Fish Bytes

Wood hoping to emerge from crowded bullpen

When Tim Wood made a trip out to California this past offseason to visit teammate Ryan Tucker, he returned home with a new and rather large tattoo on his left arm. The artwork, drawn freehand by a close friend of Tucker's, featured three baby angels and a message: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.

The 27-year old reliever is hoping it provides him with a little luck this camp. Wood is going to need it. Basically, the 6-1, 181-pound right-hander who got his first taste of the big leagues a year ago, is in a battle with 13 other guys for four bullpen slots. 

A year ago, he was called up by the Marlins on four different occasions and finished the year on the staff with a 2.82 ERA, 1.43 WHIP in 22 1/3 innings and 18 appearances. Next to Brian Sanches, who is expected to be this year's setup man, Wood turned out to be arguably the best bullpen arm added to the staff after the start of the season. But now, after the Marlins went out and signed Mike MacDougal, Seth McClung and Jose Veras (who finally arrived to camp Friday), Wood finds himself on the outside looking in and having to prove himself once again.

"I feel strong. My arm feels really good, body feels really good -- these games can't come soon enough," said Wood, a 44th round pick who spent 2 1/2 of his first four years in the system out with elbow and shoulder injuries. "[Manager] Fredi [Gonzalez] is going to take the best relievers he has, whether they're right handed, left handed or throw with both hands. He's going to take the best guys he feels he can win with. I strongly support that. It's what you have to do."

Still, that doesn't mean Wood doesn't want to make the team badly. He said he arrived in Jupiter on Jan. 1 and has been working out at the complex daily. The Marlins, he said, asked him to put on more weight (he added seven pounds) and work on his secondary pitches, a changeup and slider. He feels the changeup has gotten a lot better.

"Getting here is the easy part," Wood said. "But I want to stay. I want to do everything I can to make it happen. It's going to be a competitive camp. Now, I just have to go out there and do what I can do, get people out."

WEATHER MAN: Manager Fredi Gonzalez likes to have a little fun with the media every now and then with a little sarcasm. His best line from Thursday involved complimenting camp coordinator Carlos Tosca and his penchant for bringing in "great weather" for the first three days of full squad workouts.

"I don't know if you guys are baseball people or not, but Carlos Tosca -- this guy is good," Gonzalez said. "He goes out there [Wednesday], brings in the rain. We're going to play in the rain during the year. So, he brings in the rain just enough to let the guys know we're going to have to work through the rain through the course of the year. And then [Thursday] we have fly ball priority. So, he brings in the wind, the sun and no clouds. Perfect conditions for flyballs. [Friday] its going to get a little colder. We open in New York in April, so I mean this guy is unbelievable. He's got some pull."

WEDDING BELLS: Turns out there were at least three Marlins who said "I do" this offseason. Pitcher Andrew Miller, 24, said he tied the knot with his high school sweetheart, a Duke graduate, in a small ceremony on Amelia Island near Jacksonville. Miller, who went to North Carolina, joined first baseman Gaby Sanchez, 26, and reliever Dan Meyer, 28, as the recently married Marlins.

Donnelly (calf) heads to DL after loss

The Marlins lost more than an important 4-3 decision to the Atlanta Braves Saturday night. They lost a valuable member of their bullpen, too.

Brendan Donnelly, who has a 2.04 ERA in 21 appearances since the Marlins signed him July 5th, suffered a right calf strain in the eighth inning and is being placed on the disabled list.

The Marlins will make the announcement of who they are calling up Sunday morning, but it's likely either Tim Wood or Cristhian Martinez, who have done fairly well when they've been up in the big leagues.

Donnelly was the news. Chris Volstad's early troubles and home run woes continue to be the story. He gave up two long balls and four runs on four hits in the first inning, before settling down for the next three innings as the Marlins tried to play catchup.

Volstad said he can't put a finger on why he's given up 26 home runs this year when he was so good at not allowing many a year ago (three Hrs in 84 1/3 innings).

"I don’t know. It’s just the way the year is going I guess," Volstad said. "I don’t know how else to explain it. I don’t feel like anything has changed. Pitch location, I guess, I just haven’t been able to locate as well."

Manager Fredi Gonzalez said both of his home run pitches were up in the zone. But Volstad said he saw it on replay and says they weren't. "I watched both of them," Volstad said. "First one he did a good job getting on top of the pitch. It would have been a ball. The second one was a changeup down. Escobar did a good job keeping his hands back. It wasn’t my best changeup. It just kind of floated in there."

Here's an interesting Volstad stat I discovered during the game: He has given up 39 earned runs during within his first 30 pitches in 43.2 innings (8.03 ERA). But once he gets past 30 pitches, he's has been better, giving up 39 earned runs in 103.2 innings (3.40 ERA).

> Jorge Cantu got into Saturday's game and came up with a clutch two-run single during the Marlins rally in the sixth. But he still isn't over his neck pain.

"I’m just trying not to think about it. Even though I’m hurting a little bit, I’m just trying not to think about it and do the job," Cantu said. "I drove him in, but it doesn’t change the fact I’m not 100 percent yet. Hopefully, I’ll come back tomorrow and this thing will be gone. It’s tough to battle."

Did Lindstrom blow his shot at closing again?

Did Matt Lindstrom's rough outing Monday night dash his hopes of regaining the closer's role? Maybe. Maybe not.

His first three outings since coming back from the disabled list Aug. 1 had been pretty clean. His fourth, Monday night in the ninth, was just ugly. It lasted just a third of an inning and ended right after the Astros Carlos Lee doubled home two runs with line drive to center field. The Marlins defense didn't help him either. Dan Uggla made an error before Miguel Tejada singled an 0-2 pitch off him to bring Lee to the plate.

"Making a couple different pitches last night could have changed the whole thing," Lindstrom said. "Facing Tejada without a runner on base could have changed things too."

"I faced Carlos Lee in '07 and he hit a three-run homer off me. Same situation. I threw a fastball and he fouled it off. The next one, he hit it. [Monday] he knew [the fastball] was coming. He was cheating. I had a good slider yesterday. That's all I'm going to say."

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said he likes what he's seen from Lindstrom since coming back -- including velocity -- and said "for me, it's good progress." Lindstrom said he's not taking the rough outing as a setback.

"I had Tejada 0-2 and three pitches later I was sitting in the dugout," Lindstrom said. "It’s really not much I can do. I hit my spot. They came out and gave me the mound visit and told me how I should face Lee. He fouled off the first one, hit the other one and lined it in the gap. That was it. Not really much I can do. I was throwing the ball where I needed to throw it. My slider was good. It was one of those innings I guess.

"If I take it as a setback, it will be a setback. But if I go forward and just forget about it, then I don't think it will be a big deal. It shouldn't be. My stuff is there."

Matt Lindstrom goes on the DL (updated)

There won't be any scary ninth innings for the next six weeks with Matt Lindstrom. The Marlins just placed the right-handed closer on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow -- and according to manager Fredi Gonzalez its going to be awhile before we see him again.

Gonzalez said it will be four weeks before Lindstrom throws again and at least another two after that so he can get his arm ready to pitch. So, who replaces him as the team's closer? Not even Gonzalez is sure.

Lindstrom has been replaced on the roster by 6-6, 210 pound right-hander Chris Leroux, who was in Double A Jacksonville. Leroux is 3-2 this season with a 3.67 ERA and one save. Leroux was a seventh round pick in 2005. 

Tuesday, Lindstrom allowed four consecutive two-out ninth inning hits to the Orioles, and he was eventually charged with three earned runs. Sunday, he gave up three hits, one walk and two earned runs to the Yankees, picking up the shakiest of saves his 14 saves. Lindstrom's ERA is now 6.52 and his WHIP is 1.90.

As it stands, Leo Nunez is probably the best candidate to close while Lindstrom is out. But he won't be available for a day or two as he comes back from a sore right ankle. Kiko Calero, who was just placed on the DL this past weekend, could also be a candidate once he comes back. 

Burke Badenhop content with his role

Burke Badenhop could have gotten upset earlier this week when manager Fredi Gonzalez told him he was going back to the bullpen. After pitching five strong innings in a win over the Phillies, Badenhop could have asked Gonzalez to give him one more shot at his dream instead of handing the ball back to Anibal Sanchez Tuesday. But he didn't.

Instead, he returned to the role the Marlins set out for him in the spring -- long reliever -- and delivered once again Tuesday. He pitched five scoreless innings, giving up just one hit from the fourth through the eighth innings as the Marlins cruised to a 10-3 win.

So why is a 26-year old right-hander who started eight games for the Marlins in 2008 ok with taking a step back as the Marlins put together a talented young starting rotation? He sees value in his role.

"All my friends say 'You want to start, you want to start," Badenhop said. "I’ve always been a starter. That’s good, great and everything. But in certain capacities you do what you got to do. Hopefully, one day that can happen. But at this point now, I feel like I’m a valuable part of this team in whatever I can do. Whether its an inning here or five innings there, I feel like I’m versatile enough to handle it."

Versatile and valuable might be the best way to describe the sinker ball pitcher over the past few weeks. Since giving up four runs to the Dodgers on May 17th and seeing his ERA rise to 6.00, he's been rather dominant. Including his start in Philly, Badenhop has given up just two earned runs in 11 2/3 innings the last three times he's been handed the ball. His record has improved to 4-2 and his ERA has dropped down to 4.15.

"This is my job – to do what I’ve been doing," Badenhop said. "I’ve been put in a lot of different situations. I welcome those. Anibal [Sanchez] is one of our five starters. For our team to be really good, you need guys to be able to back them up in the bullpen and I hope to be available in whatever capacity."

The biggest problem now for Badenhop? Settling on a nickname. Manager Fredi Gonzalez has been calling him the Hopper since he first got called up to the big league club in April last year. But after pouring in a career-high five innings of relief Tuesday, teammate Ross Gload came up with another -- Dragon.

"In college, everybody called me Bades," said Badenhop, who was 9-2 with a 3.73 ERA at Bowling Green as a senior. "I kind of like Hopper. It's definitely better than Ross' nickname. I'm a skinny white guy with no tattoos and a pretty unsuspecting guy to be called Dragon."

> Expect to see Anibal Sanchez start Sunday -- despite his three innings and 71 pitches on Tuesday. Gonzalez said if it weren't for the fact Brewers fouled so many pitches off Sanchez early, he probably would have thrown fewer than 40 pitches in the first and would have been around longer. Gonzalez said Sanchez will probably be able to throw 85 to 95 pitches in his next start.

> When utility man Alfredo Amezaga first injured his knee rounding third base on May 16 against the Dodgers the feeling was he'd return in a few days. That timetable, however, keeps expanding. Amezaga, who has been on the disabled list since May 17, is nowhere near a return according to Gonzalez.

"We haven’t even spoken about him going any further than he is now, which is getting treatment and see how he feels," Gonzalez said. "We’ve seen improvement there, but nothing significant where you can say he’s going to say he’s going to get groundballs, he’s going to start hitting and he’s going to get a rehab assignment. We’re not even there with him yet. I couldn’t give you a timetable, a target date. It’s a deep bone bruise. Hermida had it two years ago and it took about a month. This may take as long as that. When you are dealing with bones it’s hard to give you a time table with how long it’s going to be."

As for left-handed pitcher Renyel Pinto, who has been on the disabled list since May 23 with elbow inflammation, Gonzalez believes there's a good chance he'll pitch off the mound before the team's 11-game homestand ends June 11th. At that point, the Marlins will reevalaute him. Pinto began playing catch on Monday.

WEDNESDAY'S LINEUP: Just one change. Cody Ross, who hit a grand slam and a made a diving catch in Tuesday's win over the Brewers, will get the night off and will be replaced by Alejandro De Aza in center.

Marlins: 1. Chris Coghlan LF, 2. Emilio Bonifacio 3B, 3. Hanley Ramirez SS, 4. Jorge Cantu 1B, 5. Jeremy Hermida RF, 6. Dan Uggla 2B, 7. John Baker C, 8. Alejandro De Aza CF, 9. Sean West P.

Ramirez likely out until at least Friday

PHILADELPHIA -- While manager Fredi Gonzalez said they could use Hanley Ramirez in a pinch-hitter role Wednesday, don't look for it to happen. The Marlins are more likely to give Ramirez the day off with the idea of having him return for the Mets series on Friday.

Gonzalez said one of the Marlins trainers felt a knot in Ramirez's groin Wednesday.

"It's still tight, pretty sore, which we expected today," Gonzalez said. "Maybe we could use him as a pinch hitter. But if we pinch hit for him, we have to pinch run for him. Hopefully today with the day off tomorrow he gets better with treatment and gets ready for this weekend. That's the best case scenario."

Ramirez was treated Wednesday, but did not swing a bat before the game. "Today, it feels better than last night," Ramirez said. "We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. When I come to the stadium on Friday, we’ll decide whether I play or not."

Bonifacio, who replaced Ramirez at shortstop in the third inning Tuesday, will start there Wednesday for the first time this season. Gonzalez has no worries about either. “That’s his natural position,” Gonzalez said. “That’s what he played coming up in the minor leagues. We’ve seen him take some ground balls. And he even played a couple innings there. It’s going to be an OK transition for him.”

> The Marlins recalled outfielder Brett Carroll from Triple A New Orleans before the game to replace reliever Chris Leroux, who was optioned back down to Double A Jacksonville after last night's game. It was a move made to strengthen the Marlins' bench, which will obviously be without Ramirez tonight.

As for Leroux, who gave up three hits and one earned over two innings, Gonzalez said he was encouraged by the outing.

“I told him I was impressed with what I saw,” Gonzalez said. “Mark Wiley told him there is no reason for you to have a 5.89 ERA in Double A. That was 95 miles per hour with a hell of a changeup. We challenged him to throw strikes and challenge people in Double A. There’s no reason he can’t dominate from what we saw here. He threw a couple of changeups to [Ryan] Howard and [Raul] Ibanez and it was like woah. The fastball has some life to it.”

> Marlins starter Josh Johnson said the blister on his right middle finger which cropped up over the last two three weeks isn't bothering him. “It’s good,” Johnson said. “I just trim it, try to make sure there are no sharp edges, things like that.”

Johnson has been dealing with the blister for the past few starts, but said he didn't think it had anything to do with his recent control problems. After walking six batters total in his first seven starts, he has now issued 10 over the past three. He'll pitch for the Marlins Saturday against the Mets.

Pinto's (elbow) MRI negative

PHILADELPHIA -- Renyel Pinto's stint on the disabled list isn't going to be very long. According to Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, the MRI on the left-handed reliever's elbow didn't reveal anything more than inflammation.

"We’re going to give him a couple days of not throwing and then get him cranked up again," Gonzalez said.

Pinto began his stint on the DL retroactive to May 23. In the meantime, the Marlins will continue to rely most on Dan Meyer and Leo Nunez (whom Gonzalez said negates lefties with his changeup) to handle left-handed hitters late in games.

Meyer, who has pitched in three straight games, will likely face one or two hitters tops Tuesday -- and Nunez will likely rest along with closer Matt Lindstrom. Both have pitched in three straight games. That leaves the Marlins bullpen pretty thin for tonight's game -- especially with Burke Badenhop making the start Wednesday. Look for Kiko Calero and Brian Sanches to see the bulk of the late inning work.

> Gonzalez said the reason he decided to put Emilio Bonifacio back at the top of the lineup Tuesday instead of keeping rookie Chris Coghlan (who went 2 for 5 Monday) there is because he doesn't want to lose Bonifacio's speed. "Boni's speed is his tool," Gonzalez said. "You put him eighth and you kind of negate it." Gonzalez said Coghlan is a good enough hitter to bat anywhere in the lineup.

> The Marlins could potentially tie a club record tonight -- one they set last year -- by hitting another home run. Wes Helms extended Florida's streak to 13 games last night with his fourth-inning blast off Jamie Moyer. The Fish have hit the fourth-most home runs in the majors since 2007.

> Wednesday starter Burke Badenhop will be on a 65-70 pitch limit. "He's hit 45 a couple times," Gonzalez said of Badenhop, who has worked in long relief stints all season. "We don't want to push it more than 65 or 70." Gonzalez said the Marlins will likely need Badenhop or another pitcher to fill in the fifth starter's role for another start until Anibal Sanchez, Rick VandenHurk or Ricky Nolasco are ready to fill the void by June 7th.

Proctor opts for season-ending surgery

The Marlins won't get a chance to see Scott Proctor pitch for them this season and they probably never will. Following a visit with Dr. James Andrews, the veteran right-hander has elected to have Tommy John surgery, effectively ending his season for the Marlins. It doesn't come as a surprise, but at least we now know its official.

The Marlins signed Proctor for $750,000 in the off season despite the fact he was coming back from surgery for a partially torn tendon. They were hoping he'd become one of their top setup men. Thankfully for the Fish, the bullpen has turned out just fine with the emergence of Kiko Calero, Dan Meyer and others.

Tonight's Marlins lineup in Milwaukee: Bonifacio, 3B; Hermida, LF; Ramirez, SS; Cantu, 1B; Uggla, 2B; Paulino, C; Ross, CF; Carroll, RF; Koronka, P

Martinez feels better this time around

The last time Carlos Martinez pitched for the Marlins in August 2007 it turned out to be one of the worst two-game stretches of his career. In two games, he pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up three home runs and got sent back to the minors before he could blink with a 13.50 ERA.

Two seasons later, he's getting his shot at redemption. The Marlins called up the 6-3, 200-pound hard-throwing, right-handed Dominican reliever Wednesday night from Triple A and there's a good chance he'll see his first action this afternoon against the Braves. Martinez, 26, believes this call-up will be different.

“The last time I was here I didn’t feel great because I had just had my operation,” said Martinez, who was coming off Tommy John surgery in 2007. “I felt like I had the confidence, but my pitches didn’t show it. I feel better this time. I’m ready.”

The Marlins, who have lost 11 of 15, are hoping for any kind of boost. Before his elbow troubles in 2007, Martinez looked good as a 23-year old with 96-mile per hour heat. In his midseason call-up in 2006, he pitched 12 games, 10 1/3 innings and compiled a 1.74 ERA with 11 Ks and six BBs. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Martinez could pitch as many as two innings an outing. Martinez was 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA in 12 games in New Orleans (Triple A) this season.

“He almost made the club in spring training. It was really close,’’ Gonzalez said. “He’s been pretty decently out in Triple A. I figure let’s give him a chance to come out and see what he has.”

With it looking more and more likely Scott Proctor could be done for the season with his own arm troubles, the Marlins could use a guy like Martinez to provide some relief to the pen. 

The Marlins' bullpen rank fourths in baseball in innings pitched with 96 1/3. Calero leads the majors in appearances (16) and lefty specialist Renyel Pinto is right behind him with 15 apperances. Leo Nunez and Dan Meyer each have 13 appearances. The Marlins pen also leads the majors in wins (9) and is tied for the league lead in strikeouts (89).

> THURSDAY'S LINEUP: 1. Bonifacio 3B, 2 Maybin CF, 3. Ramirez SS, 4. Cantu 1B, 5. Hermida LF, 6. Uggla 2B, 7. Ross RF, 8. Paulino C, 9. Sanchez P.

Proctor itching to help Marlins pen

CHICAGO – Marlins reliever Scott Proctor is in pain. No, it’s not his elbow. It’s the pain of having to sit and watch situations like Friday’s play out the way it did.

Proctor isn’t down on his teammates. He just wants to help the Marlins bullpen, which can get on a roll (remember that 20-plus scoreless inning stretch) and then frustrate fans like they did Friday when they blew a 5-2 lead against the Cubs in the sixth.

“It kills me sitting here and not being able to do anything,” said Proctor, who was signed by the Marlins in the offseason for $750,000 to contend for the role of setup man. “I just want to get out there already.”

Proctor, 32, had surgery in the offseason and pitched just once this spring before getting shutdown for the first month of the season. He likely won’t be back for another few weeks. But he said he threw 20 pitches on Friday and will rest Saturday before doing more long tossing on Sunday. In the meantime, he’s been passing the time by helping other in the bullpen work on their pitch selection.

The Marlins’ bullpen could certainly use another veteran arm available for relief. Hayden Penn and Burke Badenhop – two former starters – have certainly struggled in adjusting to coming out of the bullpen this season.

Penn, who had never pitched out of the pen in the majors until this season, has an 8.64 ERA in 8.1 innings and seven appearances. Badenhop, who had five appearances out of the pen aside from his eight starts last year, has a 9.00 ERA in four innings of relief this year.

How much could Proctor help? He’s pitched in more relief situations than any hurler on the roster, making 261 relief appearances in his five-year career. Right-hander Kiko Calero (259 appearances) is the only other pitcher with over 200 games of experience. Next in line? Left-hander Renyell Pinto (164), closer Matt Lindstrom (146), Leo Nunez (111) and Dan Meyer (23).