Fish Bytes

Redmond: Hurricane Ivan took the sails out of the '04 Marlins

     CHICAGO -- Mike Redmond remembers the last time he was at U.S. Cellular Field in a Marlins uniform. Everyone with that team remembers. It was September of 2004 and the Marlins, the defending World Series champs, were in the wild card hunt.

     And then came Hurricane Ivan, which changed everything.

     The Marlins were already in Chicago facing the Cubs, who were also in the wild card race, when Hurricane Ivan formed in the Atlantic and began to head on a path toward South Florida. Concerned that the storm would hit at around the same time the Marlins were scheduled to play a home series against the Expos, the decision was made to play those "home" games at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the White Sox.

      "It was really weird," recalled Juan Pierre, who was also on that '04 team. "That's probably one of the weirdest games I've ever played in."

      The Marlins tried making it seem like a home game. They flew up their own organist. They flew up Billy the Marlin. But it wasn't the same. It was bizarre. The crowds for the two games -- on Sept. 13 and 14 -- were small (4,003 and 5,457). Out of their hatred for the Cubs, some White Sox fans turned out just to cheer on the Marlins. Cubs fans showed up to cheer the Expos.

      The Marlins won both games, but then collapsed, winning only seven of their remaining 21 games and dropping out of the wild card race. Right after playing the Expos in Chicago, the two teams flew to South Florida to play a doubleheader the next day.

       "I think it kind of wore us out," Redmond said. "I think we were all looking forward to going home. And then we ended up going home and having to play a doubleheader. I remember getting home realy late and playing a doubleheader the next night, and I think it just wore us out. We were already kind of on fumes coming in. We had really fought hard to get back in it. And I think that was kind of the last straw where we ran out of gas. After that, we didn't play well."

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       It's unseasonably chilly here, so chilly that they've brought in space heaters to warm the Marlins dugout.

       Kevin Slowey played catch earlier today and said he is good to go for his next start. Slowey came out of his last start with a lat injury, but said it wasn't severe.

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       Casey Kotchman (hamstring) made his first rehab start Thursday for Single A Jupiter and went 1 for 5. But another hamstring casualty, first baseman Joe Mahoney, complained of soreness after playing his first rehab game for the Hammerheads earlier in the week. Redmond said Mahoney will "back off" for a few days before returning to action.

       Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to make his first rehab start for Jupiter on Saturday. He is expected to throw 60-70 pitches.

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       Alex Sanabia said he had no idea that spitting on a baseball is prohibited.

       "I didn't know it was illegal," Sanabia said Friday, four days after videotape captured the pitcher spitting on the baseball after giving up a home run to the Phillies' Domonic Brown. "I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. That's why I I openly did it."

       Sanabia said he did what he did because the ball was slick.

       "I wanted to get more grip," Sanabia said. "The next thing you know, I started getting messages saying you're on TV for spitting on the ball. I said 'You can't do that?' Well, apparently not. I don't read the rules, bro. My job is not to read the rulebook for (expletive) rule 821.29. Well now I know. I guess I should have known that, but I didn't. I'm pretty sure if I wanted to cheat, I wouldn't have rubbed it up the way I did. I would have just left that big ol' wad of spit on there and just threw it. But that wasn't the case."

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       LINEUPS:

       Marlins: 1. Hechavarria, ss; 2. Polanco, 3b; 3. Dietrich, 2b; 4. Ozuna, rf; 5. Ruggiano, cf; 6. Coghlan, lf; 7. Olivo, dh; 8. Green, 1b; 9. Mathis, c. P -- Koehler.

       White Sox: 1. De Aza, cf; 2. Ramirez, ss; 3. Rios, rf; 4. Dunn, dh; 5. Konerko, 1b; 6. Viciedo, lf; 7. Gillaspie, 3b; 8. Keppinger, 2b; 9. Gimenez, c. P -- Danks.

Marlins Face White Sox -- Minus Ozzie Guillen

TWITTER: @GeorgeRichards

How much fun would it have been had the Marlins gone to the south side of Chicago this weekend with Ozzie Guillen still managing?

Guillen, fired after one season with the Marlins, managed the White Sox for eight colorful seasons in which he won a World Series but also openly feuded with members of the media as well as players and front office staff.

On Wednesday, Guillen told the Jonathon Brandmeier Show on Chicago's WGN 720-AM it is a little strange being out of baseball. Guillen signed a four-year deal with the Marlins and is still being paid "a lot of money" by the organization.

"If I said I didn't miss it, I would be lying,'' said Guillen, who managed the Marlins at Wrigley Field last year but the team didn't visit the Sox.

"Things are better and simpler without the stress. But you miss the players, being around people, being on the field. My family has made it easier. I've been traveling a lot.''

Guillen also added that when you Google his name, the first thing that pops up "are Fidel Castro pictures. That's stupid, but it is what it is.''

Guillen also said the Marlins told him he should buy a house in Miami -- something that sounds a little familiar.

Guillen, like Jose Reyes, didn't take that advice.

The third-base coach for the Marlins' 2003 championship team, Guillen said he had a house in the Miami area that he sold while managing the White Sox.

"I've lived in Miami, but I'm not a Miami type of guy,'' Guillen said. "You need to be single. Then you'll have fun. .-.-. In Miami, you can walk around and no one knows who you are unless you are Shaquille O'Neal or LeBron.''

COMING UP
-- Friday: Marlins RHP Tom Koehler (0-2, 2.82 ERA) at Chicago White Sox LHP John Danks (3-4, 5.70 in 2012), 8:10 p.m., U.S. Cellular Field.

-- Saturday: Marlins RHP Ricky Nolasco (3-5, 3.96) at Chicago White Sox RHP Jake Peavy (5-2, 3.31), 7:15 p.m., U.S. Cellular Field.

-- Scouting report: The Marlins went 2-7 on their previous homestand and have lost two straight. Koehler had the best start of his career last week against the Diamondbacks when he gave up a run off three hits with seven strikeouts in six innings. Miami lost that game 1-0.

PHOTO: Al Diaz, Miami Herald Staff

REDMOND: Joe West Saw Sanabia Spit, Nothing Happened

TWITTER: @GeorgeRichards

Marlins manager Mike Redmond said Tuesday that he didn't see pitcher Alex Sanabia spit on a baseball on Monday night -- but first base umpire Joe West did.

According to Redmond, West didn't say anything but tossed that ball out of play.

Redmond doesn't expect anything to happen to Sanabia since West didn't even mention it.

Sanabia declined all interview requests on Tuesday.

Video captured from Monday's Philadelphia broadcast briefly showed Sanabia spitting on a new baseball tossed to him moments after Domonic Brown deposited the previous one in the sparsely-filled right field seats.

Sanabia was seen vigorously rubbing down the ball as Brown rounded the bases, with one teammate joking "it was bone dry" afterward anyway.

Redmond said he didn't realize anything out of the ordinary -- and I'm not sure this is anything but ordinary save for it being caught on video -- until he saw the video later on.

"At the time it didn't make sense, but now it kind of does,'' Redmond said of West tossing the ball after the homer.

"Joe made him throw that ball out. I was wondering why. He must have seen him. I don't think [Sanabia spitting] was intentional. He rubbed the ball and I think he did it without knowing. Joe saw it and threw the ball out.''

-- Redmond said Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) would take live BP on Wednesday and begin "functional running.''

Stanton has been taking batting practice in the cage. "He's cleared to hit,'' Redmond said.

Logan Morrison made his first start of his rehabilitation from knee surgery on Monday and went 2-for-5 for Single-A Jupiter.

Redmond said Morrison would be the designated hitter for the Hammerheads on Tuesday before playing first base on Wednesday. Redmond is expected to be back in the coming weeks.

Did Alex Sanabia spit on baseball?

     Did Alex Sanabia slobber all over the baseball last night after giving up a home run to the Phillies' Domonic Brown? Based on the video from the Phillies broadcast (click here to watch it), it sure looks like it.

     The video appears to show Sanabia spitting on the ball (about the 15 second mark on the video), then rubbing it with his hands after Brown's second-inning homer. Umpires obviously didn't notice it. Otherwise, they likely would have asked for the ball and warned the pitcher -- at the minimum.

     (Here's the applicable rule: 8.02 (a) (2) The pitcher shall not expectorate on the ball, either hand or glove.)

     According to MLB, the rule "gives the umpire the discretion to either eject the pitcher immediately if he thinks he is attempting to alter the characteristics of a pitched ball or warn the pitcher against doing this if he does not see any intent to do anything sinister with the baseball."

     According to a source I spoke with, crew chief and first base umpire Joe West was apparently alert to Sanabia and eyeballing him with extra scrutiny throughout Monday's game.

     "He was staring holes through him," the source said of West.

     The source said that, at one point in the sixth inning, West became suspicious and ordered Sanabia to throw out a ball he was holding. Sanabia obliged and tossed it into the Marlins dugout before being given a replacement.

     While Sanabia ended a five-game losing streak with the victory, it wasn't like his pitches were dancing and weaving all over the place, fooling the Phillies hitters. He struck out only two batters of the remaining 15 he retired.

     Since Sanabia's alleged spitting episode went undetected by the media, he wasn't asked about it after the game. You can bet he'll be asked to talk about it when the clubhouse opens this afternoon.

Redmond: Steve Cishek to share closer's role for now

      Chad Qualls -- not Steve Cishek -- would have taken over in the ninth inning Monday even if it had been a save situation, and manager Mike Redmond acknowledged afterward that the role will be shared, at least for now.

       "We're going to use everybody," Redmond said.

       Redmond made it clear that Cishek hasn't lost the job entirely. But he also indicated that he also plans on using Qualls and Mike Dunn in the ninth. Dunn closed out Sunday's win when Cishek faltered in the ninth.

        "We're going to use Cishek," Redmond said. "He's still going to close games. Quallsy might close some games. Dunn might close some games. They're all going to contribute."

        Cishek has been struggling in the role this season, and his lack of success against left-handed hitters has been pronounced. Redmond said he believes part of the problem is that, due to a lack of save chances, Cishek just hasn't been able to pitch enough and develop a rhythm.

         "We haven't had that many save opportunities and we need those guys to pitch," Redmond said. "We need Cishek to go down there and log some innings."

         Redmond also said that Qualls was going to pitch Monday no matter what because he hadn't pitched in five days and needed work. He was warming up when the Marlins were hitting in the eighth with a 2-1 lead.

Marlins place Matt Diaz on DL, call up OF Jordan Brown

      The Marlins have placed Matt Diaz on the disabled list with a bruised left knee and called up outfielder Jordan Brown from Triple A New Orleans to take his spot on the roster.

      Diaz hasn't played a whole lot since receiving his call-up, going just 3 for 18 overall. But Diaz was 2 for 7 with a RBI as a pinnch-hitter.

      Brown, 29, appeared briefly in the majors with Cleveland in 2010, hitting .230. With New Orleans this season, he was hitting .261 with one home run in 119 at bats.

      In other news, the Triple A Zephyrs activated third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had been on the DL.

Marlins lose first 9-inning MLB game in 50 years decided on 1st pitch HR

       Leave it to the Marlins to find a new -- and very rare -- way to lose. They dropped a 1-0 decision to Arizona on Saturday on Gerardo Parra's home run off Tom Koehler on the very first pitch of the game.

       That doesn't happen often.

       Heck, according to Stats LLC, it hasn't happened in any MLB game since 1993 and, wouldn't you know it, the Marlins were involved in that one, too. The Marlins are "celebrating" their 20th anniversary season this year, so why not replay the memories?

      In September of the Marlins' inaugural season, Pittsburgh's Carlos Garcia went yard on Chris Hammond's first pitch at Joe Robbie Stadium, and the 1-0 score held up.

       But there was just one tiny extra detail to that particular game. It was called after six innings due to rain.

        The last 9-inning game to result in a 1-0 score in which the only run came on a first-pitch homer? Stats LLC's records for that particular stat only go back to 1988 and, according to their information, Saturday's game was the ONLY such 9-inning game decided that way over the past 25 years.

      [11:59 p.m. update: ESPN is reporting that, according to Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a 1-0, 9-inning game was decided on a home run hit on the first pitch of the game was 1963. Rookie Pete Rose of the Reds hit the homer off Jay Hook of the New York Mets].

       "At least I made history," Koehler said self-mockingly.

      Needless to say, Koehler wasn't happy with the first ball to leave his hands, a middle-of-the-plate fastball to Parra, a notorious first-pich swinger.

      "He's a 40-percent first-pitch swinger, which is pretty high, even for a leadoff hitter," Koehler said. "I was trying to throw a first-pitch strike, but I don't think you could put it on a tee any better. He swings first pitch and he got exactly what he was looking for and took care of it. It turned out to be the deciding run of the game."

Jon Rauch sent packing; Marlins call up Duane Below

      The Marlins designated reliever Jon Rauch for assignment following Friday's loss and called up left-handed pitcher Duane Below from Triple A New Orleans.

       Rauch entered Friday's game in the eighth inning, but  failed to retire any of the four batters he faced in the ninth before being taken out for Ryan Webb. In 15 appearances for the Marlins, Rauch went 1-2 with a 7.56 ERA. Rauch was charged with two runs in the 9-2 loss.

       Below, a left-hander, was claimed not long ago by the Marlins from the Detroit Tigers, where he spent parts of two seasons, going 2-3 with a 4.06 ERA in 41 appearances, including three starts.

       Below had been starting at New Orleans, where he was 2-2 with 3.38 ERA in four starts.

11 hits + 0 runs = New Marlins Record

      The Marlins hit another new low, collecting 11 hits yet failing to score in their 4-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Never before in Marlins history has that happened. In fact, the previous team record for most hits in a game without a run being scored was nine.

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H
1	2013-05-15	MIA	CIN	L 0-4	39	36	0	11
2	2008-04-12	FLA	HOU	L 0-5	41	35	0	9
3	2007-06-03	FLA	MIL	L 0-3	37	36	0	9
4	2002-09-06	FLA	PIT	L 0-11	34	31	0	9

     The last time any major league team had exactly 11 hits but came up empty was on July 17, 2010, when Washington had 11 hits in a shutout loss to the.....Marlins. Those were the days, my friend. The big-league record for most hits without managing to score: 15 by the 1918 Boston Braves, according to records kept by baseballreference.com

      In addition to the 11 hits, the Marlins also had three other batters reach, two on walks and another on a hit batsman. But they left 12 on base by going 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Lineup is a Ditto for First Time

      Maybe it's the new digitial display board inside the Marlins clubhouse. Maybe manager Mike Redmond and his staff haven't yet figured out how to play with the lineup using the device, which is hung from a wall just inside the clubhouse door, the same spot where the handwritten lineup card was traditionally displayed for players to see.

      Or maybe Redmond just became tired of changing it night after night, game after game. Tonight, for the first time all season, the Marlins will roll out the same lineup that was used the previous game.

      "I sit in there everyday for an hour and try to figure out what I'm going to do," Redmond said. "A lot of it's been the same guys. It's just been different (lineup) positions. I've tried to mix guys around, tried to get them going, and it hasn't really mattered. I think at this point we just go with guys we think fit the best and just let 'er rip. Tomorrow it could be totally different."

      In fact, Redmond said Thursday's lineup would be different. Catcher Jeff Mathis, just back from the disabled list, will receive his first start behind the plate. But for one day, anyway, the lineup was the same as the one before it, with rookies Derek Dietrich and Marcell Ozuna batting third and fourth, respectively.

      The Marlins trotted out a major league leading 38 different lineups in their first 39 games.

      Tonight's lineups:

      Marlins: 1. Pierre, lf; 2. Polanco, 3b; 3. Dietrich, 2b; 4. Ozuna, rf; 5. Ruggiano, cf; 6. Dobbs, 1b; 7. Hechavarria, ss; 8. Brantly, c; 9. Sanabia, p.

      Reds: 1. Choo, cf; 2. Izturis, ss; 3. Votto, 1b; 4. Phillips, 2b; 5. Bruce, rf; 6. Paul, lf; 7. Hannahan, 3b; 8. Mesoraco, c; 9. Leake, p.

      Umpires: HP -- Tichenor; 1B -- Scott; 2B -- Miller; 3B -- Bucknor.

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      Redmond said Logan Morrison (right knee) will likely play a couple of more games at extended spring before heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment next week. Morrison has started playing some first base up in Jupiter.

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      No major developments with Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) who played a little catch on Wednesday but hasn't started jogging yet.

      "I'm sure I'll be able to hit way sooner than I'll be able to run," Stanton said.

      Stanton said he doubts he'll miss as much time with his hamstring injury as first baseman Casey Kotchman has so far with his. Kotchman has been out since the second game of the season but should start his minor-league rehab assignment within the coming week.

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      Christian Yelich went 3 for 6 with a pair of homers and a double on Wednesday for Double A Jacksonville.

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