Fish Cap: Miami Marlins 3, New York Mets 2

Source: FanGraphs

It's been a while since I wrote a Fish Cap covering a game the Marlins won. In fact, it's been since September 3rd, when Miami beat Milwaukee 7-3. Maybe I'm a bad luck charm, I don't know.

Stanton Homers, Again...

Giancarlo Stanton is crazy powerful. His .324 ISO ranks first among all players in the majors. Stanton's homer tonight came on a first pitch changeup from Manny Acosta. He hit it out to left center field, to pretty much the deepest part of the ballpark. Still, right when the ball left the bat there was no doubt that it was going to leave the yard. As he jogged around the bases, I began to think of what the Marlins could do to keep him healthy. Maybe a golf cart to take him out to right field every inning to keep his legs rested? A personal masseuse in the clubhouse? Anyways, if Stanton can stay healthy next year, he will likely be in the discussion for National League MVP.

Brantly Hits Go-Ahead Double in Eighth

In the eighth inning, with the score tied at 2-2, Brantly saw a 87 MPH fastball high and away from Ramon Ramirez and lined it down the left field line and into the corner scoring Carlos Lee. During this play, I discovered the main reason why Carlos Lee is slow besides his size. Lee doesn't pump his arms enough when he runs. He has a short arm swing, which slows his body down when running the bases. I've heard that for sprinters, your arms make up 10% of your speed. Carlos Lee probably gets 5% of that 10%, which obviously isn't good.

After today's game, Rob Brantly is hitting .295/.380/.442 with a 122 wRC+. That's a pretty awesome start for a rookie learning how to handle major league pitching. With Brantly's recent performances, the Marlins will be less likely to pursue a veteran catcher this offseason.