BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
Lets make no bones about it, this years All-Star Break has a much different felling than last years.
Former GM Kim Ng did a masterful job assembling a team that enabled first year manager Skip Schumaker a team that he was able to pilot into the 2023 Playoffs.
But now as we look at the clock a year later, the 2024 Season has turned out to be very forgettable.
The Marlins reside in the NL East Basement with a 33-63 record.
During the All-Star Break, the fish added more players from the MLB Draft.
The trade deadline is upon us and expect Miami to be sellers.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Schumaker will have something in common with former Marlins Manager Joe Girardi as both will have won the Manager of the Year, then lose their jobs.
But if I were Schumaker, I’d get the moving van ready as it won’t take long for him to find employment.
The last game we attended was the Marlins contest vs the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, July 7. This was the final game of a three game series at LoanDepot Park.
During the first game of the Series on July 5, the White Sox pulled out a 3-2 win.
Game two saw Miami defeat Chicago 4-3.
The finale which we attended turned out to be an entertaining contest between these cellar dwellers.
The White Sox got a solid outing from starting pitcher Jonathon Cannon, who pitched six frames and allowed just one run.
Chicago held a 4-1 lead through six innings.
To Schumaker’s credit, his team doesn’t quit. Miami added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to close the gap to 4-3.
The Marlins bullpen held steady as it limited the White Sox to a pair of runs and all five pitchers used gave Miami a chance to win the contest going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
Second baseman Vidal led off the ninth inning with a walk, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a double Josh Bell. The game was tied at 4-4.
Bell was replaced for a pinch runner by Emmanuel Rivera.
But the fun was just getting started.
White Sox Manager Pedro Grifol decided to intentional walk Jesus Sanchez to face struggling third baseman Jake Burger. On July 4 vs the Boston Red Sox, Burger struck out five teams on five plate appearances.
On the surface, this seemed like the correct move. But I re-emphasize the word “Seemed” since Burger was hitless in four at bats. He had two groundouts and a pair of strikeouts. But to Schumaker’s credit, Burger was hitting in the fourth, cleanup spot and had faith in his veteran player.
When someone shows faith in you, it’s important to prove them right which is what Burger did to award his manager.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Burger hit a three-run walk-off homer off loser Michael Kopech, who got the loss and dropped to 2-8. When you walk off a home-run, it’s a jubilant feeling especially when you’re struggling. I’m sure Burger didn’t mind having his favorite beverage thrown on top of him and getting interviewed after the 7-4 win.
The victory enabled the Marlins to win the series 2-1 as South Beach defeated The South Siders in a battle for the top pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
How would the Marlins fare after the White Sox Series?
Miami was swept 3-0 in their next series on the road to Houston Astros. Miami lost by successive scores of 4-3, 9-1 and 6-3 margins.
The final series before the All-Star Break occurred in Cincinnati as Miami lost this series 2-1. In game one, the Reds won 7-4. The Marlins pitching didn’t do them any favors as the Fish were on the losing end of a 10-6 margin. The finale saw Miami earn a 3-2 win going into the break.
When they return from the break, the New York Mets await them at LoanDepot Park for a four-game series. Following the Mets, the Baltimore Orioles come to town before the team goes back on the road to face the Milwaukee Brewers.
When Baltimore comes to town, the Orioles used to conduct Spring Training at Miami Stadium in the 1970’s and 1980’s and had a farm team in the Florida State League which produced Hall of Fame Shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. among others.
These are the dog days of summer and at this time of the year, Schumaker is going to try to win as many games as possible. By the same token, I-95 will be busy as the Jacksonville to Miami trail will be filled with lots of roster moves.
When the team returns, it will be interesting to see how Miami comes out of the gate against their New York rivals, which is also another battle of I-95.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.
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Finally, check out Scott’s book, “Lessons From the Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble.
