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Omar Vizquel still humming along at age 44 (Chicago Tribune)

Former Sox player Carl Everett arrested on charges of aggravated assault (USA Today)

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Carlos Quentin is finally smiling! (ESPN)

Marlins interested in Mark DeRosa? (Marlins.com)

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The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 14- Florida Marlins

Florida Marlins

Record: 80-82 (Third place in NL East, 17 games behind Philadelphia)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: Hanley Ramirez (.300)

Home Runs: Dan Uggla (33)

RBIs: Dan Uggla (105)

On-base Percentage: Hanley Ramirez (.378)

Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ricky Nolasco (14)

Strikeouts: Josh Johnson (186)

Innings Pitched: Anibal Sanchez (195)

ERA: Josh Johnson (2.30). Bullpen- Clay Hensley (2.16)

WHIP: Josh Johnson (1.11). Bullpen- Brian Sanches (1.10)

Saves: Leo Nunez (30)

Highlight of the Season: Difficult to ascertain, but I would pick their 13-0 victory over the White Sox in Chicago on May 23.

Lowlight of the Season: On May 17, all-star shortstop Hanley Ramirez was benched by then-manager Fredi Gonzalez for not hustling on a play. Ramirez would rip his manager and teammates (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5197935) after the game, an action that would ultimately result in him being benched the next day. Ramirez would eventually apologize to his teammates before playing again on May 19.

The Lowdown:

If there were a poster child for mediocrity in MLB this year, it would be the Florida Marlins, by far. The Fish seem to be stuck in gear right now; on one hand, they look like they have the talent and the pieces to compete, but on the other hand, they seem to be missing a player or two that would really vault them into serious contention. They featured two anchors in their lineup in 2010, as Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla would be the stars of the show once again, while a possible future star emerged in right fielder Mike Stanton. The pitching staff was led by righty Josh Johnson, who featured one of the lowest ERAs in baseball, while he was flanked by Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, two pitchers who have the potential to become better, but did not show it this year. With the Phillies becoming stronger with each passing season, the Marlins will likely have to target the NL Wild Card as their ticket for postseason entry for the next few seasons.

Offense:

The Fish finished 15^th in runs scored this year (719), along with tying for 14^th in home runs (152), which further lends credibility to the argument that the Marlins are the poster child for “average” in baseball. However, the bats in the middle of their infield were anything but average, as Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla supplied the power in the middle of the order once again in South Florida. Ramirez had a typical All-Star year, finishing with a .300 average, 21 home runs, 76 RBIs, 32 steals, and a solid on-base percentage of .378. Even though his home run total dipped a bit, he still proved to be a threat in the middle of the Marlins lineup.

Uggla, however, is beginning to enter rarified air among second baseman not only in baseball today, but in baseball history. He recorded his fourth consecutive 30-plus home run season this year, bashing 33 while driving in 105. You generally do not expect Uggla to hit for a high average, but he even improved in that category, increasing his hitting by 43 points up to .287 this year, a career high. There aren’t too many second basemen in baseball history who can claim four consecutive 30-plus home run seasons, but Dan Uggla is beginning to write his name into the record books at that position, which typically doesn’t feature power hitters.

Also looking to enter into the realm of greatness is highly touted prospect outfielder Mike Stanton. The 21-year-old made his major league debut on June 8, and he would end up featuring solid power numbers in his rookie campaign, cranking out 22 home runs while driving in 59 in just 100 games. Despite his high strikeout total (123 in just 359 at-bats), Stanton should be capable of filling the power void left by Dan Uggla, who was recently traded to the Atlanta Braves.

Along with finishing in the middle of the road in home runs and runs scored, the Marlins finished 18^th in batting average (.254), 20^th in on-base percentage (.321) and 15^th in slugging (.403). They weren’t overwhelming offensively, but they were just good enough to give good teams some trouble.

Final Grade: C+

Pitching:

The potential for greatness is present within the starting rotation, but it doesn’t seem like it has come to fruition just yet. Collectively, the Marlins finished 16^th in ERA (4.08), 19^th in “batting average against” (.261), 28^th in home runs surrendered (134) and 20^th in quality starts (85). Much like their offense, the Fish seem to be in the middle of the road with most of the aforementioned pitching categories. However, there’s nothing mediocre about staff ace Josh Johnson. The big right hander finished first in the NL in ERA at 2.30 this year, along with recording a WHIP of 1.11, good for seventh in the Senior Circuit. His 11-6 record notwithstanding, Johnson has placed himself among the elite starters in the National League with his dominant performance this year.

Behind him was Ricky Nolasco, who would end up pacing the team in wins (14) and Anibal Sanchez, who led the team in innings (195). The two were solid complimentary pieces to Johnson, but they would not finish with his sparkling ERA, as Nolasco recorded a 4.51 ERA, while Sanchez finished with an ERA of 3.55. Also backing up this pitching triumvirate was Chris Volstad, who went a solid 12-9 with two complete games and an ERA of 4.58.

While the rotation appears to be stable, the bullpen looks like it could use an extra hand. Even though the Marlins finished 17^th in bullpen ERA at 4.01, a few more stable arms could see this team vault into serious contention. Leo Nunez had a fine year in the closer’s role, recording 30 saves with an ERA of 3.46, but the real star of the ‘pen was 31-year-old right hander Clay Hensley. The pride of Tomball, Texas had a rock solid year in the set-up role, recording a team-high 22 holds, along with a fantastic WHIP of 1.11 and an ERA of 2.16.

Much like the offense, the Marlins’ pitching wasn’t outstanding, but you can really see how just one or two more pieces can make this team a legitimate contender.

Final Grade: C+

Wild Card: Josh Johnson

As mentioned earlier, Johnson established himself among the premier pitchers in the National League with his fantastic season this year. Had the team finished with a better record this year, he would have likely garnered some votes for the NL Cy Young Award. Even though he was a tough luck 1-0 loser in Roy Halladay’s perfect game on May 29, he would spin more magnificent performances that saw him on the winning side of the scoreboard, including a 12 strikeout, one walk, complete game performance against the San Diego Padres on April 26, a game which Florida won 10-1. He’s still just 26 years old, meaning if he stays healthy, his best years are yet to come.

Final Grade: A+

Overall:

The Marlins have the potential to become better, they really do. Since they cannot go after any big time position players, perhaps they should go after some under-the-radar relievers to shore up their bullpen. They can ask their American League rivals to the north how much difference a better bullpen can make for a team’s postseason hopes.

Final Grade: C+

Check back soon for the report card on the Detroit Tigers!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Day 21- Florida Marlins

Let's head down to sunny Miami, where today's report card will be issued to the Florida Marlins.

Florida Marlins:
Record: 87-75 (Second place in the NL East, six games behind Philadelphia).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Hanley Ramirez (.342)
Home Runs: Dan Uggla (31)
RBIs: Hanley Ramirez (106)
On-base Percentage: Hanley Ramirez (.410)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Josh Johnson (15)
ERA: Josh Johnson (3.23). Bullpen- Kiko Calero (1.95).
Strikeouts: Ricky Nolasco (195)
Innings Pitched: Josh Johnson (209.0)
WHIP: Josh Johnson (1.16)
Saves: Leo Nunez (26)

Highlight of the Season: Storming out to a 11-1 record to begin the season, their best start in team history, by far.

Lowlight of the Season: Losing two out of three to the Mets at home from September 25-27, which destroyed their postseason hopes. For the Mets however, it was sweet revenge, as it was the Marlins who destroyed their playoff chances at Shea in 2007 and 2008. Payback can really be a bitch sometimes.

The Lowdown:
After storming out to a ridiculous 11-1 start, the Marlins were unable to keep their stranglehold atop the NL East, as Philadelphia would eventually come back to take their third-consecutive division crown. Despite this, the Fish stayed in the thick of the division and Wild Card races, doing it they way they always do it; with a small payroll and with a ton of young talent. While their presence in the pennant race did not surprise nearly as many people this year, they still put together a very fine season. Ultimately, it was their lack of pitching that led to their downfall.

Offense:
For the second year in a row, the Marlins put together another good year offensively, and once again, they were led by star shortstop Hanley Ramirez. He ended up taking home the batting title in the National League, as he put together a spectacular average of .342. To go along with this, he put together great power numbers as well, hitting 24 homers and driving in 106. Obviously as a result of all of this, he was getting on base at a good rate, as his .410 on-base percentage finished in the top 10 in MLB. Once on base, he was also a stolen base threat, as he pilfered 27 bags in 35 chances. Simply put, this year was just another outstanding one for the all-star shortstop.

Other major contributors to Florida's lineup included Chris Coghlan, Dan Uggla and Cody Ross. Coghlan put together a fine rookie campaign by hitting .321 and getting on base at a clip of .390. His numbers impressed the baseball writers enough to where they voted him as the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year. Even though I did not necessarily agree with the selection (I thought that Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones should have won), I still thought his season was still pretty good for a rookie.

Uggla and Ross were the other two thumpers in the lineup as they hit 31 and 24 homers, respectively. While Uggla's power numbers as a second baseman are great, his free-swinging approach at the plate and his penchant for making errors in the field keep him from really joining the elite fraternity of second basemen in baseball. Ross' numbers also served as a good compliment to Uggla and Ramirez in the lineup, as he hit 24 homers and drove in 90.

Even though they have a tendency to be free swingers (their 1,226 strikeouts were the sixth-highest in baseball), they were still a pretty potent lineup altogether, as they finished 13th in runs scored (772), 19th in home runs (159), ninth in on-base percentage (.340) and tied for seventh in batting average (.268). For a young team with a small payroll, this is not bad at all.
Final Grade: B

Pitching:
While Josh Johnson put together a fine season for the Fish (15-5, 3.23 ERA), the rest of the staff struggled a bit, as the other three major starters (Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad and Sean West) all had ERAs over 4.50. Nonetheless, Nolasco's season came with a silver lining, as he recorded a solid 195 strikeouts in 185 innings. His signature pitching performance came on September 30 in Atlanta, when he recorded an impressive 16 strikeouts to just two walks in 7.2 innings. But that wasn't all. At one point in the game, he recorded nine strikeouts in a row, which fell one shy of the all-time record set by Tom Seaver in 1970. This would be the only real shining moment of the season for him though, as his ERA went up by over a run and a half from 3.52 in '08 to 5.06 this year. His season was the kind in which the won-loss record does not tell the complete story, as his 13-9 record was clearly the result of good run support.

There were some decent seasons put together by the pitchers in the bullpen, led chiefly by Kiko Calero. In 67 appearances, he put together a dazzling ERA of 1.95 in 60 innings. Reyel Pinto and Dan Meyer also put together good seasons, as each of them appeared in over 70 games and each of them recorded ERAs in the low-threes (Pinto- 3.23, Meyer- 3.09). The closer's role was mainly delegated between Leo Nunez and Matt Lindstrom, as they recorded 26 and 15 saves respectively. Nunez appeared to be the more adequate solution in the closer's role though, as he received more opportunities and put together a lower ERA (relatively speaking). Nunez featured an ERA of 4.06, while Lindstrom had an ERA hovering near six. Despite the fact that Nunez appeared to be the better option, he still blew seven saves.

Compared to the other teams in MLB, the Fish finished in the middle of the road in most pitching categories. However, the two biggest categories that caught my eye with them were their walks and strikeouts. They finished fifth in Ks with 1,248 and they finished with the fifth-highest total in walks with 601. While the strikeout total is nice, they may want to focus on walking less people next year. That way, the ERA of some of the starters in the rotation can go down as well.
Final Grade: C+

Wild Card: Front Office
The Marlins certainly get a lot of bang for their buck, as their opening day payroll of $36.8 million was by far the lowest in baseball. Comparatively speaking, the team with the next-highest opening day payroll, San Diego, had one that was $43.7 million, and they won only 75 games. While I was once very critical of the way they ran things, I am starting to soften my view on them just a little bit. While they do not spend money to keep their big-name players once they become free agents (sans Hanley Ramirez, who they actually signed to a six-year, $70 million extension in '08), they really put a lot of money into their scouting and player development, which keeps the team ready for a star player's departure. When one guy is gone, they can just fill in the void. It will be interesting to see how they approach their payroll once their new stadium opens in 2012, though.
Final Grade: B

Overall:
This is a team that was very good this past season, and they should be able to continue their success next year, barring a major roster shakeup. However, they really need to address their closer's role, as their starting pitching is still young and looks to improve. Perhaps signing a free-agent closer like Jose Valverde would provide a decent stop-gap for them at the end of ballgames. Otherwise, they had a great year, and don't be surprised to see them in contention next year.
Final Grade: B+

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Texas Rangers!