An Inning To Forget

The Marlins keep finding new ways to lose.

Undone by a brutal 4th inning which saw 8 consecutive batters come to the plate and 4 runs score without even recording an official at-bat, the Marlins lost 5-1. Through a myriad of walks, sacrifices, and errors, Saturday's 4th inning could be the worst in a long line of disastrous innings the Marlins have experienced this year.

The knee-jerk reaction would be to place blame on Carlos Zambrano for the loss, however, I am firmly entrenched in Big Z's corner right now. Keep in mind that Zambrano came over in the trade for Chris Volstad before the season. Zambrano has certainly performed better then Volstad and also brings more upside to the table. A lot of teams would dream of having a 5th starter in their rotation with as much potential as Carlos. He has gone through a string of rough outings but his play over his first 11 starts has been outstanding for a 5th starter.

The lone run for the Marlins came on a Justin Ruggiano solo homerun in the second. This allows us to talk about one of the few bright spots for the Marlins this year. Ruggiano has been nothing short of spectacular this season. He got his chance to play everyday when Bonifacio was injured and he has made it impossible for Guillen to not play him on a regular basis. Ruggiano has been a journeyman minor league player who has constantly found himself trapped behind entrenched major leaguer's in front of him. To say he has made the most of his first real opportunity would be an understatement. The question remains what will happen when Giancarlo Stanton comes back from knee surgery and resumes his patrol in right field. I would anticipate a righty/lefty platoon in left field with Logan Morrison but with the way Ruggiano is swinging the bat, he might be supplanting Morrison before long. Certainly Ruggiano would provide better defense then Morrison which is imperative considering the size of left field in Marlin's Park. Either way, Ruggiano continues to make his impact felt in a positive way for the Marlins this year.