It's the first day of 2010, and as the confetti is being swept up off the ground and Christmas trees are being dragged to the dump, the majority of the world is looking ahead, making resolutions for the upcoming year.
The Marlins are no exception, of course, and while 99% of the planet is swearing off of calories and cigarettes, the Fish are sticking with some classic resolutions of their own. Joe Frisaro gives us a preview of the upcoming season:
No matter if the season is 2002, Jeffrey Loria's first as owner of the Marlins, or '10, the organization's philosophy remains stubbornly the same. To contend, they maintain, you must pitch.
More specifically, the starting pitchers must take on a bulk of the responsibility. If they don't, eventually, the season will crumple because the bullpen will wear down, and the offense will be asked to generate more runs than is realistically possible.
As the club witnessed in 2009, it could win with inconsistent starting pitching. But finishing with 87 wins still wasn't enough to overtake the Phillies in the National League East.
So once again, when Spring Training gets under way on Feb. 20 at the Roger Dean Stadium complex in Jupiter, Fla., the Marlins' primary focus will be on improving the rotation.
Hopefully the Fish are a little better at keeping their resolutions than the average person, who (according to extensive research) will break each and every one of the resolutions they make by noon on New Year's Day.