
Speaker 1: many home runs last season, did not go deep into games,

543
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,960
Speaker 1: could not strike hitters out at a very high rate,

544
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 1: and put simply, the Marlins really need way In Chen

545
00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,000
Speaker 1: to be an anchor to this rotation if they want

546
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,520
Speaker 1: to have success in twenty seventeen.

547
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:46,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you hit the nail on the head

548
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:48,919
Speaker 2: right there. Chen is the guy who they have to

549
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,440
Speaker 2: turn to. I mean, back in Baltimore, he he got

550
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 2: better every season in his career with the Orioles, spent

551
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,240
Speaker 2: four years in Baltimore. The eer essentially got better every year.

552
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,080
Speaker 2: His innings, you know, the most innings he threw were

553
00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,840
Speaker 2: in his rookie year, but after that they dropped a lot.

554
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 2: In twenty thirteen, he struggled with some injuries, but then

555
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:12,680
Speaker 2: back up every single year, and he hit one hundred

556
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,760
Speaker 2: and ninety innings in twenty fifteen, just to throw one

557
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,679
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty three last year because of the elbow

558
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,359
Speaker 2: soreness and the injuries he dealt with pretty much all season.

559
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 2: Another guy who kind of struggles with the home run

560
00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,160
Speaker 2: a little bit. But you know, same thing I talked

561
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,919
Speaker 2: about with Australia. You know, his Chen's never given up

562
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 2: thirty one homers. The most was twenty nine in his

563
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,320
Speaker 2: rookie year, but he always you know, he played in

564
00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:39,800
Speaker 2: a boombox at Camden Yards, where all pitchers give up homers,

565
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,080
Speaker 2: and he seemed to despite giving up a lot of homers.

566
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,160
Speaker 2: A lot of solo homers is what Way and Chen

567
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,760
Speaker 2: used to give up. So never really hurt him too much.

568
00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,240
Speaker 2: And you'd think, you know, he's a fly ball pitcher.

569
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,120
Speaker 2: There's a lot of fastballs up in the zone. You'd

570
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,400
Speaker 2: think playing it pitching at Marlin's Park would really help

571
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,480
Speaker 2: him out with a big ball park, But I don't

572
00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:03,480
Speaker 2: think Marlins fans really got to see the full Way

573
00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:05,800
Speaker 2: and Chen last year. I think he really even when

574
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 2: he was pitching last year seemed like he was struggling

575
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:10,560
Speaker 2: a little bit with injury. But this year is really

576
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,120
Speaker 2: the defining year for that contract. I mean, all of

577
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 2: his stats were worse last season than they then they've been.

578
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,680
Speaker 2: But the one thing that you know, could be a

579
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,160
Speaker 2: good outlook for I said, all of his stats were

580
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,520
Speaker 2: worse except for one. His walks were tied. Walks per

581
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,840
Speaker 2: nine were tied for the best number of his career,

582
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,040
Speaker 2: So walks, you know, were always a little bit of

583
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,800
Speaker 2: a problem for him, but the walks went down, which

584
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,080
Speaker 2: means if he can keep the walks down and he

585
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:40,680
Speaker 2: can find a little bit of that you know performance

586
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,200
Speaker 2: that he had in Baltimore, he's already got the walks

587
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 2: down from Baltimore. He could be an even better pitcher

588
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,959
Speaker 2: than he was with the Orioles if he and Floid's

589
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,720
Speaker 2: injury and is able to figure it out this year.

590
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 1: And it's funny you mentioned, you know, pitching up in

591
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,600
Speaker 1: the zone. It's often preached by by Marlin's pitching and

592
00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:59,440
Speaker 1: I think a big belief in their franchise that's always

593
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,560
Speaker 1: been pitched down in the zone. In anyone in the

594
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 1: organization will tell you that their pitching coaches have always

595
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,000
Speaker 1: said down in the zone. And Chen struggled with that

596
00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 1: because he somewhat tried to be a different pitcher last

597
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,200
Speaker 1: year and he tried to pitch down in the zone

598
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 1: and it didn't work for him. But it's surprising to

599
00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:18,440
Speaker 1: see a guy that a lefty that throws low nineties

600
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,520
Speaker 1: to be effective throwing up in the zone. But there's

601
00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,120
Speaker 1: something about the way Chen does it that it works

602
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 1: for him. So I think if Chen goes back to

603
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 1: the approach, he had in Baltimore and pitching up in

604
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,600
Speaker 1: the zone more, he should be more effective. And like

605
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,000
Speaker 1: you said, if he's not walking, the big issue is

606
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,280
Speaker 1: the walks because you know he's gonna give up the

607
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 1: long ball. There's no way around it. And every pitchers

608
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,040
Speaker 1: has their weakness and Chn's is the long ball. But

609
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,280
Speaker 1: you know, like you said, solo shots, if that's what

610
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,440
Speaker 1: he gives up, you can live with that. You can

611
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,280
Speaker 1: live with a couple one or two mistakes. The game

612
00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,520
Speaker 1: solo shots is to run game. That's not a big deal.

613
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,440
Speaker 1: But when you're walking guys and those home runs compound

614
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,360
Speaker 1: into two three runs, that's when it gets into trouble.

615
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,520
Speaker 1: So Chen, yes, we like we said, he is the

616
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,280
Speaker 1: highest ceiling on the team in terms of pitching, and

617
00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,720
Speaker 1: any if anyone in that rotation is gonna step up

618
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:13,440
Speaker 1: and have you know, an Ace like season, it's gonna

619
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,520
Speaker 1: be way in Chen. Nobody else is gonna put together

620
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,760
Speaker 1: that impressive of a campaign. So Chen has to be

621
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,760
Speaker 1: the guy that the Marlins lean on and who could

622
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,480
Speaker 1: possibly be that guy who steps up for them. But

623
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:32,080
Speaker 1: I think the bigger issue is the offense because and

624
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,719
Speaker 1: I mean not issue, I think there's more weight on

625
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:39,680
Speaker 1: the offense, and we're we're talking about, you know, the

626
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:43,840
Speaker 1: keys to success for the Marlins this season. I think

627
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,520
Speaker 1: right up there with anything has to be scoring runs.

628
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 1: And I mean, of course every team needs to score runs,

629
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,160
Speaker 1: but the Marlins need to score runs like they've never

630
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:56,720
Speaker 1: scored runs before. Because two runs, three runs, You're not

631
00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,760
Speaker 1: gonna have Jose Fernandez to bail you out of a

632
00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,680
Speaker 1: one run performance every fifth day anymore. So you're gonna

633
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:06,520
Speaker 1: need to put up two, three, four runs every single

634
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:10,880
Speaker 1: game at least. So that's the big issue, and I

635
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,640
Speaker 1: think the Marlins offense has the capability to do that.

636
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,400
Speaker 1: You know, Yelich has been swinging the bat impeccably since

637
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:20,440
Speaker 1: the second half of last season, even showing the power,

638
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:24,280
Speaker 1: and he looked phenomenal in the World Baseball Classic. Stanton's

639
00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:29,360
Speaker 1: healthy and that's obviously a huge key. And Bor is healthy.

640
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 1: Bor struggled in the spring, but he's easing back into it.

641
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,160
Speaker 1: If those guys are healthy and hitting like they can,

642
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,120
Speaker 1: the Marlins offense can be great, because you forget that

643
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:43,760
Speaker 1: the second half of last season. I wrote a piece

644
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,920
Speaker 1: on this earlier. The Marlins were averaging well over four

645
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:48,560
Speaker 1: runs a game. In the first half of the season.

646
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:52,480
Speaker 1: Second half of the season, they were encroaching on about

647
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,840
Speaker 1: four runs even so there's about four point eight runs

648
00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 1: but per game to about four even and well, it

649
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,640
Speaker 1: doesn't seem like a lot. It's a big difference. And

650
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 1: the overwhelming theme for that, or the reason for that,

651
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:10,120
Speaker 1: is because you had guys like Stanton going down and

652
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,640
Speaker 1: that's an obvious, you know, big loss on the team.

653
00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:17,400
Speaker 1: But Justin Boorr went down with a sprained ankle and

654
00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 1: was out for almost two months. And people forget that

655
00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,040
Speaker 1: Boorr was when he had gotten hurt was about just

656
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,520
Speaker 1: after the All Star breaker, just around the All Star break,

657
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 1: he had twenty two home runs and he was on

658
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 1: pace for you know, one hundred RBIs. So it's stuff

659
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,360
Speaker 1: like that that you you have to think, if these

660
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 1: guys are healthy, this offense can be really, really effective.

661
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,680
Speaker 2: Yeah. The crazy part about the Marlins last season offensively,

662
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:49,680
Speaker 2: as you touched on it, was they had guys in

663
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:52,840
Speaker 2: their lineup who up and down. You know, we're hitting

664
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:54,800
Speaker 2: for a great average. I mean, a lot of baseball

665
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,120
Speaker 2: writers think the Marlins might have the best outfield in

666
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:03,080
Speaker 2: baseball right now. I mean it's rivaled, you know, in Boston,

667
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,080
Speaker 2: by those guys out there with Mooki Betts and Jackie

668
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,960
Speaker 2: Bradley and Ben Attendi, and also by the Pirates. You know,

669
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,440
Speaker 2: if Marte Polanco and McCutchen are playing at the top

670
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:13,920
Speaker 2: of their game. But besides that, I mean, Ozuna, Stanton

671
00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:17,000
Speaker 2: Yelich has the potential to be the best offensive outfield

672
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,200
Speaker 2: in baseball. And they had guys up and down the lineup.

673
00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:21,800
Speaker 2: I mean, Prada was hitting for a good average. D

674
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,040
Speaker 2: Gordon started to hit again. I mean even when they

675
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,520
Speaker 2: were plugging again, guys like Derek Dietrich and j t

676
00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:29,840
Speaker 2: ru Muto had a great season, but it wasn't turning

677
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,640
Speaker 2: into runs. They had guys who were hitting over two

678
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,240
Speaker 2: eighty up and down the lineup, but they weren't scoring runs.

679
00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:37,839
Speaker 2: So I mean, I think it had something to do

680
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,200
Speaker 2: with their average with runners in scoring position, which was,

681
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,200
Speaker 2: you know, not where it needed to be. But if

682
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,640
Speaker 2: they can start to drive runs in, I mean, it's

683
00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:48,160
Speaker 2: a pretty simple thing to say how a team can

684
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:50,600
Speaker 2: turn it around is just to drive runs in. But

685
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,000
Speaker 2: they just need to get bigger hits with runners in

686
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,280
Speaker 2: scoring position. And you know, the power was a problem,

687
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 2: but that's because Stan and Borr were hurt. If they

688
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,520
Speaker 2: can stay healthy, there's all the you know, a lot

689
00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:03,400
Speaker 2: of the power that you need. And if Ozuna is

690
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,440
Speaker 2: first half Ozuna, not second half Ozuna from last season,

691
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,160
Speaker 2: you know he'll be hitting well again. The Marlins offense,

692
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:13,080
Speaker 2: they have the pieces. I mean, that's a pretty dangerous

693
00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:18,000
Speaker 2: lineup up and down, especially when Prado returns. But if

694
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,000
Speaker 2: they can't get the hits with runners in scoring position,

695
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,200
Speaker 2: it's going to be a tough season. They've got the

696
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:23,759
Speaker 2: guys who can get on base, they just got to

697
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:24,279
Speaker 2: drive them in.

698
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,719
Speaker 1: And that's what makes the Martine Prado injuries so painful,

699
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:32,280
Speaker 1: because Prado was maybe the only guy in the lineup

700
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:36,320
Speaker 1: that was just almost automatic with runners in scoring position

701
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:40,200
Speaker 1: last season. But like you said, it's it's really it's

702
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,080
Speaker 1: it's almost confusing. You know. The Marlins hi for such

703
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,680
Speaker 1: a high average as a team, but couldn't score runs.

704
00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,400
Speaker 1: And I think a big part of the Ozuna struggle

705
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:54,360
Speaker 1: was he could not find, you know, a solid spot

706
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,080
Speaker 1: in the lineup he was. He went from second to third,

707
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,680
Speaker 1: to fourth, to fifth to sixth. I think he hit

708
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:05,239
Speaker 1: seventh sometimes and I think that really that was really

709
00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,279
Speaker 1: difficult for him. Because he's one. He's a rhythm hitter.

710
00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,080
Speaker 1: You know, he goes, he goes through his spurts. You

711
00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:11,800
Speaker 1: know he's gonna you know, he's gonna struggle, and you

712
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,080
Speaker 1: know he's gonna go with his one for tens, two

713
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:16,920
Speaker 1: for twenties. It's gonna happen. But you also know that

714
00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: there's gonna be times where there's no one as hot

715
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 1: as Marcelo Azuna and you just got to ride that

716
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,839
Speaker 1: roller coaster with him. But the big issue is he

717
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:27,640
Speaker 1: needs a steady spot and he was really effective in

718
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,840
Speaker 1: that sixth hole starting the season, and it started to

719
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 1: uh started to become difficult for him when he needed

720
00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,600
Speaker 1: to bat forth and he started to try. I think

721
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,360
Speaker 1: he started to put too much pressure on himself to

722
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:43,440
Speaker 1: carry the load for Stanton and Boor, who were both hurt,

723
00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,879
Speaker 1: and he you know, he's not gonna single handedly lift

724
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:49,560
Speaker 1: an offense. If he can give you those mid mid

725
00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,120
Speaker 1: twenty home runs and coast to one hundred RBIs and

726
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:54,799
Speaker 1: hit two sixty, you know you're you're happy, if you're

727
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:59,440
Speaker 1: if you're the Marlins. But he just struggled so mightily

728
00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 1: in the second half. He almost provided nothing, and with

729
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,040
Speaker 1: Boor and Stanton out. There really was no power in

730
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,680
Speaker 1: that lineup, and that seemed to be the overwhelming issue

731
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,520
Speaker 1: for the Marlins was, Yeah, they could hit the singles,

732
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,799
Speaker 1: they could get on base, but the long ball, they

733
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,880
Speaker 1: were long ball deprived. And you know, with Stanton and

734
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,160
Speaker 1: Bore back in that lineup shouldn't be as much of

735
00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:26,040
Speaker 1: an issue. But it goes to be said, you know,

736
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:31,040
Speaker 1: Martine Prado is a phenomenal player, a great defender, and

737
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,080
Speaker 1: a great guy for the clubhouse, but you're putting yourself

738
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,560
Speaker 1: in a little bit of a hole when your third

739
00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:39,920
Speaker 1: basement is barely gonna break double digits and home runs.

740
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,359
Speaker 1: So you've got to make that power up elsewhere. And

741
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,320
Speaker 1: I think that's an area where the Marlins are struggling

742
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:48,120
Speaker 1: a little bit because they don't have much pop at

743
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:51,560
Speaker 1: shortstop and Dee Gordon's a slap hitter, and so you

744
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,600
Speaker 1: really only have power in the outfield in first base,

745
00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:58,200
Speaker 1: and so we're giving up a power position like third

746
00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:01,880
Speaker 1: base for a guy like Prato. Is a little difficult

747
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,360
Speaker 1: sometimes because yes, Proudo is incredible with runners in scoring position,

748
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,719
Speaker 1: but it hurts to not have that power bad at

749
00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:09,240
Speaker 1: the corner.

750
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:14,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, you know, First of all, just touching

751
00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:18,640
Speaker 2: on Azuna. I mean, if you're a Marlins fan who

752
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:22,719
Speaker 2: somehow only watched the team after the All Star break

753
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:26,560
Speaker 2: last year, imagine telling that fan that Marcelo Zuna was

754
00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,960
Speaker 2: on the National League All Star Team. I mean, this

755
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,680
Speaker 2: guy just fell off the table immediately when he got

756
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:34,640
Speaker 2: back from the All Star break. I mean, an incredible

757
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,080
Speaker 2: first half, was a fill in, made a filling spot

758
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,600
Speaker 2: on the All Star team, and then it was just

759
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,319
Speaker 2: gone and it was crazy to watch. He you know,

760
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:47,520
Speaker 2: started swinging missing at an incredible rate compared to his

761
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:49,920
Speaker 2: first half. But if you can get it back together

762
00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,879
Speaker 2: and hopefully have some power, I think the Marlins will

763
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,239
Speaker 2: be okay with you know, you know, their third, shortened

764
00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,400
Speaker 2: second baseman, all those starters. I mean, if any of

765
00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:02,759
Speaker 2: them get to ten homers, you're happy. It kind of

766
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,080
Speaker 2: seems like at this point, Prato it seems like his

767
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,840
Speaker 2: ceiling is about fifteen, and Gordon and Hecheveria maybe combined

768
00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:15,600
Speaker 2: for ten. But I think the bat that will need

769
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:17,960
Speaker 2: to really get over the hump power wise for the

770
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,759
Speaker 2: Marlins to make them really successful is Christian yell At,

771
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:22,440
Speaker 2: who I think is emerging as a star in the

772
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,279
Speaker 2: National League right now. I mean he can, Yeah, you

773
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,200
Speaker 2: can see him. He's like a twenty homer guy. I

774
00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:30,399
Speaker 2: think he can be a thirty homer guy, and that's

775
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:32,360
Speaker 2: what he needs to be. I think for the Marlins.

776
00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:34,800
Speaker 2: I think he'll hit three hundred this season, no problem.

777
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,399
Speaker 2: I think he might even be in the MVP race.

778
00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:39,600
Speaker 2: But for that to happen, I think he's gonna need

779
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,160
Speaker 2: to hit thirty or more homers, and that might be

780
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:44,560
Speaker 2: the big hits the Marlins need. Is when he comes up,

781
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:46,359
Speaker 2: you know, you can count on him in a clutch

782
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,239
Speaker 2: situation to double to the gap or hit a big

783
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:50,759
Speaker 2: single or whatever. But I think this season needs to

784
00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:52,399
Speaker 2: be the year where he can also hit the ball

785
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:54,960
Speaker 2: out of the park and maybe drive in three runs

786
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:57,600
Speaker 2: at a big time for the Marlins. So if he

787
00:39:57,600 --> 00:39:59,520
Speaker 2: can get over thirty homers, I think I can pick

788
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:02,200
Speaker 2: up for you know, an infield and jt Romuta, who

789
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:04,720
Speaker 2: you'd be lucky if he hits you know, fifteen homers

790
00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:08,160
Speaker 2: this year. Yelige can be a guy that can pick

791
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,000
Speaker 2: up for those you know more more guys who hit

792
00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:12,960
Speaker 2: for more average than power in the infield.

793
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:16,760
Speaker 1: And I'm actually pretty mad you just said that because

794
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,000
Speaker 1: I wanted to be the one that called the Christian

795
00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:22,799
Speaker 1: Yelich MVP, because I genuinely think he can be in

796
00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:28,080
Speaker 1: the MVP conversation, he his power stroke really came alive

797
00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:32,040
Speaker 1: in the second half. He really started to hit the

798
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 1: ball in the second half as well. And you know,

799
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 1: in his career going into last season, you know, he's

800
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,440
Speaker 1: played two full seasons or not quite full seasons. He's

801
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: a little hurt in twenty fifteen, but he had never

802
00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:48,400
Speaker 1: eclipsed fifty five RBIs And yes, he moved into a

803
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,319
Speaker 1: different spot in the lineup, but last year he had

804
00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:55,880
Speaker 1: ninety eight RBIs and with a lineup that really struggled

805
00:40:55,920 --> 00:41:00,719
Speaker 1: to get on base at times, that's phenomenal, especially when

806
00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:03,800
Speaker 1: he didn't have that protection. He didn't have Stanton and

807
00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:07,759
Speaker 1: Bore and a lot of it was just on his shoulders,

808
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:10,239
Speaker 1: and he seemed to be okay with that, and he

809
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,719
Speaker 1: did not really bat ny in the second half. He

810
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:17,920
Speaker 1: was almost the only Marlin that was really watchable, and

811
00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:22,080
Speaker 1: I could really see him in that MVP conversation because

812
00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:25,360
Speaker 1: there's very few hitters like him that are just pure,

813
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:27,520
Speaker 1: that can spray the ball out over the field, but

814
00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,600
Speaker 1: can also knock it out of the park. And he's

815
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:33,840
Speaker 1: really really blossoming in front of in front of our eyes,

816
00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:37,680
Speaker 1: and he's people forget he's going into his age twenty

817
00:41:37,719 --> 00:41:40,560
Speaker 1: five season. And then Marlins did a great job of

818
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:45,640
Speaker 1: locking him up. But if if, like you said before,

819
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:50,640
Speaker 1: that outfield has the capability of being easily the best

820
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:53,560
Speaker 1: in the league without a doubt in my mind. And

821
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:56,720
Speaker 1: so you, like you said, Stanton has to be healthy

822
00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:00,240
Speaker 1: and Ozuna needs to be first half Ozuna, not second

823
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:04,040
Speaker 1: half Ozuna. And the big thing with Ozuno is the

824
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:06,719
Speaker 1: big The big thing that helped him in the first

825
00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:08,960
Speaker 1: half of the season was he had a new found

826
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,600
Speaker 1: plate discipline. You know, his big issue. He's always chasing

827
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:14,960
Speaker 1: pitches and swinging out of the zone, really too eager

828
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,319
Speaker 1: to hit. And I think he began to trust that

829
00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:20,160
Speaker 1: the other guys in the lineup would pick him up,

830
00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:22,880
Speaker 1: and he started to work deep in accounts for the

831
00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:25,439
Speaker 1: first time and started doing things that we never saw

832
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:31,279
Speaker 1: Marcello Zuna do. But then as he saw Stanton and

833
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,719
Speaker 1: borgo down, I think he began pressing and trying to

834
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:37,760
Speaker 1: knock the ball out of the park and that became

835
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:42,200
Speaker 1: an issue. But going back to the Yelich conversation, the

836
00:42:42,239 --> 00:42:45,040
Speaker 1: power stroke really emerged in the second half. In the

837
00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:47,600
Speaker 1: first half, he only had seven home runs and that's

838
00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:51,719
Speaker 1: in you know, eighty three games, and the second half

839
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,919
Speaker 1: in seventy two games, which after the All Star break

840
00:42:55,920 --> 00:42:59,040
Speaker 1: it's shorter, and he had fourteen home runs. So he

841
00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:02,240
Speaker 1: hit double the home amount of home runs in less time.

842
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:07,640
Speaker 1: And you can't help but think that that's gonna carry

843
00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:11,080
Speaker 1: over into this in this season. And if he's able

844
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,600
Speaker 1: to be a thirty plus home run guy, that Marlins

845
00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:17,560
Speaker 1: lineup is starting starts to look a little scary. So

846
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:22,320
Speaker 1: that's definitely something the Marlins need out of Christian Yelich.

847
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:27,080
Speaker 1: And don't be surprised if Yellich's, Stanton and Boorr combined

848
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:30,080
Speaker 1: for one hundred and twenty home runs, you know, and

849
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:34,120
Speaker 1: that that could be something that the Marlins really really need,

850
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:36,800
Speaker 1: to say the least with their with their pitching situation.

851
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:41,120
Speaker 1: Going back to the pitching situation, not trying not to

852
00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,680
Speaker 1: dance around on us too much, but forgot to mention

853
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:48,920
Speaker 1: Adam Connelly. So Adam Connelly's been struggling a lot this spring,

854
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:53,400
Speaker 1: and the Marlins almost seemed hesitant to name him in

855
00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:58,440
Speaker 1: the rotation, and it seemed interesting because you had to think,

856
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:00,839
Speaker 1: who else are they gonna fill fill in for him?

857
00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:02,719
Speaker 1: You know, is it going to be Jose Arena or

858
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:06,960
Speaker 1: someone else? And you almost think he won it by default.

859
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:10,920
Speaker 1: But I think it was more of almost sending a

860
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:15,000
Speaker 1: message to Conley, like get it together, because we were

861
00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:18,200
Speaker 1: actively trying to find someone else if you can't. So

862
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:21,160
Speaker 1: what do you think of the Conley situation and how

863
00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:23,680
Speaker 1: that's kind of manifesting right now in front of our eyes.

864
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:28,479
Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought, you know, the way Conley pitched last

865
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:32,560
Speaker 2: season twenty five starts a three eight five era. You know,

866
00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:35,200
Speaker 2: he struck out eight and a half batters per nine innings.

867
00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:38,440
Speaker 2: I thought the way he pitched like he's projecting himself

868
00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:40,759
Speaker 2: to be a top three starter in the rotation going

869
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:43,080
Speaker 2: into this year, and then he has some troubles in

870
00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:46,160
Speaker 2: spring training. It's not looking good. But I still think

871
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:48,680
Speaker 2: what he did last year deserved, you know, he deserves

872
00:44:48,719 --> 00:44:51,600
Speaker 2: that number five spot in the rotation. I think from

873
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:54,040
Speaker 2: the left side he can be a very good pitcher

874
00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:57,759
Speaker 2: for the Marlins this season. You know, the struggles in

875
00:44:57,800 --> 00:44:59,480
Speaker 2: spring training, that's not what you want to see. But

876
00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:02,480
Speaker 2: you know, bring training numbers don't tell too too much

877
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:06,680
Speaker 2: about a player. The competition you're facing very so much

878
00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:10,400
Speaker 2: unlike an MLB season where you're you know, pitching against

879
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:14,359
Speaker 2: some of the some similar players night after night. But

880
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:18,239
Speaker 2: I really think his twenty sixteen season was a very

881
00:45:18,239 --> 00:45:21,040
Speaker 2: successful one. I mean, the whip was a little high

882
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:23,200
Speaker 2: at one point four. He lets a lot of runners

883
00:45:23,239 --> 00:45:25,760
Speaker 2: on base, but kind of was able to get himself

884
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:28,520
Speaker 2: out of a lot of jams. Last season, another thing

885
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,520
Speaker 2: he struggled with, you know, not being able to pitch

886
00:45:31,560 --> 00:45:34,240
Speaker 2: too deep into games. But you know, with the bullpen

887
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:36,520
Speaker 2: the Marlins have, if he gives you five innings, you're

888
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:38,799
Speaker 2: okay with that, especially as a fifth starter, you know,

889
00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:41,000
Speaker 2: if he's not giving up too too many runs. So

890
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:42,719
Speaker 2: I think Adam Conley would be an important part of

891
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:46,600
Speaker 2: the starting rotation. I don't think, you know, he'll lose

892
00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:48,960
Speaker 2: this spot in the rotation. I think he'll pitch well

893
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:51,399
Speaker 2: enough this year to even if he's only the number

894
00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:53,480
Speaker 2: five guy the whole year. I think that'll be fine.

895
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,680
Speaker 2: If he's pitching well enough, and if he can keep that,

896
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,560
Speaker 2: you know, maybe some of his peripheral stats. You know,

897
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:02,080
Speaker 2: that's the thing about some sabermetric stats, you know, they

898
00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:04,439
Speaker 2: some of them do a great job of showing how

899
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:06,880
Speaker 2: he should be pitching and how what numbers should be

900
00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:09,200
Speaker 2: going up on the board against him. But sometimes you

901
00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:11,440
Speaker 2: have seasons where you know your e RA is in

902
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:14,600
Speaker 2: the mid threes, but all your numbers show it should

903
00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:17,400
Speaker 2: be in the high fours. And sometimes you just have

904
00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:19,960
Speaker 2: to accept a season like that, like, hey, the way

905
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:23,320
Speaker 2: he's pitching, you know, doesn't look great, but the results

906
00:46:23,320 --> 00:46:27,080
Speaker 2: are quite all right, and he has another season like that.

907
00:46:27,120 --> 00:46:28,359
Speaker 2: I mean, that's not the way you want to build

908
00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:30,320
Speaker 2: a career, but I think the Marlins will be okay

909
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:31,480
Speaker 2: with that out of their fifth starter.

910
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:36,040
Speaker 1: And going back to what you said with spring training

911
00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:37,920
Speaker 1: stats not being the end all be all. That's what

912
00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:39,839
Speaker 1: made it so surprising to me that the Marlins were

913
00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:43,719
Speaker 1: so hesitant to, you know, name Conley to the rotation because,

914
00:46:43,719 --> 00:46:45,759
Speaker 1: like you said, you know, he was he was great

915
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:51,040
Speaker 1: last year and he really showed signs of effectiveness. He

916
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:53,800
Speaker 1: took you know, he had a no hitter into the

917
00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:57,440
Speaker 1: seventh inning one one game. He showed signs where he

918
00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:01,200
Speaker 1: could go out there and he was unhittable times and yeah,

919
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:02,880
Speaker 1: he got touched up every once in a while. But

920
00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:06,120
Speaker 1: he's a young arm. He's a lefty left he's tend

921
00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:11,200
Speaker 1: to develop a little slower, and he really seemed to

922
00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:14,560
Speaker 1: develop a pitchability about him as the season progressed. And

923
00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:17,160
Speaker 1: you know, you had that fluke injury where you punched

924
00:47:17,239 --> 00:47:20,360
Speaker 1: the top of the dugout at Wrigley and messed his

925
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:22,560
Speaker 1: hand up, and that was a big loss for the

926
00:47:22,600 --> 00:47:24,560
Speaker 1: Marlins for a while. And it's hard to come back

927
00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:26,640
Speaker 1: from a broken finger right away when you're pitching. But

928
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:33,600
Speaker 1: it's it's tough when you're trying to, you know, fight

929
00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:36,640
Speaker 1: for a spot you think you already deserve. So Conley,

930
00:47:36,719 --> 00:47:40,480
Speaker 1: I'm sure thinks he earned that spot, and he deserves

931
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:43,360
Speaker 1: that spot from his performance last year. And I was

932
00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:45,480
Speaker 1: just very surprised to see that the Marlins were so

933
00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:48,960
Speaker 1: hesitant to give him that spot after what he did

934
00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:51,800
Speaker 1: last year. And you know, spring is such a small

935
00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:55,759
Speaker 1: sample size. It's not it's not enough to really say

936
00:47:55,880 --> 00:48:00,120
Speaker 1: Conley isn't doing well unless there's something you know that

937
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:03,120
Speaker 1: we aren't seeing, you know, behind the scenes. Maybe he's

938
00:48:03,239 --> 00:48:06,040
Speaker 1: really struggling in practice too, you know, in his bullpens

939
00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:09,719
Speaker 1: and everything. So that's has to be a small you know,

940
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:14,040
Speaker 1: sort of alarm for Marlins fans there. But I think

941
00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:18,160
Speaker 1: Connelly will settle in. He's a smart pitcher and he

942
00:48:18,239 --> 00:48:22,160
Speaker 1: should be fine. But he should I honestly, even for

943
00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:24,719
Speaker 1: to take that a step further, I think he'll end

944
00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:26,960
Speaker 1: up near the middle and to our top of the

945
00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:33,000
Speaker 1: rotation as he settles in this season. But the big

946
00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:35,600
Speaker 1: thing out of that rotation, I guess, the big question

947
00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:38,920
Speaker 1: mark other than Chen has to be Edison Volcez, because

948
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:42,840
Speaker 1: like we said earlier, Chen has the highest ceiling probably,

949
00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:46,080
Speaker 1: but Volcez isn't that far off. You know, a couple

950
00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:49,799
Speaker 1: of years ago in Kansas City, he had a really

951
00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:54,880
Speaker 1: really good season, and yes he struggled the last two years.

952
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,840
Speaker 1: He was still you know, a serviceable starting pitcher. But

953
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:01,960
Speaker 1: Edison Volcez used to be, you know, a top of

954
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:05,680
Speaker 1: the rotation guy, and you know he still has that

955
00:49:05,760 --> 00:49:09,399
Speaker 1: in him somewhere. Just a lot of his issues is,

956
00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:13,719
Speaker 1: you know, his control issues, and he just tends to

957
00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:17,640
Speaker 1: go in spurts of striking people out. But you know,

958
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:20,840
Speaker 1: in twenty thirteen he led the league and earned runs

959
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:23,080
Speaker 1: and that's you know, not something you want to lead

960
00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:25,120
Speaker 1: the league in. And control has also been a big

961
00:49:25,160 --> 00:49:30,880
Speaker 1: issue for him. But you know, actually he also led

962
00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:33,759
Speaker 1: the league and earned runs last year. But anyway, you

963
00:49:33,760 --> 00:49:39,600
Speaker 1: know that season with Cincinnati, he went seventeen and six

964
00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:42,200
Speaker 1: with a three two one ERA, and he was right

965
00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:45,840
Speaker 1: at two hundred innings, and obviously, you know he's not

966
00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:47,799
Speaker 1: going to go seventeen and six for the Fish this year.

967
00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:51,080
Speaker 1: But that was two thousand and eight, and you think, okay,

968
00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:53,040
Speaker 1: maybe that season was a fluke. But then you go

969
00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:56,719
Speaker 1: down to you know, twenty fourteen in Pittsburgh and he

970
00:49:56,800 --> 00:50:00,160
Speaker 1: pitched to a three point oh four ERA, right at

971
00:50:00,160 --> 00:50:02,240
Speaker 1: two hundred innings again, and he was thirteen and seven.

972
00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:05,040
Speaker 1: So yeah, he also led the league in wild pitches,

973
00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:07,719
Speaker 1: but you know what you're gonna get with him. So

974
00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:11,520
Speaker 1: it's part of the idea. You know, he's only going

975
00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:16,520
Speaker 1: into his age thirty three season. He's definitely not you know,

976
00:50:16,840 --> 00:50:20,640
Speaker 1: running out of gas by any means. So I think

977
00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:23,600
Speaker 1: it's that kind of sporadicness that you have of Edison

978
00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:27,080
Speaker 1: Volcez that you don't know what to expect. But if

979
00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:29,640
Speaker 1: he can be, we're not asking him to be. You know,

980
00:50:29,680 --> 00:50:32,640
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight All Stars Cincinnati Edison Volcez. But

981
00:50:32,680 --> 00:50:35,560
Speaker 1: if he could even be twenty fifteen Kansas City Royal

982
00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:38,319
Speaker 1: Edison Volcz who went thirteen and nine and ate two

983
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:41,320
Speaker 1: hundred innings, I think the Marlins would be more than thrilled.

984
00:50:42,840 --> 00:50:46,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, especially having him, you know, at the top of

985
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:52,399
Speaker 2: their rotation starting opening day for Miami. I mean last

986
00:50:52,440 --> 00:50:55,040
Speaker 2: year wasn't a great year. Obviously, you said he led

987
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:57,400
Speaker 2: the league and earned runs. His walks were up, his

988
00:50:57,440 --> 00:50:59,920
Speaker 2: strikeouts were down. I mean his whip was up all

989
00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:02,200
Speaker 2: those one point six It's not what you want to see.

990
00:51:02,200 --> 00:51:05,279
Speaker 2: But again we talk about the fit. It was at

991
00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:07,359
Speaker 2: four or five, where his era was almost at five

992
00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:10,359
Speaker 2: to five, so he should have really been allowing one

993
00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:12,920
Speaker 2: less run than he was. I mean, he kind of

994
00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:15,840
Speaker 2: dealt with a Kansas City defense that was riddle with injuries,

995
00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:19,040
Speaker 2: didn't help him out at all. But back in twenty fifteen,

996
00:51:19,239 --> 00:51:22,080
Speaker 2: pitching for that Royals team that won the World Series,

997
00:51:22,120 --> 00:51:24,120
Speaker 2: I mean he was dominant three five to five. Evra

998
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:26,680
Speaker 2: pitched two hundred innings, pitched Game one of the World

999
00:51:26,800 --> 00:51:30,520
Speaker 2: Series for the Royals as well, So you know, he

1000
00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:32,120
Speaker 2: had a lot of success back then. And you talked

1001
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:34,600
Speaker 2: about twenty fourteen with Pittsburgh just two years ago where

1002
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:38,560
Speaker 2: the er almost did below three in one hundred and

1003
00:51:38,640 --> 00:51:42,799
Speaker 2: ninety two innings. So Volceez has the stuff to be

1004
00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:46,400
Speaker 2: a good pitcher and a good top of the rotation pitcher.

1005
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:47,960
Speaker 2: Maybe not the guy at this point you want to

1006
00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:50,640
Speaker 2: be your ace. But as we've talked about the Marlins,

1007
00:51:50,719 --> 00:51:52,800
Speaker 2: you know, they're going to be able to overlook a

1008
00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:55,719
Speaker 2: mediocre rotation with a good bullpen. And I think it's

1009
00:51:55,760 --> 00:51:57,680
Speaker 2: okay that he's at the top of the rotation because

1010
00:51:57,719 --> 00:51:59,640
Speaker 2: I think he has the stuff to pitch well enough

1011
00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:02,319
Speaker 2: that he can be a go to guy. You know,

1012
00:52:02,560 --> 00:52:05,239
Speaker 2: if they really get themselves in a situation at the

1013
00:52:05,320 --> 00:52:07,279
Speaker 2: end of the year where they're, you know, last week

1014
00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:09,799
Speaker 2: of the season and they're needing some wins to get

1015
00:52:09,800 --> 00:52:12,600
Speaker 2: into the postseason, if you give him the ball, you

1016
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:15,279
Speaker 2: can still have confidence with him on the mound, and

1017
00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:17,360
Speaker 2: you can have confidence with the bullpen behind him. So

1018
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:20,120
Speaker 2: I think it was a good signing of Volceez despite

1019
00:52:20,480 --> 00:52:22,600
Speaker 2: the year last year. And I think, you know, you

1020
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:25,399
Speaker 2: talked about the Marlins buying high on Dan Strali, they

1021
00:52:25,440 --> 00:52:28,120
Speaker 2: bought low on Edison Volcez, and I think it might

1022
00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:30,080
Speaker 2: pay off in the long run, you know, just a

1023
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:31,719
Speaker 2: two year deal, but I think he could have two

1024
00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:34,440
Speaker 2: very productive seasons for Dom Matticly.

1025
00:52:34,760 --> 00:52:39,560
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and you know, buying low on on Volkez is

1026
00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:43,920
Speaker 1: huge because you know, Chen, they're kind of handcuffed too

1027
00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:47,000
Speaker 1: for a little while now, and and should Vulcez not

1028
00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:49,400
Speaker 1: work out, you know, you only have him for two years,

1029
00:52:49,440 --> 00:52:54,480
Speaker 1: So worst case scenario, Volcez doesn't work out, he's not

1030
00:52:54,920 --> 00:52:57,320
Speaker 1: you know, attached to the Marlins hip there, I guess,

1031
00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:01,680
Speaker 1: And so he's definitely only a good, you know, low risk,

1032
00:53:01,719 --> 00:53:04,920
Speaker 1: high reward guy for the Fish and definitely one of

1033
00:53:04,920 --> 00:53:10,839
Speaker 1: their better signings of the offseason. He's definitely a huge key.

1034
00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:16,760
Speaker 1: I think him and Chen could they combined for twenty

1035
00:53:16,800 --> 00:53:19,879
Speaker 1: five wins, you know, thirty wins, and I know that's

1036
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:23,560
Speaker 1: pretty lofty goal. I think twenty five is more more attainable.

1037
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:28,520
Speaker 1: The Martins will be thrilled because, you know, like we said,

1038
00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:31,440
Speaker 1: the bullpen's going to bridge that gap to the end

1039
00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:34,440
Speaker 1: of the game, and the starters probably aren't gonna get

1040
00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:36,680
Speaker 1: a lot of wins because they'll probably be out of

1041
00:53:36,719 --> 00:53:39,600
Speaker 1: there in the fifth ending and Madden Leal might yank

1042
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,600
Speaker 1: guys a little early because he knows he has that

1043
00:53:41,640 --> 00:53:45,759
Speaker 1: bullpen and has the ability to yank guys early. And

1044
00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:50,719
Speaker 1: you know, another thing that's overlooked is Maddenly did a

1045
00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:54,000
Speaker 1: great job of handling the bullpen last year. You know,

1046
00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:59,719
Speaker 1: Fernando Rodney was was kind of a mess towards the

1047
00:53:59,760 --> 00:54:03,160
Speaker 1: end of season, but other than that, he didn't have

1048
00:54:03,200 --> 00:54:06,320
Speaker 1: a choice but to use him. But and with Ramos

1049
00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:08,640
Speaker 1: being hurt, he was kind of out of options. But

1050
00:54:08,960 --> 00:54:13,480
Speaker 1: now you give Maddingly all of these weapons at his disposal,

1051
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,960
Speaker 1: and basically, if you know, if you're Mike Hill, you

1052
00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:20,520
Speaker 1: just said, here's all these weapons, use them wisely, and

1053
00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:24,160
Speaker 1: I have full confidence that Don Mattingly is going to

1054
00:54:24,239 --> 00:54:28,080
Speaker 1: use them wisely. So that's something that's going to be

1055
00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:33,360
Speaker 1: very very effective for the Marlins and very encouraging for

1056
00:54:33,400 --> 00:54:38,080
Speaker 1: Don Maddingly. So, yes, the rotation may not get a

1057
00:54:38,120 --> 00:54:41,000
Speaker 1: lot of wins, but one of the better coaches in

1058
00:54:41,040 --> 00:54:44,080
Speaker 1: baseball is handling one of the deepest pens in baseball,

1059
00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:48,719
Speaker 1: and that's something that is very encouraging. Going to kind

1060
00:54:48,719 --> 00:54:51,880
Speaker 1: of transition here into towards the end, I like to,

1061
00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:55,200
Speaker 1: you know, kind of get a little off topic for

1062
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:57,440
Speaker 1: lack of a better words, and kind of talk about

1063
00:54:57,760 --> 00:55:01,920
Speaker 1: maybe some more extreme things. And I was thinking earlier

1064
00:55:01,960 --> 00:55:05,759
Speaker 1: today that maybe at Danny Echeverria isn't the shortstop of

1065
00:55:05,800 --> 00:55:08,560
Speaker 1: the future, and so this is my kind of extreme

1066
00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:11,560
Speaker 1: take of the day. I think maybe after this season

1067
00:55:11,680 --> 00:55:13,719
Speaker 1: it may be time to, you know, move on from

1068
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:17,879
Speaker 1: a Danny Echeveria and look for another shortstop. And I'm

1069
00:55:17,920 --> 00:55:20,200
Speaker 1: curious what you think of that, Connor, and what your

1070
00:55:20,200 --> 00:55:22,200
Speaker 1: hot take might be on something else.

1071
00:55:23,920 --> 00:55:27,160
Speaker 2: I've been halfway on that train for the better part

1072
00:55:27,200 --> 00:55:31,120
Speaker 2: of last season. You know, he's kind of known. If

1073
00:55:31,120 --> 00:55:33,040
Speaker 2: you think at Danny Hegevera, you think, oh, not a

1074
00:55:33,080 --> 00:55:35,160
Speaker 2: great bat, but he's a good defender and he's got

1075
00:55:35,160 --> 00:55:38,640
Speaker 2: some speed. If you really dive deep into a Danny

1076
00:55:38,840 --> 00:55:42,600
Speaker 2: hedge at shortstop, he's more of an average defender than

1077
00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:45,960
Speaker 2: a good defender. And yeah, he's a flashy guy. He

1078
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:47,799
Speaker 2: makes some good plays, he makes some you know, nice

1079
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:51,279
Speaker 2: diving plays, but overall his skill at shortstop is, you know,

1080
00:55:51,840 --> 00:55:54,640
Speaker 2: in his best day, just above average. And he's not

1081
00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:57,239
Speaker 2: a good hitter. I mean to put it bluntly, he's

1082
00:55:57,320 --> 00:56:00,479
Speaker 2: just not a good hitter. And it's at some point

1083
00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:02,000
Speaker 2: you have to think about I know, you know, a

1084
00:56:02,080 --> 00:56:04,879
Speaker 2: lot of teams build it. You know, you just maybe

1085
00:56:04,920 --> 00:56:07,040
Speaker 2: if you have a great offense at shortstop, you just

1086
00:56:07,080 --> 00:56:08,919
Speaker 2: have a great defender who might get you a couple

1087
00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:11,279
Speaker 2: of big hits and hit two twenty and that's about it.

1088
00:56:11,360 --> 00:56:14,160
Speaker 2: But at some point, you know, the shortstop position is

1089
00:56:14,160 --> 00:56:17,440
Speaker 2: evolving and there's guys like Corey Seeger and Carlos Correa

1090
00:56:17,440 --> 00:56:20,680
Speaker 2: and you know, Trevor Story let him as Das, all

1091
00:56:20,760 --> 00:56:23,400
Speaker 2: these young shortstops who hit for average, hit for power

1092
00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:27,000
Speaker 2: and play very well on the defensive end, and you know,

1093
00:56:27,040 --> 00:56:28,719
Speaker 2: it's hard to get them in the draft. You know,

1094
00:56:29,239 --> 00:56:30,879
Speaker 2: it seems like a lot of them are coming now,

1095
00:56:30,920 --> 00:56:32,760
Speaker 2: but it's still hard to pick them out in the draft.

1096
00:56:34,840 --> 00:56:36,920
Speaker 2: But at some point it might you know, I kind

1097
00:56:36,920 --> 00:56:38,799
Speaker 2: of agree with you, it might be time to move

1098
00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:41,960
Speaker 2: on from Etravoia maybe after the season. And my hot

1099
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:45,320
Speaker 2: take I think I I think I spewed out a

1100
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:47,960
Speaker 2: little bit earlier, but Christian Yellis is going to be

1101
00:56:47,960 --> 00:56:50,319
Speaker 2: in the top five of the conversation for National League

1102
00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:52,600
Speaker 2: MVP this year, and I think that might be a

1103
00:56:52,600 --> 00:56:56,279
Speaker 2: good transition to us, you know, wrapping it up here

1104
00:56:56,320 --> 00:56:58,160
Speaker 2: at the end and just talking about you know what

1105
00:56:58,280 --> 00:57:00,800
Speaker 2: happens with the Marlins this year and where they finish,

1106
00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:04,200
Speaker 2: and really what happens in baseball in twenty seventeen.

1107
00:57:04,920 --> 00:57:09,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, So to sum up the Etraveria conversation, I think

1108
00:57:09,640 --> 00:57:11,000
Speaker 1: it's time to move on from him, like you said,

1109
00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:15,080
Speaker 1: because you got guys like Correa, Lindor and all these

1110
00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:18,720
Speaker 1: shortstops that can really hit the ball, and it's not

1111
00:57:18,800 --> 00:57:21,080
Speaker 1: a defensive position anymore. Yes, you want to have a

1112
00:57:21,080 --> 00:57:23,440
Speaker 1: guy that can play some good shortstop like Angelton Simmons,

1113
00:57:23,520 --> 00:57:28,120
Speaker 1: but I think it's really become an offensive position. And

1114
00:57:29,320 --> 00:57:31,200
Speaker 1: it used to be the corner, you know, the corner

1115
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:33,800
Speaker 1: outfield guys and the corner infield guys, But it's really

1116
00:57:33,800 --> 00:57:37,120
Speaker 1: turning into an offensive position. And I know you can't

1117
00:57:37,160 --> 00:57:39,479
Speaker 1: move on from etch of area without a contingency plan.

1118
00:57:39,560 --> 00:57:43,120
Speaker 1: But even I see JT. Riddle can't be much worse

1119
00:57:43,120 --> 00:57:46,640
Speaker 1: than Atcha Verrea, I mean Extraveria, like we were talking

1120
00:57:46,640 --> 00:57:50,720
Speaker 1: about earlier. All the metrics point to him being an

1121
00:57:50,760 --> 00:57:54,400
Speaker 1: average fielder with a little flare, and you know he

1122
00:57:54,440 --> 00:57:57,760
Speaker 1: can't hit the ball very effectively, So how could JT.

1123
00:57:57,880 --> 00:58:01,240
Speaker 1: Riddle be much worse? And I wouldn't mind training at

1124
00:58:01,320 --> 00:58:05,280
Speaker 1: Chavia putting him in part of a package either for

1125
00:58:05,360 --> 00:58:08,000
Speaker 1: prospects to build up that farm system, or try and

1126
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,760
Speaker 1: get a starting pitcher, call up JT. Riddle and go

1127
00:58:11,840 --> 00:58:14,280
Speaker 1: from there. But obviously that's not something the Marlins would do.

1128
00:58:14,400 --> 00:58:18,280
Speaker 1: That's just my crazy MLB the show franchise move I

1129
00:58:18,280 --> 00:58:20,920
Speaker 1: would do because I just am not a fan of

1130
00:58:20,960 --> 00:58:24,360
Speaker 1: Etcheveruria put simply, I just don't believe in him and

1131
00:58:24,440 --> 00:58:29,400
Speaker 1: he doesn't show any signs of improvement. So maybe that's

1132
00:58:29,400 --> 00:58:31,800
Speaker 1: some a position you draft in the first round this

1133
00:58:31,880 --> 00:58:34,080
Speaker 1: year for you the Marlins. I know, pitching always seems

1134
00:58:34,120 --> 00:58:35,840
Speaker 1: to be where they go in the first round, but

1135
00:58:36,440 --> 00:58:38,920
Speaker 1: maybe they should mix it up. Maybe it's time to

1136
00:58:39,040 --> 00:58:43,080
Speaker 1: draft a bat or a shortstop. But going into what

1137
00:58:43,120 --> 00:58:47,320
Speaker 1: we said, you know, your hot take with Yelich, I

1138
00:58:47,360 --> 00:58:52,320
Speaker 1: agree with that wholeheartedly and my expectations. You know, on

1139
00:58:52,360 --> 00:58:58,560
Speaker 1: the NL East, it seems to be that the Nationals

1140
00:58:58,560 --> 00:59:00,840
Speaker 1: are the team to beat, you know, and that's not

1141
00:59:01,560 --> 00:59:08,320
Speaker 1: anything groundbreaking there. But the Mets are starting to look

1142
00:59:08,640 --> 00:59:13,480
Speaker 1: like the twenty fifteen Mets again, and Steven Mattz just

1143
00:59:13,520 --> 00:59:17,760
Speaker 1: went down. He's got some arm problems again, but Cindergard

1144
00:59:17,840 --> 00:59:23,880
Speaker 1: is healthy. Matt Harvey is getting healthy, and people forget

1145
00:59:23,920 --> 00:59:27,000
Speaker 1: that the Mets last year, their entire rotation was just

1146
00:59:27,200 --> 00:59:29,960
Speaker 1: beat up. Harvey was out for the season, Matts was

1147
00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:32,120
Speaker 1: pitching with a bone spur, Cinderguard was pitching with a

1148
00:59:32,160 --> 00:59:37,240
Speaker 1: bone spur. So you have Incespitis was playing hurt. You

1149
00:59:37,320 --> 00:59:39,320
Speaker 1: have all these guys that were that were injured, and

1150
00:59:39,320 --> 00:59:41,160
Speaker 1: I'm sure there were more injuries that I was missing,

1151
00:59:41,600 --> 00:59:46,720
Speaker 1: but Familia suspension ended up being much shorter than many

1152
00:59:46,760 --> 00:59:49,760
Speaker 1: thought it would be. I think that Mets team could

1153
00:59:49,880 --> 00:59:53,560
Speaker 1: easily creep up on the Nationals. In terms of the Marlins,

1154
00:59:54,160 --> 00:59:58,240
Speaker 1: I think Vegas has the odds that the over underwins

1155
00:59:58,320 --> 01:00:01,760
Speaker 1: at about seventy six and a half. I see them

1156
01:00:01,800 --> 01:00:05,880
Speaker 1: being right around that clip one because Vegas is never wrong.

1157
01:00:05,960 --> 01:00:09,880
Speaker 1: In two because it just seems about right. I just

1158
01:00:10,000 --> 01:00:13,640
Speaker 1: don't see the Marlins getting over that five hundred hump

1159
01:00:13,640 --> 01:00:16,280
Speaker 1: with that rotation. But one thing I will say is

1160
01:00:16,320 --> 01:00:22,240
Speaker 1: that if there's one average looking team or one team

1161
01:00:22,280 --> 01:00:26,280
Speaker 1: that's projected in the mid seventies that could get up

1162
01:00:26,280 --> 01:00:28,800
Speaker 1: into the mid eighties and maybe compete for a second

1163
01:00:28,800 --> 01:00:33,200
Speaker 1: wild card spot, it's the Marlins because they have a

1164
01:00:33,840 --> 01:00:38,960
Speaker 1: top tier offense and an outfield that ranks with anyone

1165
01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:42,800
Speaker 1: in the MLB and by top tier offense. Maybe they

1166
01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:44,640
Speaker 1: didn't put up the runs of a top tier offense

1167
01:00:44,680 --> 01:00:48,800
Speaker 1: last year, but talent, you know, one through nine is

1168
01:00:50,400 --> 01:00:53,360
Speaker 1: about as good as anyone and has the potential to

1169
01:00:53,360 --> 01:00:57,000
Speaker 1: be about as good as anyone. So you know, we

1170
01:00:57,080 --> 01:01:00,000
Speaker 1: touched on it earlier. The big issue is can they

1171
01:01:00,120 --> 01:01:02,040
Speaker 1: drive in runs? Because they showed they can hit the ball.

1172
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:05,880
Speaker 1: But I think if all of these guys are hitting

1173
01:01:05,920 --> 01:01:09,480
Speaker 1: three hundred and you got Stanton and boor healthy, that

1174
01:01:09,600 --> 01:01:14,760
Speaker 1: offense can't do anything but trend upwards. So I really

1175
01:01:14,800 --> 01:01:18,200
Speaker 1: think that they're gonna be around the five hundred mark.

1176
01:01:18,560 --> 01:01:23,480
Speaker 1: But they do have a chance to surprise, to surprise everyone,

1177
01:01:23,520 --> 01:01:26,640
Speaker 1: but most projections have them around the fourth in the

1178
01:01:26,680 --> 01:01:31,160
Speaker 1: division mark. I think they'll finish third, but it's it'll

1179
01:01:31,240 --> 01:01:34,680
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting. It's definitely. It's definitely a team that's

1180
01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:35,320
Speaker 1: worth watching.

1181
01:01:36,200 --> 01:01:40,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, just a quick plug on the shortstop situation. There

1182
01:01:40,680 --> 01:01:44,520
Speaker 2: shortstop in College Park playing for Maryland named Kevin Smith,

1183
01:01:44,520 --> 01:01:46,160
Speaker 2: who's probably gonna go in the first round of this

1184
01:01:46,240 --> 01:01:49,240
Speaker 2: year's draft. Hits for power, hits for average, great defender,

1185
01:01:49,760 --> 01:01:51,760
Speaker 2: something that Marlins should take a look at. But as

1186
01:01:51,760 --> 01:01:54,720
Speaker 2: far as the NL East, I think it's a tough

1187
01:01:54,760 --> 01:01:57,200
Speaker 2: position for the Marlins, not just now, but for years

1188
01:01:57,240 --> 01:01:59,960
Speaker 2: to come. The NET or the Mets and the Net

1189
01:02:01,160 --> 01:02:03,720
Speaker 2: are built to win now and they're built to last

1190
01:02:04,160 --> 01:02:07,680
Speaker 2: with young position players, young starting pitchers. I think the

1191
01:02:07,720 --> 01:02:09,960
Speaker 2: Mets take the division this year, but in a close one,

1192
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:12,600
Speaker 2: and I think the Nets get that first wild card spot.

1193
01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:14,720
Speaker 2: I actually think the Mets might win the World Series

1194
01:02:14,760 --> 01:02:17,600
Speaker 2: this year. That's my other bold prediction, if that lineup

1195
01:02:17,760 --> 01:02:20,680
Speaker 2: or that rotation can stay healthy. But Marlins, I think

1196
01:02:20,680 --> 01:02:24,560
Speaker 2: they finished third. Looking at you know, best case scenario

1197
01:02:24,600 --> 01:02:28,240
Speaker 2: for the Marlins, you know, he'll put together a great

1198
01:02:28,280 --> 01:02:31,480
Speaker 2: bullpen and you can kind of go on fish stripes

1199
01:02:31,520 --> 01:02:34,080
Speaker 2: dot com right now and give your thoughts about the

1200
01:02:34,120 --> 01:02:37,600
Speaker 2: Marlins front office in a little survey there on fishstripes

1201
01:02:37,640 --> 01:02:40,560
Speaker 2: dot com. But I think he did a great job

1202
01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:43,560
Speaker 2: of putting together a bullpen that can mask a starting

1203
01:02:43,640 --> 01:02:47,240
Speaker 2: rotation that isn't great. And if the offense plays well

1204
01:02:47,680 --> 01:02:50,040
Speaker 2: and they can drive in runs this season and everybody

1205
01:02:50,040 --> 01:02:52,600
Speaker 2: plays to their potential on the offensive side, I mean

1206
01:02:52,600 --> 01:02:54,280
Speaker 2: they have a lineup that can compete with anyone, and

1207
01:02:54,280 --> 01:02:56,600
Speaker 2: they have a bullpen that can compete with anyone, and

1208
01:02:56,880 --> 01:03:00,560
Speaker 2: there's teams, especially in the American League, that like that.

1209
01:03:00,760 --> 01:03:02,640
Speaker 2: Not a good rotation, but they hit well and they

1210
01:03:02,720 --> 01:03:05,280
Speaker 2: pitch well out of the bullpen. I think the Marlins

1211
01:03:05,280 --> 01:03:07,320
Speaker 2: could win in the mid to upper eighties and maybe

1212
01:03:07,320 --> 01:03:10,680
Speaker 2: steal a second wild card spot. But on the other side,

1213
01:03:10,760 --> 01:03:15,400
Speaker 2: the uh, maybe what could be the worst case scenario

1214
01:03:15,440 --> 01:03:19,400
Speaker 2: for Miami is that that rotation just can't be fixed

1215
01:03:19,440 --> 01:03:23,439
Speaker 2: and Stanton gets hurt again and they can't drive in runs,

1216
01:03:23,440 --> 01:03:25,920
Speaker 2: and no matter how good the bullpen is, it's just

1217
01:03:25,960 --> 01:03:28,439
Speaker 2: not enough. And that, you know, seventy to seventy five

1218
01:03:28,520 --> 01:03:32,360
Speaker 2: win range seems more likely. But you know, they're a

1219
01:03:32,360 --> 01:03:34,840
Speaker 2: team where their best case scenario is the playoffs, and

1220
01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:37,680
Speaker 2: there's ten or more teams in the in major leagues

1221
01:03:37,680 --> 01:03:40,600
Speaker 2: where their best case scenario is not anywhere near the playoffs.

1222
01:03:40,600 --> 01:03:43,080
Speaker 2: So I think they're in a position this year where

1223
01:03:43,760 --> 01:03:45,520
Speaker 2: they're not going to win that division because the Mets

1224
01:03:45,560 --> 01:03:48,680
Speaker 2: and the Nationals are too strong. But there's a chance

1225
01:03:48,720 --> 01:03:52,320
Speaker 2: to see playoff baseball in Miami for the first time

1226
01:03:52,360 --> 01:03:53,960
Speaker 2: since two thousand and three.

1227
01:03:54,320 --> 01:03:57,320
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and so we are going to wrap it up

1228
01:03:57,360 --> 01:04:00,720
Speaker 1: for the first Fish Fights podcast of the year and

1229
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:04,480
Speaker 1: of this young season. We are excited for opening day

1230
01:04:04,520 --> 01:04:07,400
Speaker 1: in a few days here, and we're actually also going

1231
01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:10,320
Speaker 1: to start a question segment, so please feel free to

1232
01:04:10,400 --> 01:04:14,440
Speaker 1: ask us any questions comment on this article that we'll

1233
01:04:14,480 --> 01:04:17,000
Speaker 1: be posted and at the bottom you know, ask us

1234
01:04:17,000 --> 01:04:19,040
Speaker 1: any questions and we will answer them at the beginning

1235
01:04:19,520 --> 01:04:22,600
Speaker 1: or the end of the next podcast. We'll be back

1236
01:04:22,680 --> 01:04:25,280
Speaker 1: next week with our thoughts on the first series for

1237
01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:28,400
Speaker 1: the Fish and excited to see how they open up

1238
01:04:28,400 --> 01:04:31,880
Speaker 1: the season. I'm arm Lighton and I'm with Connor Newcomb.

1239
01:04:32,000 --> 01:04:35,080
Speaker 1: Your place to go for all things Miami Marlins Fishstripes

1240
01:04:35,120 --> 01:04:38,280
Speaker 1: dot com. We really appreciate you taking some time to

1241
01:04:38,320 --> 01:04:41,360
Speaker 1: listen to us. Please rate, subscribe, and give us feedback

1242
01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:43,840
Speaker 1: as well as ask us any questions you want answered.

1243
01:04:44,200 --> 01:04:46,080
Speaker 1: Happy almost Opening Day everyone,