Posted by Rich Wilkins
Back in the dead of winter, at the MLB Winter Meetings to be exact, the Marlins were being declared the "winners" of the meetings, having signed Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle to deals, having already hired Ozzie Guillen to be their new Manager, and then trading for Carlos Zambrano, all in an effort to contend as they move into their new ballpark. Charlie Manuel has even went on the record since calling them the biggest threat to the Phillies supremacy in the NL East. For once, I couldn't disagree with Charlie and the national press more.
The Marlins went 72-90 last year, in what was a disaster of a season. Hanley Ramirez went to the DL for a bit. Josh Johnson's season was short and sweet, and his future questionable, at least at the level he was at. They sent Logan Morrison to the minors for Tweeting too much. They flat out stunk. They weren't a good team. While their pick-ups are very good, few of them have track records as winners, and some of them are question marks in their own right. Hanley Ramirez wasn't happy being moved to third for Reyes, and he still isn't apparently. I can't say I blame him, being that he is an MVP caliber player being moved for an often-injured player who happened to win a batting title in his walk year. Ozzie Guillen, while once a World Championship Manager, has struggled since, and is flammable himself. Carlos Zambrano as a pick up is perplexing, as he is a complete head case who is on the downslope of his career. Buehrle's solid and all, but not a top end pitcher like he was in the best White Sox years. Bell's been great in San Diego, but that's not the NL East. Reyes? He was the epicenter of the epic collapses of the New York Mets.
The Marlins will be better than 72-90, and some of these issues may not be back, but I don't think they are the level of threat that the Nationals and Braves are. I do not believe they will get 200 innings from Josh Johnson, or consistency from Zambrano. I'd be surprised to see Hanley Ramirez be happy, or to see Jose Reyes repeat 2011. I can see them being an 85 win team, and maybe even a team on the rise, but I do not see the Miami Marlins living up to the hype at all, and I do see the outlines of a total disaster.
