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Ready for some second half baseball, Miami? I sure as hell am.
After having tracked April, May, and June performances to date, July's Marlins By Month will be the latest installment.
*ba-dum tssss*
Yes, we are almost half way through the month, but that doesn't mean we still can't learn something. For example, did you know that because the Marlins went 14-13 in June, they became the first team in Miami Marlins history to have a .500 record at the end of each of the first three months of the season? The 2016 team has only further solidified themselves as one of the best (the best?!) squad in the admittedly brief span since they began donning the orange.
So travel with me down the tangled path of July's past, and perhaps, just maybe, we might catch a glimpse of the future!
2015 - The Marlins went 10-15, lowlighted by a trio of three game sweeps to the Phillies, Padres and Nationals. In case you forgot, the former two weren't any good last year either, while the latter was beset by clubhouse turmoil, making the results particularly ignominious.
2014 - Despite a mid-month sweep by the Mets, the '14 Fish were able to go 14-12 in July thanks to a late month six game win streak that included a sweep of the then terrible Houston Astros.
2013 - 12-14 in July for the 100 loss '13 Fish, which sadly stands as one of their best months that season.
2012 - The freshly minted Miami Marlins followed up a wretched June with a horrid July, going 10-17 and causing all viewing to abandon any hope of contention in the new ballpark.
Boy, that was rough...why are we doing this again?
...oh yeah! To remind ourselves how good this year's team is!
The 2016 Marlins have gone 6-3 thus far in July and at 47-41 find themselves in the thick of the NL Wild card race. It's hard to imagine them not challenging the teams of the recent past for best July record in Miami Marlins history, but let's see what lies ahead for the rest of the month before we crown 'em.
- Three in St. Louis vs. the Cardinals, July 15th-17th.
- Four in Philadelphia vs. the Phillies, July 18th-21st.
- Three in Miami vs. the Mets, July 22nd-24th.
- Three in Miami vs. the Phillies, July 25th-27th.
- Four in Miami vs. the Cardinals, July 28th-31st.