Schumaker: Marlins Suffering From 'Lack of Execution' in Winless Start
The Miami Marlins, for the first time in franchise history, have started their season 0-5 after last night's comeback victory by the Los Angeles Angels, 7-4.
Manager Skip Schumaker, talking to the media after the game, said the team wants to win and is giving it their all, but they just aren't getting it done. "It's not lack of effort, that would be a meeting for sure. But I think you guys are seeing the same thing. It's not lack of effort, it's just lack of execution."
Miami's dealt with both bad luck and poor performances so far this season, an early reversal of fortunes from 2023, where they outperformed expectations in close games. Last season, Miami went 33-14 in one-run games and 7-3 in extra innings contests, powering the team to an 84-78 record and a Wild Card berth. When looking at the team's expected record based on runs scored and allowed, known as the "Pythagorean W-L" and developed by legendary statistician Bill James, scoring 666 runs and allowing 723 should have resulted in a record of 75-87.
And that luck has turned so far for Miami in 2024. The Marlins have held leads in three of their five games, with Jesus Lúzardo (5-2), Trevor Rogers (6-4), and Max Meyer (4-2) all holding leads when they left the game after their five innings and watching the bullpen give it away to the opponent. Miami's gone to extra innings twice, losing on Opening Day in twelve innings, 6-5, and on Sunday 9-7.
And to compound the normalizing luck and to reinforce Schumaker's assertion of the execution being off, several things haven't gone right on the field for Miami. The team's hit into ten double plays in their first five games, including three on Monday night against Los Angeles. Per Baseball Reference's "Stathead" database, only 14 teams in the Divisional Era have both grounded into at least one double play per game and have more than Miami's ten to open a season. (The record is eleven straight games with a double play and 19 total, by the 1991 California Angels, who finished 81-81.). Miami's catchers, the duo of Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes, have combined to go 0-15 with one RBI, one walk, one HBP, and four strikeouts. The team's hit only three home runs and stolen one base through the first five games of the season.
Schumaker, last season's Manager of the Year in the National League, is putting the blame on himself right now. “The challenge for me,” as he explained to the media last night, “is trying to put our guys in the right situations to win. I’m obviously not doing a good job with that right now.”
But the players aren't helping matters, and it's starting to get to them. Presumptive closer Tanner Scott, who walked the first three batters he faced in the 8th inning last night, has six walks on the year in only three innings. “It’s pretty frustrating. I come into a tie game trying to get the team back in it. It hasn’t happened.”
Schumaker is convinced that valleys like this come and go with the ebb and flow of a season. “You’re going to have games like this throughout the season. It’s unfortunate that they’re back-to-back and back-to-back — five in a row. We’ve played a couple of good games that we’ve given away and then there are others where we’ve gotten beat. It’s been both.”
Let's hope the team can find a way to stop the bleeding.
Miami's back in action tonight against the Los Angeles Angels at 6:40 PM ET, with Jesús Luzardo on the mound against Tyler Anderson.
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)