The Marlins have made the Phillies better
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The Marlins have made the Phillies better
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
As the Miami Marlins unveiled their gauche new ballpark last winter, proud team president David Samson oddly pointed out that the outside portion of the place did not have any right angles.
"That's the way (owner) Jeffrey Loria wanted it," Samson said.
A short time later the Marlins learned that they had not made any of the right moves in an effort to revamp the moribund franchise.
That's what led to the firing of manager Ozzie Guillen after one season as well as the latest Marlins' roster purge Tuesday night. Among others, the Marlins traded shortstop Jose Reyes and star pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to the Toronto Blue Jays.
They were moves that mystified Miami's remaining veterans and assured that the Marlins will stink again in 2013.
“Alright, I’m pissed off!!! Plain & Simple,” outfielder Giancarlo Stanton tweeted.
All of this should come as great news to the Phillies.
Without making any major moves this offseason, the Phillies' chances of returning to the postseason in 2013 should have already improved considerably.
As Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. continues to ponder ways to upgrade his roster, he already has a team that should be able to put at least five more games in the win column.
The Phillies went 10-8 against the Marlins in 2012 and 8-10 against the Mets. Their record against the N.L. East was 33-39. Given how bad the Marlins are going to be next season and how terrible the Phillies played against the Mets, they should pick up at least five games in the standings by consistently beating those two teams.
It's true that the rest of the division is also going to have the opportunity to beat up on the wretched Marlins, but the two wild-card system put in place last year gives an advantage to the teams that have the league's worst team in their division.
At this point, the three best teams in the N.L. East are the Phillies, Washington and Atlanta and that does not figure to change regardless of what the Mets do this offseason. It's conceivable the Marlins could go 12-42 against the Phillies, Nats and Braves, giving them all an advantage over the other National League teams.
That's especially true because Houston, the worst team in baseball in 2012, has moved from the National League Central to the American League West.
The Astros, of course, provide a cautionary tale for the Phillies about any given day. On the other hand, the fact that St. Louis was 11-4 against Houston last season and 10-5 the year before provides proof that having a terrible team in your division when the schedule is unbalanced is a distinct advantage.
Take the Astros out of the N.L. Central and it's entirely possible the Cardinals don't even make the playoffs the last two seasons.
The point is, the Marlins have helped the Phillies before the Phillies have even helped themselves.
Yes! This is excellent news. Now the Phillies won't be alone in the basement all season. Unfortunately they still have Rollins, Howard, Pumpkin head and Cliff Lee.— nhlfightclub.com- One way the Marlins could have made the Phillies a better tam is if they traded us Giancarlo Stanton.— 1republican
- This story neglects to mention how badly the Phils have played against the woeful Astros the past several years. Their subtraction helps the Phils more than the Marlins tanking it. It's not like the Mets and Marlins were any good when the Phils broke even against them last year, they tend to play down to their competition.— Dante1138
- How about a block buster deal for us with the mets? or marlins?
they both got what we need right handed power hitters.
I would cut of my right --- for stanton and wright in our lineup.
I can dream can't i? How about just 1 of them.— wildgreenman - Now if only the rest of the league would do likewise, we'd be a walk-over winner.— jjthree
- Divison games are never as lopsided as this article will make it sound, the Marlins will be worse but will still field a AAA level team that can probably win 50-60 games. Not only that, it gives the Braves and Nats 5-6 more wins, which cancels out what the Phillies are doing. Which in turn makes me wonder why this was even written as a valid article. lol.— ryanrockzzz
- Phillies ned to improve on the field...not just hope the other teams stink worst than they do.— jim35
- The point is the Marlins just took a step back and we play them 18 times. We also do NOT play the Blue Jays and our AL opponents include the Red Sox, Twins and White Sox.— eman
- Division rivals now play 19 times. — pedro_gonzalez_1
- I have watched many Eagles season where the schedule looked tough preseason but it wound up being relatively easy, and vice versa, to place much stock in this article. Besides, the Phillies can win 5-6 more games, make the playoffs, and still be only a shade better than mediocre. We've been there, done that. That doesn't get you anything.— dblankj
- Everyone else in the division can also put about 5 more wins in the win column, so the Phillies road back to the playoffs didn't get any easier at all.— scootch
- RAJ . . . . you should burning up the phone minutes calling the fish and getting Giancarlo Stanton here. Trade whoever ya have to but get this 5 tool player wearing the red pinstripes now— mdg625553
- this is an awful article, wasted brainpower reading this— jamarder
- So.....all of the wishful thinkers who have watched this Phillies team WHO CAN'T HIT and destroyed 4 pitchers since 2010. You seem to think the Phillies just need a right handed hitter and they'll be fine? At the moment, their 'ONLY' viable starting pitcher at the moment is Cole Hamels. Lee and Halliday's best years are apparently left in the dust behind them. Kendrick is average at best. They have a 2nd baseman who can't play half a season, Pedro Cerano @ first base. Nobody on third. Their shortstop thinks his $h!+ don't stink and plays on JRoll's time. They have no center fielder and their bull pen is awful. This team requires a full fledged implosion. Just like the Eagles. Wake up people.— nhlfightclub.com
