Marlins ‘feel the excitement’ of playoff race. Team hopes experience is beneficial long-term
Infielder Jazz Chisholm, armed with Sour Patch Kids, an infectious personality and slick defensive skills, is feeling good about where things stand at the moment. So is Pablo Lopez, who became the Miami Marlins’ de-facto ace for an early portion of the regular season.
The Marlins are in a playoff race and, at 18-18 heading into Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, would have been one of the National League’s two wild card teams if the postseason had started Tuesday instead of in three weeks.
This final stretch of the regular season, playing in games that matter in September, is a first for most players on the roster. Regardless of how it plays out (and, of course, the Marlins hope it results in making the playoffs), the team feels that the experience alone will benefit the up-and-coming team in the long run.
“You’re playing games that mean a lot for the team,” Lopez said. “You feel the adrenaline and you feel the excitement.”
Few outside the organization thought the Marlins would be in this spot. They lost 105 games last year and were getting ready for the third year of their rebuild under the Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter ownership group.
They lost more than half of their active roster and were quarantined for a week in Philadelphia after their first series of the season with 18 players testing positive for COVID-19.
They’ve made more than 130 roster moves and had 16 players make their MLB debuts and are in the early stages of a 24-day stretch to close the regular season that includes 28 games, four doubleheaders and no off days.
But here they are, sitting at .500 a week into September with a chance to play in the postseason for just the third time in franchise history.
“I feel like for us it’s going to help us learn the aspect of how to make it to the playoffs, how to make a playoff run, how to win,” said Chisholm, the club’s fourth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline and one of 10 prospects ranked among the organization’s top 30 to play at the big league level. “... It’s a great time for us to learn and have this experience.”
The experience, win or lose, is invaluable, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. Even in a limited sample size, it gives the team’s up-and-coming players a taste of what it truly takes to play at the MLB level and gives both the team and the players a baseline for what they will need to improve on moving forward.
“You come out of Triple A and you feel great, but you don’t really know what this level is like,” Mattingly said. “You may have played against it in spring training but it’s not the same. ... This is just a good experience to have to deal with it.”
At times, though, the big picture can feel secondary. Results are amplified. One slump or one hot streak could be the difference between playing baseball in October or watching from home.
The goal over these next three weeks is to balance living in the moment and taking away as much as possible as they try to make sure they can experience late-season moments like this beyond this season.
“Obviously we know these games are a little more important,” said Lopez, who is scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale against the Braves, “but at the same time we should stick to what we know how to do. Just go out and know that we’re here for a reason. We know how to do these things. ... We can do this thing. Now that the time’s here, we have a chance.”
This and that
▪ Mattingly said Jon Berti’s index finger is still sore after suffering a but the team thinks he’ll be fine in a couple days. Berti exited Monday’s 5-4 extra-innings win over the Braves in the 10th after jamming his index finger on a sacrifice bunt.
”Feel like we dodged a bullet here,” Mattingly said.
▪ Some more roster moves: The team optioned first baseman Lewin Diaz and recalled right-handed pitcher Jordan Yamamoto, who will be used in a long-relief role out of the bullpen.
▪ Left-handed pitcher Adam Conley, who was designated for assignment on Aug. 30, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple A Wichita. He will not report to the alternate training site in Jupiter and does not count against the team’s 60-man player pool.
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