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After Saturday night’s loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Miami Marlins enter Sunday with a record of 68-72. The team is 5 games out of the second Wild Card spot in the NL. The fact that they have a sub .500 record and aren’t completely eliminated by the second week of September speaks volumes about the mediocrity of the National League. However, FanGraphs calculates the Marlins’ playoff chances to be a meager 0.3%.
The 2014 season is near it’s final stretch, meaning most teams are looking ahead to next season. The Miami Marlins are likely to be one of those teams, as they enter the day 11 games out of the division and 5 games out of the second wild card spot with just 22 games remaining.
-Miami Marlins: Friday's win among club's best ever RISP performances - Sun Sentinel
Friday’s win over the Braves marked one of the club’s most productive games ever hitting with runners in scoring position. It was the 10th time in franchise history the Marlins totaled 10 or more hits with RISP. The Marlins finished 10-for-21 with four doubles in the 11-3 win.
-Yankees, Red Sox highlight Miami Marlins home slate in '15 | Fish Bytes
The Marlins' 2015 schedule, which will be announced next week, will include visits by the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, according to the Herald's Barry Jackson. Not only will the Marlins host the two A.L. East powers in Miami, they'll also face them at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park in a home-and-home arrangement. Teams from the N.L. East will face those from the A.L. East in interleague play next season.
-Miami Marlins complete shutdown season of Braves' slugger Freddie Freeman - Sun Sentinel
Freddie Freeman’s nightmare season against the Miami Marlins is over. Widely regarded among the league’s top young hitters, Freeman went 1-for-4 in Sunday’s Marlins-Braves season series finale. He went 7 for his last 20 and still hit just .135 (10-for-74) against Marlins’ pitching in 2014. Per STATS LLC, that’s the lowest single-season average ever against the Marlins among players (min. 60 at-bats).
-Miami Marlins notes: Justin Bour gets start in place of struggling Garrett Jones - Sun Sentinel
September isn't the ideal time for mental break, but that's what Garrett Jones is getting. The left-handed hitting Jones was not in Friday's starting lineup against Braves' right-hander Aaron Harang. Even after going 0-for-4 against him last weekend in Atlanta, Jones is a 10-for-27 lifetime hitter (.370) with three doubles, a homer and a .993 on-base plus slugging off Harang.
-Jarred Cosart's early success with Miami Marlins unprecedented - Sun Sentinel
he start of Jarred Cosart's Marlins' career hasn't just been good. It's been unprecedented. Friday, Cosart earned his fourth win in five decisions (six starts) since the Marlins acquired him from the Houston Astros. Over 7 2/3 innings, he held the Braves to three runs on five hits. According to Elias, Cosart is the first pitcher in Marlins' history to earn at least four wins with a sun-2.00 ERA through his first six career starts with the team.
-Jones returns after taking 'mental break' | marlins.com
A "mental break" may be the formula to getting first baseman Garrett Jones back on track. At least that is what the Marlins are hoping for down the stretch. After batting .184 (14-for-76) with two homers and four RBIs in August, and getting off to a 1-for-10 start in September, Jones was given two days off before returning to the lineup for the series finale with the Braves on Sunday. The left-handed hitting first baseman used the couple of days to relax, observe and clear his head.
-Miami Marlins at Milwaukee Brewers - September 8, 2014 | MLB.com Preview
Meanwhile, Brad Penny will be on the mound for Miami. It will be Penny's fifth start of the season, and his last one didn't go well. En route to collecting his first loss of 2014, the 14-year Major League veteran gave up four runs on seven hits and left after three innings against the Mets. "When you leave the ball up, you're going to give up hits," Penny said after the loss. "That's what happened tonight. It stinks going out there and giving those runs up early. It doesn't give your team a chance to win."
-Atlanta Braves at Miami Marlins - September 7, 2014 | MLB.com MIA Recap
The Marlins came home on Monday with a prime chance to make up ground in the National League Wild Card race, but they kicked off their homestand inauspiciously by dropping two of three to the Mets.
Around The League
-Castillo moves up to Triple-A for playoff round | MLB.com
BOSTON -- Rusney Catillo belted two hits, including a double, in Double-A Portland's 8-5 loss to Binghamton in the decisive Game 5 of the Eastern League playoffs Sunday. Next stop for Castillo? Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday night, for Game 1 of the Governor's Cup Finals against Durham.
-To six-time champ Jordan, pal Jeter an idol | MLB.com
NEW YORK -- They met as competitors in the Arizona Fall League class of 1994, when Michael Jordan was already one of the biggest sports stars on the planet, having long since conquered his mastery of the hardwood floor and now trying to make his skills click on the baseball diamond. Derek Jeter was doing the same, a 20-year-old wearing the uniform of the Chandler Diamondbacks and fine-tuning his swing to chase a boyhood dream of playing shortstop for the Yankees. The future captain and His Airness, then with the Scottsdale Scorpions, had more in common than they thought.
-Revisiting Derek Jeter's forgotten MVP season. | SportsonEarth.com : Lindsay Berra Article
Some statheads will tell you Derek Jeter is overrated, but in 1999 he was the best player in the American League, and no one -- not even his Yankees teammates -- seem to remember anything about what made that season so special.
-Paying Re2pect: Jeter thanked in Bronx | MLB.com
NEW YORK -- The last words of Derek Jeter's brief, off-the-cuff speech may have been his most fitting, following offers of gratitude to teammates, personnel and especially the fans. They produced yet another rousing ovation, explaining exactly why he deserved that applause.
At Fish Stripes
-Giancarlo Stanton has media voting support for NL MVP - Fish Stripes
In a recent media poll conducted by MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, Giancarlo Stanton actually leads the National League MVP race over equal competitor Clayton Kershaw.
-Fish Bites: Giancarlo Stanton compared to Babe Ruth? - Fish Stripes
In his latest Grantland piece, baseball writer Jonah Keri discusses Giancarlo Stanton's success at age 24 and compares him to another big bopper who was involved in a memorable trade, Babe Ruth. Plus links on Tom Koehler, Casey McGehee and more.
-Potential Giancarlo Stanton trades: Washington Nationals - Fish Stripes
Don't get me wrong; the ideal scenario in most fans' minds involves Stanton signing an extension and putting up huge numbers for the next 10-12 seasons. This article assumes that a long-term deal is not in the offing and looks at a potential trade.
-Miami Marlins' turnaround enough for Redmond to win Manager of The Year? - Fish Stripes
The Miami Marlins are significantly improved in 2014 coming off of a 100 loss season. And thanks to their recent turnaround, Mike Redmond may be a prime candidate to win Manager of The Year.
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