Submitted by Joe Short
Anyone thinking of betting on the Miami Marlins to win a series this late summer should definitely reconsider. After a recent stretch of disappointing outings, the Marlins continue slipping further away
from any distant chance they had at a Wildcard berth.
Marlins fans hoping to see signs of
progress in the second half of the MLB season were disappointed last
weekend. Mike Redmond’s men failed to score a single run over their three-game series defeat at the hands of Milwaukee.
Despite plans for a rejuvenated run after the All-Star Break last week, the Marlins roster did little
to suggest the remainder of this season will be any different from the first
half.
Averaging just five hits a game, Miami’s
offense was outwitted by three consecutive Brewers pitchers, who sense a very late
push for the playoffs after recording their fourth straight win on Sunday.
Milwaukee, like Miami, may be at the bottom of
their division (and the latest MLB betting odds) but the difference is their offense that can at least hold their own.
At this point, the same cannot be said about the Marlins. There were 67 batters
with a .300 average or better as of Monday and Miami cannot boast a single player in that group. Top hitter, Chris Coghlan, is a long way off that target, and with just 51 games and 130 at bats left he's not going to make much of an impact on this
team. Regular shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (.251) is a solid hitter, as is RF
Marcel Ozuna, but their RBI production has lacked and the Marlins have suffered because
of it.
Miami are at the bottom of the hitting ranks (a
team total of .230) and are five homers below Kansas City, the second-worst
power hitters in the Majors. Any fans betting MLB World Series should
expect either narrow wins for Miami (if you think the starting rotation can
pull off a great game), or lopsided defeats for an offense that simply can't produce runs.
It’s time to start looking at 2014 and what next season might bring, for the fate of this season has been sealed. At least Miami has a youthful core with bright potential in the near future.
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