Well Marlins faithful, it appears I was right again.  Ryan Tucker pitched five innings and gave up only one earned run during the Marlins’ 9-2 victory over Dusty Baker’s Fish-Eating Reds.  That’s two in a row against a team that beat us in the opponents’ first four games!  Tucker is our D-Train of ‘03, our Livan of ‘97.  “I love you Miami!”

Tucker was tearing up the Southern League with fellow 2005 draftee Chris Volstad.  Lucky for him, Volstad recently endured a minor injury, making the choice for this year’s messiah a no brainer.  Although Tucker did walk 5 batters and seemed a bit nervous, he was without question the giver breath to the Marlins’ offense, who smashed nine runs and played error-less baseball for nine innings.

Am I anointing Tucker too soon?  Perhaps.  But we really need him don’t we?  Burke Badenhop seems to be better suited for long relief — a mop-up reliever, albeit a quality mopper.  The season will tell if Tucker is the real deal or not, but for now, let’s believe in this Mother Tucker.