Baseball is back in Miami

After a slow start out of the gate, the Marlins bounced back to win three of their last four.  Tonight, they have their Home Opener against the struggling Atlanta Braves; a win would definitely put momentum on their side.  Tonight’s game marks the first of a six game home stand, so hopefully they will be able to take advantage of the home field advantage and pick up a few wins.

Runs will be hard to come by tonight, as the Braves send out veteran ace Bartolo Colon, while the Marlins counter with Dan Straily.  Straily has had a rough start to the year, pitching in the Marlins loss to the Nationals.  In that loss, Straily only pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs. Hopefully Staily will be able to figure it out against the Braves and get the wins that the Marlins are going to need if the want to compete in the NL East this year, which looks to be wide open early on.

Giving remembrance with the first pitch in Miami

MIAMI, Fla.–With opening day inching closer and closer some people always wonder who is going be throwing out that ceremonial first pitch for their favorite team this year.

For the Marlins though is it hard to pick just one famous person that was born in Miami because they`re are so many of them.  So it would just be easier to pick someone that was once with in the Marlins organization.

When picking someone with in the organization you want to make sure that you pick someone that everyone there is going to know.  The Marlins have only been around sense 1993 so it does not leave them with an over whelming pool of past greats to chose from. Then I thought of something that had happened last September that had broke the hearts of so many people around the sports world.

That was the death of the Marlins star pitcher Jose Fernandez who had lost his life in a boating accident.  He was known and loved by all Marlins fans, many people in Miami thought that he was going to be a for sure hall of famer.  With his death he left behind his loving mother Maritza and wife Alejandra.  So if I was going to pick someone to throw out the opening day pitch for the Marlins I would pick them to do it.  Family meant a lot to Jose, his wife and him were very close to his mother.  So by letting Maritza and Alejandra throw out the opening day pitch for the Marlins it would not just be a way of honoring them but also honoring the Jose Fernandez.

Getting Ready For Opening Day

MIAMI, Fla.–Opening Day is less than a week away for the Miami Marlins and a lot of people don’t know if the team is ready for what is predicted to be in their near future. The first pitch of the Marlins season will be thrown next Monday, April 3rd. Marlins fans hope that their team can find a way to pull it all together in the next few days before that first pitch is thrown.

The Marlins have struggled through most of the preseason and after taking a look at the first week of their regular season schedule, critics are skeptical that it won’t get much better. The opening week consists of six away games in seven days, where the Marlins will play two very good teams. Their first matchup against the big bats of the Washington Nationals will take place at National’s Park. The pitching matchup for that game is out and looks to be a challenging one for the Marlins. The Marlins will be starting Edinson Volquez, who had a rough 2016 season with an ERA of 5.37. For the Marlins to get a win in Washington, it is going to take great pitching because it’s no secret that the Nationals have a very explosive offense, led by one of the best in the MLB, Bryce Harper. Harper has been killing it for the Nationals during Spring Training, registering a batting average of .308 and leading the Spring League with eight home runs. If the Marlins pitchers can figure him out and slow him down, it might provide their pitchers a much needed mental boost.

Immediately following the Nationals game, the Marlins will travel to New York to play a great pitching team in the New York Mets. So, an upset over the Nationals on Opening Day would supply some momentum going into their second game. An unexpected victory in New York would give them two wins that most people would have thought to be impossible.

Miami Marlins Outlook

JUPITER, Fla. — The Miami Marlins finished third in the NL East last season and are hoping to get over the hump in 2017 and make a playoff push.  Following the tragic loss of star pitcher Jose Fernandez last September, the Marlins will need to rely heavily on Adam Conley and Tom Koehler to lead their pitching core. As for their offense, they are hoping to see the same Giancarlo Stanton that they got to appreciate back in 2014.