Kuzul

Mike Lowell will be honored tonight by the Boston Red Sox with “Thanks, Mike Night”, as we say goodbye to the consummate professional after 13 remarkable seasons. Lowell has announced that he will retire at the end of this season.

It’s been a tumultuous year for the once slick-fielding third baseman. Lowell has been on the verge of being granted his outright release multiple times throughout the season, and has had to endure being relegated to the bench for the first time in his career.

But good things come to those who wait, as Lowell will finish his major league career this weekend against the New York Yankees as the Red Sox starting third baseman. Adrian Beltre, Boston’s regular third baseman and Lowell’s replacement in 2010, has left the team to witness the birth of his third child.

So with Lowell at the plate and bat at the ready, let’s take a look back at the career of one of the most humble athletes to every play the game.

Mike Lowell, we honor you.

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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. 

Entering the final offseason of the Sun Life (aka Pro Player, Dolphin, or Joe Robbie) Stadium era, the Marlins face an uphill battle to turn this team back to their winning ways in lieu of a new stadium in 2012.

It will be quite the extreme makeover of sorts from this season and Opening Day 2012 and a whole lot needs to happen in order to have fans even consider buying a Marlins ticket with Heat and Dolphins tickets the hot items in South Florida. 

Here is what the Marlins need to and what I believe they should do to address it. 

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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.

The Braves look like they might have a few years of power in them and the Phillies will continue to be a contender, but by 2013, look for the Fish to be a serious NL powerhouse.

By that time, they’ll have moved into their fancy new ballpark and maybe actually draw some fans to their games. This is my ideal roster for 2013. Granted, they make make moves and lose/bring in names that could shake this up but just using the current roster and prospects now, take a look:

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Well, I suppose you have to do something to liven things up when the two teams playing are a combined 32 games out of first place in their own division, with only a month left to the season. This goes double when the game is already a blowout in the sixth inning.

The Marlins and Nationals apparently decided to liven things up, ironically, by trying to kill each other.

Well, it was a little more complicated than that.

In the top of the 6th inning of a 15-5 drubbing, Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan evidently took umbrage at the fact that the Marlins were throwing at him, and charged the mound. What Morgan (generously listed at “six feet” tall and 175 lbs) thought he was going to do to Chris Volstad (6’8″, 230 lbs) is beyond my comprehension.

For his part, Volstad seemed singularly unimpressed as Morgan charged at him, throwing his glove down in arrogance and dodging Morgan’s only real punch, that jumping left hook he learned from watching too many action movies.

It didn’t work.

And, I would guess that among the things going through Morgan’s mind as he ran out to the mound, he probably didn’t imagine being flattened by a man named “Gaby.”

Instead, Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez, not much taller but about 50 pounds heavier than Morgan, clotheslined him and brought him to the ground, whereupon everyone else joined in the scrum. It took 10 or 15 minutes for the figurative dust to settle, and when it did, both Volstad and Morgan had been ejected, of course.

Additionally, Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez (presumably for complicity in, if not actually ordering the plunking) and relief pitcher Jose Veras, whose only crime as far as I can tell was that he happened to be standing next to one of the umpires when they were looking for another scapegoat, were also ejected.

During the course of the brawl, various players, coaches, and even (I think) the Nationals bullpen catcher had gotten into the mix. Nationals third base coach Pat Listach was clobbering Volstad at the bottom of the melee, and others can clearly be seen throwing hard punches on the video replay, but nobody else was ousted.

In most of the highlight reels, Morgan ends up looking like the bad guy, and with good reason.  Namely, that he makes himself look like a bad guy. I mean, not like a Hitler-type of bad guy, more the professional wrestler type of bad guy.

A guy who shoots off his mouth and tries to back his words up with action and even when he’s more or less defeated, feels the need to save face by, well, yelling more. A guy who seemingly walks around all the time as though he’s still hitting the .351 he smacked for the Nats last year, rather than the .257 mark he’s posted this year.

The truth, however, is rarely that simple.

The problem did not start in the top of the sixth on Wednesday night. It didn’t even start Wednesday, but rather Tuesday night, in a scoreless tie in the top of the 10th inning. Running full speed, Morgan bowled over Marlins’ catcher Brett Hayes, trying to score from second base on a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop Hanley Ramirez. The result was a separated shoulder for Hayes and probably the end of his season.

Morgan went back to touch the plate, just in case, but Hayes had held onto the ball, and he was out. Reportedly, Morgan didn’t say anything to Hayes either then or after the game, and evidently the Marlins didn’t appreciate that. I guess they think that an opposing player ought to apologize for trying to win the game any way he can, even though it was essentially a clean play that just ended badly for their guy.

What they should have taken exception to, if anything, was the slow reaction and lazy throw to home plate, which clocked only 69 miles per hour.

Ramirez has a major league shortstop’s arm, and is certainly capable of throwing a baseball at 90 mph, perhaps more. But this lobbed throw forced Hayes to catch it as Morgan came barreling towards him, giving him no time to set himself for the collision. A 90 mph throw would have given him an extra 0.2 seconds to set himself, which is longer than it sounds like, and might have helped him to stave off injury.

For that matter, if Ramirez had been paying closer attention to Morgan, he might have seen him running full steam sooner and therefore given Hayes enough time to avoid the collision all together. If the Marlins are looking to blame someone for Hayes’ injury, they need look no further than their own All-Star shortstop.

Morgan, for his part, was just playing heads-up baseball—risking injury to himself as well, it should be noted—trying to win a scoreless, extra-inning game for his team. His effort to hit the catcher hard enough to dislodge the ball is no more or less than thousands of players have done in thousands of baseball games over the last century and a half of professional baseball.

That the Marlins didn’t appreciate the outcome—and they did eventually win the game, after all—is their problem.

But they didn’t see it that way. With the score 14-3 Marlins, with one out in the top of the fourth inning the next night, Morgan came to bat, and the Fish saw their opportunity. Volstad hit him with a 92 mph fastball and then stared Morgan down, waiting for a reaction. Nyjer didn’t give him the satisfaction though, turning away from the pitcher, briefly rubbing his highly-padded elbow and scampering down to first base.

But the Marlins made a bad gamble, doing for Morgan the one thing he’s largely been unable to do for himself this year: they put him on base. While Morgan is not a terribly effective base stealer, on a pace to lead the NL in times caught for the second time in his career, he also had 30 successful steals so far this year, so he’s nothing if not fast.

Plus, he’s got a chip on his shoulder and a reason to show them up now, so he stole second base, and then stole third three pitches later. That gave him all the opportunity he needed to score a run when the Marlins’ second baseman Donnie Murphy stumbled and sustained an injury catching a pop-up. They really showed him, huh?

So the Marlins, feeling that the “lesson” had not yet sunk into Morgan’s head, decided to try to sink a baseball into it instead. But Volstad missed this time, throwing behind him and eliciting the Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon response you’ve probably already seen a dozen times on SportsCenter.

Obviously warnings were given to both benches after the fracas, so when Gaby Sanchez got plunked an inning later both pitcher Doug Slaten and manager Jim Riggleman were ejected. Everyone else was allowed to finish their regularly scheduled program, in the form of a 16-10 trouncing that was frankly an embarrassment for both franchises.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Florida Marlins are generally viewed as one of professional sports’ most interesting teams. They’ve had an outstanding amount of talent throughout the years including Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, Josh Beckett, AJ Burnett, Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria, among others. Those players usually never get “the big deal” they deserve and are either traded or leave via free agency. Well, now everybody knows where that money is going. Right into the owners’ pockets.

A deadspin leak of the Marlins’ finances shows that the Marlins have not only been pocketing profits for everything they’ve accomplished to date, but the estimated $2.4 billion taxpayers will spend for the team to build a new $515 million stadium.

In 2008, the Marlins traded superstar Miguel Cabrera to the Detroit Tigers and had a $28.2 million payroll. The documents reveal that they made a $37.8 million profit. Then, in 2009, their payroll was $35 million and they made an $11.1 million profit. That’s almost $50 million in profit over a two-year period. Where is all this money going?

Marlins’ owners not only lied to the fans, they lied to the city. The Marlins will only be paying $155 million for the $634 million stadium. With such a little payroll and such a large annual profit, the Marlins really couldn’t pay for most of this stadium? Taxpayers shouldn’t be very happy about this.

It isn’t just the Marlins’ fault though; the city was extremely irresponsible as well. Miami-Dade County agreed to take out $409 million in loans with balloon payments and long grace periods to help fund the stadium without the consent of taxpayers.

Nobody should blame owner Jeffrey Loria and president David Samson for taking advantages of loopholes that allowed them to be fiscally successful. Somebody needs to take action though and that should be Major League Baseball. It’s too late to take back the swindling act the Marlins did on the city of Miami, but similar situations in the future can be prevented if somebody steps in. It’s time to take a stand against small market owners pocketing money and then spending minimally on the team’s payroll.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In today’s game of free agency and rebuilding sell-offs, it’s extremely rare for a player to stick with a team for much more than about a decade. Stars come and go, and the team’s is the only name that lasts through a fan’s lifetime.

But some players leave behind legacies that continue to capture the hearts of their fans long after they hang up their cleats.

Last week, Bleacher Report’s MLB Featured Columnists completed our hardest poll yet: picking the top players in the history of each NL franchise (for the AL results, click here).

Each voter was asked to name the top three players for each team, scored on a 3-2-1 basis. The greats were then ranked by points, with the number of first-place votes (in parentheses next to the vote totals) as a tiebreaker.

Some of the results were pretty predictable—I don’t think saying Hank Aaron and Willie Mays won for the Braves and Giants is much of a spoiler. But some of the winners were harder to see coming, and how the rest of the lists filled out was fascinating.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Note: I sent this survey only to the Featured Columnists who have been active in previous polls. If you are a new FC or you have changed your mind about wanting to participate, send me a message and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop for next time!

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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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Shortly after securing their future long-term home, Marlins Ballpark, in Little Havana near Downtown Miami, the Marlins began their long-term deals with their marquee players. 

In 2008, the Marlins signed their all-star shortstop Hanley Ramirez to a six year, $70 million extension that goes through the 2014 season. It was their first such long-term deal since they signed first baseman Carlos Delgado to a five year deal in 2005. 

The Marlins continued that trend by locking up their ace, Josh Johnson to a four year extension worth $39 million in 2010. 

In order to keep their nucleus intact and the future bright, the Marlins must continue to fortify their long-term investments by signing a few others to long-term deals as well. 

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Shortstop is a top heavy position in fantasy baseball. After five or six elite guys and three to four more decent options, the bottom falls out fast. Those playing in the popular ten-team mixed leagues might not have too much trouble filling their SS spot, but those in deeper leagues will most likely be scrambling for production. At this point in the roto season, the best thing you can do is to see which categories you can still pick up points, and use your SS spot to go after those category-specific needs.

TIER 1
Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins, 100 percent owned
There is a lot of talk going around about Hanley’s “down” year.  Sure, he had all of one extra base hit in July, and his WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is significantly lower than it has been in previous years, but ESPN’s player rater shows he has been the best shortstop to this point. His current BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) is 44 points lower than his career average, and he is striking out less while walking more. He is going to be fine.

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies, 100 percent owned
The only thing to worry about with Tulo is him missing more time due to injury, because he has been fantastic when in the lineup.  The numbers he has put up in 2010 would look like this scaled out to a full 162 game season: .315, 23 HR, 16 SB, 114 RBI, 98 R.

Jose Reyes, New York Mets, 100 percent owned
The majority of Reyes’s fantasy value is in his ability to steal bases. As we all know, you have to get on base to steal bases.  Unfortunately, Reyes currently has his lowest OBP since his rookie year primarily because he is swinging at more balls outside of the strike zone and walking less. As a result, his SB/AB percent is .052, which is significantly lower than his previous career low of .081 in 2008.

Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox, 100 percent owned
Take away Alexei’s awful month of April (.221, 1 HR, 1 SB, 13 K, 1 BB), and the South Side shortstop has a line of .293, 10 HR, 7 SB, 48 R, and 35 RBI. 

Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers, 100 percent owned
Andrus has plenty of value because he leads all shortstops in steals with 27 and is second in runs with 67. However, his groundball rate is up and his fly ball rate is down, which has led to 100 singles (out of 115 hits), zero homers, and an embarrassingly low slugging percentage of .316. 

TIER 2
Derek Jeter, New York Yankees, 100 percent owned
Some might argue that Jeter’s lower-than-usual batting average is a result of his BABIP being 45 points lower than his career average. However, if you read the Fix’s latest sabermetrics article BABIP For Dummies, you know that a hitter can influence his BABIP by legging out infield singles and shooting the gaps between defenders. Unfortunately for Jeter, he may be slowing down with age, and he is not driving the ball like he used to because, according to Fangraphs, his line drive rate is down almost three percent from his career average.

Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies, 100 percent owned
Since winning the NL MVP in 2007, Rollins has hit just .260 in 1,434 AB with 36 homers and 87 steals (only nine this year in 239 AB). Going forward, he is still a 15/30 candidate, but not the elite player he used to be.

Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers, 100 percent owned
In 76 games, Furcal has hit .316 with eight HR, 18 SB, 57 R, and 39 RBI. All of those numbers look great except one. The 76 games. Furcal has missed 32 games this year and six in a row. If he was not such an injury risk, then he would be much higher on this list.

Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs, 82.5 percent owned
Over the last 30 days, the rookie has hit .390 with 13 R, one HR, 11 RBI and four SB. Sure, the average is likely to come down, but Castro gives you a little bit of something in all five categories.

TIER 3
Erick Aybar, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 89.6 percent owned
There are quite a few speed options still to come on this list, but Aybar (16 SB) is the best of the bunch because of his run production (62 so far this year) and an average that will not kill you (.276).

Juan Uribe, San Francisco Giants, 91.9 percent owned
Odds are Uribe is not available in your league, but if he is and you need power, then Uribe and his 15 home runs are just what the doctor ordered.

Jeff Keppinger, Houston Astros, 40.8 percent owned
As unexciting as Keppinger is, he is a guy who provides decent counting number production (45 R, 40 RBI), and his .290 average is here to stay because he walks more than he strikes out and has a very normal BABIP of .303.

Marco Scutaro, Boston Red Sox, 89.8 percent owned
As unexciting as Keppinger is, Scutaro is even less exciting. However, he has seven homers, a decent .275 average, and is third among SS’s with 65 runs.

Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks, 79.2 percent owned
Maybe Drew will eventually turn into the elite player many thought he would be, but for now, he is basically Jeff Keppinger with a little more power/speed and a poorer average due to a 19.9 strikeout percentage.

Jerry Hairston, Jr., San Diego Padres, 15.2 percent owned
Three homers, three steals, 17 runs, 14 RBI, and a .278 average over the last thirty days make Hairston a pretty decent option the rest of the way.

Yunel Escobar, Toronto Blue Jays, 49.8 percent owned
Alex Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves, 98 percent owned

Here is what the two have done since they were traded for each other on July 14:

                                    Yunel Escobar        Alex Gonzalez
Batting Average                  .253                      .259
HR/SB                                3/0                        3/0
R/RBI                                 10/13                    7/9

TIER 4
Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals, 8.4 percent owned
Desmond is a decent power/speed option with seven homers and twelve steals if you can handle the .260ish batting average.

Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays, 64.9 percent owned
Bartlett has been a disappointment this year, but he does have five steals
and a .282 average over the last thirty days, so maybe the guy who hit .320 and stole thirty last year is still in there somewhere.

Cliff Pennington, Oakland Athletics, 10.5 percent owned
Pennington is extremely streaky, but if you need speed, he has 17 steals on the year and is likely available in your league.

Omar Infante, Atlanta Braves, 40 percent owned
The injury to Martin Prado has opened up some playing time for Infante. So far, he has taken advantage of the extra AB’s by hitting .388 over the last fifteen days. He does not provide much else, but ride the hot streak while it lasts if you are desperate for average.

Just missed the cut: Asdrubal Cabrera (35.6 percent owned), Ryan Theriot (78.9 percent owned), Ronny Cedeno (1.4 percent owned), J.J. Hardy (32.3 percent owned)

(Percentages taken from ESPN. Stats current through 08/08)

Written by Brett Talley exclusively for thefantasyfix.com. Brett is a law student who cannot list the amendments of the Bill of Rights. You can follow him on Twitter @therealTAL.

Agree with the rankings?
Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on twitter@TheFantasyFix

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