Everyone is putting out their "second half" predictions and I will highlight two of my favorites.
First from the USA Today.
Florida Marlins •Schedule: The Marlins start with 13 of 17 home games, including series against the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. They have a key trip to Philadelphia and New York from Aug. 5-10. In September, the Marlins have two series against the Phillies and one against the Mets. •Keep an eye on: The rotation. No other team has five starters 25 or younger. The Marlins' rotation when the season resumes will be RHP Ricky Nolasco (25), LHP Scott Olsen (24), RHP Josh Johnson (24), LHP Andrew Miller (23) and RHP Chris Volstad (21). Nolasco (10-4, 3.70 ERA) was their best pitcher in the first half. •Buy or sell: Neither. Getting Johnson, a 12-game winner in 2006, back from the disabled list, is like a trade, the Marlins said.
Actually Nolasco and Olsen ended up with very similar numbers that led to different results in the win-loss column due mainly to run support.
Nolasco: 116.2 IP/109 H/48 ER /16 HR/ 30 BB/ 88 K/3.70 ERA
Olsen: 119.1 IP/108 H/50 ER/18 HR/43 BB/64 K/3.77 ERA
And if you look at all the fancy stats it is even closer than it appears in the ones above.
The interesting thing is that the USA Today doesn't see the Marlins being buyers but holding pat. I'm not sure the front office can contain themselves and if they do sign someone, I hope it is help for the bullpen. The ones we have are probably pretty exhausted. Catcher is a possibility, especially if Treanor doesn't return in the very near future. Should Treanor return healthy, it will be hard to find an upgrade.
The other is The Rocky Mountain News.
FLORIDA MARLINS * The good: The Marlins played "gorilla ball" and led the majors with 135 home runs. * The bad: The defense was porous, committing a league-high 80 errors. * The future: The Fish face the Mets in six of their first 23 second-half games.
I've never heard the Marlins style of play called "gorilla ball" before. But hey, while it may not be completely accurate, it is colorful.