Fish Bites: The Winning Continues

The Miami Marlins have won ten of their last 12 games, though they are still in fourth place in what looks like a competitive NL East division. The Fish are getting contributions from their excellent (thus far) starting pitching staff and, for the first time in what seemed like all season, timely hitting leading to runs. The club's winning ways continue, and the team will look to keep them going in this upcoming two-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

- I think it is worth watching this amazing walk-off grand slam by Giancarlo Stanton one more time. In fact, why don't you go ahead and watch it right here.

Isn't it wonderful? It is, it truly is.

- Another guy who is getting off to a good start in May is Jose Reyes, who is recovering slowly from an awful April. In the month of May, Reyes is hitting a plausible .327/.424/.388 (.372 wOBA) with nine walks to his name and only one strikeout. Reyes is making some heavy contact thus far in 2012, and that can only mean good things once those balls start landing. I have no concerns about his play thus far.

- Did you hear about Bryce Harper throwing a bat and having it hit him in the face and lacerate him badly? You will certainly hear about this later today on #FishStripes, but Christian Yelich, the Marlins top prospect in the minors, posted the Tweet of the week after the incident.

- The Marlins' fish tank behind home plate at Marlins Park caused some stir from PETA before the season began. If you are interested in learning how the tank was actually built, National Geographic is running a six-episode series on the team that built the tank and the process behind it. Truly, the Marlins are everywhere on TV.

- Conor Dorney of Marlins Daily wonders if Josh Johnson can return to form.

- Al DeGaetano of Marlin Maniac says that the Marlins pulled their successful road trip off using smoke and mirrors (and pitching).

Around the League

- David Wright of the New York Mets is fresh off of beating the crap out Marlins pitching this weekend, and it seems the Mets will make a long-term offer to him (H/T MLB Trade Rumors) according to baseball insiders. Wright has been phenomenal this season, having suddenly returned to the 2007 edition that did not strike out and as a result has been getting excellent results above and beyond his already strong results from 2010 and 2011.

- Speaking of the Mets, Chris McShane of Amazin' Avenue thinks the team should reset its bullpen usage. In particular, Bobby Parnell should get some more looks at more important situations, since he has been the team's best reliever thus far.

- Patrick Reddington of Federal Baseball reports on the news that Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos tore his ACL. Unfortunate for the division-leading Nats, as Ramos was having a decent season and still has a bright future ahead of him.

- Franklin Rabon of Capitol Avenue Club says that Atlanta Braves fans should be careful about simply regressing their pitchers 100 percent to their FIP this year. That infield defense still has some problems, and that will hurt the Braves throughout the year.

At Fish Stripes

- Make sure you check out the latest Wild Pitch, which involves an absolutely adorable picture of the youngest San Diego Padres farmhand. Good stuff, and it should yield some excellent quotes. Contribute Fish Stripers!

- Also, keep voting on FishNFinz's poll regarding Stanton's defense. He just wants the results of Stanton's glove, in terms of sure-handedness.

- On Thursday, I pointed out that the Marlins were actually much more patient at the plate than previously believed. John Buck has been a prime example of this, as we saw for much of the weekend series.

- From earlier today, check out the Marlins and their celebratory player handshakes. Which one is your favorite? Vote on the poll.

- Also from today, the Marlins bullpen has been a source of disappointment. How bad have they been in regards to Shutdowns and Meltdowns? Check it out.