Ely Sussman

Better get SOMETHING in return for Amaya, otherwise I don't get it.

Let me know what your account name (handle) is over there and I'll follow you! Particularly during games, it's a place littered with unhinged overreactions.

Last season, the Marlins also struggled through an eight-game losing streak, but here's why the 2024 team is not as well positioned to withstand it. View full video

Marlins news roundup for 4/5/24 On Thursday, the Marlins' terrible defense and underachieving bullpen struck again. Jake Burger (2-for-2, 2 HR, 2 BB) had an outstanding day, but it wasn't enough. Sixto Sánchez and Andrew Nardi allowed five runs during the Cardinals' seventh-inning rally. The Marlins lost, 8-5. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 4-3. For the third consecutive game, Tristan Gray hit a home run. Troy Johnston stole his first two bases of the season. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Eury Pérez's efforts to rehab from elbow inflammation were unsuccessful. He experienced elbow tightness during a bullpen session on Tuesday and will undergo Tommy John surgery on Monday. The ultra-talented 20-year-old right-hander won't see a major league mound again until he's 22, as TJ rehab almost always takes more than a calendar year for starting pitchers. Frustrating setback, to say the least. Fish On First wishes Pérez a complete recovery. 🔷 The Marlins moved quickly to scoop up utility man Otto Lopez off the waiver wire, with Lopez sliding into Pérez's 40-man roster spot. Signed and developed by the Blue Jays, the 25-year-old Dominican has appeared in nine MLB games. He has posted a career 113 wRC+ in the minors, but only a 65 wRC+ at Triple-A last season. His skill set is a lot like Vidal Bruján's except Lopez only hits from the right side. 🔷 Miami's eight-game losing streak is tied for the eighth-longest in franchise history. Opponents have outscored them 59-29. On a new episode of The Offishial Show (embedded below), I ask whether this is the "worst" losing streak the team has ever had in terms of completely changing the trajectory of their season. 🔷 Jacob Amaya, Kent Emanuel and Vladimir Gutierrez are in DFA limbo. 🔷 My daily player spotlight shines on Burger. He owns a 155 wRC+ while no other Marlin is above 92! Only two strikeouts against right-handed pitching so far this season. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com details his upbringing as a Cardinals fan in the St. Louis suburbs. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Oakland Athletics will play home games in Sacramento from 2025-2027 with an option for 2028 (if their Las Vegas ballpark isn't ready by then). They'll share Sutter Health Park with the Giants' Triple-A Sacramento affiliate. Yes, life as an A's fan is even sadder than being a Marlins fan. 🔷 Minor League Baseball is all the way back! Every full-season affiliate is scheduled to play today. Check out our new Marlins minor league affiliate guide. MLB Pipeline has a roundup of where the organization's top-rated prospects have been assigned. Today's games Triple-A Jacksonville at Durham, 6:35 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Mississippi, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit vs. Cedar Rapids, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Palm Beach, 6:30 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

The Offishial Show—Episode #216 Only 5% into the 2024 Miami Marlins season, the perception of the team has changed dramatically...and not in a good way. Ely Sussman makes the case that there has never been such a costly streak of consecutive losses in the franchise's existence. Find The Offishial Show on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes Fish Unfiltered, Big Fish Small Pod, Swimming Upstream and more. The Fish On First podcast is now being presented by MPT College Consulting! They pride themselves on helping clients navigate the college application process. This includes preparation for standardized testing, guidance through high school, assistance with essays and applications, and choosing the right college. Visit them today at mptcollegeconsulting.com to learn more about their services and schedule a free consultation. Although this is not yet the longest losing streak in Marlins history, the timing of it and the warts that it has revealed have made it extremely detrimental. The Marlins unequivocally have one of Major League Baseball's worst defenses. Their relief pitchers don't throw strikes, their starting pitchers don't work deep into games and Eury Pérez (Tommy John surgery) has been ruled out for the entire season. At the plate, Jake Burger has been Miami's only above-average performer. On the eve of Opening Day, the Marlins had 28.8% odds of a postseason berth, according to FanGraphs. Those odds have plummeted to 6.8% as of Friday morning. The Marlins could match their franchise record for longest losing streak on Monday against the New York Yankees if their first win of the season remains elusive. Follow Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

I saw your matching tweet haha. Don't fully believe you can resist, but wouldn't blame you one bit. They 100% did it to themselves.

Welcome to FOF's eighth Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. The game itself understandably takes a backseat to the news that Eury Pérez is getting Tommy John surgery. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: INF Emmanuel Rivera activated, RHP Matt Andriese selected from Triple-A Jacksonville and UTIL Otto López claimed off waivers from the Giants; RHP Eury Pérez transferred to 60-day injured list, INF Jonah Bride optioned to Jacksonville and LHP Kent Emanuel designated for assignment. Nate Karzmer will be writing the game recap.

Hasn't had an off-day yet to catch his breath, to be fair. If this group can't put up a decent effort vs. Lance Lynn today, I would expect some tweaks.

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

A catastrophic blow to the Marlins' dwindling chances of being competitive this year. The surgery is expected to delay Pérez's start to the 2025 season as well. Eury Pérez's sophomore season is over before it even began. Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix announced on Thursday that the ascending star right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery. Pérez had been on the injured list after experiencing elbow inflammation during spring training. Surgery was not recommended initially and he was cleared to restart a throwing progression. The 20-year-old had advanced to throwing bullpen sessions, but Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports that he felt elbow tightness on Tuesday and noticed a drop in velocity. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the procedure on Pérez. He's the same doctor who operated on Pérez's mentor, Sandy Alcantara. Starting pitchers typically need more than 12 months to return to competition following Tommy John, with younger starters being handled especially carefully. Pérez will not be ready by Opening Day 2025, complicating the Marlins' plans for next season. He will continue to accrue MLB service time throughout the rehab process (he had 113 days of service entering 2024). In the meantime, their current campaign continues to be an abject disaster. The Marlins are 0-7 entering Thursday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. FanGraphs estimates their playoff odds at 9.9% and that will only plummet further following the news of Pérez's extended absence. The Marlins opened the regular season with a starting rotation of Jesús Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers, Trevor Rogers and Max Meyer. Reinforcements are on the way in the form of Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett, both of whom are scheduled to make four-inning rehab starts with Triple-A Jacksonville this weekend. Pérez was promptly transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL later on Thursday afternoon to create room on the 40-man roster for waiver claim UTIL Otto López. View full article

Bleday began last season on a heater as well. Let's see if it keeps up. I was okay with dealing him because Burdick looked to be the more multi-dimensional player. The Marlins didn't see it that way unfortunately and lost Burdick for nothing (he's red-hot at Triple-A, by the way).

Marlins news roundup for 4/4/24 Player spotlight selection: Luis Arraez On Wednesday, Avisaíl García had the Marlins' lone extra-base hit. A.J. Puk improved from his previous start, but was still unremarkable (4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). In relief of Puk, Burch Smith and Kent Emanuel allowed the game to get out of hand. Nolan Schanuel extended his on-base streak to 35 consecutive games, which is now the longest active streak in Major League Baseball. The Marlins lost, 10-2, for their most lopsided game result of the season thus far, finishing off a winless seven-game homestand. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 6-4. Tristan Gray and Will Banfield each homered for the second night in a row (Banfield's blast was estimated at 436 feet). Jonathan Davis stole his fourth base, one shy of the International League lead. Griffin Conine recorded the hardest-hit ball of the game at 112.2 mph. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 We need to get into the sobering stats about this 0-7 stumble out of the starting gate. The Marlins are the first postseason team in MLB history to kick off the following season with such a lengthy losing streak. They are the 10th team in the Wild Card era to lose seven or more games in a row to begin their campaign—none of the others came remotely close to a winning record at season's end (the best of the bunch finished at 74-88). Miami's minus-27 run differential is only the third-worst in the majors, but considering they were the home team for all of these games and got to face relatively soft competition, that is not much of a silver lining. 🔷 Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic report that the Padres attempted to trade for Luis Arraez during spring training and also coveted Jesús Luzardo. "The Marlins, with the start of the season approaching, feared they could not adequately replace Arraez" (well yeah, duh). The report just states the obvious: if the Marlins continue to be one of MLB's least-competitive teams, they will have a lot of pieces to potentially sell this summer, and Peter Bendix will not shy away from those painful but necessary moves. 🔷 Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers reminds us that things could be much, much worse, retelling the story of the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. 🔷 Watch the full replay of Fish On First LIVE. SuperSubs still have time to submit predictions for the Marlins vs. Cardinals series. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. 🔷 Jacob Amaya and Vladimir Gutierrez remain in DFA limbo. 🔷 My daily player spotlight is dedicated to Arraez, who's slashing just .185/.333/.222 with a 67 wRC+ this season. He had a two-strikeout game on Wednesday (had only two of those in 2023). Even when making contact, the quality of his has been far below his usual standards—Arraez's 13.6% hard-hit rate is half of his career average. The Marlins need him to snap out of it. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run as a Dodger. After tossing a no-hitter against them on Monday, the Astros limited the Blue Jays to only one hit in their series finale. The Tigers (4-0) are MLB's last remaining undefeated team, though they will be hard-pressed to keep that going with a doubleheader coming up today at Citi Field. 🔷 Today's game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) visit the Cardinals (RHP Lance Lynn) at 4:15 p.m. ET. The Marlins have a 42.4% chance to win, per FanGraphs. Several roster moves are expected prior to first pitch, including the activation of recently acquired infielder Emmanuel Rivera. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

A bad omen?

Welcome to FOF's seventh Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. It's getaway day for both teams as the Marlins seek to conclude a nightmarish homestand on a positive note. Over/under 86.5 pitches thrown by A.J. Puk? SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: none (Emmanuel Rivera expected to join the team on Thursday). Enjoy live on-site coverage via Noah Berger and Daniel Rodriguez.

I still think this a premature concession on Amaya. Perhaps by midseason, he'd be an appropriate DFA candidate *IF* his bat took a noticeable step back. Frankly, I don't know if he's even a downgrade from Tim Anderson. The timing of this doesn't add up to me unless they're confident in arranging a trade for younger, more projectable talent.

Earlier than usual stream! Awkward scheduling with the Cardinals holding their home opener in the afternoon. Prediction Time submissions are welcome anytime before first pitch (4:15 p.m. ET on Thursday).

Marlins news roundup for 4/3/24 Player spotlight selection: Bryan Hoeing On Tuesday, Tyler Anderson flummoxed the Marlins lineup, working seven scoreless, efficient innings. Jesús Luzardo faired well except when facing Aaron Hicks, whose solo home run gave the Angels an early lead that they held the rest of the night. The Marlins lost, 3-1. As Glenn Geffner points out, they're in danger of joining the 1988 Braves as the only teams in MLB's modern era to open a season with a winless homestand of seven or more games. Down on the farm, Tristan Gray and Will Banfield (AAA) hit their first homers of the season and Anthony Maldonado sealed a 5-3 win for Jacksonville with two scoreless innings of relief. Double-A Pensacola's exhibition game against Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League ended in a 1-1 tie. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Transactions: The Marlins traded cash considerations to the Diamondbacks for Emmanuel Rivera. Rivera is expected to meet the team in St. Louis and handle a lot of the duties that were originally supposed to belong to Jon Berti. Think of Rivera as a slower version of Berti with two extra years of club control. Prospect Jacob Amaya was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Amaya joins Vladimir Gutierrez in DFA limbo. 🔷 Read more from Louis Addeo-Weiss about Rivera's fit with his new team and from me about the bizarre sell-low approach they're taking with Amaya. 🔷 Zach Neto has made his presence felt during the ongoing series against the Angels. The Miami native plays with "a little edge" when back in his hometown, he tells Kevin Barral. 🔷 Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is already looking ahead to the tough decisions that the Marlins could face at the trade deadline. 🔷 Recently recalled Kent Emanuel was once the poster child for college baseball's pitcher overuse problem, explains Michael Baumann of FanGraphs. 🔷 My daily player spotlight is dedicated to Bryan Hoeing. He's made two great long relief appearances so far this season. After yielding a .980 OPS to left-handed batters in 2023, he has retired all seven that he's faced in 2024. For better or worse, I'll spotlight a different Marlins player in each Offishial News article moving forward. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, old friend Garrett Cooper was a single shy of the cycle for the Cubs and even played left field in the final innings of a blowout win. Another old friend, Jorge Soler, mashed his first home run as a member of the Giants. Entering Tuesday without any hits this season, Bryce Harper homered three times against the Reds. Through his first two starts in 2024, Shane Bieber still hasn't allowed a run, striking out 20 batters while only walking one. 🔷 Today's game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP A.J. Puk) host the Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval) at 1:10 p.m. ET. The Marlins have a 53.7% chance to win the series finale, per FanGraphs. Then again, their model has favored them in each of the last six games as well and gone 0-for-6. 🔷 Unconventional Fish On First LIVE schedule for us this week due to afternoon series openers. Our Cardinals series preview show will be streaming tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. Marlins podcast episodes View full article