Florida Marlins

With the seats getting emptier at Sun Life Stadium in the wake of yet another Marlins late-season collapse, the surging Miami Dolphins snatching the local sports headlines, and the impending start of the NBA season with the Heat Elite of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh about to take the hardwood, the Marlins are in need of a revival.

Entering their final season at Sun Life Stadium in 2011, the Florida Marlins will yet again relocate a home series.

It won't be by their choice, but because U2 is having a concert at the stadium on June 29, 2011.

On June 24-26, the Florida Marlins will be facing the Seattle Mariners in an interleague series. Essentially, it wouldn't give the crew at Sun Life Stadium enough time to set up for the concert stage and seating. 

Rookies are streaky.  It’s just something fantasy owners generally have to deal with.  You take the good with the bad, and hopefully, by year’s end, you get significant value for your investment.

Take Mike Stanton, for instance.  Big things were expected from him, especially in the power department.  That’s what happens when you hit .313 with 21 HR in just 192 AB at Double-A.

It makes me chuckle.  Really, it does.  I sit back and listen to people, both fans and broadcasters whine and moan about instant replay in baseball. 

The Florida Marlins started the season with two potential aces on their pitching staff—Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson.

Unfortunately, they will end the season with no aces on their roster.

The National League may have just lost a Cy Young candidate, but may also have gained an ERA title winner.

The Florida Marlins announced this afternoon that staff ace Josh Johnson would be shut down for the season after complaining of problems with his back and shoulder for much of the second half of the season.

While the majority of the Florida Marlins' first round draft disasters were before the Jeffrey Loria/Larry Beinfest/David Samson era and their pair of World Series victories (1997 and 2003) make no mistake the Marlins could have been a great team out of the gates. They had only one winning season between 1993 and 2002 which yielded the one World Series.

Let’s take a look at some of the bigger stories that developed yesterday: 

Three Hot

 Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler

There was a lot to like from the Rangers last night, from their offensive explosion to Derek Holland (5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K, W), who has a chance to emerge in the Rangers rotation not only for the final few weeks of 2010, but for 2011 as well. 

With what essentially was a three-game sweep at the hands of the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, the Florida Marlins can officially kiss their last playoff hopes goodbye.

The ship began sailing when Ricky Nolasco went down and now recently with Josh Johnson and his back. JJ might be shut down to avoid any further injury when the team is no longer in the race. 

I know, its three seasons away, and with the money Jeffrey Loria has that he isn't spending, it seems ridiculous that we'd even have to wait that long for a another playoff berth, and we might not, but by 2013 this team will be one of the most potent in all of baseball.

They will continue to compete this year and will have similar seasons for the next two years, be in it until middle of September but never really have a solid chance.