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Thursday, May 22, 2008

AP: [Andrew] Miller helps Marlins complete sweep of Arizona

[Andrew] Miller limited the Arizona Diamondbacks to five hits in seven innings Thursday night, and Florida won 4-0 to complete a series sweep in a showdown of first-place teams.

The series was the most impressive yet by the Marlins. The team with baseball’s lowest payroll built its improbable NL East lead with the help of a weak early schedule, but there was nothing fluky about the way they swept NL West leader Arizona.

The 23-year-old Miller (4-3) had a career-high nine strikeouts, walked one and allowed only one runner to reach second base.
...
As a result, Miami may be coming down with playoff fever: The crowd of 13,233 was the largest this week.
...
The three Arizona pitchers Florida beat came into the series with a combined record of 19-3… The Diamondbacks lost their sixth road game in a row, and their three-game losing streak matches their longest this season.

Going back to last year, the D’backs don’t hit very well on the road, and they go to Atlanta to face the Braves (20-5 at home) next.
Of course, this means Arizona will sweep the series.

NTNgod Posted: May 22, 2008 at 10:10 PM | 16 comment(s)
Related News: General, Arizona, Florida

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1. Meatwad now with interlock! Posted: May 22, 2008 at 10:22 PM (#2791483)

this is a joke right?
"As a result, Miami may be coming down with playoff fever: The crowd of 13,233 was the largest this week"

2. NTNgod Posted: May 22, 2008 at 10:24 PM (#2791484)

Yes, I believe the AP writer was engaging in JUST a bit of sarcasm there.

3. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 22, 2008 at 10:51 PM (#2791501)

I could probably have been convinced that the Marlins would be in first place at the end of May, but not that they would do so while STILL having the worst defense in the league, AND being second the league in strikeouts by hitters, AND being last in the league in stolen bases, according to the recent CNNSI.com article.

Seriously, does Dan Uggla have 25 home runs or something? Do they have six pitchers with sub-1.00 ERAs? Did they replace Alejandro De Aza with Barry Bonds? I'm too confused to even look into this any deeper.

4. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: May 22, 2008 at 10:54 PM (#2791502)

Nope. Their pitching sucks and their hitting is only average. They're doing it in the most annoying way possible--inexplicably.

5. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 22, 2008 at 10:57 PM (#2791504)

Well, I see that Dan Uggla has 14 home runs. That helps. And Mike Jacobs has 11 home runs, although I don't see him keeping up that pace, since currently his SLG is more than double his OBP.

As for the pitching, I see that only Meathead Olsen and some relievers are having a really good year so far. And that the two pitchers acquired for Juan Pierre are doing a lot better than the two pitchers acquired for Miguel Cabrera.

6. Kyle S Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:02 PM (#2791509)

uh, miller was throwing rocks tonight. i think he'll be fine long-term. funny that of all the guys the tigers had as of the start of the offseason last fall, the one who's been the best pitcher so far is jair jurrjens.

7. ian Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:06 PM (#2791513)

Take heart, Tiger fans. Miller and Jurrjens will probably be injured soon enough.

8. Fargo Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:13 PM (#2791517)

Everybody underestimates Jurrjens. He is a very heady young pitcher. He may be the biggest value the Tigers gave up in the offseason.

9. Dingbat Charlie Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:25 PM (#2791521)

It's a remarkable turnaround for Miller, who looked completely lost in April.

10. Kyle S Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:30 PM (#2791523)

the most surprising thing to me about jurrjens has been his increased velocity. when i saw him pitch last year, he sat in the low 90s or upper 80s. recently he's been consistently hitting 93 and 94, and even spiked to 95 a couple of times. that's some serious gas.

11. Fargo Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:34 PM (#2791525)

I didn't know that about his velocity. With his control and uncommon calm for his age, that really is promising.

12. Hey, it's what Johan uses (Matt) Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:42 PM (#2791529)

Yes, I believe the AP writer was engaging in JUST a bit of sarcasm there.

I believe sarcasm in an Associated Press story is grounds for the writer to appear before a firing squad.

EDIT: Yeah, sure enough, it's missing from the 1st write thru.

13. GIANTlhbASS Posted: May 22, 2008 at 11:57 PM (#2791536)

13,233!? That's high for Miami -- are the plastic surgeons on strike?

14. Walt Davis Posted: May 23, 2008 at 01:41 AM (#2791570)

C'mon it's not THAT big a mystery. Context gents. The Marlins have a 113 team OPS+. And that's with Amezaga's 65 in CF. The pitching, despite 2 starters with ERA+ in the 60s and another at 88, is doing OK at 96. Toss in a little luck...

15. shoewizard Posted: May 23, 2008 at 03:22 AM (#2791593)

The D Backs stink right now....hitting as bad as they did at any point last season. But give credit to the marlins pitchers. Nolasco and Miller pitched great. They threw hard, their breaking pitches had bite, and their location was excellent. The Umps had a very wide strikezone the entire series, and the Marlins pitchers took full advantage of that. And they have a bunch of fire breathing dragons coming out of that bullpen.

Take a look at Miller's game log, and not his era. He was getting it together well before tonight, excellent in 3 of his previous 4 starts.

Their offense is going to probably get a bit worse over the course of the season, and their pitching is going to look a lot better, numbers wise, in another month or two.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

AP: [Andrew] Miller helps Marlins complete sweep of Arizona

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