“Hope is the last thing to be lost,” says an old saying, and the Miami Marlins seem to be sticking to it to qualify for the postseason, although the statistics and the game show otherwise.
The Florida team, which finished at the bottom of the National League East Division with a record of 33 wins and 63 losses in the first half of the season, hopes to do better in the second half in order to try to turn the team’s course this season around.
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“We know that we have a bad record in the first half, we are going to try to do things better in the second, we know what we have to do and we must trust in God, who can do everything,” explained Dominican outfielder Bryan de La Cruz, who has taken the reins of the team in the face of the departure of players like Miguel Rojas and the absences due to injury of his compatriot and pitcher Sandy Alcantara.
The Dominican has not only become a leader in the clubhouse, but he has also done so on the field with his 16 home runs and 44 RBIs – the team’s leader in both departments so far this season. According to TeamRankins, a website specializing in sports projections, the Marlins would finish this season with an adverse record of 61 wins and 101 losses. In addition, according to the site, they have no chance of advancing to the next round.
But relying on hope and their skills, the Marlins are looking to break all odds after reaching the playoffs last season.
“It’s not a very nice moment, but I’m one of the leaders in the clubhouse. I always tell them ‘Let’s go, let’s go for it’ because we’re better than this. We’re going to fight and stay strong,” added De la Cruz, who believes that the days off due to the All-Star break -four days off- can “help us come back stronger.”
If the Marlins’ pace doesn’t improve and projections come true, the Miami team will record a season with more than 100 losses for the fourth time in its history. In 1998, they lost 108 times, five seasons ago they lost 105 games, and in 2013 – the second year in their current stadium – they suffered a hundred losses.
There is so much to do
“If you look at what happened the previous year, in a couple of months we played at home, we played 500, we had Sandy (injured), Yuli, and Soly (no longer with the team). We don’t have them this time, but I think we have the opportunity now to respond as a team and get the best out of each other,” said first baseman Josh Bell, who in 2023 was instrumental in the Marlins getting a ticket to the postseason after joining the team in the second half by way of a trade from the Cleveland Guardians.
“I know I can play better than I have over the last few months. I’ve started to get better recently, but I haven’t scratched the surface of what I can do yet. I know there are other guys in the clubhouse who feel the same way and if we can turn things around, we’ll be in a better place in the next few months,” added Bell, who is batting just .228 this season with nine home runs and 39 RBIs.
“The game is based on power and speed. We have Jazz (Chisholm Jr.) who has the combination of the two, but I’m more into power and I think Burger would say the same thing. We have to find more guys who can respond in double figures,” Bell said. “If we start producing against the starters early, a lot of good things can come. We have to get to the bullpen earlier and add more runs, but we haven’t been doing that.”
In the future, another option
Another approach that the Miami team may have for this second half of the campaign, which begins this Friday, July 19 at home against the New York Mets, is to thoroughly evaluate the farm system and look to strengthen itself in the future.
With the trade deadline set for July 30, it’s possible that some faces will change on the team. For example, closer Tanner Scott, who has 14 saves, or De La Cruz himself could leave in search of pieces that will allow him to solidify the team for the near future.
So the Marlins have no choice but to try and hold on to hope, as part of Diego Torres’ song says: “I know that the windows can be opened, changing the air depends on you, it will help you. It is worth it once again to know that it is possible, to want it to be possible…”, whether for this year or already thinking about the next seasons.
