July 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Four down: The Pirates, who swept the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! at home in April, have a five-game winning streak over the Marlins dating to last season. In the four 2009 meetings, the Marlins have averaged 2.5 runs and hit .190 (24 for 126). A little shake in Bake: John Baker's RBI double in the seventh and two-run homer in the ninth marked his third and fourth hits in his past 22 at-bats (.182) with runners in scoring position. He starting the season 6 for 16 (.375) with RISP, but that average is down to .263 (10 for 38). Spelling relief: Tim Wood pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Chris Volstad (three innings, four runs), who was lifted after a 45-minute rain ..."
July 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Even if the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! don't see first place again, which is doubtful considering the state of the National League East, they can say they were atop the heap in July for the first time. The Marlins opened play Friday in a tie with the Phillies, but they didn't end there. Their other Pennsylvania nemesis saw to that as the Pirates coasted to a 7-4 win. Poor pitching, poor infield defense and an offense that didn't exhibit any life until the seventh contributed to the Marlins losing their eight-game winning streak at Land Shark Stadium. Another notable run that ended was Hanley Ramirez's RBI binge. Ramirez popped out to short in his only at-bat with runners on and ..."
July 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Manager Fredi Gonzalez described it as a light throwing session. Light to Matt Lindstrom is 75 mph pellets. Sidelined with a right elbow sprain, Lindstrom started a throwing program Friday more than two weeks earlier than expected. When they placed him on the disabled list June 24, the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! said Lindstrom would rest four weeks. "Waking up each morning and feeling it out, feeling the stiffness go away was a good thing," Lindstrom said. "It was the doctor's decision. It was just a matter of listening to his advice. It was a good throwing session. The last 10 days it was kind of tough coming to the park knowing you're not going to pick up a ball. Today was one ..."
July 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Even if the Marlins don't see first place again, which is doubtful considering the state of the National League East, they can say they were atop the heap in July for the first time ever. The Marlins opened play Friday in a virtual tie atop the division with the Phillies, but they didn't end there. Their other Pennsylvania nemesis saw to that as the Pirates coasted to a 7-4 win. Poor pitching, poor infield defense and an offense that didn't exhibit any verve until the seventh contributed to the Marlins losing their eight-game Land Shark Stadium winning streak. Another notable run that ended was Hanley Ramirez's RBI binge. His streak ended at 10, already the longest ever for an NL shortstop ..."
July 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
The Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! and right-hander Luis Ayala agreed to terms on a one-year contract Thursday, not long after the Minnesota Twins released him. Ayala, 31, will report to Triple-A New Orleans for a couple of outings because he hasn't pitched since June 20. The Marlins will purchase his contract probably sometime toward the back end of next week's swing through San Francisco and Arizona. In Ayala, who the Twins designated for assignment on June 22, the Marlins get an experienced late-inning reliever who has 367 appearances and 382 2/3 innings, all but 32 1/3 of which he's spent in the National League East. Before missing the 2006 season recovering from Tommy John ..."
July 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
He'd already hit three grand slams. What a perfect time for a fourth, in the seventh inning Tuesday with two out and his team down a run. The thought never crossed his mind. With left-hander Joe Beimel on the mound nibbling over the outer half, Hanley Ramirez slapped a two-run single to right. "I don't think two or three years ago you would have seen that," Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! hitting coach Jim Presley said. "He stayed inside the ball and hit the ball hard the other way. … He's made up his mind, 'I'm going to drive these runs in,' and instead of trying to put the ball in the seats in left field, he's hitting the ball to right-center field. That's the difference." The ..."
July 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
"
Well, it was all on display in the opening three innings Wednesday, good and bad, pro and con, the reason the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! should end this Emilio Bonifacio experiment right now and the proof they should keep the laboratory open for him all season. He swung at bad pitches. And his speed helped force a Washington error. His leaky judgment cost a run. And his baseball instincts created a run. He popped up balls that make him no money. And he slapped a single through the infield. His manager questioned his thinking in the dugout. And after this 5-3 Marlins win, in his office, manager Fredi Gonzalez talked of the run Bonifacio created by saying, "The guy's a winner." ..."
June 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
As the forlorn Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! packed up for the short journey back to South Florida on Sunday after the torrid Rays completed the three-game sweep, manager Fredi Gonzalez joked he would've taken June off if someone had told him his club would go 10-8 against the rugged AL East in interleague play. Unfortunately, the Rays are also in that division, and Florida's hitters took the lost weekend off as they scored seven runs while batting .208 (21 of 101). In the preceding five-game winning streak, the Marlins averaged 6.2 runs with a .311 average. More glaring was their inability to hit with runners in scoring position as they were 2 for 23, including 1 for 7 in Sunday's ..."
June 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Ace right-hander Josh Johnson, who didn't earn a decision in Friday's 7-3 loss to the Rays, is probably the only player on the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! not to vote for him for the All-Star Game. Although the starting lineup in the midsummer classic is predominantly based on fans' voting, players, coaches and managers got their chance to cast ballots this weekend. "In my opinion, he should be the starter," said two-time All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla. "It's not hard to know who you don't want to go up and face. If they're lucky enough to get on base, they say to me, 'Man, he's got nasty stuff.'" Johnson (7-1, 2.76 ERA), who allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings ..."
June 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
To the more than 100 family members and friends who came to cheer for Tampa-grown Chris Coghlan Friday night at Tropicana Field, the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! rookie left fielder is a hero. But to Coghlan, the one family member missing, younger brother Kevin, is the true hero. He recently finished two terms in Iraq with the Marines, and is currently debriefing in Hawaii before ending his four-year stint in September. "I look at him as the hero,'' said Coghlan, who is batting .329 over his last 19 games. "He looks at that way, too, calling me, asking about baseball because he wants to know about stuff going on in the world. Every time I see him I tell him how proud and how much ..."
June 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
The combination of a postgame concert by '80s rocker Pat Benatar, an injury-riddled bullpen and the Rays' speed was too much for the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! to overcome in Saturday's 3-2 loss. On Friday, the combination of Renyel Pinto and Brian Sanches turned Josh Johnson's 3-3 outing into a 7-3 loss. On Saturday, with relievers Matt Lindstrom and Kiko Calero residing on the disabled list, Burke Badenhop took over in the ninth and gave up a walk-off sacrifice fly to pinch-hitter Willie Aybar to spoil Chris Volstad's second consecutive solid start (two runs in six innings). "I thought Chris showed poise and grit, throwing 116 pitches and keeping us in the ballgame,'' Marlins ..."
June 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Proving the old adage that 'speed kills,' the Tampa Rays stole a 7-3 victory from the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! Friday night to snap their five-game winning streak at Tropicana Field. Perhaps more annoying to Fredi Gonzalez' crew is that they blew an opportunity to move into a first-place tie for the first time since May 9 as the floundering Phillies lost again. While Marlins young ace Josh Johnson turned in his customary six-inning, quality start (his 14th), he was victimized by not paying attention to details such as holding the Rays runners close. Johnson allowed three runs on seven hits as the Marlins fall to 12-4 in his starts. The lightning-quick combination of B.J. Upton ..."
June 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
To the more than 100 family members and friends who came to cheer for Tampa-grown Chris Coghlan Friday night at Tropicana Field, the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! rookie left fielder is a hero. But to Coghlan, the one family member missing, younger brother Kevin, is the true hero. He recently finished two terms in Iraq with the Marines, and is currently debriefing in Hawaii before ending his four-year stint in September. "I look at him as the hero,'' said Coghlan, who is batting .329 over his last 19 games. "He looks at that way, too, calling me, asking about baseball because he wants to know about stuff going on in the world. Every time I see him I tell him how proud and how much ..."
June 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Starting something: Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! starters, most recently Sean West (six shutout innings of four-hit ball), have been outstanding lately. Over the current five-game winning streak, the rotation went 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA, nine walks and 22 strikeouts in 33 innings. RBI man: Hanley Ramirez's five-RBI effort gave him 11 in the series and 13 over his past four games. He also scored three times, putting him on pace for a 100-run, 102-RBI season. Leaning left: The Marlins torched left-hander Rich Hill for six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. They have won 10 of their past 13 and 18 of 26 against left-handed starters. First timer: Right-hander Tim Wood finally made his ..."
June 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
From two lockers away Jorge Cantu gave Hanley Ramirez the playful stink eye after Thursday's 11-3, series-sweeping win over the Orioles. Ramirez, who hits a spot ahead of Cantu, drove in five runs, four coming on his second grand slam in three games. Not a lot left for Cantu to mop up. "Greedy," Cantu joked. Behind Ramirez (3 for 5) and two-run homers from Cody Ross and Dan Uggla, the Marlins punished the Orioles with 17 hits to complete a 5-1 homestand. The current five-game winning streak is the longest since the Marlins strung together seven in a row from April 12-19. Ramirez and Ross each have three grand slams, tying the single-season franchise record they share with Bobby Bonilla ..."