2012 MLB Season Preview: Miami Marlins

2012 Season Outlook

Not long ago, the Marlins were a forgotten, lukewarm entity, satisfied to curl up in the middle of the pack.  After a flurry of blockbuster offseason deals, the team is a trendy pick and the players are all rock stars.  Now Mike Stanton wants to be called “Giancarlo,” the stadium is alive with color and song, and Logan Morrison is planning a reality show with Chad Ochocinco.  The 2012 Marlins are a completely new creature inside, outside, and upside down, offering fans what they have so long ignored: baseball.  But not only that, championship caliber baseball.

“I think this season is going to be a lot more boring than people expect,” says SCWS.  “Our collective imaginations have Mike Stanton hitting 70 homers, while Logan Morrison tweets about it in the dugout and Carlos Zambrano beats the crap out of Hanley Ramirez, all while Jose Reyes stands off to the side, grinning from ear to ear. The reality is, probably only one or two of those things will happen.”

The Marlins assured themselves a louder presence in the NL East in 2012, and not just because they hired Ozzie Guillen.  Frequent high profile signings showed how active they were willing to be, but the offseason is over. All that’s left is the baseball.  Can Hanley adjust to third base?  Can Carlos Zambrano silence the demons on his shoulder?  Is Josh Johnson as healthy as they say?

Truly, putting all the best players in the same room is hardly a bulletproof concept.  But owner Jeffrey Loria has said the team looks better than the 2003 World Series champs, and what reason would he have for overstating anything?  Otherwise all that money spent would be for nothing, including that home run sculpture.

“The sculputure is a positive sign that the MLB has moved past the steroid issue,” explains Kassim.  “The Marlins are making sure that after the 2012 season, the only drug associated with Major League Baseball will be Acid.”

2012 Prospect to Watch

Baseball America’s 2010 and 2012 top Marlins prospect, 1B Christian Yelich, greets every baseball as if he hates the living shit out of it.  He prefers the ‘screaming line drive in the gap’ hitting style, with a smooth swing that’s been compared to John Olerud.  He darts around like a scared cat and can cover a lot of ground, though his arm would never be the strongest of an outfield corps.

“Yelich is a professional hitter and is going to be chaos in the MLB once he comes up in 2014,” confirms Kassim.

Find your team’s 2012 season preview or when it will be published here.

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