The Phillies can play a part in determining whether this is a minor speed bump or if it develops into a legitimate swoon when they begin a weekend series at Dolphin Stadium tonight.
Catcher John Baker suggested that getting knocked around might be a useful wake-up call. "It teaches us a little humility," he told the Miami Herald. "They did to us what we've been doing to other teams. This stuff happens in baseball. You never want to get too high."
President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest stressed that it's important to step back and look at the bigger picture. "We wanted to get off to a good start and we have," he said. "Look at the way we've scored runs with speed. We're running the bases, taking the extra base. Those are some of the things we wanted to do. It can be a confidence-builder for the young guys."
The Marlins may not win the division, may not take the wild card. They have some issues. The bullpen has been spotty. In the last six games their rotation is 0-3 with a 6.47 earned run average. Against the Pirates they scored just six runs and batted .191 as a team. Six of their early wins came against the struggling Nationals. Leading hitter Jorge Cantu has a bruised wrist and is iffy for tonight.
But they're not a mirage and they're not going away. They will be a factor this season.
It's silly to even talk about an important series in April. Still, the Phillies are 4 1/2 games behind the Fish going into this weekend. And the Marlins are well aware that the defending world champions are coming to town.
"We can't hang our heads," said rightfielder Cody Ross after the final game in Pittsburgh. "We're going home to play the Phillies and we're excited about that. We've just got to move on."
The hot corner
