The Marlins are bad again, and I’m strangely happy about this for reasons I don’t fully understand but I think are partially related to the relative defensive abilities of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez at shortstop.
Last year, Miami was a Cinderella of sorts, riding a strong rotation, a lot of doubleheaders because of their own unwillingness to take the coronavirus seriously (this probably factors into the happiness about them stinking as well), an expanded playoff format, and the heat death of the Cubs’ offense to make the Division Series, where they were swept by Atlanta by a cumulative score of 18-5 for the franchise’s first ever postseason series loss.
This year, they started out mediocrely, and the world’s unwillingness to recognize how good the Mets are led many to proclaim Miami a playoff contender.
Thankfully, the world, as it so often is, was wrong.
Yesterday, those punks lost their ninth game over the last ten. Their playoff probability is down to 0.2% on FanGraphs, making them one of seven teams with less than a 1-in-200 shot at a postseason berth and therefore inarguably in selling territory. They do have a few solid trade chips in Miguel Rojas and Starling Marte, and they do have three studs in the rotation all under the age of 26, but for at least a year, the Marlins stink, and after undeservedly being labeled a success last year, this feels like a good thing.
Someday, the Marlins will be fun again. But they better bring back the statue first.
