Stay safe, Florida

The Marlins will play the Nationals today in the final game of their three game series, in front of what I suspect will be a very small crowd (yes, smaller than usual). Then, they will embark upon a seven game swing that will take them through Atlanta for four and the city of brotherly love for three, before returning on friday, September 15th to play the Milwaukee Brewers at home.

Ahead of Hurricane Irma (which is presently charted to make landfall in Florida sometime this weekend), Jeffrey Loria has allowed Marlins players and staff to take their families with them on this particular road trip, a kind gesture that I’m sure will not soon be forgotten by those within the organization.

For the rest of you, I would urge you to take all appropriate precautions for what is being called the worst storm Florida has faced in 12 years. I don’t know what that looks like for you; I’m not going to pretend to be a hurricane expert, I’ve never been in one. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and remain a resident of the area. Floods, windstorms, snowstorms, wildfires, the sporadic earthquake/volcano explosion, but never a category five hurricane.

Given that we all just witnessed the devastation Hurricane Harvey brought to the Houston area, it would be wise to take Irma seriously at this juncture. The Miami Herald put together an excellent article with plenty of good links for resources, including an interactive map that indicates whether or not you’re in a mandatory evacuation zone. I would encourage you to read it if you haven’t already.

Marlins baseball will return to South Florida next week. What shape the team finds the city in upon it’s arrival remains to be seen, but whatever the case, take care of yourselves, friends. We here at Fish Stripes offer up our well wishes to everyone affected by the impending storm, and we hope everything can return to normal in short order.