Kuzul

I live in South Florida, and right now I am not in baseball mode. My attention has shifted to other teams in the area.

However, something happened recently that brought my attention back to Major League Baseball:

The bench-clearing brawl between the Marlins and the Nationals.

Down here in South Florida, baseball is normally filler until football season starts, but the Marlins in recent years have managed to keep things interesting by contending for the playoffs almost every season. This year, however, has been a different story.

With a lackluster bullpen, a superstar that does not seem to show much interest, injuries, and a front office that continually lies to its fanbase, it’s been a rough year to be a Marlins fan.

Most fans, if not all, have resigned themselves to the fact that the postseason is a mere pipe dream, even though mathematically the Marlins do stand a chance. Interest in the team is down, and fan morale is even lower after recent reports indicated that the front office has been a little less than truthful.

However, last Wednesday proved that with a few punches and some breaking of unwritten rules, baseball can come off that back burner, at least for a little while.

YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, ESPN, and local and national news were all abuzz about the Marlins and Nationals! These two teams have no business leading headlines, yet there they were front and center for all the world to see.

All people wanted to talk about the next few days was if they saw “the fight” and if they saw Gaby Sanchez deck Nyjer Morgan. Jokes were made that Sanchez should play linebacker for the Dolphins. Morgan became public enemy No. 1 down here for a few days, and EVERYONE was talking about Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball is no longer the national pastime, so it’s time drastic changes are made before it becomes completely irrelevant.

So where do you start? I say where the Marlins and Nationals left off.

Max Kellerman once said that the No. 1 sport in the world is boxing, because if you put one guy shooting hoops in one corner, another guy throwing footballs in another, and two guys fighting in the third, the biggest crowd will form near the guys fighting—not to mention the rapid rise in popularity by the UFC.

Why can’t this work for baseball? Stop warning benches when guys throw at each other, and stop suspending guys when they rush the mound; let them duke it out, and let the players police themselves when it comes to these unwritten rules of baseball. If the Marlins and Nationals can captivate the sports world for a few days, why can’t the rest of the league do the same thing?

(Follow me on Twitter.com/DavidAlen)

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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:

451 At-Bats
.288 Batting Average (130 Hits)
28 Home Runs
79 RBI
83 Runs
4 Stolen Bases
.375 On-Base Percentage
.519 Slugging Percentage
.326 Batting Average on Balls in Play

The metrics behind the numbers are all reasonable, too, though that’s not to say that there aren’t concerns. His fly-ball rate has actually been trending down the past four seasons:

• 2007: 50.5 percent
• 2008: 48.1 percent
• 2009: 46.4 percent
• 2010: 43.4 percent

His HR/FB rate has been consistent the past three seasons, at 18.4 percent, 16.0 percent, and 18.9 percent. That’s good to see, but you would feel better about his fly-ball trend if the balls were becoming more line drives. Instead, it’s his ground balls that are up this season, going from 36.6 percent in 2009 to 41.6 percent this year.

The average itself is buoyed by some improved luck this season, though he has traded off good and bad years over his five career seasons. In the odd years he has hit  sub-.280 (.279, .274) and in the even years he’s been .309 or better (.309, .320, .326).

With that type of on and off, it’s impossible to get a good read on his ability with the bat and draw a conclusion on what to expect.

What you do like to see is the downward trend of his strikeouts over the past three seasons:

• 2008: 32.2 percent
• 2009: 26.6 percent
• 2010: 25.3 percent

The less he strikes out, the better average he is likely to have and the more productive he can be. You can drive in runs by simply putting the ball in play. When you swing and miss, it’s a complete waste.

With a few more weeks in the season, it’s impossible to get an accurate read on Uggla. If he goes on a strikeout binge, the numbers are going to be skewed significantly.

As of now, there’s a lot to like moving forward with Uggla, like the facts that his strikeouts have come down, and that he has shown the ability to maintain a fairly lofty HR/FB rate. However, there are serious concerns about his declining fly-ball rate and his ability to maintain the BABIP he has shown this season.

The bottom line? He’s proven to be among the better second basemen in the game, but he could easily regress back to a home run or bust type player. Enjoy the rest of 2010 and hope he can maintain what he’s shown, but we will have to reevaluate him in the offseason when we have a full slate of data and get a better read on what to expect in 2011.

What are your thoughts on Uggla? Has he turned the corner, or do you expect a regression?

Make sure to check out our extremely early 2011 rankings:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Third Basemen
• Shortstops
• Outfielders
• Closers

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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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.

The remainder of the season will be spent evaluating young talent. With Cody Ross heading to the Giants in a waiver claim, expect Cameron Maybin to be called up to the majors.

This will be Maybin’s last opportunity to demonstrate his worth to the front office. Who would’ve thought that the best prospect the Marlins received in return for Miguel Cabrera would be “the hopper” Burke Badenhop, Marlins long reliever?

In the end, the rest of the season will be a showcase for the Marlins’ young talent. If I were the Marlins organization, I would send a clear message to the fanbase by signing our best player this year—”and his name is Dan Uggla!”

For a more in-depth preview of the series, check out an article written by fellow Bleacher Report writer Frank Gray, editor of the Mets Gazette. He’s an excellent writer and colleague and should be your primary source for anything Met-related.

The article is a must read and features yours truly in a five-question interview.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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. 

Paulino started the year off as the Marlins’ backup catcher to John Baker, but when Baker went down with an injury, Paulino assumed the bulk of the catching duties.

He becomes the first Marlins player to receive such a suspension since the steroid policy was enacted in 2006. He is also the first major league position player on a 25-man roster to be suspended for PEDs this season. 

Paulino played in 91 games this season and hit .259 with four home runs and 37 RBI. Paulino hit .282 in the first half but since the second half has started has hit only .195 with a home run and seven RBI. 

If Ronny Paulino were to sign a contract with any team next season, he would miss the first 10 games of the season since he is to miss the remaining 40 games with the Marlins. 

The Marlins called up catcher Brad Davis from Triple-A New Orleans to replace Paulino. Brett Hayes becomes the Marlins’ everyday catcher for the rest of the season, even if the injured John Baker were to return. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Logan Morrison has a lot of potential, but how good can he be? 

Let’s look at his underlying statistics compared to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ James Loney to see if there are any conclusions we can draw:

Double-A (Age 21): Statistics

James Loney (2005)—284 (143-of-504), 11 HR, 65 RBI, 74 R, 87 K, 59 BB
Logan Morrison (2009)—.277 (77-of-278), eight HR, 47 RBI, 48 R, 46 K, 63 BB

Metrics

Loney – 40 percent fly ball, 17 percent linedrive, .330 BABIP, .361 OBP, .425 SLG
Morrison – 28.6 percent flyball, 19.8 percent line drive, .305 BABIP, .414 OBP, .436 SLG

Triple-A (Age 22): Statistics

James Loney (2006)—.380 (139-366), eight HR, 67 RBI, 64 R, 34 K, 32 BB
Logan Morrison (2010)—.307 (73-238), six HR, 45 RBI, 36 R, 35 K, 48 BB

Metrics
Loney—35.2 percent flyball, 25.1 percent line drive, .404 BABIP, .426 OBP, .546 SLG
Morrison—35.9 percent fly ball, 13.6 percent line drive, .340 BABIP, .427 OBP, .487 SLG

Other Notes:

• Both hit left-handed
• Morrison is listed at 6′4,″ 245 lbs; Loney is listed at 6′3,″ 200 lbs.
• Loney got a chance to play in the Major Leagues in 2006, but was returned to Triple-A in 2007 (but would return to the Majors for good later in ‘07).

Thoughts:

This is not the most exact comparison for a few reasons:

• Loney actually spent two years at Double-A, the one listed above being the second of them.
• Loney showed more extra base ability in the minor leagues, having 64 doubles over the two seasons listed above. Morrison had just 35.  That can partially be explained in their line drive rates, especially in their Triple-A seasons.
• Morrison appears to have a better eye at the plate, walking more than he struck out at both levels.

I think the doubles discrepancy is the most important one to note. 

With his ability to hit doubles, many people speculated that as he grew older, Loney would gain power and elevation, leading to more home runs. 

He further deceived everyone when he reached the Major Leagues in 2007, hitting 15 home runs in 344 at-bats. 

It was a mirage, however, as the power has never come close to that in the following years.

I fear that Morrison could go down a similar path. 

The problem is that he also hasn’t shown the same type of line drive rate or extra base ability in the upper levels of the minor leagues. 

It’s easy to point to his 24 home runs at Single-A, but he hasn’t come close to that since being promoted.

You love to see his eye, which could make him the perfect No. 2 hitter in the Marlins order (which is where he currently is hitting). It should allow him to hit for a good average and, if he remains towards the top of the order, score some runs.

However, from a first baseman, fantasy owners want to see home runs. His power metrics show less hope than Loney’s at the same point in his career. 

Hopefully Morrison is able to develop a little more power, but at this point you can’t like what we’ve seen. I could argue that Loney’s metrics appeared more likely for power, and we’ve seen where that has led him (13 HR apiece in 2008 & 2009 and eight HR thus far in 2010).

What are your thoughts on Morrison? Is the comparison to Loney a good one? Who do you think will be the better player long-term?

Make sure to check out our recent Scouting Reports:

• Elvis Andrus
• Brett Cecil
• Wade Davis
• David DeJesus
• Ian Desmond
• Jason Donald
• John Ely
• Brett Gardner
• Gio Gonzalez
• Tom Gorzelanny
• John Jaso
• Kila Ka’aihue
• Mat Latos
• Brad Lincoln
• Jonathan Lucroy
• James McDonald
• Kris Medlen
• Mike Minor
• Brett Myers
• Jonathan Niese
• Andrew Oliver
• Manny Parra
• Jake Peavy
• Buster Posey
• Sean Rodriguez
• Pablo Sandoval
• Mike Stanton
• Andres Torres
• Travis Wood

This article is also featured on WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM.

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The Florida Marlins have fired manager Fredi Gonzalez, naming Edwin Rodriguez his replacement, but only on an interim basis.

Rodriguez has spent the past one-and-a-half seasons as manager of Triple-A New Orleans.

The team also said Wednesday it would be dismissing bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley.

Florida moved to 34-36 following Tuesday night’s win over the Baltimore Orioles. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria says he’s making the change because he believes the team can “do better and be better.”

Gonzalez was 276-279 in his three-plus years as Marlins manager. Sitting at 34-36, the Marlins began the day fourth in the NL East, 7.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves.

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By now, most baseball fans have seen the highlights of Hanley Ramirez lollygagging after a ball he literally booted down the left field line in Monday night’s game between the Florida Marlins and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After Ramirez’s snail-like retrieval of the baseball, during which he probably could have enjoyed a three-course meal, he was promptly benched by his manager, Fredi Gonzalez.

While last night’s spectacle was as egregious as they come, it was only one glaring footnote in a growing trend around Major League Baseball.

Although the 2010 season is only a month and a half old, there have been a number of plays that should have resulted in benchings.

Lastings Milledge was thrown out jogging around second base earlier this month after he thought he had a hit a home run. He claimed that he was fooled into thinking the ball was gone because celebratory fireworks went off at PNC Park.

The Pirates blew out the Cubs that day, and Milledge had a great game. Bucs manager John Russell didn’t bother to penalize Milledge in any way.

The Braves were somehow uneducated about the “infield fly rule” in a game against the Mets in April, and it cost them a run. It is hard to believe a team managed by the great Bobby Cox could have problems comprehending the rule, but it happened.

No one was reprimanded.

A book could be written detailing all of Manny Ramirez’s baseball transgressions, but look no further than Monday night’s game for the most recent example. Manny “attempted” to score from first on a two-out double, and although the throw to the plate beat him fairly easily, he slowly jogged toward home and made no effort to plow into the catcher.

As usual, it was “Manny being Manny,” and everybody just laughed it off.

These are just three examples, and there are others that could be referenced. The major difference between those instances and what happened with Hanley Ramirez down in Miami on Monday is that Hanley was benched.

Kudos to Fredi Gonzalez on his decision.

How many managers would have done what Gonzalez did? It’s hard to say, but odds are that a large number of them would not have the guts to put their star player on the pine.

Baseball, at its highest level, requires a lot of skill—just like football, basketball, and hockey.

One thing baseball doesn’t require that the other three do is a large amount of cardiovascular activity. That cannot be debated.

Typically, a player might have to run the bases four times per game. Perhaps he’ll have to chase after a few balls in the field. That’s it.

So if a player fails to give maximum effort when running to first on what looks like a routine pop-up, or when he poses at the plate on what he thinks is a home run, or if he does what Ramirez did on Monday night, he should be punished.

Did Gonzalez set a precedent? Hopefully other managers have taken notice and will not simply shrug it off the next time one of their players does not give it his all.

Perhaps more importantly, maybe players all around baseball took a moment to pause and think about their own playing styles.

Fortunately, a population of Major Leaguers who play all out, all the time, still exists. But the number is shrinking.

Guys like Manny Ramirez are beyond help at this point. However, young players—even Hanley Ramirez himself—still have time to improve their images in regards to their heart and hustle.

Fredi Gonzalez’s brand of discipline might be just the thing baseball needs to make sure effort is an obligation—not a choice.

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