There has been some playoff discussion of late in the print media and on the sports talk shows.
Joe isn't interested in joining in on the conversation.
''You can't get too excited when you're around 80 games,'' he said. ``We've got a long ways to go. It doesn't end at 80 games. It ends at 162.''
Dr F pointed out, in his excellent Diary Post, the playoffs are going to be an extremely hard thing to achieve. Especially since the Marlins spotted the other NL teams so many games early on.
How the team plays in September could be the key. It will be the beginning of when the young pitchers will be asked to pitch more innings than they have ever pitched before in their lives.
Joe went on to say:
''I think our organization is looking at the big picture,'' he said. ``I don't think we're going to micromanage for one year. The plan is to be good for a long time, and the way you do that is by not selling out for one year.
``We've won all these games this last month with the people here. So that's what you think about.''
Exactly. There is no reason to flip any of the young guys for proven veterans this season.
Let the team grow - come what may. They are a cohesive group and there is no reason to start breaking them up in hopes of a one year playoff run. If they are kept together and continue to develop the Marlins could be looking at not just a one year run but being consistent playoff contenders in the future.