Fish Cap: Miami Marlins 2, New York Mets 4

Source: FanGraphs

According to Miami Marlins right-fielder, Giancarlo Stanton, “Everyone is happy it is done.’’

The Miami Marlins torturous 2012 season is finally in the books. The season may not go down as the worst season in the teams history, but it sure will go down as the most disappointing.

For the first time in team's history, the fans and the national media had expectations for the Marlins baseball team. Unfortunately, the Marlins were unable to live up to these expectations.

The team ended the season Wednesday evening the same way they started the season, with a loss at their brand-new state of art ballpark. The Marlins fell behind early in this one, and never threatened the Mets in the ballgame.

Tom Koehler's First Major League Start

Tom Koehler has been one of the more consistent starters in the Marlins minor leagues for the past few seasons. While he is likely nothing more than an organizational depth pitcher going forward, with the Marlins deciding to shutdown Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, Koehler got his chance to make a Major League start.

Koehler had been somewhat impressive in his seven prior appearances with the Marlins, all out of the bullpen. Although he had an ugly 5.40 ERA and 4.54 FIP, Koehler showed good control in his eight major league innings, striking out ten hitters, while walking just two. He did however struggle with home runs.

Wednesday afternoon was no different. In his five innings of work Koehler did not walk a single hitter, struck out three, but allowed two more home runs. Although he did not do much to disappoint the Marlins, he did nothing to prove the scouts that see him as nothing more than organizational depth going forward wrong. The results were actually a lot better than I expected.

Marlins Offense Stagnant, Again

I believe this tweet by Marlins beat writer Joe Capozzi summarizes what Marlins fans felt today:

Gorkys single scores Murphy, meaning #Marlins will finish season with 17 shutout losses instead of a potential 18th

— Joe Capozzi (@joecapMARLINS) October 3, 2012

Although the difference between being shutout and scoring just two runs in a loss is probably minimal, there must have been a sigh of relief in the Marlins clubhouse when they scored that one run. That is how bad the Marlins offense has been in 2012. Scoring a single run in a game sometimes seemed liked a major accomplishment.

Bryan Petersen, Gorkys Hernandez, Donovon Solano, and Donnie Murphy combined for six of the seven hits for the Marlins. That is exactly what you guys envisioned when someone told you at the beginning of the season that the Marlins would be playing October baseball, right?

Giancarlo Stanton went hitless with a walk to end his 2012 campaign. Jose Reyes went one for four with his 40th stolen base. Reyes had a decent season, one in which he was very consistent. The most important number for Reyes in 2012 will be the number 160. That is the number of games he played this season, proving to the Marlins that they were wise to spend the money on him, despite his injury history in the past.

Marlins' Players Thank Fans

After the final out was recorded, the Marlins players went back to the clubhouse. It was not long before all of them took the field again. The players decided to walk over to the railings and show their appreciation for the fans support. The players tossing to them batting gloves, shirts, and bats.

"They stuck with us. They’re just as frustrated as we are,’’ Stanton said. “It was nice to go out and do that for them.’’

Yes, Giancarlo, we sure did stick with you guys this season! But like Ozzie said earlier this month, you were the only real reason to watch Marlins baseball from July on.