Is It Time for the Miami Marlins to Panic?
Things aren't great for the Miami Marlins right now.
Opening the season 0-9, Miami finally got in the win column on Sunday but it's still a bad omen - no team in MLB history has ever lost more than six consecutive games to open the season and then rallied to make the postseason.
And for that reason, when writing their "slow-starting teams" article, MLB.com says it's time for Miami to panic.
Giving the Marlins a "10 of 10" panic level, writer Will Leitch explains what has gone wrong for Miami so far:
"You name it. An 0-9 start had everything you’re trying to avoid: Bullpen implosions, poor starting pitching, anemic hitting and a season-ending injury to one of your best young pitchers. The Marlins are looking for the reset button already."
And things don't look to get much easier from here. As we've discussed before, after this series, the Marlins have to play the divisional rival Atlanta Braves (twice), the San Francisco Giants, and the Chicago Cubs over the next two weeks.
As much as we don't want to admit it, opening the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Shohei Ohtani-less Los Angeles Angels was the best chance over the first month of the schedule to rack up some wins and get into position for a good season.
And instead, it's panic time. Great.
We'll have to see what happens in 2024. With several contributors either potentially getting traded between now and the deadline or even manager Skip Schumaker walking after the season, things aren't looking up any time soon.
Managing Editor for Blackerby Media, covering the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins Also: Senior Baseball Writer for Auburn Daily, member of both the National College Baseball Writers Association and Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (where he won the 2023 Prospects, Minors, & College Writer of the Year award)