Cora: Friday's game made Ozzie's head throb

     Acting manager Joey Cora said Friday's 11-inning walkoff victory over the Astros was such a nailbiter that suspended manager Ozzie Guillen developed head pains because he was helpless to do anything about it.

      "He said it was a headache watching the game," Cora said. "It went 11 innings and there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't there. just watching. It's tough on him. He sounded better. But, like I said, it's tough for him not to be here with the guys."

      Cora would not say where Guillen watched the game but that he's anxious to return. Guillen has two more games remaining on his five-game suspension, and he'll be eligible to return on Tuesday when the Marlins open a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs.

      "He wants to be here. Badly," Cora said. "He's really looking forward to being with the boys in the new ballpark. He hasn't been in the new ballpark that much. We've got a new toy. He's got a new toy and he can't play with it yet. Tuesday he's going to get to play at least three games in a row for real. He'll get to manage his team in his new ballpark, his new toy, and he'll enjoy it."

       Cora said Friday's victory was "emotional for everybody because of what they've been through."

       "One thing we're going to suggest to Mr. Loria is I don't think there are going to be that many home runs hit in this ballpark, so if he's planning on using that thing (the home run sculpture), maybe it would be better to (turn) it on when we win games instead of only (when the Marlins hit) home runs," Cora said. There's a good possibility we'll win more games than (hit) home runs, the way it's playing now."

    _______________________________________________________

      Omar Infante isn't in tonight's lineup due to a slight groin injury. Infante and Cora said it is nothing major, but both decided it would be better to sit Infante for one game rather than risk aggravating it even further. Donnie Murphy will start tonight at second.

       "He's available, but we don't want to take any chances," Cora said. "Hopefully, tomorrow he'll start. If it was September in the middle of the pennant race, he would definitely be out there."

    ____________________________________________________________

      Heath Bell experienced a pitching first on Friday: walking three consecutive batters on just 13 pitches.

      "After I threw 13 balls, they were booing me pretty bad, like my days in New York," Bell said of the crowd. "And then I threw a strike and it was like we won the World Series. The biggest challenge for me this season is to win over the crowd. I gave them a taste of badness last night."

       Bell said he didn't think he was missing the strike zone by that much, but he refused to give in to Houston's young and relatively unfamiliar hitters by throwing a meatball down the middle of the plate.

        "If you want me to throw it down the middle, I could," Bell said. "But I didn't want them to hit a home run (with a pitch) down the middle with a young kid. I think young kids are looking for right down the middle. We haven't faced them a whole lot and they're all brand new -- they're the second youngest team in the big leagues right behind the Royals -- so you don't have a lot of history with them. You don't know what they're looking for in certain situations."

        Bell said he used every pitch in his arsenal, but to no avail. He got out of the bases-loaded jam when he got Carlos Lee to bounce out on a check swing.

        "I was very fortunate he swung at a bad pitch," Bell said. "It was frustrating for me. It's almost like I should have had (catcher John) Buck come out and say, 'This is how you throw a strike.'"

        Commented Cora: "Obviously we were a little bit concerned. But he got through it. He's a veteran. He knows what he's doing out there. So we let him go. He threw a zero. That's what he gets paid for."

       ____________________________________________

        Tonight's lineups (the roof and windows are presently open):

       Marlins: 1. Reyes, ss; 2. Bonifacio, cf; 3. Ramirez, 3b; 4. Morrison, lf; 5. Sanchez, 1b; 6. Coghlan, rf; 7. Murphy, 2b; 8. Hayes, c; 9. Zambrano, p.

       Astros: 1. Schafer, cf; 2. Lowrie, ss; 3. Martinez, lf; 4. Lee, 1b; 5. Bogusevic, rf; 6. Johnson, 3b; 7. Snyder, c; 8. Altuve, 2b; 9. Norris, p

       Umpires: HP -- Dana DeMuth; 1B -- Kerwin Danley; 2B -- Doug Eddings; 3B -- Paul Nauert.

Comments

[LIBERTAD!!!!!!!!]

FIRE OZZIE!!!!!!! VIVA CUBA LIBRE!!!!!!!

[mrs ozzie]

Ozzie's head was throbbing from drinking too many cuba libres during the game

[Glags]

The Heath Bell experience has not been what I expected. Might as well have Leo Oviedo Juan Nunez out there.

[Flagstafffishfan]

Boooooo Heath Bell! Unreal. Go mix drinks at the Clevelander.

[Flav C]

Glags, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, the position of "closer" is the one where we can't use the excuse "he will get better". There are no opportunities for error, and so far, errors are all Bell was able to give.

[To Hell With Miami Sports]

Heather Bell makes Jorge Julio look like Mariano Rivera. Easily the worst pitcher in the major leagues. But this is the piece of rhino phlegm to whom the Art Dealer, the Latent Team President and the Incompetent General Mangler chose to give money. Great going, guys. Trade away Miguel Cabrera for hippopotamus urine, but sign heartless, gutless oafs like Hanloaf Ramirez and Jose Reyes to huge deals, and shell out loads of money for a walking shoulder injury in Josh Johnson, an over-the-hill bum in Mark Buerhle and a never-was like Heather Bell. And this is what we tore down the Orange Bowl for? Everyone involved with the decisions that led to the Orange Bowl being torn down should be arrested, tried, convicted and summarily executed by firing squad at the site of the Miami Circle. Starting with the transexual currently running the University of Miami.

[To Hell With Miami Sports]

Oh, and Glags, the Heather Bell experiment has been EXACTLY what I expected.

[Flagstafffishfan]

The "closer" most overrated and overpaid position in baseball. Remember the days. When guys like Bruce Sutter would throw 2-3 innings for the "save"? I feel sick watching this after LoMo dropping a pop fly. Cmon time for that first HR!

[Glags]

I don't care about the stadium deal or the Carl Barger number change or the Fidel thing. I care about baseball and baseball only when it comes to the marlins. However, I do believe in Karma and I think all the ill will that people have wished upon the organization is coming to fruition. We are in for a loooong season.

[Flav C]

Phillies and Marlins fans, at this point, should hold hands and sing kumbaya.

[Glags]

You think MLB pitchers have figured out how to pitch to Stanton?!!! Also I've noticed Zambrano has been calm and collected. I'm going to say that changes if the bullpen blows another one of his games.

[Glags]

Correction not if but when

[Flav C]

Stanton is the one who hasn't figured out how to hit to MLB pitchers. He chases some bad pitches, its not even funny.

[Flagstafffishfan]

I feel like this team has been and continues to be undisciplined. They lack baseball smarts and maybe all this supposed talent won't ever come to fruition. It's funny to watch a similar fly ball that gets caught in the wind get handled by the Astros but LoMo can't reel it in. Myers comes in and it's 1-2-3, Bell imploded. I would be so f ing pissed if I were Loria but as long as the jerseys and arepas are selling who cares. However, this brand of baseball, sloppy, boring at times, injured, poor defense will leave that beautiful stadium empty by the all-star break. How bout sending a message to this team and having Cishek close a game or two and starting Kearns for a week in the outfield? Too comfortable. Houston will lose 90-100 games this year and this 100 million dollar team is struggling against them? Same pattern as last year...score runs early and then nothing...how long will we have to wait to see a Marlins hit a HR? Tired of the excuses too. Still early but holy sheet this is not the start I would have expected with the talent on this team. How short is the rope that Ozzie's on?

[Lucifer]

the curse of the Meeyami Marleens has only just begun.....El Diablo says"it will only get worse"

[Oney]

Ozzie switched from cuba libres to hitting the pipe.

[petey]

Lomo the Clown can't tweet the ball into his glove

[Stan M]

The stat heads were universal in condemning the Heath Bell signing.Blowing the game was disgusting. However, I'm particularly peeved at Cora for not replacing LoMo in the OF with a 3 run lead. Coghlan to LF and Kearns t RF.That was his job and he didn't do it. Give him credit for eventually pulling Bell. Closers are almost never taken out. He just did it one batter too late. And this attendance thing doesn't look good at all and the team's performance isn't helping matters. Ouch!

[Flagstafffishfan]

Good point Stan with not making any defensive moves by Cora.

[Flav C]

Stan, i posted here before how much Bell makes by inning pitched, and even compared to Halladay. Its a joke.

[Flagstafffishfan]

Still feel sick....should have been a W. Oh well a foot of snow in Flagstaff, AZ with my Marlins jersey and hat, glutton for punishment I guess.

[STFU]

omg STFU ABOUT CUBA NO ONE CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spitballer]

I bet Jack would have pulled Bell BEFORE the Astros tied the game. Pulling pitchers in the middle of the counts works more often than not.

[To Hell With Miami Sports]

Jack would've pulled Heather Bell and replaced her with Mike Mordecai. And, somehow, it would have worked. The Marloons, their ownership, their management, their manager and their players are absolute disgraces. Screw this disenfranchise.

[Glags]

To hell, as pissed off as I am you can't put this on Samson, Loria, Beinfest or Hill.. They did what they said they would do which was open up the wallet. All of this is in the players. Bell has been a pretty good closer, Jose has always been a good producer when healthy and they are counting on Hanley and Stanton to come up big. They got the players now they have to do their job. This isn't on the FO. To put things in perspective though Albert Pujols is hitting .250 and the Angels are 3-5.

[laurelbowie]

There is simply no way to explain the meltdown we witnessed in that 9th inning. This team isn't that bad, because NO team is THAT bad. I mean, catcher's interference? And even Lomo, as shaky as he is sometimes, is going to catch that fly ball 999 times out of 1,000. The real measure of the Marlins will be in how fast they can put that disaster behind them and go about beating the Astros and the Cubs, the two weakest teams they're going to face all year.