Results tagged ‘ Fredi Gonzalez ’

A look at some struggling stars

Maybe the world did end on May 21 and this is some Twilight Zone-ish parallel universe we’re living in, because there’s plenty about the first two months of this baseball season that just doesn’t seem too, well, Earth-y.

Carl Crawford has a .269 on-base percentage?

Adam Dunn‘s batting average is .180?

Albert Pujols sports a .745 OPS?

Hanley Ramirez is hitting .210?

Dan Uggla is following it up with a .175 clip?

I can’t figure it out. But I did find it interesting that almost all of these guys — with the exception of Hanley — are either in the first or final year of their current deals. With a new contract comes pressure, with an expiring one comes uncertainty. Could that be to blame?

Nobody can know for sure. But here’s a closer look at The Mystifying Five …

Crawford

We’ve seen spurts, little flashes in the pan that the Red Sox’s new left fielder is getting back to being the electrifying player he was for so long in Tampa Bay. There was an 11-game hitting streak at the beginning of May that saw him bat .356, a few walk-offs sprinkled in, and back-to-back four-hit games on May 25 and 26.

But still, the consistency has lacked for one of the most consistent — and now richest — players in baseball.

Terry Francona has protected Crawford a bit by keeping him away from the top of the order since his dreadful start, batting him sixth recently. Upon being named American League Player of the Week on Tuesday, Crawford  sounded upbeat, saying: “I’m feeling a lot better. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable at the plate. Things are slowing down for me a lot. I feel like it’s definitely gotten better for me from the way I started off.”

But after May 26, Crawford has notched just three hits in a span of 20 at-bats, and thus the inconsistencies continue.

From 2003-10, Crawford hit .299 with a .340 on-base percentage and averaged 50 steals per season. But heading into Thursday, he had drawn just eight walks (though he’s not really known for that anyway), had stolen just seven bases and had notched just 50 hits in 224 plate appearances.

I thought he’d be a perfect fit for Fenway Park and that lineup (and still do), and I know he’s one of the hardest-working players in baseball. Is playing in a big market and with a big contract for the first time a factor?

It’s at least a fair question.

Dunn

Dunn (pictured up top by The Associated Press) has struckout an AL-high 71 times, has hit just five homers (he had 10 at this time last year) and has batted just .088 — yes, .088 — against lefties.

Because of that, the man who was  supposed to be that big lefty bat the White Sox have been missing since Jim Thome left has been sitting against tough lefties and has jumped around in the batting order.

Dunn, a real standup guy and one of my favorite players to talk to, said this recently: “I’m normally pretty good at not letting things affect me too much. This has been one of the tougher things for me. I don’t know why it is. I know I’m coming to a new team, we’re not playing very well, and I feel I’m a big part of why we’re not doing well. I think that weighs a little more on me than in the past.”

Two Sox teams, two star players acquired in the offseason, two unexpected records largely because of their struggles.

Pujols

Who knew. Even with Adam Wainwright missing the season with Tommy John surgery, the Cardinals are in first place thanks to the contributions of Yadier Molina (.320 batting average) and Lance Berkman (1.044 OPS), and not Pujols.

Considering Pujols is insanely focused, is in a walk year and is the greatest hitter on the planet, I was expecting numbers like .782 batting average, 91 homers, 256 RBIs this year. But, by Gosh, he’s human!

Pujols — he who has averaged a .331 clip, 41 homers and 123 RBIs every year heading into this one — is hitting only .262 with nine homers and 31 RBIs. I mean, they’re not terrible numbers. But they’re nowhere near Pujols-like.

I keep waiting for him to break out, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Is it possible that  future uncertainty has impacted the production of a man nicknamed “The Machine”?

Possible. But I still think his numbers will be solid by the end of the year, and I still wouldn’t be surprised if he signed for record money somewhere.

Ramirez

Ramirez is off to the worst start of his career, and now that he’s nursing what seems to be rather serious lower back pain, it may only get worse.

Ramirez, out since Sunday, has only a .306 on-base percentage, has hit only four home runs and has been caught stealing six times. Meanwhile, he continues to get dinged up, and he gets a little bigger every offseason.

I’m wondering how this affects talks of him switching positions.

Hanley wants to continue to play shortstop for obvious reasons — because he loves it, because it’s pretty much all he’s ever known, and because it makes him even more valuable when he hits free agency again. But the Marlins have too much invested and too little revenues to not try to get the most out of the $70 million deal they signed him to two years ago.

Ramirez’s 2010 season — when he batted .300 with 21 homers, 76 RBIs and 32 stolen bases — was solid, but a disappointment for him. Would Hanley be able to produce more if he moved to a less-demanding position? He’s never been great defensively, and the Marlins — with no disrespect meant to the fine season Greg Dobbs is having — have a hole at third base.

Just a thought.

Uggla

And that brings me to Ramirez’s teammate, who signed a five-year, $62 million contract with the Braves I never thought he’d land.

Look, Uggla has always been a slow starter (.440 career batting average in April, his lowest for any month) and besides last year, he’s never really hit for a high batting average (.257 from 2006-09).

You’d think Uggla would’ve gotten hot by now, though.

But he seems to have been getting progressively worse.

Over his last 12 games, Uggla has gone just 3-for-40 while striking out eight times and walking only once. Now, his batting average is the lowest it’s been since April 16.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez knows about Uggla’s early-season struggles very well. But recently, upon batting him seventh after giving him a couple of mental days off, Gonzalez admitted Uggla’s previous slow starts have been “nothing like this.”

“The thing he needs is a couple of balls to fall in,” he added. “For me, that’s all he needs. He’s unlucky at times. You hate to say he’s unlucky because he’s hitting [.175], so how unlucky can it be? But sometimes [the unluckiness] just starts piling on.”

I’ll leave you on this note: I’ve been getting the feeling that Uggla has never really thrived with the attention on him. He’s always been an under-the-radar guy as a Rule 5 product, always played in a small market in Florida with a reasonable contract; then he had that dreadful All-Star Game performance at Yankee Stadium in ’08, and now he’s struggling under the weight of a big contract.

I hope I’m wrong.

– Alden

** What I wrote recently: The talent pool at catcher is growing awfully shallow; and Mets manager Terry Collins faces a kind of challenge he never foresaw.

Big shoes to fill in Atlanta

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Teams normally seek a new direction when they change managers. Not the Braves. When looking for the Bobby Cox successor, they sought consistency — somebody who would run a team, run a clubhouse, in much of the same way Bobby did. 
That’s why the choice to bring in Fredi Gonzalez was such an easy (and quick) one. 
Cox has been such an important and beloved figure in Atlanta that it was critical for the Braves to find somebody similar. And by all accounts, Fredi (pictured above by The Associated Press) hasn’t been much of a break from Bobby — because a lot of how he manages stems from his tutelage under Cox, not because he’s being anybody but himself. 
“Same old Fredi that I’ve seen him,” new Braves second baseman Dan Uggla told me on Sunday morning. Uggla, of course, also played for Gonzalez when the two were on the Marlins together. 
“Fredi’s Fredi. He’s not going to change who he is just because he’s in a different place. I think that’s a good thing, though.” 
I wrote recently about how the Marlins’ dismissal of Gonzalez in June seemed to be a win-win for both sides – the Marlins (now with Edwin Rodriguez) and Fredi himself. This clubhouse seems to play better to who Gonzalez is as a manager. Covering him with the Marlins, it didn’t seem like his strengths lied in getting on guys and being very demanding — they were in instilling confidence in players and getting the best out of them in that way. 
Problem is, with the Marlins, somebody needed to get on the guys at times. It wasn’t going to be Fredi, and it wasn’t going to be Josh Johnson or Hanley Ramirez; that’s just not who they are. And if it’s not the manager or the star players, it’s hard for anybody else to do it. In Atlanta, Tim Hudson and Chipper Jones are those guys. And by all accounts, they both have Fredi’s back. 
That’s huge for any first-year manager, especially one taking over a championship-contending team, and especially one filling such big shoes. 
One thing Fredi has said he wants to do is keep Bobby — now in an advisory role — as involved with the club as possible. 
“I want to try to get him in uniform before Spring Training, but I don’t know if that’s going to work,” Gonzalez said from Roger Dean Stadium on Monday. “He comes around as much as he wants to, and you want him to be around.”
As for what’s different between Marlins Fredi and Braves Fredi? 
“I think the experience,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you this is the one thing, but I think you’re always prepared after your first job — anywhere, I think — to handle things better. Because nothing prepares you to manage a club until you manage.” 
– Alden Gonzalez 

** What I wrote this week: Neftali Feliz should start for the Rangers; Brett Gardner a fit atop Yankees lineup; Mets well-versed in putting distractions in the back burner; Jason Bay and Justin Morneau fighting concussions together; stars bouncing back from 2010 injuries. 

Too early for MLB power rankings? …

I don’t think so. 
All the big free agents — minus Rafael Soriano — have signed, and it seems every team is pretty much set for the start of Spring Training. It has been an amazingly surprising offseason, with Jayson Werth signing with the Nationals, Cliff Lee going to Philly, Carl Crawford now with Boston, the Angels missing out on everyone, the Yankees staying quiet, and Dan Uggla getting the kind of money I never thought he would land. 
That means a lot has changed since the end of the 2010 season. 
So, let’s get to it … 
* 2010 records are listed in parenthesis

A-Gonz.jpg1. Boston Red Sox (89-73): The Red Sox have the best lineup in baseball after adding Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez (pictured right, by The Associated Press), they have a very good bullpen after key offseason additions, and their rotation is very deep. But they’ll have to stay healthy — something that didn’t happen last year. 

2. Philadelphia Phillies (97-65; lost in NLCS): The old saying says, “You’re only as good as your next day’s pitcher.” If that’s the case, put the Phillies in the World Series right now. Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels is arguable the best rotation foursome in baseball history. And their offense is still scary. But the bullpen, as usual, is a question mark. 

3. San Francisco Giants (92-70; won WS): They’re the defending champs, and their pitching staff is as good or better than anybody’s in baseball. But can their spare-parts offense carry them deep like it did last year? Hard to believe they can repeat without a more-consistent bat. 

4. Texas Rangers (90-72; lost in WS): Not being able to get Lee hurts, especially when considering pretty much everybody in that rotation outperformed last year. But their starting staff is still solid, their bullpen is very good and, after the addition of Adrian Beltre, they have one of the best offenses in baseball. 


5. Atlanta Braves (91-71; lost in NLDS): Filling the big shoes of Bobby Cox is a whole lot easier when inheriting a team like this one. Fredi Gonzalez has a dynamic lineup, especially with the addition of Uggla – though they’ll regret that extension — plus a solid rotation and a really good bullpen.  

6. St. Louis Cardinals (86-76): I expected the Cards to be a lot better than they were last year, and I don’t expect them to disappoint again this year. Lance Berkman could end up being a liability in right field, but if healthy, he can give them a big middle-of-the-order bat. Regardless, two dynamic duos — Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday, and Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright — should lead to title contention.  

7. Milwaukee Brewers (77-85): It took a major toll on the farm system, but the additions of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum give the Brew Crew one of the best 1-thru-5 rotations in baseball. And Prince Fielder is still there. The Brewers will be legitimate title contenders.   

8. Colorado Rockies (83-79): The Rockies have a bright future with Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and possibly Ubaldo Jimenez – if he agrees to an extension after the 2011 season — locked up. Their present looks very good, too. They have great depth, a solid rotation and a good lineup. Lots to be excited about in the Mile High City.

9. Chicago White Sox (88-74): Looks like the South Siders are going for it all this year after signing Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko – or perhaps they’re setting it up so that Ozzie Guillen is the main culprit if they don’t win it all in 2011. Regardless, they have a power-packed offense and some nice arms. It’s up to Ozzie to bring it all together.  

10. New York Yankees (95-67; lost in ALCS): The Yankees have issues, yes — they’re aging, they have holes in the rotation and the bullpen is spotty. But they’re still the Yankees. And as long as Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera are there, they’re a major threat.  

11. Cincinnati Reds (91-71; lost in NLDS): The Reds were a surprise team last year, but I don’t think they did enough this offseason to stay on top. Their pitching staff is still deep and talented, but they needed to make bigger moves this offseason — mostly on offense — to take the next step, especially when considering how much better the teams in their division got. 

12. Detroit Tigers (81-81): Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit were big pickups, and the Tigers will compete in the American League Central all the way through. But it’s a tough division.  

13. Minnesota Twins (94-68; lost in ALDS): The Twins always seem to find a way, and they’ll be fine again if they resign Carl Pavano and Jim Thome (as expected). A healthy Justin Morneau will be huge, too. But their bullpen took a major hit, and while the White Sox and Tigers got better, they really didn’t. 

14. Oakland Athletics (81-81): This is my surprise team of the year. Billy Beane has established a phenomenal young pitching staff and a great defensive team. If only they could’ve acquired a couple of the big bats they needed. (I give their stadium a lot of the blame for that.)  

15. Chicago Cubs (75-87): The Cubs sure look like they’re going for it by trading for Matt Garza, signing Kerry Wood to a two-year deal and giving Carlos Pena $10 million. On paper, they look good. But that seems to be the case a lot in the Windy City, and somehow it never comes to fruition. Why should I believe otherwise now?  

16. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (80-82): It has been a very disappointing
offseason for Angels general manager Arte Moreno, who lost out on Crawford and Beltre despite badly needing offensive help. They have potential in their rotation and a good bullpen that will be great if they get Soriano. But it seems they took a step back this offseason.  

17. Los Angeles Dodgers (80-82): The Dodgers still have pieces in that lineup that can do some things, as well as a deep rotation. Don Mattingly will keep them relevant in his first year on the job. 

18. San Diego Padres (90-72): This was the kind of reality Padres faithful expected, even after a surprising 2010 season that should’ve led to a playoff berth. No Gonzalez, and Heath Bell is a very likely Trade Deadline chip. But they still have a great pitching staff and a very good defensive team. I just don’t know where their offense will come from.  

19. Tampa Bay Rays (96-66; lost in ALDS): It’s a different Rays team now, with no Crawford, Soriano, Benoit, Pena or Garza. But that’s a savvy front office, and their array of young players give them a great future once again. But it’s a retooling year in Tampa Bay. And they won’t be as relevant in the AL East as they have been.  

20. Florida Marlins (80-82): The Marlins needed bullpen help, a catcher and another arm for the rotation this offseason and got all of that. They also have a great bunch of young position players and two franchise-type guys in Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson. But it looks like another .500 year in South Florida. Nothing more, nothing less.  

21. New York Mets (79-83): The Mets have toiled in obscurity this offseason, and maybe that’s a good thing. This is a year about finding out their identity and improving for the future — not competing.  

22. Washington Nationals (69-93): Mike Rizzo lost out on Lee, and he overpaid enormously for Werth. But they vastly improved their defense (with Werth and Adam LaRoche), have a nice lineup and boast a few nice, young pitching arms. D.C. is still on its way to becoming a place where free agents will actually want to be at some point.  

23. Baltimore Orioles (66-96): O’s look to have a pretty impressive lineup, but they need a lot more pitching — especially in the bullpen — to compete in baseball’s toughest division.  

24. Toronto Blue Jays (85-77): They’re another team that had its bullpen get completely stripped, and I don’t expect Jose Bautista and Vernon Wells to equal their 2010 season and keep them competitive. Not a bad rotation, though, and Alex Anthopoulos has made some nice forward-thinking moves thus far. 

25. Houston Astros (76-86): Brad Mills led the Astros to an impressive second half last year, but they have a long, long way to go.  

26. Seattle Mariners (61-101): The M’s were a big disappointment last year, and they will struggle once again in 2011. 

27. Arizona Diamondbacks (65-97): Kevin Towers has gone to work on retooling that dreadful bullpen, but there’s a lot more work to be done in Arizona than that.  

28. Cleveland Indians (69-93): Indians are still waiting for the young players they got back from trading two Cy Young Award winners (Sabathia and Lee) to come through. Until that happens, they’ll go nowhere. 

29. Kansas City Royals (67-95): With the pieces they have in their farm system and in the big leagues, the Royals seem set up to be a competitive team as soon as 2012. But not in 2011. 

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-105): The Pirates have issues. Their Major League roster is unimpressive, and their farm system isn’t great. All they can hope to do is avoid another 100-loss season.  

– Alden Gonzalez

Once-proud baseball island in need of assistance

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — This is an island that needs help baseball-wise. Once one of the best in the Caribbean in terms of developing Major Leaguer talent, Puerto Rico is in a bit of a crisis — or, as Major League Baseball senior vice president of international operations Paul Archey called it, a “transition” — as it looks to re-establish the proud baseball reputation it once had. 

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Players like Ivan Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Juan Gonzalez and Roberto Alomar are either at the end of their baseball careers or getting close. And besides Carlos Beltran, not many Puerto Rican-born players really stick out right now. But it’s not just notoriety. The numbers, overall, are low. Heading into this season, for example, there were just 21 Puerto Rican-born players on Opening Day rosters — 17 fewer than in 2002 and 65 fewer than those who hailed from the Dominican Republic in 2010. 
“You can’t see that in Puerto Rico,” said former infielder Jose Valentin, now the owner of the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Baseball League. “Every year, we get less and less players in the Major League level. And I don’t think it’s because we have bad players. I think the support is not there like in the States. I don’t think we get too many scouts seeing players in Puerto Rico, like you go in the States and see a lot of players. Puerto Rico is so small, you can see a lot of players. I don’t know if it’s because they don’t trust Puerto Rican players, but there’s a lot of players here that you can count on. The only thing is they don’t come to see them.”
A big problem, many say, lies with the First-Year Player Draft. 
Players from Puerto Rico, like players from the U.S. and unlike players from the nearby Dominican Republic, are subject to that Draft, meaning they have to compete with American players and be subject to the same rules (like waiting until you’re 18 to sign). One of the many reasons Dominicans and Venezuelans are so prominent in the big leagues is because they’re very inexpensive to sign, since they can be plucked out of their home countries as young as 16 and do not have to be paid according to slotting in the Draft. 
Since Puerto Ricans don’t fall into that category, teams don’t deploy many scouts on the island. If they’re going to spend the money on a young player in the Draft, they’ll do so throughout the more-familiar 50 states in the continental U.S. And if they’re going to pick a player up on the cheap, they’ll sign one as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic or elsewhere. 
“The Draft is a cause of organizations not scouting here in the island, not developing players,” former Major Leaguer and current ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez said. “Before, you used to be developing players from the age of 16, 17, until they signed. Now, because of the Draft, the scouts have been taken off the payroll. There are no more full-time jobs. And when you can’t look for players, you don’t get players. That’s definitely one of the weaknesses.”
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Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the 20,000-seat artificial-turf ballpark that hosted the Mets-Marlins series earlier this week, is currently empty after the Crabbers moved out, and the island’s winter league is a mess. As for the younger generation, the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy (which I wrote about) is the only institution on the island that combines baseball with academics (though Carlos Beltran’s Baseball Academy is set to launch next year). 
So, what can be done?
MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy (here’s more from a Q&A I did with him) believes there just needs to be faith in what’s taking shape right now. 
“I think with some attention and some academies, and the work that’s being done in the Clemente Sports City and emphasis on youth baseball, that we can recapture this market and there can be more Puerto Ricans in the Major Leagues in short order,” DuPuy said. 
“I think we need to continue what we’re doing, and I think we need to continue to emphasis youth baseball.”
In working towards that, DuPuy said more academies like the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy can sprout. And he believes the attention the San Juan Series is creating in Puerto Rico — which will likely return next season and could be a yearly event — is also a driving force. Also, Puerto Rico will be hosting the Caribbean Series next year, which will only increase the interest in baseball on the island.
Another good sign: When the Marlins dismissed Fredi Gonzalez and eventually appointed Edwin Rodriguez their skipper for the rest of the season, Puerto Rico had one of its own managing a big league team for the first time. That was a big, big deal in this series. 
An even better sign that baseball can turn around in this nation: There’s still a big interest, as evidenced by a sold-out stadium for Game 3 of the San Juan Series on Wednesday and a nearly sold out stadium the previous two games. 
“It’s still strong. It’s still the national sport in Puerto Rico, it’s still the most popular sport,” Archey said. 
“They love the game. They love baseball.”

– Alden Gonzalez

Marlins in a state of limbo while seeking a spark

MIAMI — It’s tough to be a Marlins player nowadays. Losing four straight and continuing to slide in an ultra competitive National League East is one thing. But trying to find a badly needed spark is even tougher when not even knowing who the long-term manager will be. 

The Marlins dismissed Fredi Gonzalez on Wednesday and named Edwin Rodriguez their interim skipper while seeking the services of Bobby Valentine. Former third-base coach Bo Porter had a face-to-face interview with the Marlins’ brass on Friday, and Rodriguez followed up on Saturday. Valentine, meanwhile, was supposed to interview Friday, but he never did. Then, on Sunday, the man deemed the favorite ever since the Marlins’ change in manager was reportedly out of the running. 
So, what started out with president David Samson saying the team would move swiftly in its search continued with Jeffrey Loria (pictured) describing the situation as “a process.” Now, who knows when arguably the most important spot on a big league roster will be finalized. 
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Ask the players, and they’ll say it’s up to them — and them only — to get a spark going. But it can’t be easy when you don’t know who your leader is. 
“I’m in here every day wondering if today is the day they’re going to announce it,” outfielder Cody Ross said. 
“I’ve never been in that situation before in the middle of a season, where you bring someone in [Rodriguez] and nobody has played with him or knows him. I don’t know if it’s going to take a month for him to figure out what we’re all about, a month for us to figure out what he’s all about or the whole rest of the season.”
Asked Sunday morning if there’s a desire to get this process over with as soon as possible, Loria said, “We have to do what we have to do, and that’s a process.” Rodriguez will be managing in his native land, Puerto Rico, probably through the whole three-game series against the Mets. And if the news that Valentine is out of the managerial race holds true, that could be the case all year.
Regardless of who it is, the quicker the Marlins could remove the interim tag, the better. 
Here’s what Rodriguez said when I asked him about the difficulties he faces with putting his own imprint on a club he doesn’t know how long he’ll lead: “There’s a tendency to not do so much with the way they were playing, because I don’t know how long I’m going to be here. I don’t want to try to change the style or something that I see on the team and, then again, a week from now, somebody else is going to be here, and they’re going to try to change again. I don’t think that’s going to be good for the team. So, so far, I’ve been trying to play the game that they’ve been playing. Here and there, I’ve been trying to put more runners in motion. But it’s not a big change. And then after they make the decision … hopefully [whoever gets the job] will be in a position to make a more consistent or more permanent change of the team.”
The sooner that can happen, the sooner the Marlins can get going.
– Alden Gonzalez 

Rays, Marlins, umps agree: Vuvuzelas out of place

MIAMI — The concept seemed like almost a no-brainer for the Marlins’ marketing department: Schedule a noise-making giveaway in June as part of their Super Saturday Concert series that would tie into the World Cup. 

But after 11 innings of a 4 1/2-hour game on Saturday, it was hard to find supporters in either clubhouse regarding the miniature vuvuzelas (pictured; The Associated Press) handed out to the first 15,000 fans at Sun Life Stadium.
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In fact, after his club’s wild 9-8 victory, Rays manager Joe Maddon said those blowing horns that created a deafening moaning sound at the ballpark all game long “should be banned from Major League Baseball.”
The next morning, he wasn’t softening his stance.
“They’re annoying,” he said. “I mean, there’s cool things and there’s very non-cool things. That’s a non-cool thing. … It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, in particular, was sporting earplugs. So was Rays third-base coach Tom Foley. And so did the umpiring crew.
“I couldn’t really hear myself talk,” Rays right-hander James Shields said.
“When you’re in the game, you don’t hear it, but it was loud on the bench sitting there,” Rays Saturday starter Jeff Niemann added. “I definitely noticed it, for sure.”
The vuvuzelas — made popular by World Cup soccer fans in South Africa — may have also caused confusion, an out and an ejection in one strange play in the bottom of the ninth. 
In a 5-5 tie, Marlins reserve infielder Brian Barden led off with a walk. But while he was trotting to first base, Maddon approached home-plate umpire Lance Barksdale and pointed out that the Marlins were batting out of order.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez pleaded his case before getting thrown out, and afterward said it was Barksdale who “screwed it up.” Perhaps the droning moans of the vuvuzelas that reverberated from the announced crowd of 23,242 caused a miscommunication. 
“It could have,” Barksdale said. “It was the most uncomfortable baseball I’ve been a part of in a long time because of that. Whether that had anything to do with it, I don’t know, but it could have. When’s the last time you heard something like that at a baseball game? Never.”
The Marlins disallowed vuvuzelas in their Sunday game because noise-making items are never allowed to be brought into the ballpark. 
Here’s how Marlins vice president of marketing Sean Flynn explained the decision to give away vuvuzelas: “The air horns are part of our regular pregame interactive giveaway for Super Saturdays. We try to create either a sound or visual giveaway. … We also looked at the timing and knew this would be in the heart of the World Cup. We knew the vuvuzela would be a pig part of the World Cup in South Africa.”
But the home team wasn’t happy with the giveaway, either.
“This isn’t soccer,” Uggla said. “I know the World Cup is going on, but this is baseball. We don’t want to hear horns or anything like that. We want to hear the crowd cheering. We want to hear the crowd getting behind us, not horns.”
– Alden Gonzalez

What to do about a guy named Michael Stanton

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MIAMI — What Stephen Strasburg is to the Nationals, Mike Stanton has become to the Marlins. 
Sure, Stanton was always a highly touted prospect in their system, and he’s been the top-ranked guy there for a while. But now is when it’s becoming a Strasburg-ish situation in South Florida, with anticipation building about exactly when he’ll be up in the big leagues for good. Heading into Sunday, Stanton (pictured) sported absurd numbers in pretty much every offensive category through 33 games: a .322 batting average, 36 RBIs, a ridiculous 1.237 OPS and a league-leading 15 home runs (one of them a mythical 500-plus-foot shot).
As my colleague Joe Frisaro and others have noted, it looks like late May or early June will be the time Stanton finally gets called up to the Major Leagues. 
When the Marlins sent Stanton down after he hit .286 with three homers in eight Grapefruit League games, manager Fredi Gonzalez said he’d let them know when he’s ready. Well, he’s ready, all right. And since the Marlins waited, they now delay his arbitration process and free-agency period by an extra year. 
But now the question remains — how do you make room for Stanton in the starting lineup? Here are some options that come to mind: 
* This is the one that may make the most sense: They can trade fan favorite Cody Ross for relief help to open up a spot in the outfield. Marlins fans love Ross, and for good reason — he’s a great clubhouse guy, is a solid defensive player and produces offensively at a reasonable price. But that’s also what makes him so attractive to other suitors, and what can perhaps get Florida the late-inning relief pitching it needs (perhaps maybe a solid lefty specialist). Ross is making $4.45 million and has one more year of arbitration, which could make him easier to move than this guy …
* Dan Uggla. The Marlins shopped their power-hitting second baseman all offseason but had no real takers. And though he’s having his best start to the season ever (.281 batting average, eight homers and 24 RBIs in 37 games heading into Sunday), he comes at a $7.8 million price tag and several teams are put off by his defense. Plus, while moving Ross would allow the Marlins to simply slot Stanton in right field, moving Uggla would take more shuffling. Chris Coghlan, who’s been very good in left field, would go to second base, and Stanton or Ross would migrate to left field. 
* Or you can do the same thing with Jorge Cantu, which would move Coghlan to third base — a position he also played in the Minors, though not nearly as much as second — instead. Moving Cantu would be tempting — despite his great knack for driving in runs — because he’s owed $6 million this year and is a free agent after the season. Cantu is solid at first base, but the Marlins see him as somewhat of a liability as a third baseman, which is why Wes Helms usually mans the position late in games. Cantu’s bat would be appealing to other clubs. 
* And then there’s Cameron Maybin. In many fans’ minds, this is the easier decision. You either option Maybin right back down to the Minor Leagues or trade him. But they may be a little hesitant to do that because it seems like finally — finally! — Maybin is starting to get the hang of this whole Major League thing. He’s taking better routes on balls in the outfield, and while the strikeouts will always be there, he’s put up back-to-back multi-hit games. No big sample size, sure. But he looks better at the plate, and the Marlins have so much invested in him (essentially, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis), that it seems like it’d be tough to give up on him now. If you trade him, you give up on him. If you option him, then you’re sending a very bad message to a guy who’s been through this before and is actually now playing well (plus, you get nothing in return, even though you have a surplus of everyday players). 
I can’t see the Marlins keeping all of those guys and then having four everyday outfielders on the active roster. So, if you’re the Marlins’ brass, which of those options do you choose? 
– Alden Gonzalez

6 Divisions in 6 Days: NL East

With this being the final week of Spring Training (crazy, right?), I figured it’d be justified to take a look at all 30 clubs and examine where they stand, what they need and where it looks like they’ll finish heading into the 2010 season. So, leading up to Opening Night between the Red Sox and Yankees, I’ll touch on one of the six divisions each day Monday-Saturday. Today, Day 1, we look at the National League East …

Phillies: I see no weaknesses in the back-to-back NL champions. They have arguably the best pitcher in baseball at the top of the rotation, a starting lineup that will scare the bejesus out of you, a great defensive group, options at the back end of their bullpen and incredible depth. Cole Hamels, of course, is the key. Since the Phillies didn’t keep Cliff Lee in the Roy Halladay deal (Phillies fans will debate that for decades), Hamels is the No. 2 starter again despite a rough year in 2009. If Hamels’ comeback is the most important, then that of closer Brad Lidge is 1A. Lidge and lefty J.C. Romero likely won’t be ready for the start of the season, but they’ll join the club soon thereafter. Still, the Phils signed Danys Baez, who also has experience closing out games, and Ryan Madson is there, too, of course. Offensively, uh, yeah, they’re good. I love the addition of Placido Polanco, who is a great No. 2 hitter and allows Shane Victorino to slide down in the order. J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton and possibly Jamie Moyer round out the rotation, which is good enough — at least. Their bench is solid with the addition of Juan Castro and Ross Gload. Defensively, Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Victorino and Jayson Werth are some of the best in the business at their respective positions. So, again, no weaknesses, really. 

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Marlins: Ask anybody around the league, and they’ll tell you the Marlins will be a pain in the neck this year — just like they were in 2008, and just like they were in 2009. The Marlins’ brass, however, wants more. They wanted a playoff team with a $30 million payroll, as evidenced by Fredi Gonzalez being put on the hot seat early this offseason despite finishing above .500 and being in contention most of the way last year. Pretty much the same core group is back, with Josh Johnson — fresh off signing a four-year extension — at the top of the rotation and Hanley Ramirez in the middle of the lineup. That young rotation that was the talk of baseball a couple of years ago isn’t looking so good right now, though. While Johnson and Ricky Nolasco give the Marlins a nice one-two punch, there are questions in the other three spots. And their closer, Leo Nunez, has only been one for half a season. The rest of the bullpen is a bit shaky and inexperienced, too. Offensively, they’ll have reigning NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan for a full season. But they need Cameron Maybin to produce as the No. 2 hitter, and I don’t think they have a big enough bat to protect Ramirez in the middle of the order (Jorge Cantu is the guy right now). With a new stadium, and Johnson and Ramirez locked up long-term, the future looks good for the Marlins. 2010? I think they’ll be in it in September, but it’ll be the same story as the last couple of years. This division is too good to win with that payroll. 

Braves: There may be no better starting rotation than the Braves’, and there may be no feel-good story better than the one playing out in Atlanta. Bobby Cox‘s last season. Jason Heyward‘s first. Veteran players making the Braves look legit for the first time in a while. Meant to be? Perhaps. Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Kenshin Kawakami and Jair Jurrjens is flat-out scary. And I like their bullpen. Here’s my problem: The Braves will rely on a cleanup hitter (Troy Glaus) and a closer (Billy Wagner) coming off major surgeries. But they’re deep in the ‘pen, and the offense is pretty good, with Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Heyward (what a phenomenal player he is) and Yunel Escobar. Oh, and Wagner and Glaus have each looked good this spring. I have questions about Nate McLouth as the leadoff hiter (and Melky Cabrera seemingly being the No. 2 option), and their infield defense is shaky with Jones at third, Glaus at first, McCann behind the plate and Martin Prado at second base. But the more I see this team, the more I like it. 

Mets: Meet the Mess! Once again, the Amazin’s have a nice-looking squad on paper, but who knows what you’ll get out of them? They already know Carlos Beltran won’t start the season healthy, nor will expected setup man Kelvim Escobar, and Jose Reyes probably won’t, either. But they still have Johan Santana at the top of their rotation, they still have Jason Bay in the middle of their order, and neither Beltran nor Reyes are expected to miss much time. The Mets will of course be a much better offensive club than last year’s rag-tag group, but I’d worry about their rotation. After Santana, there are four solid question marks in Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Jon Niese. Also, who will be the bridge to Francisco Rodriguez? There’s a flame-throwing prospect by the name of Jenrry Mejia who has drawn comparisons to Doc Gooden. He won’t start the season as the eighth-inning man, but that may be his role eventually. Once again, the Mets have the potential to be great and catastrophic, all at the same time. One thing that’s certain: It should be interesting. 

Nationals: Mike
Rizzo has done a pretty descent job in his short time as the Nats’ general manager. He acquired pitching help in Jason Marquis (though he’s not an ace by any stretch), got a solid catcher who can mentor Jesus Flores in Ivan Rodriguez (I don’t know about giving him two years and $6 million, however), went hard after Orlando Hudson (but he had to settle for Adam Kennedy at second base), came to terms with top pitching prospects Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen, and he made the bold — and surprising — move of releasing Elijah Dukes, getting rid of a supreme talent but a perceived clubhouse cancer. Think again, though, if you think the Nats can go from 103 losses to playoff contention in one season. They’re at least another year away. I really like their lineup, with Nyjer Morgan at the top, and Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and a healthy Josh Willingham in the middle. And I like rookie Ian Desmond‘s defense at shortstop. But that starting rotation, led by John Lannan, is still shaky at best. And despite adding guys like Brian Bruney and Matt Capps, there’s no legit closer, and the bullpen should struggle as a unit. But expect progress. 
NL East champion: Phillies
NL Wild Card: Braves
– Alden Gonzalez

Where does Maybin hit in the Marlins’ lineup?

JUPITER, Fla. — The Marlins will go into the 2010 season with one of the lowest payrolls in the big leagues, but ownership is seemingly putting the heat on manager Fredi Gonzalez to make the playoffs this year. Owner Jeffrey Loria felt his club was good enough to play in October last year, and he feels even stronger about that notion this year.

There are obvious reasons for that mentality — two big ones are Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez — but certain things will have to happen for that to become a reality.
For starters, Cameron Maybin (pictured) will have to finally demonstrate at the highest level what has made him one of the most promising young players in the game in recent years. 

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I really believe Maybin’s struggles last year (a .254 batting average in 54 games) had a lot to do with the fact he was hitting eighth. Batting in that spot of the lineup in the National League is really difficult since you’re not getting many pitches to hit with the pitcher behind you, especially when you’re an aggressive hitter like Maybin, who sports a career .475 slugging percentage in the Minor Leagues.
Gonzalez told me that “in a perfect world” he’d like to avoid batting Maybin eighth and that he sees him as his No. 2 hitter — between leadoff man Chris Coghlan and No. 3 hitter Hanley Ramirez. But that can change.
Here’s what Maybin said when I asked him what his ideal spot in the lineup is: I’ve always hit at the top of the order. That’s all I’ve been telling everybody. I’ve always been a guy that hit in the top of the order in the Minor Leagues. Here, we’ve got so many weapons. It’s just one of those things. The things I can bring to the table, you can put me in a lot of places.
I’m still unsure of where Maybin belongs in a Major League lineup, because he’s got the speed to be a leadoff hitter and the power to be a middle-of-the-order guy. It’s a lot like Hanley in the beginning of his career. Ramirez began as a leadoff hitter with the Marlins, but now he’s a full-fledged power hitter (though, of course, he can hit for a high average, get on base and steal bases, too).
So, what about Maybin? Is he a run producer or a run scorer? He says he doesn’t really have to choose.
“I just want to affect the game in as many ways as I can with my ability, that’s my plan,” he said. “However that may be, by knocking them in or scoring from first base on base hits, that’s what I do, man.
“If you’re hitting in the middle of the order, you’re looking to drive runs in. If you’re hitting at the top, you’re looking to get on base. … I just want to be whatever I can be. Everybody asks these difficult questions. It’s all about helping the team win — bottom line. Whether it’s one-two, eight-nine [in the lineup].”
As spectacular as Coghlan was at the top of the order en route to winning Rookie of the Year for the NL, I believe he is the prototypical No. 2 hitter. The only problem is the Marlins haven’t really had a truly leadoff hitter since Juan Pierre left, and Maybin strikes out too often to be a top-of-the-order guy.
But when asked if he believes he can be an everyday leadoff hitter in the big leagues, Maybin said, “Absolutely. Why not, man?” Still, though, he added that he loves hitting behind Coghlan — like he’s done through so many years in the Minors — and that’s ideally where he’ll be in 2010. 
Here are his Major League-career splits from the different spots in the lineup …
* 1st: 46 AB, .304 BA, .699 OPS, 1 RBI
* 2nd: 83 AB, .325 BA, .861 OPS, 1 HR, 7 RBI
* 3rd: 3 AB, .333 BA, 1.000 OPS, 1 RBI
* 4th: 1 PA, 1 SH
* 5th: 2 AB, 1 H
* 6th: 1 PA, 1 BB
* 7th: 10 AB, .333 BA, 1.067 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI
* 8th: 93 AB, .194 BA, .594 OPS, 2 HR, 3 RBI
* 9th: 21 AB, .190 BA, .689 OPS, 1 HR, 1 RBI
——-
As for that whole playoffs thing, is it unfair to demand postseason from a team with that kind of payroll? I think the Marlins will be fine, and I think they’ll be in the thick of things all year (everyone in the league pretty much feels the same way). But the NL East has become the deepest division in the Major Leagues, and I see zero weaknesses on the Phillies.
Here’s what Fredi had to say: There’s no reason why we can’t make a run at this. A lot of things have to go right. You can drop $100 million on this team, and it would be hard to get five wins better [than the 87 wins of 2009]. But I like the guys that we have here. The pitching has got to be better, more consistent than last year, and then we’ll see what happens in July, when it’s time to get another piece. 

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