Florida Marlins

Dan Uggla is a player who often gets little respect despite showing to be a tremendous source of power out of the middle infield year after year.

Unfortunately, he draws some criticism for the other aspects of his game, hurting his perceived value.

Obviously, we will have to reassess things once 2010 has come to a close, but thus far it appears that things are heading in a positive direction when it comes to his numbers:

It’s been a couple of months since we had a stadium review here at The Ghost of Moonlight Graham, so I thought today would be a good day to have one.

The stadium that will be covered today is Sun Life Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins. Sun Life Stadium is more known more for having 100 different names over the last 30 years than it is for the crowds they get at the ballpark.

The Florida Marlins (62-61) begin a six-game road trip in Citi Field against the New York Mets (62-62).

The Marlins come in having won five of six and send their ace Josh Johnson to the mound. The Mets counter with knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey, who has been a pleasant surprise.

Johnson is coming off a good outing where he pitched eight innings of two-run baseball against the Pirates. That isn't saying much, but it's a great sign to see him bounce back from his worst outing of the year against the Reds.

Maybe a third times the charm for Florida Marlins’ OF Cameron Maybin?

Last week I wrote about Jair Jurrjens, the home warrior. I thought it would be fitting to write this week about a guy who has truly been a road warrior this season.

According to a report by The Miami Herald's Clark Spencer, Marlins starting catcher Ronny Paulino has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

The suspension would put the Marlins catcher out for the rest of the regular season with 40 games left to go for the Marlins, as it will be effective immediately. 

The signing of Christian Yelich came last night for the Marlins although it didn't receive the hype of a Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg signing.

Yelich signed for $1.7 million as the deal got done with minutes left until the midnight deadline. Yelich was the Marlins' first-round pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Taken out of Westlake High School in Westlake Village, California, Yelich stands at 6'4" and weighs 190 pounds.

The Marlins are having a rather poor season but don't count them out of the Playoff hunt yet, they are just one winning streak away from being in the reach of their first playoff appearance since 2003.

But after a sweep by the Reds, the Marlins need to make serious adjustments in order to stay alive and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Here are the 5 thing that the Marlins are going to have to do to get to the postseason.

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The Marlins, a young franchise, with two World Series titles on their resume, have to be excited for the future.  Over the years they have been the subject of ridicule for their attendance numbers and low payroll.  The fan base has witnessed not one, but two World Series teams get dismantled for financial reasons.

However, now more than ever, the enthusiasm behind this team is growing and here are the ten reasons why:

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For the past month the marlins have had a rough time with umpires and controversial calls.

The first event was the foul ball that was fair and would've given the marlins a walk off win against the NL east rival Phillies.

Now just recently against the Reds, in a rather important series, Marlins catcher Bret Hayes was in an at-bat where he was hit on the leg with a pitch and the home plate umpire called it a foul tip.