Another trade has happened for the Florida Marlins as they have sent relief pitcher Kevin Gregg to the Chicago Cubs for minor league pitcher Jose Ceda. A lot of Marlins fans out there are happy tp see Gregg off the team as he struggled in 2008 with nine blown saves and 7-8 record.

Ceda is a pretty good prospect that was ranked #4 in the Cubs minor leagues by Baseball America. The Marlins dumped Gregg and saved cash while picking up a guy that could very well be a lot better then Gregg in 2009.

Are the fish done trading players? Keep on checking back at Marlinshomeplate.com

The Florida Marlins had another game winning home run as Hanley Ramirez went deep in the 11th inning and the Marlins defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 on Thursday night.  That is an exciting way to begin a four game series against the Dodgers!

Ramirez took Marlins reliever Brian Falkenborg deep for the game winner.  John Baker also had a solo home run in the second inning.  Jorge Cantu, Josh Willingham, and Josh Johnson had the other three rbi for the team.

On the mound, Johnson tossed five innings while giving up six hits and three runs.  Johnson didn’t walk any batters but he did strike out six as he got the no decision.  Joe Nelson pitched two innings to get the win and Kevin Gregg notched his 18th save as he finished the Marlins off.

The Marlins will now try to go up 2-0 in the four game series as the two teams will play once again on Friday.

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Scott Olson improved to 5-4 on the season as he threw eight innings on Wednesday afternoon and the Florida Marlins defeated the San Diego Padres by the score of 5-2.  Olson was throwing the ball great as he only allowed four hits and one run in the game.  The one mistake that Olson did make was in the sixth inning when Jerry Hairston hit a solo home run.

Many Marlins fans were hoping that Olson would stay in the game for the complete game but he was taken out for a pitcher hitter in the bottom of the 8th inning when the bases were loaded.  Just like Nolasco the other night, Olson came three outs from the complete game.

Joe Nelson was called on to get the final three outs in the ninth inning but was unable to and was pulled after only recording one out and giving up one run.  Kevin Gregg came in to get the final two outs of the game and record his 17th save of the season.

Mike Jacobs had a two run home in the fourth inning to lead the Marlins with two rbi.  Hanley Ramirez added a solo home run in the game as well.  John Baker had a rbi sac fly in the 9th and then Wes Helms walked with the bases loaded to add on another insurance run in the final inning.

The Marlins will now travel up to Los Angeles to begin a four game series with the Dodgers on Thursday night.  More late night games on the West coast means all the Marlins will have to stay up late to watch the game.

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The Florida Marlins rallied after a 1.5 hour rain delay to score three runs and defeat the Washington Nationals by the score of 4-2.  The Marlins were down 2-0 heading into the sixth inning but then scored four un-answered runs to come back and pick up the victory.  With the win, the Marlins took two out of three games against the Nationals.

Ricky Nolasco pitched seven hits and only gave up three hits and two run while picking up the win.  Nolasco really stepped up and threw a quality game as he improved his record to 9-4.  Reynel Pinto and Kevin Gregg tossed scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to finish off the Nats.  Gregg recorded his 15th save in the game.

Alfredo Amezaga provided the big hit for the Marlins as he hit a two run home run in the seventh inning off of Nationals reliever Charlie Manning.  Amezaga was the MVP for the Marlins as he finished the day with two rbi.  Robert Andino had a rbi single in the sixth inning to get the Marlins scoring started.  Wes Helms added an insurance run in the eighth inning with a rbi sac fly that scored Jorge Cantu.

Good come from behind win for the Marlins.  Anytime you win a series you are doing what you are supposed to do.  Now the fish will begin a four game series with the Colorado Rockies on Thurday night.

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What an exciting come from behind win for the Florida Marlins over the Washington Nationals.  Hanley Ramirez tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo home run and then Josh Willingham hit a game winning walk off solo home run in the tenth inning to win it for the Nationals.  Both of the home runs came off Nationals relief pitcher Jon Rauch.

Willingham led the Marlins at the plate with two home runs and three rbi in the game.  Ramirez, Robert Andino, and Matt Treanor all had one rbi in the game for the Marlins.  It was a nice balanced scoring attack for the fish.

Kevin Gregg who pitched the top of the tenth inning ended up recording the win in the game and improved to 6-2.  Marlins starting pitcher Ryan Tucker pitched the first five innings of the game and gave up six hits and four runs.  Tucker had problems keeping the ball in the park as he was taken deep twice.

Doug Waechter pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up one run.   Renyel Pinto and Justin Miller pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball before Gregg took over in the tenth inning.

All in all it was a good win for the Marlins.  They never gave up and got another come from behind win as they improved their record to 43-39 on the season.  Marlins Blog

The Florida Marlins gave up ten runs in the fifth inning and went on to lose to the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 15-2.  Now that is an old fashioned butt kicking that the Marlins will just have to forget about before they head to the ballpark on Thursday.  It will now take a Marlins win on Thursday to avoid the three game sweep by their neightbors to the North.

Starting pitcher Ryan Tucker only lasted four innings as he gave up eight hits and seven runs including two home runs.  Carl Crawford took Tucker deep twice in the game including a three run shot and a solo home run.  Tucker was charged with three more runs in the fifth inning as well.

Eulogio De La Cruz gave up six more runs in the fifth inning after he came in for Tucker.  De La Cruz gave up a two run home run Evan Longoria and then all hell broke loose as the Rays pushed across four more runs to blow the game wide open.  Logan Kensing pitched the fifth and sixth innings and gave up one run.  Renyel Pinto, Justin Miller, and Kevin Gregg all pitched one inning of relief after Kensing left the game.  Miller gave up a solo home run to Ben Zobrist.  It was like the Marlins pitchers didn’t know how to throw the ball and get people out it.

Not that it really mattered but Mike Jacobs hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and then Dan Uggla had a rbi single in the eighth inning.  Matt Treanor scored on an error in the ninth inning to make the score 15-3.

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I wasn’t sure what my title was going to be, this one or “Gregg Blows Another One”. The Florida Marlins got 7 gutty innings from Ricky Nolasco and a ninth inning 3 run double from Dan Uggla to defeat Oakland and take game two of a three game set. But they needed a game saving diving stop at first base by Jorge Cantu to preserve the win.

Nolasco was his usual solid self, allowing three runs on seven hits over seven innings and giving his team a chance to win. But it was Renyel Pinto who got the win by pitching a scoreless eighth before turning it over to closer Kevin Gregg. The Marlins had just scored three times in the top of the ninth, a three run double to left by Dan Uggla, who the A’s have got to be sick of, being the key hit. As they have done seemingly all year, the Marlins battled back from behind in this game, getting a key HR once again, this time by their own Toy Cannon, Cody Ross. Ross’ homer in the top of the eighth tied the game at 3-3.

So the stage was set for Kevin Gregg in the bottom of the ninth to come in and nail down the win. Back in the late 70s, the Baltimore Orioles had a relief pitcher named Don Stanhouse. Earl Weaver called him “Full Pack” because he’d go through a full pack of cigarettes up in the tunnel behind the dugout, sweating out a Stanhouse save. He did get the save more often than not, but it was never easy. Kevin Gregg is becoming the Marlins’ Stanhouse, as it seems his every save is an adventure. Last night was a good example. Given a three run lead, Gregg gave up some scratch hits and some walks, and suddenly it was bases loaded, 6-4, as the As had already plated one run, and Gregg facing Ryan Sweeney. Sweeney hit a sharp grounder down the fist baseline headed for the right field corner, but Jorge Cantu dived, made the stop and the toss to Gregg covering for the final out.

The win tonight, coupled with the Phillies fourth straight loss, leaves the Marlins just one game out in the eastern division of the National League. They conclude the road trip tomorrow.

The Florida Marlins defeated the Seattle Mariners 8-3 Wednesday night, taking two out of three games against the AL West club. As they have done all season long, the Marlins used the long ball to power the team to victory, getting two run HRs from Mike Jacobs, his 17th, and Dan Uggla, his 21st. Rookie right hander Ryan Tucker picked up the win, his second in three starts. The win, combined  with a Philadelphia Phillies  loss to the Boston Red Sox, pulled The Fish to within two games of the Eastern Division lead.

Tucker gave the Marlins a solid six inning start, giving up two earned runs on seven hits, striking out four. He featured a lively fastball in the mid nineties, and had good command. He only walked two batters, which was very encouraging indeed, considering the control problems which have periodically plagued Marlins pitchers this year. Suddenly the Marlins’ pitching staff seems to be jelling into a formidable, if still a bit inconsistent, unit. The team that started the season with more question marks than answers, is now starting to evolve into one of the most promising young pitching staffs in the league. Tonight’s performance by Tucker follows another impressive start by Andrew Miller on Monday, giving the Marlins a potent lefty-righty rookie punch. Both youngsters feature electric arms that can bring the heat at 96 mph, accompanied by good breaking pitches. The talent is obvious; the only question was whether they can consistently show the command of the strike zone needed to win games in the major leagues. In addition to these two phenoms, the starting staff has gotten good performances from the “old men” of the staff, Scott Olsen, 24, and Ricky Nolasco, 25, who has emerged surprisingly as the team’s stopper this year. If this young staff continues to perform at this level, the Marlins have to be considered favorites to win the Eastern Division. Admittedly that’s a big “if” because the rookies are still learning how to pitch at the major league level, but the talent is there, and that talent, combined with a Marlins offense that bludgeons the opposition nightly under a  barrage of home runs, could carry this team to victory down the stretch. In baseball, it all begins and ends with pitching, and this young pitching staff is starting to come around. They will be getting a boost soon with the return of Josh Johnson and maybe Anibal Sanchez as well, so the prospects certainly are bright.

In addition to the good start from Tucker and the almost routine long ball display by the offense, the Marlins’ defense played an error free game, and the bullpen closed it out, but not before closer Kevin Gregg got everyone nervous again in the ninth inning. If the Marlins are to contend down the stretch, it is going to take more than just home runs and good performances by the starting pitchers. They are going to have to have more games with a big fat “0″ under the “E” on the scoreboard, and Gregg and the rest of the bullpen are going to have to tighten up their act as well. The Marlins slugging has enabled them to mostly overcome their suspect fielding this year, and the bullpen has been wildly inconsistent. Gregg in particular has been a 9th inning cardiac arrest in progress; even when he does manage to get the save he does so the hard way, walking batters, giving up hits, and in general making Marlins fans sweat every last out. Memo to Kevin: a one two three ninth inning is ok, you know. Every game does NOT need a dramatic ending.

Anyway, two out of three from Seattle is very good, and now The Fish are off to Oakland for three games starting Friday.

The Florida Marlins blew their one run lead in the top of the ninth inning but then came back in the bottom of the ninth inning as Dan Uggla hit another walk off home run.  This time it was a walk off grand slam that gave the Marlins a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Before Uggla’s grand slam (his 19th home run of the season), the Marlins other two runs came off the bat of Jorge Cantu who hit solo home runs in the first and seventh innings.  I would have liked to see more production for other guys in the lineup but sometimes that is just how things go in baseball.

Andrew Miller pitched seven innings and gave up four hits and one run as he started the game for the Marlins.  It was a very good outing for the young pitcher even though he got the no decision in the game.  Justin Miller tossed a scoreless eighth inning before Kevin Gregg was called in to close out the game.  However Gregg gave up a run and the game was tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the inning.  Gregg blew the save, but actually picked up the win as the Marlins scored in the bottom of the inning.

The Marlins will be going for the three game sweep on Thursday night as Scott Olsen will get the start on the mound against the Phillies.

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Two homers.  Two walks.  A stolen base.

This team will live and die by Hanley Ramirez.  When he is cold, the fish are cold, like sushi.  When El Nino (the second) is hot, the fish are hot, like fish ‘n chips.

Who are the chips?  How about Mike Rabelo, who’s 2-run homer in the top of the 9th might have single-handedly turned this season around.  If the fish quickly get out of this free fall they will prove to themselves of their resilience, the most important quality in this marathon that is the 162 games baseball schedule.  Rabelo’s homer might have jolted some life back into this sushi plate.

Take Kevin Gregg as an example, notching save number 11.  Yes, the same Kevin Gregg who seem to be a Philadelphia Phillies double agent.  Below the belt?  Maybe, but he’s struggling, with that pitching motion of his, it’s hard not to think he’s literally throwing batting practice.

So, let’s hope this 6-4 win over the Braves is truly the comeback.  Let’s hope Hanley, our #2, is alive and has gotten over the fact that he could buy a new golden toilet seat each time he goes number 2.

And, once more, it’s worth noting that Jacques Jones went 0-for-1 today in this pinch hit performance.   (He struck out for Mark Hendrickson, who’s batting average is nearly double that of Jones).