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Posted on Tue, Mar. 20, 2012
Miami Marlins hoping to speed up run production
BY CLARK SPENCER
Runs were hard to come by last year for the Marlins. So were wins.
It’s no secret, then, where the Marlins hope to improve. While much is riding on Josh Johnson’s shoulder, the team’s ability to push runs across the plate is the area most in need of improvement, especially considering how historically anemic last year’s bunch was at lighting up a scoreboard.
How bad was it?
Of all the Marlins clubs to play a full schedule, only the 1993 expansion club failed to score as many runs as the 625 produced last season. And no Marlins team before them hit as poorly as the 2011 club, which had a paltry .247 team average.
The Marlins are counting on a healthy Hanley Ramirez, the addition of Jose Reyes and a speed-heavy top of the lineup to change their scoring fortunes.
“Jose, he produces runs almost by himself, stealing bases and putting pressure on the defense,” said Marlins catcher John Buck, who also suffered through an off year at the plate (.227 with 16 home runs and 57 RBI).
“And, with that, I think it takes pressure off of Hanley. He was the kind of guy we all looked to kind of carry us beforehand. I think [having Reyes in the lineup] kind of relieves a lot of the expectations on Hanley to do it all.”
Ramirez experienced the worst year of his big-league career, hitting just .243 in an injury-shortened season that consisted of only 92 games. But he has been swinging the bat this spring and giving the Marlins reason to believe he has returned to his old form. With Ramirez missing from the lineup much of last season, and struggling when he was present, the Marlins lacked punch.
The Marlins ended up scoring nearly 100 fewer runs in 2011 as they did the previous season, and were down nearly 150 runs from 2009 when Ramirez was the National League batting champion.
Ramirez isn’t the only hitter whose production has declined. Scoring is down throughout baseball in the post-steroids era.
With home run power no longer dictating outcomes, it becomes incumbent on teams to manufacture runs the old-fashioned way.
“I think baseball is going back to being baseball,” Buck said.
Said Greg Dobbs: “Power is great to have. But you shouldn’t always rely on it, on the home run. If you are, you are handcuffing yourself as a team.”
The 2007 and ’08 Marlins teams packed a wallop. Both teams totaled at least 200 home runs.
Considering the makeup of the team and a new ballpark that is expected to favor pitching, the ’12 Marlins are unlikely to bash like their predecessors.
And that’s perfectly fine with guys like Dobbs and Buck.
“What I think this team will be good at is manufacturing runs and realizing that we don’t have to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” Dobbs said. “A single in the hole or a line drive in the gap still drives in runs, and that’s what this game is all about.”
Dobbs said the 1-2-3 punch of Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and Ramirez at the top of the order should be able to generate plenty of runs because of their exceptional speed.
Bunts. Stolen bases. Sacrifice flies.
Dobbs said they all add up to runs.
“It doesn’t have to be the sexiest way,” Dobbs said. “You can win and you can win ugly, and you look back and say that was nasty looking. But, hey, you know what? It’s a win. All those accumulate.”
Miami Marlins hoping to speed up run production
BY CLARK SPENCER
Runs were hard to come by last year for the Marlins. So were wins.
It’s no secret, then, where the Marlins hope to improve. While much is riding on Josh Johnson’s shoulder, the team’s ability to push runs across the plate is the area most in need of improvement, especially considering how historically anemic last year’s bunch was at lighting up a scoreboard.
How bad was it?
Of all the Marlins clubs to play a full schedule, only the 1993 expansion club failed to score as many runs as the 625 produced last season. And no Marlins team before them hit as poorly as the 2011 club, which had a paltry .247 team average.
The Marlins are counting on a healthy Hanley Ramirez, the addition of Jose Reyes and a speed-heavy top of the lineup to change their scoring fortunes.
“Jose, he produces runs almost by himself, stealing bases and putting pressure on the defense,” said Marlins catcher John Buck, who also suffered through an off year at the plate (.227 with 16 home runs and 57 RBI).
“And, with that, I think it takes pressure off of Hanley. He was the kind of guy we all looked to kind of carry us beforehand. I think [having Reyes in the lineup] kind of relieves a lot of the expectations on Hanley to do it all.”
Ramirez experienced the worst year of his big-league career, hitting just .243 in an injury-shortened season that consisted of only 92 games. But he has been swinging the bat this spring and giving the Marlins reason to believe he has returned to his old form. With Ramirez missing from the lineup much of last season, and struggling when he was present, the Marlins lacked punch.
The Marlins ended up scoring nearly 100 fewer runs in 2011 as they did the previous season, and were down nearly 150 runs from 2009 when Ramirez was the National League batting champion.
Ramirez isn’t the only hitter whose production has declined. Scoring is down throughout baseball in the post-steroids era.
With home run power no longer dictating outcomes, it becomes incumbent on teams to manufacture runs the old-fashioned way.
“I think baseball is going back to being baseball,” Buck said.
Said Greg Dobbs: “Power is great to have. But you shouldn’t always rely on it, on the home run. If you are, you are handcuffing yourself as a team.”
The 2007 and ’08 Marlins teams packed a wallop. Both teams totaled at least 200 home runs.
Considering the makeup of the team and a new ballpark that is expected to favor pitching, the ’12 Marlins are unlikely to bash like their predecessors.
And that’s perfectly fine with guys like Dobbs and Buck.
“What I think this team will be good at is manufacturing runs and realizing that we don’t have to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” Dobbs said. “A single in the hole or a line drive in the gap still drives in runs, and that’s what this game is all about.”
Dobbs said the 1-2-3 punch of Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and Ramirez at the top of the order should be able to generate plenty of runs because of their exceptional speed.
Bunts. Stolen bases. Sacrifice flies.
Dobbs said they all add up to runs.
“It doesn’t have to be the sexiest way,” Dobbs said. “You can win and you can win ugly, and you look back and say that was nasty looking. But, hey, you know what? It’s a win. All those accumulate.”
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