Day 25: Florida Marlins

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: Florida Marlins

2007 Regular Season Record: 71-91

Cost per Win: $30,507,000 / 71 = $429,676 per win

2007 Season Recap: 2007 was the continuation of the rebuilding process that the Marlins have been going through the past several years. This process began after they won the World Series in 2003 and they have made some progress in developing talent but their record has failed to improve and their win total has fallen from 83 wins in ’04 and ‘05 to 78 wins in ‘06 to now 71 wins in 2007. They finished the season 18 games back in the NL East. Pitching was definitely the Marlins problem and as a team they were last in the NL with a 4.94 ERA and second to last in batting average against.

The offense played great most of the year and some of their young talent really stepped up this year. As a team they hit for a .267 batting average which ranked 8th in the NL and they scored the 6th most runs in the NL in 2007. The team was led by Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera. Ramirez hit for a .332 batting average and scored 125 runs, leading the team in both categories. Cabrera hit for a .320 batting average and led the team with 119 RBIs and 34 home runs. The Marlins also had several other good offensive performances from a bunch of unknowns. Some of these standouts were; Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, and Josh Willingham.

The Marlins’ major problem was with their pitching, more specifically their starting pitching. The best ERA for any starter in 2007 was a 4.65 by Sergio Mitre. The Marlins best known pitcher, Dontrelle Willis, had a 5.17 ERA and a 10-15 record, much below the expectations for the player that took up a fifth of their payroll. The Marlins did have a good closer with Kevin Gregg converting 32 of his 36 save opportunities. The Marlins had a lot of different guys get pitching opportunities in 2007 so they should have a good idea going into 2008 of what their staff will look like.

One big piece of news this off-season was the trade of Miguel Cabrera and Dontrell Willis to the Tigers. In exchange they received 6 young prospects including promising pitcher Andrew Miller. This gets rid of a lot of payroll for the Marlins since Cabrera and Willis were $13.8 million of the Marlins payroll in 2007. The true outcome of this trade won’t be seen for a few years but it most likely did hurt the Marlins for 2008.

Key Free Agents: RP Armando Benitez, 3B Aaron Boone, C Miguel Olivo; Boone was hurt most of the season so from a statistical stand point he isn’t too much of a loss but with Cabrera being traded off they have a hole at third base. Olivo was a good defensive catcher but his offense was a bit lacking. Nonetheless he will be missed and they need to fill the hole.

Offseason Needs: The Marlins will have a very young lineup in 2008 but that is nothing new. They have depth issues at third base and catcher but at 3rd they do have some good talent starting in Alfredo Amezega. They need some starting pitching however and exchanging Willis for Miller will not solve that problem. That is the one thing that they have been unable to get out of their farm system but they might just be able to find some since they have shown a talent for getting young prospects to play well in the past.

Prediction for the 2008 season: I don’t think the Marlins will see any major improvements in 2008 but I think their record will improve some. Most of their guys have gained experience and they did look a lot better later in the season. They should better the Nationals in their division but I don’t see them getting any higher than 4th since I think the Braves, Mets, and Phillies will all be above .500 by at least 10 games. The Marlins would be happy to reach .500 and I think they can do that if they catch a few breaks. Either way they will be a good team to watch because it is a good way to see the future of baseball now.