A Home For The Aged: A BBM Marlins Expansion Dynasty

[Suicane]

JUNE 10TH: Marlins (26-37) Vs Phillies (28-34)
Van Egmond went 7 innings and left tied 2-2 where it would stay till the 11th when Heredia would give up a 2 run homer to Todd Pratt. They would close it out to win the series opener. Mueller had 2 hits.
Final Score: Phillies 4 Marlins 2



JUNE 11TH: Marlins (26-38) Vs Phillies (29-34)
Ryan Bowen went 7 strong innings but left down 2-1. Jon Nunnally would hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 7th and we would pour on runs in the 8th en route to an easy victory. Flaherty had 2 hits and 2 RBI.
Final Score: Marlins 7 Phillies 2



JUNE 12TH: Marlins (27-38) Vs Phillies (29-35)
Seminara left after 6 having given up 6 runs and we trailed 6-3. But we got Kevin Foster and then the Phillies pen and tied it at 6 in the 7th. It stayed that way till the bottom of the ninth when Marlon Anderson threw wild to first base allowing Fernando Vina to score from 2nd and give us the win.
Final Score: Marlins 7 Phillies 6



JUNE 14TH: OFF DAY
Tom Goodwin is hitting just .209 so we've got to do something. We move Darren Lewis into the leadoff hole and Goodwin down to 6th in the order.

Also, I've decided that hitting just .238, I'm gonna send Wil Cordero back down to AAA. I wanted to bring in an extra pitcher and needed to send someone down and this just seems like a smart thing to do with Vina able to play 2B and allow Sanchez to go to SS. My plan is for Cordero to spend the rest of the year at AAA and for Green and Everett to join him there sometime in July. I hope I didn't move them all too fast.

We add RP Salmon Torres to the bullpen.

[Suicane]

JUNE 15TH: Marlins (28-38) At Padres (35-31)
Chuck Smith gave up four first inning runs and Andy Benes never looked back. Smith would go 7 and give up 5 runs while Benes was masterfull against us. Flaherty had 2 hits.
Final Score: Padres 5 Marlins 1



JUNE 16TH: Marlins (28-39) At Padres (36-31)
Phil Leftwich left after 6 innings down 7-1 (only 4 of those runs earned). We made a monster rally late off Tim Hudson and the Padres pen to tie it but Gil Heredia allowed the winning run to score in the ninth in a real heartbreaker. Sanchez, Muleller and Vina each had 3 hits. Goodwin had 3 RBI.
Final Score: Padres 7 Marlins 6



JUNE 16TH: ROSTER NEWS
Trade:

We Send
-----------------
2B Terry Shumpert	28	73/73	$330K/1YRS
SS Rey Sanchez		27	79/79	$218K/1YRS	
SS Wil Cordero		23	79/93	$113K/ARB96
RP Jose Alberro		25	68/71	$8K/ARB98
SP Josh Fogg		18	52/86	$5K/ARB98

To The New York Mets In Exchange For
-----------------
3B Edgardo Alfonzo	21	72/89	$6K/ARB98	
3B Melvin Mora		23	75/90	$8K/ARB98
RP Jason Jacome		24	74/85	$8K/ARB98
SS Aaron Ledesma	25	69/72	$8K/ARB98
$100,000 Cash

Well, what can I say. I can say I don't wanna make all these trades but we were negotiating with Sanchez and he was wanting close to $2 Million a season to stay, Shumpert wanted over a million as well. I didn't wanna give up Cordero but it was a chip I had to use.

Alfonzo and Mora will hopefully be my middle infield centerpiece for a good long time as I immediately start working Mora out at SS, he can play a ton of positions but I want him to focus on SS. Both guys will be in AA with Everett and Green till about August 1st and then on to AAA for the final 2 months of the season and then we'll see where we stand at the start of next year. Jacome will also go to AA and he's got a real live arm. Ledesmas overall ratings arn't that good but he's a slap hitter and will step right in and be our everyday SS.

Sanchez and Shumpert were gonna be gone anyway at the end of the year so I had to do something with them. Obviously if Mora and Alfonzo both work out then losing Cordero hurts less. Fogg is a good pitching prospect but one a ways away.

I really hope that that's the end of my trades this year. For the first time ever I think we have a low enough payroll and enough money in the caufers that we can go out in the offseason and do some stuff in free agency to build around this young team.

Kurt Stillwell get's recalled from AAA



JUNE 17TH: Marlins (28-40) At Padres (37-31)
Van Egmond went 7, giving up just 1 run. We led by one in the ninth and Percival shut em down in order for the win. Snow homered. Nice win.
Final Score: Marlins 3 Padres 2

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JUNE 18TH: Marlins (29-40) Vs Mets (44-26)
Bowen only made it 4+ innings and gave up 4 runs. Pete Schourek was workmanlike in shutting us down as the Mets take the first game of the series. Larkin and Stillwell each had 2 hits.
Final Score: Mets 5 Marlins 2



JUNE 19TH: Marlins (29-41) Vs Mets (45-26)
Seminara went 7 strong innings but left down 3-0. We had 9 hits but could only convert for 1 run off of Mullholand as the Mets pitching once again kept us at bay. Damnit. Ledesma had 3 hits.
Final Score: Mets 3 Marlins 1



JUNE 20TH: Marlins (29-42) Vs Mets (46-26)
Chuck Smith didn't make it thru 4 before giving up 5 runs. Our pen was solid but Dwight Gooden would throw 8 shutout innings against us scattering 3 hits en route to the Mets sweep.
Final Score: Mets 6 Marlins 0



JUNE 21ST: OFF DAY



JUNE 21ST: INJURY & ROSTER NEWS
Bill Mueller has a strained knee ligamint that will sideline him for about a month. We put him on the DL and call up SS Esteban Beltre. Stillwell and Nevin will see time at 3B.

[Suicane]

JUNE 22ND: Marlins (29-43) At Expos (42-32)
It started off nicely when we scored 5 2nd inning runs but it was all downhill from there. Leftwich gave up 7 runs in 4 innings, our pen wasn't any better and the Expos bullpen kept our bats silent the rest of the way as we dropped our 4th in a row. Vina, Nevin, Larkin and Flaherty each had 2 hits.
Final Score: Expos 12 Marlins 5



JUNE 23RD: Marlins (29-43) At Expos (42-32)
Van Egmond pitched into the 6th and left with a 3-2 lead but Embree would allow an inherited runner to tie it. Our bullpen would then implode and give up 8 more runs. YAY! Flaherty had a 2 run homer.
Final Score: Expos 11 Marlins 5



JUNE 24TH: Marlins (29-45) At Expos (44-32)
Bowen gave up 6 runs in 6 innings and that was more than enough for Chris Nabholz and the Expos pen. Snow had 3 hits, Nevin and Vina had 2 hits each.
Final Score: Expos 6 Marlins 4



JUNE 25TH: OFF DAY



JUNE 25TH: ROSTER NEWS
Jeff Ballard is off the DL today. Eric Hillman goes down to AAA to make room for Ballard.

[Suicane]

JUNE 26TH: Marlins (29-46) Vs Braves (53-23)
Seminara gave up just 2 runs in 6 innings and we jumped all over Greg Maddux for a surprisingly easy win. Vina & Nevin each had 3 hits, Lewis had a homer and Flaherty, Vina & Snow each had 2 RBI.
Final Score: Marlins 9 Braves 3



JUNE 26TH: INJURY & ROSTER NEWS
SS Esteban Beltre has a sprained knee and will miss about a week. We DL him and bring up SS Keith Kessinger.



JUNE 27TH: Marlins (30-46) Vs Braves (53-24)
Chuck Smith went 7 strong innings and left with a 4-2 lead which our pen, capped off by Percival made stand. Vina and Flaherty each had 3 hits as we take our 2nd straight from the 1st place Braves.
Final Score: Marlins 4 Braves 2



JUNE 28TH: Marlins (31-46) Vs Braves (53-25)
Leftwich pitched into the 7th and left with a 2 run lead. We would add a few more runs and Ballard, while shakey, closed out the last 2 innings as we completed a sweep of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. How bout that? Snow had 3 hits, Goodwin had a homer, just a real refreshing series.
Final Score: Marlins 6 Braves 2

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JUNE 29TH: Marlins (32-46) At Giants (38-41)
Van Egmond pitched into the 8th but gave up 5 runs and Dave Burba was in a zone against us as our win streak comes to an end. Goodwin had 2 hits including a homer.
Final Score: Giants 6 Marlins 2



JUNE 30TH: Marlins (32-47) At Giants (39-41)
Bowen gave up 6 runs in 6 innings and William Van Landingham did a workmanlike job against us as we dropped yet another one.
Final Score: Giants 7 Marlins 3

[Suicane]

JUNE STATUS REPORT
Record: 32-48 (21.5 Games Back, 21 Wild Card)
Profit: +$430,000

1995 Batting         G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Mueller, Bill       68  .278   255   71  11   1   2   25   37    0   2   20   32  .353  .343
Vina, Fernando      76  .257   272   70   9   3   1   16   22    5   4   29   35  .324  .310
Snow, J.T.          71  .297   229   68  15   1   4   21   43    0   0   26   32  .424  .362
Nevin, Phil         69  .244   250   61   9   0   9   19   56    0   0   36   27  .388  .300
Goodwin, Tom        75  .209   287   60   5   1   2   30   51   21   9   35   13  .254  .284
Larkin, Gene        72  .312   173   54   5   1   1   14   15    3   4   17   23  .370  .360
Lewis, Darren       58  .266   188   50   9   1   1   12   17   16   8   24   11  .340  .310
Hulse, David        64  .237   198   47   2   1   0   15   33   19  11   27   13  .258  .297
Flaherty, John      47  .302   129   39  11   0   3   10   18    0   1   11   16  .457  .353
Stillwell, Kurt     42  .269   108   29   5   0   1    4   15    2   5    8   12  .343  .292
Nunnally, Jon       51  .250   100   25   2   1   2   14   21    5   2   12    8  .350  .348
Ledesma, Aaron      10  .211    38    8   1   0   0    2    5    0   1    1    2  .237  .250
Smith, Chuck        16  .167    30    5   0   0   0    2   11    0   0    2    4  .167  .219
Saunders, Tony      11  .250    20    5   0   0   0    0    5    1   0    0    3  .250  .250
Leftwich, Phil      16  .125    32    4   1   0   0    1   13    0   0    0    2  .156  .152
Seminara, Frank      7  .333     9    3   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    1    2  .333  .333
Kreuter, Chad       11  .057    35    2   1   0   0    3   11    0   0    3    2  .086  .132
Santovenia, Nelson   4  .250     4    1   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .250  .400
Beltre, Esteban      3  .333     3    1   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .333  .333
Kessinger, Keith     9  .000    10    0   0   0   0    1    3    0   0    1    1  .000  .083

Financialy i'm really happy with where we are. I know that I can go out in the offseason and spend 2 to 3 million dollars to improve the club and not have to worry about financial doom.

Obviously i'm very worried about Tom Goodwin. I've moves him all over the order and nothing seems to be working. I can only hope that it's an anamoly.

1995 Pitching       IP    ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Leftwich, Phil     99.1  3.44   16  16   6   6   0   56   34 13.32
Bowen, Ryan        97.0  5.47   16  16   5  10   0   77   39 12.90
Smith, Chuck       96.0  5.06   16  16   6   6   0   72   48 14.16
Van Egmond, Tim    93.2  5.77   16  16   2   8   0   44   40 13.45
Saunders, Tony     65.1  5.23   11  11   1   4   0   58   35 14.60
Heredia, Gil       43.2  3.71   48   0   2   3   0   30   13 10.72
Walker, Pete       38.1  3.52   43   0   1   3   0   24   18 12.44
Hillman, Eric      37.0  5.35   36   0   2   2   1   12   20 16.78
Embree, Alan       33.1  3.78   36   0   0   2   0   25   11 13.77
Seminara, Frank    31.2  4.83    7   5   1   3   0   22   12 15.06
Percival, Troy     27.1  1.98   30   0   3   0  17   26    6  7.90
Ballard, Jeff      26.0  4.50   26   0   0   3   1   12   14 15.92
Assenmacher, Paul  24.0  6.75   39   0   2   0   1   22   15 18.38
Ahearne, Pat        7.0  5.14    1   1   0   0   0    5    2 12.86
Buckels, Gary       5.2  4.76    8   0   1   0   0    3    3 17.47
Torres, Salomon     4.0  2.25    6   0   0   0   0    1    0  9.00

What can I say about my starts. Leftwich has been the only consistently solid starter. Everyone elses job is in serious question for next season.

AROUND THE LEAGUE IN JUNE

[Suicane]

JULY 1ST: Marlins (32-48) At Giants (40-41)
Seminara went 8.1 IP giving up just 2 solo homers to Bonds. Embree got the last 2 outs to close it down as we avoid the sweep.



JULY 2ND: OFF DAY

[Suicane]

JULY 3RD: Marlins (33-48) Vs Expos (50-33)
Chuck Smith went 6.2 innings and left with a 2-1 lead. It was 3-2 in the ninth and Percival closed it out to get the win.
Darren Lewis had 3 hits and an RBI.
Final Score: Marlins 3 Expos 2



JULY 4TH: Marlins (34-48) Vs Expos (50-34)
Leftwich got lit up for 8 runs in 7 innings and Randy Tomlin was dominant on the hill for the Expos as they romped.
Stilwell had 3 hits and Lewis had 2 hits.
Final Score: Expos 10 Marlins 2



JULY 4TH: ROSTER & INJURY NEWS
Gene Larkin has a sprained thumb that will keep him out a couple of weeks. We put him on the DL and call up John Cangelosi.
Nunnaly & Hulse will split time in RF.



JULY 5TH: Marlins (34-49) Vs Expos (51-34)
Van Egmond didn't make it thru the 5th before giving up 6 runs. Fassero was solid for Montreal and they take 2 of 3 from us.
Lewis, Flaherty and Cangelosi each had 2 hits.
Final Score: Expos 7 Marlins 4

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JULY 6TH: Marlins (34-50) At Phillies (34-50)
Ryan Bowen left after 5 innings down 4-2. We trailed 6-3 in the 8th when Kurt Stillwell hit a 3 run homer to tie it.
Aaron Ledesma hit an RBI single in the top of the ninth and Percival closed it down to cap a nice come from behind victory.
Vina had 3 hits and Stillwell, Ledesman and Snow each had 2 hits a piece.
Final Score: Marlins 7 Phillies 6



JULY 6TH: ROSTER & INJURY NEWS
Tony Saunders, down in AAA, seperated his shoulder and will most about 6 weeks.



JULY 7TH: Marlins (35-50) At Phillies (34-51)
Seminara threw 6 innings of 1 run ball and we lit up Tommy Green and the Phillies bullpen to roll to an easy victory.
Vina had a grand slam and Ledesma had 2 RBI.
Final Score: Marlins 7 Phillies 1



JULY 8TH: Marlins (36-50) At Phillies (34-52)
Chuck Smith threw a gem, going 7 innings and leaving with a 2-1 lead. Our pen, capped by Percival, would close it out as we get the sweep heading into the All-Star break, very nice. Stilwell & Snow each had 2 hits.
Final Score: Marlins 3 Phillies 1

[Suicane]

MARLINS MID SEASON FRONT OFFICE MEETING

As we do every year we're going to take this time to go over all our expiring contracts and see what we can do or not do as we try and map out our future.

FINANCES

Farm System: 	$7,000,000	6th
Scouting:	$7,200,000	8th
Medical:	$3,100,000	14th
Salaries:	$7,300,000	28th
Payroll Budget:	$4,700,000
Profit:		+$410,000
Cash:		$6,500,000

We've actually gone a half season without losing money. Add to that all the cash we've gotten in trades and our financial future is looking not dire for the first time in the teams history. I'm not pleased with all the turnover we've had to go thru but I can honestly say that for the first time we are prepared to build on what we have rather than run in place. Any move we make now will be about putting a contender on the field next year instead of just trying to scrimp and save money. The one thing I will make no bones about wanting to do is improving our starting staff. Either thru trade or free agency I will look long and hard at brining in some talent that I think can be top of the rotation kind of guys. I'm very excited.


ARBITRATION ELIGABLE PLAYERS

Catcher, John Flaherty: Interesting in that I really like this guy but he appears to dislike Florida, still we can get him fairly cheaply but I think I want some maneuverabiliy in my catching situation in the offseason so I'm not gonna make him an offer here.


EXPIRING CONTRACTS

Relief Pitcher, Paul Assenmacher: He only wants a slight raise but he has not at all been what i'd hoped he be for us. He's also 34 years old and I have 2 other left handed short relivers in Embree and Jacome whom I feel will be in my pen next year meaning spending money on Assenmacher just wouldn't be wise. I may look at moving him before the trade deadline but either way I'm not high on investing money in him at the moment.

Relief Pitcher, Gary Buckels: His tenure here has been unspectacular and i've got no real use for him at the salary he wants, or at any salary really. We inform his agent that have no plans on making him an offer.

Catcher, John Russell: John knows he was signed just to fill out our AAA roster and we have no plans on making him an offer.

Catcher, Nelson Santovenia: Again, we like Nelson but we have no real plans to offer him a contract at this time.

Shortstop, Kurt Stillwell: Kurt has been super for us this season and is willing to take a $50K pay cut to sign a 3 year deal. The only apprehension I have is that we've got a logjam of Infielders with Mora and Alfonzo on the way. We'll think about it but we're not prepared to make a counter offer right now.

Starting Pitcher, Eric Hillman: Eric really doesn't like Florida that much and when it comes right down to it we're only gonna offer a contract to him or Jeff Ballard to be a long lefty and we prefer Ballard so we make no offer to Hillman and inform him that we'll likely let him walk.

Starting Pitcher, Jeff Ballard: He's been decent, he likes it here and he only wants a slight raise. We extend him for another at $360K.

Left Fielder, John Cangelosi: John likes Florida and has not complained a bit about playing in AAA most of the year. He wants a minimal raise and we decide to give it to him at $170K for 3 years.

[Suicane]

JULY 9TH: HOME RUN DERBY

1995 Home Run Showdown
FIRST ROUND (10 Outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
Larry Walker (MON)                  10
Mark McGwire (OAK)                   9
Manny Ramirez (CLE)                  9
Barry Bonds (SFG)                    9
Juan Gonzalez (TEX)                  7
Chipper Jones (ATL)                  5
Jim Edmonds (CAL)                    4
Ellis Burks (CHW)                    4
David Justice (ATL)                  4
Jeff Bagwell (HOU)                   3

SECOND ROUND (5 Outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
Barry Bonds (SFG)                    5
Manny Ramirez (CLE)                  4
Mark McGwire (OAK)                   3
Larry Walker (MON)                   2

FINAL ROUND (5 Outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
Barry Bonds (SFG)                    2
Manny Ramirez (CLE)                  2

EXTRA INNINGS (3 outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
BARRY BONDS                          4
Manny Ramirez                        2

WINNER: Barry Bonds

JULY 10TH: 1995 ALL-STAR GAME

National League 9
American League 7

MVP: RF, Larry Walker, Montreal Expos, 3-5 3RBI


JULY 11TH: OFF DAY



JULY 12TH: OFF DAY



JULY 12TH: INJURY & ROSTER NEWS
SS Esteban Beltre is ready to come off the DL. SS Keith Kessinger goes down to AAA.

[Suicane]

JULY 13TH: Marlins (37-50) Vs Expos (54-35)
Leftwich gave up 4 early runs but then we layed the smackdown on them pounding out 15 hits and 10 runs en rout to a win.
Leftwich would go 6 and give up the 4, Assemnacher gave up a couple in the ninth but it was academic.
Ledesma and Flaherty each had 3 hits and everyone of our starters got a hit as we rolled.
Final Score: Marlins 10 Expos 7



JULY 14TH: Marlins (38-50) Vs Expos (54-36)
Chuck Smith took a 3-0 lead into the ninth but left after giving up a leadoff single. Embree would allow 2 runs to score but Percival would close it out as we take our 5th in a row.
Final Score: Marlins 3 Expos 2



JULY 15TH: Marlins (39-50) Vs Expos (54-37)
Bowen went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs but Ken Hill was better. Our bullpen did a fine job but they pulled out a win to salvage a game in the series. Krueter had 2 hits.
Final Score: Expos 4 Marlins 2

[Suicane]

JULY 16TH: Marlins (39-51) Vs Astros (55-36)
Van Egmond left after 7 brilliant innings tied in a 1-1 duel with Daryl Kile. It would stay that way till the 13th when Percival in his 2nd inning of work put 2 men on and Ballard let them score. They closed it out and won the game.
Hard loss to take when we had so many chances to pull out the win but our pen pitched great. Goodwin and Lewis each had 2 hits. Our pen is stretched though.
Final Score: Astros 3 Marlins 1 (13 Innings)



JULY 17TH: Marlins (39-52) Vs Astros (56-36)
Seminara pitched great, going into the 7th and leaving with a 2-1 lead. With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th Heredia allowed the game tying single. Ballard and Walker would implode in the 10th and let in 3 runs and that's that. Hard effin loss.
Final Score: Astros 5 Marlins 2 (10 Innings)



JULY 18TH: Marlins (39-53) Vs Astros (57-36)
Leftwich went 7 and left with a 3-2 lead. Torres would be responsible for an 8th inning run that tied it. It would stay that way till the 12th when Ballard and Walker would again break down and allow 3 runs to score. They closed it out and we lose our 3rd straight extra inning game against one of the best teams in the league in heartbreaking fashion. Nevin and Cangelosi had 2 hits.
Final Score: Astros 6 Marlins 3 (12 Innings)



JULY 19TH: Marlins (39-54) Vs Astros (58-36)
Chuck Smith gave up 3 runs in 6 innings but our pen was pretty bad, they are tired as hell and we don't have an off day for the rest of the month. Pete Harnisch was aces against us as they got the sweep. Goodwin and Nevin each had 2 hits.
Final Score: Astros 7 Marlins 2



JULY 19TH: INJURY & ROSTER NEWS
Ryan Bowen has a sprained toe and will miss tommorows start. Ballard is sent to AAA and Eric Hillman will make an emergency start.

[Suicane]

JULY 20TH: Marlins (39-55) At Cardinals (49-47)
Hillman gave up 4 runs in 4 innings but our pen was solid, we just couldn't get enough offense against Omar Oliveras or the Cards pen as we fall in a tight one. Snow had 2 hits.
Final Score: Cardinals 4 Marlins 3



JULY 21ST: Marlins (39-56) At Cardinals (50-47)
Bowen, Torres, Embree and Walker all got touched up as we got rolled hard. Goodwin had 3 hits.
Final Score: Cardinals 12 Marlins 3



JULY 21ST: INJURY & ROSTER NEWS
Gene Larkin and Bill Mueller are ready to come off the DL. SS Esteban Beltre goes down to AA.
LF John Cangelois goes down to AAA.
SP Ryan Bowen has a strained rotator cuff and will miss about 15 days. SP Eric Hillman is called up to take his spot in the rotation. RP Solomon Torres has a chipped knee cap and will miss close to 3 weeks. RP Gary Buckels will take his spot.



JULY 22ND: Marlins (39-57) At Cardinals (51-47)
Van Egmond had a shutout going into the ninth, he would give up 3 runs but Percival would close it out to salvage a game in the series. Goodwin and Lewis each had 2 hits.
Final Score: Marlins 5 Cardinals 3