Fish Bytes

Giancarlo Stanton chosen for HR Derby

       Giancarlo Stanton landed a ball in the center field upper deck seats at Marlins Park during batting practice a moment ago, leaving his teammates in disbelief. Stanton will put his power on national display in the Home Run Derby in Kansas City on July 9.

       "We're in there," Stanton said, confirming the news, as he trotted off the field following B.P.

       Stanton, who blasted his 17th home run on Tuesday, a 456-foot bomb off the batter's eye in center, will become the fifth Marlin to participate in the Derby, which is the main appetizer heading into the July 10 All-Star Game.

       "I love his chances," said Marlins coach Joe Espada, who throws batting practice to Stanton. "This guy has the best chance to win the Home Run Derby because he can mishit the ball and it's going to go over the fence."

       "Everybody's waiting to see this kid on that kind of stage," Espada said of the Marlins' 22-year-old slugger. "Everybody's talking about it. I'm waiting for it. He'll play to the crowd, the oohs and ahhs. He'll get it going. It'll be fun."

      Stanton was invited to participate by the Dodgers' Matt Kemp, who was put in charge of choosing the National League's four-man team.

      Previous Marlins to take part in the Home Run Derby were Gary Sheffield (1996), Miguel Cabrera (2006), Dan Uggla (2008) and Hanley Ramirez (2010).

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      Jose Fernandez, the Marlins' top draft pick last year, is scheduled to make his debut for Single A Jupiter on Thursday at Roger Dean Stadium. Fernandez was just promoted from Single A Greensboro, where he received All-Star honors by going 7-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 14 starts and striking out 99 in 79 innings. Start time is 6:35 p.m.

Front office execs summoned to Miami to discuss fading Marlins

     At least three top roving baseball executives for the Marlins have been summoned to Miami for a meeting, presumably to talk about what can be done to reverse the team's June nosedive, which is now nearing terminal velocity. The Marlins have lost 17 of their past 20 games, plummeting from a first-place tie in the National League East on June 3 to sole possession of last, nine games out.

     While one source said the meeting is common practice as the season approaches the halfway point, another said it is anything but as the front office scrambles for solutions to end the skid. They'll also discuss what direction to take in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. Arriving to South Florida for the meeting, which was scheduled for today, are assistant general manager Dan Jennings, vice president of player development Marty Scott and senior advisor to player personnel Orrin Freeman.

     They are expected to meet with the Miami-based front office contingent of club president David Samson, president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and general manager Michael Hill -- among others -- to discuss the team's rapidly deterioriating prospects. Owner Jeffrey Loria is not in Miami but could participate via conference call.

     After losing to the Cardinals on Tuesday, the Marlins -- a team most picked to contend for at least a wild card playoff spot after spending lavishly on free agents over the winter -- dropped to six games below .500 for the first time since they were 8-14.

     The Marlins have been outscored 144-74 this month, producing an overall negative run differential on the season of minus 68. Only the lowly Twins (-88) and Padres (-79) rank lower. The Marlins and Royals are the only two teams in the majors that have yet to score as many as 10 runs in a game. Yet the Marlins have given up 10 or more runs seven times.