Marlins-Phillies home finale; Hanley takes BP, but will not start

Hey guys,

Andre Fernandez here filling in for Clark and Mike today at the ball park as the Marlins wrap up the home slate against the Phils.

Suffice to say if we thought the Fish couldn't lose before last night's game, they can afford it even less from here on. A loss today would put them 6 1/2 behind Philly and at least 5, maybe 6 behind the Mets.

A win keeps their faint hopes alive - 4 1/2 behind Philly, 4 or 5 behind Mets with a 3-gamer next weekend at Shea.

Hanley Ramirez is still not in the starting lineup but he did take batting practice for the first time since he's been out and hit a couple out and others toward the warning track. Ramirez has missed the past three games and is expected sit out again today, although he said if he felt good enough, he'd like to possibly come in and pinch hit.

Here are the starting lineups for today.

FLORIDA (81-73)

1. Cameron Maybin cf

2. John Baker c

3. Jorge Cantu 3b

4. Mike Jacobs 1b

5. Dan Uggla 2b

6. Josh Willingham lf

7. Cody Ross rf

8. Alfredo Amezaga ss

9. Chris Volstad p

PHILADELPHIA (87-68)

1. Jimmy Rollins ss

2. Chase Utley 2b

3. Jayson Werth rf

4. Ryan Howard 1b

5. Pat Burrell lf

6. Shane Victorino cf

7. Gregg Dobbs 3b

8. Carlos Ruiz c

9. Jaime Moyer p

Uggla and Hanley on verge of history

There has been a lot written about the Marlins’ ability to hit home runs this season, and now they are on the verge of pulling off a rare feat and rewriting a bit of baseball history.

            Shortstop Hanley Ramirez and second baseman Dan Uggla are about to go into the record book as the most powerful single season middle infielders to ever play for the same team.

When Ramirez hits his next home run – his 30^th –Uggla and Ramirez will become the first second baseman and shortstop to hit 30 home runs or more each for the same team in the same season.

            It’s never been done.

There have been only a handful of times in history that a shortstop and second baseman from any team hit 30 or more homers in the same season, including last season when Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins hit 30 home runs and Uggla hit 31 for the Marlins.

But the idea of it happening for the same team seemed ludicrous until Ramirez and Uggla showed up for the Marlins two years ago. They came close a year ago when Uggla hit 31 and Ramirez hit 29 home runs.

Uggla hit his 30^th homer on Saturday, and Ramirez has 19 games left in which to reach 30. Earlier in the season, it appeared as if Uggla and Ramirez might be the first pair of middle infielders on the same team to reach 40. They both went to the All-Star Game with 23 home runs each, and had a legitimate shot at 40 each, but their home run numbers have dropped considerably in the second half of the season.

            Ramirez can give the Marlins another distinction when he hits No. 30, joining first baseman Mike Jacobs and Uggla as the only three infielders on a National League team to hit 30 or more home runs. Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez were the only other trio to pull off the 30-homer seasons for the 2001 Oakland Athletics.

Hagen and Salisbury show up

Maybe it shouldn't surprise anyone to see the Marlins getting more attention from media outside South Florida.

It's a short train ride from Philly to New York, but two of the nation's finest baseball writers --- Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Dailey News and Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Enquirer -- showed up in New York Wednesday to work on stories about the Marlins.

Jacque Jones to become a Marlin

Jacque Jones will soon be playing center field for the Marlins. According to a Major League source, the Marlins are about to sign Jones, who was released by the Detroit Tigers earlier this season. The Marlins are expected to make an announcement in the next 48 hours.

The Marlins have been using the platoon of Cody Ross and Alfredo Amezaga in center field. Jones was hitting .165 when the Tigers released him. He is alifetime .278 hitter, and hit .285 with five home runs and 66 RBI with the Cubs in 2007.