Watch ut for the Fish...
Squish the fish? Marlins in playoff hunt By STEVEN WINE,
AP Sports Writer
1 hour, 47 minutes ago
Watching from the bullpen as his teammates mounted a rally, Florida Marlins closer Joe Borowski looked away for one pitch and missed a three-run homer.
"I tied my shoes," Borowski said, "and before you knew it, we were leading 6-5."
The moral of the story: Keep an eye on the Marlins. They have a shot at a playoff berth, and for the first time this season, they also have a winning record.
The homer Monday by Joe Borchard helped the Marlins to their fourth consecutive victory. At 69-68, they became the first club in major-league history to climb above .500 after being 20 games under.
Manager Joe Girardi's team was 11-31 on the morning of May 22 and appeared destined to fulfill pundits' preseason projections of a 100-loss season — or worse.
"That wasn't a fun universe for us to be in," Girardi said. "But we learned a lot in those first 42 games."
The Marlins have since played at better than a .600 pace, second only to the New York Mets in the NL, and they went into Tuesday night's game against Arizona trailing wild-card leader San Diego by only two games.
To recover from such an abysmal start and challenge for a playoff berth is beyond improbable — especially for a team with baseball's youngest roster, puniest payroll and worst attendance.
"It's nothing short of amazing," said Borowski, who stands out among his cherubic teammates because he's a tobacco-chewing 35-year-old. "I don't know how to explain it, and I don't know if I want to try. Sometimes it's better left not trying to figure it out."
One explanation is that the Marlins are winning thanks to precocious pitchers. Their starting staff, consisting of four rookies and 24-year-old Dontrelle Willis, began the week with baseball's best ERA since the All-Star break.
Florida is also relying on rookies to spark the offense. First baseman Mike Jacobs, second baseman Dan Uggla, shortstop Hanley Ramirez and left fielder Josh Willingham have simultaneously blossomed to combine for 73 home runs through Monday.
Rookie right-hander Josh Johnson, who leads the NL with an ERA of 2.99, said he and the other youngsters settled into their roles when the Marlins began winning in late May.
"After that it was, `OK, maybe we belong here. Let's ride this out, play well the rest of the season and see what happens,'" he said.
The question now: Can the Marlins sustain their surge through September? In mid-May, Las Vegas oddsmakers gave them a 1,000-1 chance to make the playoffs. Now it's 12-1.
Florida will host a four-game showdown series beginning Thursday against Philadelphia, another wild-card contender.
"It's pretty remarkable when you look at where we were on May 22," Borchard said. "We're going to see what we're made of."
The drama will play out before some of baseball's smallest crowds. The perennially attendance-challenged Marlins are last in the majors, averaging less than 14,000 fans per home game.
Backup catcher Matt Treanor fumed about fan support during the last homestand, saying people in South Florida "should be ashamed of themselves." But mostly the Marlins shrug off the tiny turnouts.
"On Labor Day, you look out there and go, `OK, we've got 25 or 30 extra people,'" Borowski said. "You make little jokes to lighten it up a little bit.
"Of course you want the support of everybody. You'd hope that everybody would notice what you're doing. But you've got to go out and perform, whether there's one person or 50,000."
When the Marlins won the NL wild-card en route to World Series titles in 1997 and 2003, the bandwagon burgeoned in September. Such a scenario could be repeated this year, and with 16 of the final 26 games at home, it would be crazy to discount Florida and its $15 million roster.
The defense and middle relief may be shaky, but few teams can match the Marlins' rotation, and none can top their youthful zeal.
"These are supposed to be the dog days," Girardi said. "And we're full of energy."
For weeks the rookie manager deflected questions about playoff contention, saying he wanted the team to reach .500 before he addressed the subject.
Now he embraces it.
"Our guys have come a long way," Girardi said. "We're right in the middle of it now. Our players are having a blast. They're relaxed. They enjoy what they're going through. And they're going to learn a lot about themselves."
The Marlins continued their charge into contention even after a rift between Girardi and owner Jeffrey Loria erupted a month ago. Loria has since declined to endorse Girardi, fueling speculation that the potential NL manager of the year may not return next season.
Girardi, under contract through 2008, won't discuss the situation. But he said he's happy in Miami.
"I have a great group of players playing," he said, "and this has been a very enjoyable season for me."
The fun might be only beginning.
