that said, certain things had to fall into place. They still can, but so far, they haven’t.

I expected

a) The rotation to emerge as one of the best in the game. There was enough support to somewhat expect it, and many commentators seemed to feel that way. Definitely hasn’t happened. What can be done? Not much – unless they go after a big fish, the names that will be shopped aren’t likely to be better than what’s there by enough to justify a move.

b) The bullpen to steady itself over the course of the season. Didn’t think ya’ll would have a great pen this year, but thought there was a chance of it steadying itself as the season progressed. Part of that was expecting Ceda to do something this year, but that doesn’t seem likely. Depending on how the rotation shakes out for the rest of the year, the pen should have some help, but if they are trying to compete this year, an arm or two would be a nice addition.

c) The lineup to steady itself. Here, I think there are more apparent actions that can be taken. The big issue was having a top of the order to setup the rest. Bonifacio’s hot start gave some hope, but he’s tailed off. They’ve rectified that with Coghlan up and leading off. Now, a solid 2 hole hitter would make things better. Gload’s okay, Bonifacio shouldn’t be in that role.

What I’d like to see: Btw, not a Marlins fan, just found you guys intriguing this year. I’d really like to see the Marlins make a push this year. I think the division isn’t out of reach, as both the Phillies and Mets have big warts. How do you get that to happen?

a) I’d like to see Coghlan go to 2nd base. Uggla’s still a mess there.

b) Assuming that there isn’t that much money, the two guys I’d like to see the Marlins make a play for that seem reasonable would be Mark DeRosa or Josh Willingham. Both are possibilities on the market. The Indians and Nats are two of the few teams that are likely to be sellers, so those guys may be more costly than their ability should dictate, but neither should break the bank in terms of talent demanded. DeRosa is preferable because

c) With DeRosa, I’d plug him at 3rd. Shop Uggla. Shop for a top of the order OF bat and pen help. Then, you demote Bonifacio to AAA and give him some more work. You’d thus have a lineup of

1) Coghlan
2) OF from a trade
3) HanRam
4) Cantu
5) Hermida (hope he can balance last year’s home/road split with this year’s, in a positive fashion)
6) DeRosa
7) Ross
8) Baker

That looks like a solid lineup, top to bottom.

With a guy like Willingham, things would be a bit harder for my tastes, as you’d like to find a 3rd baseman that can slot into the 2 hole. Josh would go back to LF. One option would be to hold onto Uggla, but assuming finances are an issue, maybe they shop him anyways. You could keep Bonifciao in the bigs, but ideally, he needs to go down and work on his swing. I mean, he’d be a great top of the order option if he could figure out his swing (and stop bailing out from what I’ve seen). Another option would be Coghlan at 3rd, and to go shopping for a 2nd baseman that can hit at the top of the order, which may be the more realistic option for an ideal scenario.