Open Marlins job comes into focus. Marlins Man feels void, probably needs ‘therapy’
A six-pack of Miami Marlins notes:
▪ Harold Ramirez has gone from on the bubble to make the roster pre-pandemic to the player in position to play the most in right field, at least initially.
Several factors have brought Ramirez to this point: Matt Joyce’s continued absence for reasons he and the club have declined to explain, the addition of the designated hitter (which gives Don Mattingly another place to use Garrett Cooper) and Ramirez’s impressive work since the team re-convened for preseason workouts earlier this month.
Of all the right field candidates, “the most impressive overall has been Harold,” manager Don Mattingly said this week. “He’s made some changes and he’s swinging the bat really good.
“He’s a guy people don’t give as much credit to. He’s been working hard in the outfield to get better.”
Ramirez, a right-handed hitter, hit .276 with 11 homers and 50 RBI in 119 games as a rookie last season, batting .281 against right-handers and .263 against lefties. So there’s no clear need to platoon him, because he hits righties well.
Joyce, a left-handed hitter, figures to play some right field and DH when he returns. As primarily a pinch hitter, Joyce hit .295, with seven homers and 23 RBI, in 129 games and 238 plate appearances for the Braves last season.
Cooper, a right-handed hitter, hit .281 with 15 homers and 50 RBI last season, and the Marlins are hoping he can stay healthy after injury issues the past two seasons. He could get work in right, DH and at first base when Jesus Aguilar has a day off.
Top outfield prospects Jesus Sanchez and Monte Harrison remain in camp, with Harrison the more likely of the two to begin the season with the big-league team.
Harrison would figure to get some playing time if he’s kept — as a backup to Corey Dickerson in left, an option in center field on days Jonathan Villar plays in the infield, or in right.
▪ Found it interesting that Mattingly said Harrison will be the Marlins’ best defender whatever position he plays in the outfield.
“The fans of South Florida are going to love this guy,” Mattingly said.
▪ A decision looms on outfielder Magneuris Sierra, who’s out of minor-league options.
“Mags is a guy that we continue to see develop, which is nice,” Mattingly said Wednesday. “He’s gotten bigger physically. Balls are coming off his bat better. He’s just getting more experiences. His play was a lot better last year than the first. You could tell he was nervous, but he’s a guy who continues to get better. And we think there’s a role for a guy that could steal a bag on this club right now.
“Steal a bag, defensive replacement, you’ve got the 10th inning-type thing. There’s some scenarios in this type of setting. You’ll see teams that are in pennant races down the stretch. I remember the Dodgers in particular. We probably spent a month and a half looking for a speed guy, trying different guys in the minor leagues because you can only afford that one shot. When you have a roster with American League rules, you don’t use as many players so you can kind of afford that spot. That creates a different role not just for him but maybe a few different guys, too.”
Sierra has hit .247 and is just 8 for 15 on steals in 91 big-league games, with the Marlins and Cardinals. He has stolen 145 bases in 205 attempts and hit .284 in seven minor league seasons.
▪ Laurence Leavy, known in our market and elsewhere as Marlins Man, is having difficulty dealing with the loss of one of his great passions: attending sporting events.
Perhaps nobody on Earth has done it more in the past decade.
Leavy, 63, is accustomed to flying around the country and attending hundreds of games annually. He said he typically spends $500,000 to $800,000 a year on tickets alone, and thousands more on travel.
Besides owning a total of 1,200 season tickets to the Dolphins, Marlins, UM and FSU in recent years, he regularly flew around the country to attend MLB and NBA games.
Without a game to attend since March, Leavy said: “I’ve felt a void in my life. I probably need therapy. For a guy who would go to a different city every weekend to watch Sunday night baseball, I miss it. [For the past decade], I was out of town 28 days a month, telling people about the Marlins.”
Leavy, who’s single, said he’s filling his time by focusing on his law practice.
“I’ll go back [to games] but not until it’s safe,” he said. “The risk is too great now. I prefer a vaccination first.”
▪ The Oakland Athletics are allowing fans to buy cardboard cutouts of themselves for A’s games that will be visible on television broadcasts, with prices ranging from $49 to $129. Each purchase through the team website includes two tickets to the A’s first home exhibition game during the 2021 season. Proceeds from the sales go to charity.
The Marlins discussed that idea but decided against it because they want to be inclusive with all fans (not favor any particular ones) and did not want to ask fans to spend more money this season.
Because of high COVID-19 cases locally, the Marlins have not discussed having fans at games early in the season. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has said that’s a possibility later this season if South Florida’s COVID-19 cases decline.
▪ The Marlins got two national games on FS1’s schedule: home to Tampa Bay on Aug. 28 and home to Toronto on Sept. 1. The 58 other regular-season games are expected to air on Fox Sports Sun or Fox Sports Florida.
No Marlins games will air on big Fox or ESPN’s Sunday night or early season packages. Here’s how the Marlins announcers will call the games this season.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 3:41 PM.
