Tagged: Heath Bell

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

We had to get a “W” before I could talk to you guys again! It’s just too hard to write when we hit a rough patch. May was very good to us and June has been very bad, but it’s not over yet. It sounds dumb, but we need to finish strong. There is still a lot of baseball to be played. It’s usually the goal of most teams to hit the All-Star break with a winning record, or something close to it. The closer we are to that at the break, the better we will feel.

I have said it before many times: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Right now, I’m just glad we are done playing the American League and that we have some divisional opponents coming up. Playing well against the division is the best way to make up some ground quickly.

Guys are starting to swing the bats better. Heath Bell had a rough outing the other night, but we gave him the ball again last night and he got the job done. We have Boni (Emilio Bonifacio) coming back, and when you have a guy like that coming off the DL, it can be just as good as a trade. We are going to need him if we are going to make a run at this thing.

Don’t give up on us yet, there are a lot of games left. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Winning is the best medicine

Winning is the best medicine, even if it isn’t pretty. I have been saying it all along; it is by far the best thing in sports. Winning makes everything better. You end up liking your family and wife more when you’re winning, and it’s more fun to go to work. Winning can cure all.

I had no clue until our day off yesterday that our road trip was the best in Marlins history. I hope people don’t expect us to keep that pace (haha). Winning in the Major Leagues is so hard; in this sport anything can happen on a daily basis. Winning on the road is even harder, so when you can win on the road it becomes extremely important for your success.

I’m glad we got Heath Bell back on track and throwing the ball well. JJ (Josh Johnson) looked better and the rest is obvious: Our pitching staff has been outstanding. We are back in Miami tonight with Johan Santana vs. Mark Buehrle, just like old times. It should be fun and I look forward to seeing everyone out there.

A very busy time

Wow, are the Holidays crazy! The Panama trip was insane, what a special place. I think just about all of you heard that the Winter Meetings went pretty well for the Fish. I’m very happy the Marlins showed the world just how serious they are about winning.

I hope the city of Miami will react nicely to the new Miami Marlins. Of course, one way to take care of that is to win consistently. Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle will be great additions to our team. Apart from being great baseball players, they are extremely good people and very fun to be around. They also have a lot of stones, so it will be a lot of fun to see.

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for Spring Training to start. Usually I do it to get away from my wife for a little while, but man, this is going to be completely different. It’s very special. It’s going to be fun, and as I have been saying, everyone on the team just needs to have some fun and win games. That’s what it’s all about.

Today is a big day for Team Pepsi in Caracas, Venezuela. We are having our annual home run derby with the Venezuelan stars. Andruw Jones is also coming in to town because that’s what friends do, they help each other out! Last year it rained, so this year it had better not. I’m hoping and praying for a good day.

I will keep you guys posted with pictures of the event later this week. Very excited to see D-Rose (Derrick Rose) play on Christmas Day!