Ely Sussman

Wednesday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's AFL/winter ball notes: Solid start for RHP Ike Buxton (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), matching the highest strikeout total of his pro career. LHP Dale Stanavich followed with a scoreless inning of relief. 3B Jacob Berry went 3-for-5 with his first home run of the fall league. 2B Nasim Nunez went 1-for-5 with a double.Subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your podcasts to check out our extended conversation with Marlins insider Craig Mish! He explains why ownership had concerns about the organization's sustainability and why Kim Ng wasn't willing to go along Bruce Sherman's vision. The pod references reporting from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic.Jesús Luzardo is a finalist for the NL Gold Glove award along with pitchers Taijuan Walker and Zack Wheeler, Rawlings Baseball announced on Wednesday. Eight Marlins players have previously won Gold Gloves, but only one pitcher (Mark Buehrle in 2012). Aside from Luzardo, no other Marlins were finalists at their respective positions this year. The award winners will be announced on November 5. Elsewhere around baseball, the Astros spoiled Max Scherzer's return from injury to win ALCS Game 3. Jose Altuve now has 25 career postseason homers (for context, Luis Arraez has 24 career regular season homers). The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the implementation of an automatic ball-strike system for the 2024 season. The KBO is generally considered the world's third-most competitive baseball league behind only MLB and Japan's NPB. MLB officials will surely be monitoring this situation closely.The latest included our final thoughts on Ng, what the Marlins should be prioritizing in the search for her replacement and observations about the MLB postseason. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/Tonight brings us an LCS doubleheader. Ranger Suárez takes the mound for the Phillies, having allowed just one total run in his previous two postseason starts.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Just Baseball updated their Top 100 MLB prospects list. The lone Marlin on there, RHP Noble Meyer, ranks 59th.Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers endorses Michael Hill for a second stint as Marlins president of baseball operations. "From what I’ve heard over the years, Hill’s 2020 departure from the Marlins was orchestrated by the departed (Derek) Jeter," Geffner writes. "There’s some question as to whether or not Sherman was even informed in advance that Hill would be leaving the club he served for nearly 20 years."Christina De Nicola of MLB.com mentions teenagers SS Fabian López and OF Andrés Valor as possible breakout prospects for the Marlins in 2024.Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Monday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes https://open.spotify.com/episode/0eTvvh6tylPRBRdejsNgcY?si=TZg544A4Sju3cV69Q80qUQMonday's AFL/winter ball updates: IF Nasim Nuñez went 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases and IF Jacob Berry went 0-for-3 with a walk. Nuñez has gone 8-for-8 on steal attempts in his nine games played. RHP Zach McCambley pitched a scoreless inning. The Peoria Javelinas have lost four of their last five games.Kim Ng is not coming back to the Marlins. Bruce Sherman reportedly offered her a contract extension to continue as general manager, but under the condition that he would pursue a new top executive to serve as president of baseball operations. I have many thoughts about this messy situation as expressed in the podcast episodes embedded above. To be concise, it's disappointing to see the Marlins hemorrhaging leadership and brainpower, and I wish Ng immense success when she inevitably lands with another MLB front office. While Sherman may have been uncomfortable elevating Ng to president of baseball ops given her mixed track record as GM, wouldn't that be preferable to starting from scratch? Doesn't it send a horrible message to job candidates that their predecessor wasn't appreciated by ownership on the heels of such a successful season? Brian Chattin is serving as the club's interim GM.https://fishonfirst.com/news/kim-ng-marlins-part-ways/Elsewhere around the majors, the Rangers are still undefeated in postseason competition after holding on to win their second straight ALCS road game. José Leclerc has pitched in all seven of those contests. The Phillies led wire to wire in their Game 1 victory over the Diamondbacks. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper (who was celebrating his 31st birthday) and Nick Castellanos each homered off of Zac Gallen in their first plate appearances.A raucous Citizens Bank Park will be hosting NLCS Game 2 tonight.Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reminds us that just a few weeks ago, Sherman said Ng was doing a "fabulous" job. But Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic describes Sherman as "a huge proponent of analytics" who has "different ideas regarding personnel decisions and where some of the team’s resources should be allotted." Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers explains why Sherman's handling of her should not come as a surprise.Kevin Barral reports on Jacob Berry's fall league performance, including Berry's reflections on the 2023 regular season.https://fishonfirst.com/farm/jacob-berry-arizona-fall-league-quotes/Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins

In a baffling turn of events, the Miami Marlins are parting ways with general manager Kim Ng, as first reported by Craig Mish of SportsGrid. The first woman GM in MLB history leaves the organization after only three seasons. Here's the statement that Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman sent out Monday morning: And here is Ng's side of it as relayed through Tyler Kepner of The Athletic: Longtime Marlins assistant GM Brian Chattin will serve as interim GM during the search progress, according to a since-deleted tweet by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Marlins had a .453 winning percentage (220-266 record) during the Ng era, but that includes a 15-win improvement from 2022 to 2023 and the franchise's first "normal" postseason berth in 20 years (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign). Operating with Sherman's limited payroll and a barren farm system, Ng excelled in trades to construct a tight-knit club with a knack for winning tight games. It was widely known as far back as spring training that Ng was entering the final guaranteed year of her contract. Even if 2023 had not been so successful, the idea of her running baseball operations without any long-term security was absurd. The Fish On First staff persistently advocated for Sherman to sign her to an extension. According to Ng's words above, they were attempting to find common ground after the Marlins were bounced from the NL Wild Card Series, but failed to do so. At the center of the disagreement, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports, was Sherman's desire to hire an additional Marlins executive for Ng to report to. Although her title would remain the same, it'd essentially be a demotion to no longer serve as the lead baseball operations decision-maker. Looking at this from Sherman's perspective, Ng was inefficient in free agency, whiffing on sub-replacement-level veterans Avisaíl García ($53M), Jean Segura ($17M) and Johnny Cueto ($8.5M), though coming out okay on Jorge Soler ($36M). Even with many prospects graduating from eligibility or being used as trade capital during her tenure, the lack of impact talent left in the pipeline is worrisome. Their existing player development approach clearly needs to be adjusted. Although I woke up on Monday expecting Ng to stay with the Marlins, I can't say that I'm shocked about this news. After all, she was handpicked by Derek Jeter, who left his CEO position in early 2022. Ng did not hold a formal end-of-season press conference with the media and every day that passed by without reassurance about her status made a break-up seem slightly more plausible. I'm disappointed that the organization couldn't find a way to maintain continuity at such a crucial position coming off an exhilarating year. Ng ought to be highly coveted by other MLB teams in free agency. The Boston Red Sox seek new baseball ops leadership and the New York Mets are in the market for a GM to report to David Stearns. Despite being repeatedly passed over for top executive jobs in the early 2000s, she now has tangible results to validate her decades of front office experience. Aside from Chattin, internal replacement candidates include fellow assistant GMs Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo. Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins

Sunday's GamesLHP Sean Nolin became the latest eligible player in the Marlins organization to elect minor league free agency. Nolin made just one forgettable mop-up relief appearance for the big league team, spending most of the year on the injured list.Elsewhere around the majors, Jordan Montgomery outdueled Justin Verlander in ALCS Game 1 as the Rangers shut out the Astros. Texas rookie outfielder Evan Carter extended his postseason hit streak to six games (the Rangers have won all six of those games). Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken interviewed for the team's managerial vacancy. She's believed to be the first woman ever to receive a formal interview for an MLB managerial job.Baseball won't be included in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it's coming back for the 2028 edition in Los Angeles. The sport was part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after being absent in 2012 and 2016. The United States hasn't won the gold medal since 2000.Game 2 of the ALCS is coming up today, followed by Zac Gallen and Zack Wheeler facing off in the NLCS opener. The Phillies are 10-2 in postseason home games dating back to last year.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.On Friday, Luis Arraez and Charles Johnson paid a visit to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital to deliver Totes for Hope comfort bags to patients. They spent quality time with the kids as Noah Berger documented.Happy 22nd birthday to LHP Dax Fulton. The former second-round draft pick had established himself as one of the Marlins' most promising prospects entering 2023, but his season was cut short by left elbow surgery.Lastly, thanks to Super Subscriber David K. Tobin for digging this up: Photo by Noah Berger/Fish On First

Enjoy top plays from Miami Marlins catcher Will Banfield! Banfield spent his age-23 season with the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. In 115 games played, he slashed .258/.302/.472 (100 wRC+) with 23 HR and 3 SB. He also had a 28.3% caught stealing rate. The Marlins selected Banfield in Competitive Balance Round B (69th overall pick) of the 2018 MLB Draft. He's likely to advance to the Triple-A level next year and even has a decent chance to break through to the majors depending on what moves the organization makes to address the catcher position. Where would you rank Banfield among the top prospects in the Marlins organization?

Thursday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's AFL/winter ball notes: IF Nasim Nuñez went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and C Paul McIntosh went 1-for-1 with 2 BB and 2 SB.Elsewhere around the majors, the Phillies knocked out the favored Braves in the NLDS for the second straight October. Nick Castellanos became the first player ever with consecutive multi-homer postseason games and Trea Turner went 4-for-4 with a home run of his own. Three years since his tenure as Marlins president of baseball operations ended, Michael Hill is reportedly a target for the Red Sox. Hill is MLB's senior vice president of baseball operations. He's got a connection to the Boston area as a Harvard University alum.The majority of Fish On First Twitter followers say it's easier to accept that the Marlins were eliminated by the Phils now that they've beaten Atlanta as well. The poll is still open, so vote for yourself.Postseason baseball resumes on Sunday with ALCS Game 1 between the Rangers and Astros. The Phillies host the Diamondbacks for the NLCS opener on Monday.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review has recently covered Jazz Chisholm Jr. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff."I think that a lot more focus needs to be on individual teams to do better and not just rely on revenue-sharing," Yankees president Randy Levine said at the Sportico Invest in Sports Conference regarding the business of baseball. "You can't have two Florida teams averaging 15,000 fans." Buoyed in part by the Yankees' robust revenue streams, the Rays and Marlins both performed better this season than his team did.Voting for the 2023 Hank Aaron Award closes tonight! Luis Arraez is among the National League nominees. Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos

Wednesday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's AFL/winter ball notes: Peoria's undefeated streak was finally snapped. RHP Ike Buxton worked around a lot of traffic on the bases (4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR) and used his changeup more frequently than I've ever seen him before. 3B Jacob Berry recorded singles from both sides of the plate. DH Paul McIntosh came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning representing the potential tying run, but he got the green light on a 3-0 count and flew out to end the game.Elsewhere around the majors, the Astros and Diamondbacks both clinched their Division Series matchups. It's the seventh straight year that the Astros have advanced to the ALCS. Dating back to mid-July, Houston's Bryan Abreu has gone 31 consecutive innings without allowing a run. The Dodgers were doomed up awful starting pitching performances in all three of their games, though superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman struggled mightily themselves, combining to go 1-for-21 at the plate. The Phillies homered six times (two each by Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos) on their way to a Game 3 victory. Widely regarded as MLB's best team during the regular season, the Braves face elimination tonight. They'll send Spencer Strider to the mound to extend the series. Strider's history at Citizens Bank Park has been great...with the exception of the postseason start he made there in 2022 (2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR).FanGraphs debuted sortable postseason leaderboards. I had some fun combining stats from multiple Marlins playoff runs.Listed at 220 pounds while he was with the Marlins this season, Jean Segura reveals that at the time of his trade (and subsequent release) in August, he had actually gone up to 235. Segura has since slimmed down to 215, thanks to Miami-based trainer Nicolas Soto. Seems clear that he'll attempt to resume his playing career in 2024. As much as the Marlins valued Segura's intangibles, it's hard to imagine a reunion.https://www.instagram.com/p/CyQ94aLgETK/?hl=en&e=f753e199-cb44-46e9-ac25-782ad98fd2b1&g=5Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers asks whether Marlins owner Bruce Sherman is willing to spend what it takes to retain Jorge Soler and/or Josh Bell.Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald gives an overview of potential 2024 shortstop solutions available to the Marlins in free agency and within their organization.The Rolling Stones and Major League Baseball are selling limited-edition vinyl of Hackney Diamonds featuring custom art for each of the 30 MLB teams in pocket jackets. You can pre-order the Marlins one here.Voting for the 2023 Hank Aaron Award remains open through Friday. Luis Arraez is among the National League nominees.On this day 20 years ago, with the Marlins facing elimination, Josh Beckett extended the NLCS by throwing a gem of a start in Game 5. This is also the anniversary of Liván Hernández—with some help from home plate umpire Eric Gregg—striking out 15 Braves batters in 1997 NLCS Game 5. That still stands as the Marlins single-game postseason record for K's.Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

FanGraphs was already a go-to resource for our Miami Marlins-related research. Further solidifying that status, they've just added postseason leaderboards. It had previously been a tedious process to compare postseason performances from different years. This provides us with brand new ways to analyze the franchise's four playoff trips (1997, 2003, 2020 and 2023) and the individual players who took part in them. As the only hitter with a prominent role during both of the Marlins' deep postseason runs, Jeff Conine holds the top spot in many offensive counting stats—32 career games, 31 career hits, 15 career runs scored, etc. The franchise record for runs batted in belongs to Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez (17). Miguel Cabrera leads in home runs with four. Gary Sheffield has nearly twice as many postseason walks as any other Marlin with 20. You should be unsurprised to learn that the all-time Marlins postseason leaders in win probability added are Josh Beckett (1.36 WPA) and Pudge (1.19 WPA), who formed an indispensable battery for the 2003 World Series champs. It would've taken me a bunch of guesses to come up with third-ranked Carl Pavano (0.89 WPA). Pavano pitched to a 1.40 ERA in 2003. His World Series Game 4 start in '03 was incredible, but he had to settle for a no-decision because of Ugueth Urbina's blown save (the Marlins ultimately won that game in extra innings). https://videopress.com/v/vGYVGp1Z?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=trueThe Marlins have a .600 winning percentage (24-16 record) in postseason games. That's despite a 82 wRC+ in those games (100 represents league average). It is a shocking stat at first glance, but run-scoring in the postseason is almost always depressed compared to the regular season. MLB postseason teams combined for a 87 wRC+ in 1997 and 82 wRC+ in 2003, for example. Marlins starting pitchers have a 4.98 ERA in the postseason. That Urbina slip-up notwithstanding, relievers have done well to clean up their messes with a 3.16 mark. The disparity between their performances is far less pronounced in terms of FIP (4.39 for SP vs. 3.97 for RP). In total, 98 players have appeared in Marlins postseason games: 55 hitters and 43 pitchers. Members of the one-and-done club include Yuli Gurriel (2023), Starling Marte (2020), David Robertson (2023), Nick Vincent (2020), John Wehner (1997) and Joey Wendle (2023). Andrew Nardi temporarily owns the worst postseason ERA in Marlins history (10.80). Unlike the one-and-doners listed above, Nardi has many years of club control ahead of him, so hopefully he'll get another opportunity to remedy that. Go here to continue exploring the postseason leaderboards. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Tuesday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Tuesday's AFL/winter ball notes: Another blowout win for the Peoria Javelinas, 17-4 over the Glendale Desert Dogs. IF Nasim Nuñez went 2-for-4 with a walk and continues to split starts between shortstop and second base. His strikeout rate is only 6.7%. Brief, scoreless relief appearance for RHP Zach McCambley (0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K).Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s right turf toe surgery was successful, he wrote on Instagram while showing a photo of his walking boot.Daniel Castano elected minor league free agency. The left-hander acquired from the Cardinals in the Marcell Ozuna trade spent six seasons in the Marlins organization and made major league appearances in each of the last four (24 G/17 GS, 88.2 IP, 4.47 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 1.49 WHIP, 0.2 fWAR). Castano's departure makes it even more imperative that the Marlins shop for starting rotation depth this offseason.Elsewhere around the majors, the Astros routed the Twins to take a 2-1 ALDS lead, with José Abreu driving in five of Houston's nine runs. The Rangers became the first team to advance to the League Championship Series round. They're a perfect 5-0 in the postseason.The Astros and Diamondbacks have the chance to punch their ALCS/NLCS tickets today. RHP Ike Buxton makes his second AFL start (it'll be livestreamed here).Our 2023 Marlins Season Review has recently covered Eury Pérez and Avisaíl García. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.DunkinMuse completed their Twitter megathread with highlights from every Marlins series.Voting for the 2023 Hank Aaron Award remains open through Friday. Luis Arraez is among the National League nominees.Photo by Chris Coduto/MLB Photos

Monday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Monday's AFL/winter ball updates: All three Marlins hitters were in the lineup as Peoria extended their undefeated streak. 3B Jacob Berry went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. C Paul McIntosh went 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch. SS Nasim Nuñez went 0-for-4 and turned two double plays.Today, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is undergoing surgery to repair turf toe in his right foot, according to MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. It'll be 12 weeks until he can return to wearing a shoe and begin a running progression. Chisholm suffered the injury way back on May 13 and it was understood that he'd eventually need surgery. He played through it in the meantime and started in center field for the Marlins on a nearly-daily basis during the final two months of the 2023 season. Barring unforeseen setbacks, he should be fully ready for spring training.Elsewhere around the majors, Zack Wheeler carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but the Braves bashed their way out of a 4-0 deficit to even their series with the Phillies. Austin Riley hit the game-winning, two-run homer in the eighth inning. After another strong road start from Zac Gallen, the Diamondbacks are a win away from upsetting the Dodgers.Congrats to Fish On First's Kevin Barral on earning his second career Marlins Jeopardy victory. , dedicated entirely to 2023 season trivia. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/Both of the ALDS matchups resume today. The Rangers have an opportunity to complete a sweep, though understandably there will be a lot of viewers pulling for Israeli-American Orioles starter Dean Kremer in light of the ongoing conflict taking place in Israel.From Skip Schumaker's new , he describes how "fantastic" analytics have been at helping him determine when to utilize certain relievers based on the swing planes of opposing hitters. That's part of a broader exchange about how he decides when to side with expected stats versus trusting his eyes and his gut.Louis Addeo-Weiss explains why Seth Lugo, Mark Canha and Austin Hedges could be under-the-radar fits for the Marlins.https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/mlb-free-agency-2024-under-the-radar-targets/Voting for the 2023 Hank Aaron Award remains open through Friday. Luis Arraez is among the National League nominees.Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images