Miami Marlins Good, the Bad and the Utility: Another week, another dollar

As I sadly recover from my bout of sunburn, the Marlins have been burning opponents this week.  After a 6-1 week, the Fish have taken another step towards Opening Day.

Week in Review

Game Highlights

Early in the week, the Fish took on the Mets and the results were gratifying.  A 13-2 win, even if it is Spring Training, is always nice against a division foe.  Three RBI each from Reid Brignac, Avery Romero and Jordany Valdespin carried the offense.  David Phelps gave up one run over three innings in the start

Tuesday was a more hard fought win for the crew, 2-1 against the Nationals.  Dan Haren looked much sharper in his second start of Spring Training.  He went three innings and only surrendered one hit while striking out three.  Sam Dyson would end up with the win after tossing a scoreless inning.

Later in the week, the Marlins would take on the division favorite Nationals one more time.  The result: another Fish victory.  A 4-0 win makes it two wins for Miami against Washington this Spring Training.  Marcell Ozuna put the team on his back with three of the teams four RBI.  David Phelps continued to look strong early in the season, tossing three innings of shut out ball.

In the News

Former fan favorite pitcher Dontrelle Willis announced his retirement on Saturday.  He was a member of the 2003 World Series Champion Miami Marlins.  His best season came in 2005 when he won 22 games and posted a 2.63 ERA only to be thwarted by the Cardinals Chris Carpenter for the Cy Young Award.  Let's give him a round of applause for all of his efforts with the Marlins.

IF Derek Dietrich was hit with a pitch for the third time in Spring Training.  He was not injured and is not expected to miss any time after a close encounter.  The ball went up and in, close to the face, but luckily did not strike Dietrich.  Time to take a step back from the plate?

A Look Ahead

This week features two games against a new division foe.  Thursday and Friday will be matchups against the Atlanta Braves for the first time this season.  The Atlanta Braves have been a perennial powerhouse in the National League East for as long as the Marlins have existed.  There are a lot of question marks and holes in the club after some offseason trades.  This is a team that no longer has Justin Upton and Jason Heyward, who accounted for over a quarter of their run production just a season ago.

The next seven days also shows two more games against the Washington Nationals.  The Fish are already 2-0 against them in Spring Training and continue to prove they can compete with the best.  The key so far has been pitching as the Nats have only salvaged a single run in two attempts.  Obviously, this is only Spring Training, but a preseason sweep is nothing to complain about. The Marlins will have one more matchup with the Nats after this week.

Question of the Week

As always, we like to get our readers involved here at Fish Stripes.  You may take this opportunity to answer the question, have general comments or make fun of my hair.  Your choice.

Where does Marcell Ozuna fit in the everyday lineup (spot in batting order)?

See you next week Fish Stripes!