Fish Bytes

Could Gaby Sanchez be back in time for Gaby Sanchez t-shirt giveaway day?

Marlins catcher John Buck is used to having first baseman Gaby Sanchez nearby to talk to him in the clubhouse. Monday, Buck was using his iPhone to communicate with the recently demoted, former All-Star.

"I told him hurry up and get back here -- we need you," Buck said.

Although the clock is ticking, Sanchez could be back up from New Orleans by the time the Marlins wrap up their 10-game home stand against the Nationals a week from Wednesday (the first day he's eligible to be recalled). Coincidentally, that's also the same day the team plans to give away Gaby Sanchez t-shirts to the first 15,000 fans inside Marlins Park.

Sanchez, who was hitting just .197 with one home run and 11 RBI for the Marlins before being sent down, went 1 for 3 with a double and two RBI Sunday for Triple A New Orleans. It was his first minor league game since 2009.

> Although first base is the position he's been playing since he was in t-ball, Logan Morrison noted Monday it's going to take him a little time to get adjusted to "finding the bag" again.

Morrison, who made his third big league start at first base Monday night, got tangled up with reliever Randy Choate on a key double play the team was able to turn in the eighth inning Sunday against the Indians. Luckily for the Marlins, Morrison's stumble didn't lead to trouble. 

Morrison, who has made 206 of his 209 career starts in left field, was a pretty solid fielding first baseman in the minors with a .989 fielding percentage. He's made 10 errors in 383 chances in left field in the majors (.974).

> As for the shift the Indians employed against him to produce five groundouts over the weekend series, Morrison said he feels like he's figured that out after his big RBI double on Sunday.

"Just looking at film and stuff, I wasn't getting my foot down on time," Morrison said. "I had to rush everything to get the barrell of the bat to the ball. When you rush, your shoulders fly, your hips fly and the only place you hit it are ground balls that way."

> With Donnie Murphy just 3 for 30 at the plate this season (.100) entering Wednesday, it's not out of the realm of possibility Donovan Solano sticks around.

The 24-year old utility infielder was hitting .262 with 14 RBI in Triple A New Orleans and has more pop than you think. He hit eight home runs to lead the Columbian winter league six months ago. "I like to think of myself as a line drive hitter," he said Monday.

Solano, who led the Marlins with a .410 average this spring, said he was disappointed when he was told he wasn't making the team, but let it go because he knew he would get another chance.

"When [Guillen] spoke to me he was sad for me, said that it was something cruel to send me to Triple A. But that's baseball, those things are out of your control," said Solano, who became just the 12th Colombian-born player to reach the majors when the Marlins called him up Sunday. 

"A lot of the guys in here thought it was an injustice, but I just kept looking forward.  Now, I'm here and I want to make the best of it."

> Guillen said although he expects second baseman Omar Infante to return to the team Tuesday, he's prepared to be without him for the next three or four days. Infante left the team before Sunday's game to attend his grandfather's funeral in Venezuela.

Slo-Pitch Baseball: Mark Buehrle vs. Jamie Moyer

    The way Mark Buehrle sees it, the pitch-speed display should be recalibrated tonight when he takes on Jamie Moyer at Marlins Park. Instead of glowing red whenever a blazing fastball tops 95 miles per hour, it needs to be adjusted downward for the two slow-throwers.

     "They're going to have to turn it down," Buehrle said, laughing. "Light it up red when it's 75 or higher."

      Even then the thing might not glow "hot" very often, not with Moyer and Buehrle doing their thing. According to FanGraphs, Moyer's fastball this season is averaging 77.7 miles per hour. Buehrle's? A shade over 84. And that's their fastball. Their other pitches clock in even slower. Never mind a fancy radar gun. A metronome would work just fine with these two. Or a sundial.

     No wonder Buehrle was chomping at the bit just thinking about his matchup with the ageless Moyer, who at 49 years of age became the oldest pitcher ever to win a major league game when he registered a victory last month for the Colorado Rockies. Moyer turns 50 on Nov. 18.

      "I finally throw harder than the other starter!," Buehrle said. "We're going to turn it on. We're going to be lighting it up, like there's no tomorrow."

      Joked Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen: "It's going to be Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton -- gas! I know Buerhle's going to look like he's throwing 100."

       Buerhle says teammates sometimes tease him about his low-octane velocity.

       "I've been called Moyer before, guys joking around," Buehrle said. "They'll say, 'Your speed's getting close to his, or whatever. But it's what I've been dealt with. You see (Justin) Verlander. He throws a no-hitter every time. Well, if you had that kind of stuff, of course you should go out there and dominate every game with that stuff. I'd die to have that kind of stuff.

      "That's what amazes me (about Moyer). One, him being that old. And, two, throwing what he's throwing. With what he has and going out and getting guys out at his age...the speed he's throwing stuff up there....it's amazing."

       Moyer is so old that Guillen played against him. Went 4 for 22 against Moyer.

       "It's kind of weird," Guillen said. "Jamie Moyer went from bad to good to old. It's amazing what he's doing. Sometimes you just shake your head and say how does this guy do it? This guy throws 75 and he still gets people out. That's not easy. He knows how to pitch. He learned how to pitch."

        Buehrle doesn't usually pay attention to his pitch-speed readings on the scoreboard. Tonight he might take a peek.

        "Now I'm going to prove to the world that I'm not Moyer," Buehrle said. "I'm two miles an hour plus ahead  of him. I'll be yelling at him to throw fastballs, and throw harder, because I throw harder than he does."

        For once.