Two quick Tuesday AM notes:
### If you went to bed before 1 a.m., you missed another Steve Cishek meltdown.
He blew his fourth save in seven chances (and his second in two days), allowing a three-run homer to Scott Van Slyke in the ninth, giving the Dodgers a 5-3 win.
Christian Yelich had put the Marlins ahead 3-2 with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
"You just can't continue to let that happen," Fox analyst Tommy Hutton said. "It's devastating to a ball club. You've got to find somebody else to close games while Cishek irons it out. You have to make a change... You see fastballs up, you see sliders down over the plate."
Asked what he plans to do, manager Mike Redmond said: "I don't know. We'll figure it out. We can't keep blowing late leads.... Anytime you have leads late and can't hold onto them, it crushes you."
Cishek: "All I needed to do was get three outs and I continue to let the team down."
A.J. Ramos (1.06 ERA) is the top internal candidate to take over closer duties if Redmond removes Cishek (10.32 ERA) from the role, which is the obvious move at this point.
But the Marlins likely need to add bullpen help, whether it's a bid for free agent Rafael Soriano or through a trade.
Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton struck out three times Monday and is hitting .240. "Most of the pitches he's swinging and missing at are pitches out of the strike zone," Hutton said.
The Marlins fell to 15-18.
### Heat forward Chris Bosh will be part of a crew filling in for Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal and Ernie Johnson in TNT's studio for its playoff double-header Tuesday.
The usual TNT crew will be in New York for Turner's Up Front presentation.
Bosh will join Grant Hill, Isiah Thomas and host Matt Winer in Turner's studio for the Bulls-Cavaliers, Clippers-Rockets doubleheader.
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Tidbits on a Monday afternoon:
### Twenty six players tried out for the Dolphins this past weekend, as of 6 p.m. today, only one of them was offered a contract: Tim Semisch, a 6-8 tight end, who was a backup at Northern Illinois last season and has only 10 career receptions (for 100 yards).
But Semisch intrigued the Dolphins this weekend with his receiving skills. If he develops, he could become a red zone threat.
Miami's roster stands at the maximum of 90 after four moves today: the signing of Semisch, the claiming of offensive lineman Donald Hawkins off waivers from Dallas (where he appeared in one game last season); and the release of both tight end Ryan Taylor (who has appeared in 58 NFL games, mostly for Green Bay) and offensive lineman Mark Asper.
Hawkins went undrafted last year out of Texas, where he started at left tackle.
Here's how the roster stands on offense (This roster was released by the Dolphins before the Hawkins/Alper move, so disregard Alper below):
| MIAMI DOLPHINS POSITIONAL ROSTER | |||||||||||||||||
| As of May 8, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||
| NFL | |||||||||||||||||
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | DOB | Exp. | College | |||||||||||
| QUARTERBACKS (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| Freeman, Josh | QB | 6-6 | 240 | 1/13/88 | 6 | Kansas State '08 | |||||||||||
| Moore, Matt | QB | 6-3 | 220 | 8/9/84 | 8 | Oregon State '07 | |||||||||||
| Bethel-Thompson, McLeod | QB | 6-3 | 230 | 7/3/88 | 1 | Sacramento State ‘11 | |||||||||||
| Tannehill, Ryan | QB | 6-4 | 220 | 7/27/88 | 4 | Texas A&M '12 | |||||||||||
| RUNNING BACKS (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| Gillislee, Mike | RB | 5-11 | 216 | 11/1/90 | 3 | Florida ‘13 | |||||||||||
| Miller, Lamar | RB | 5-10 | 224 | 4/25/91 | 4 | Miami (FL) '13 | |||||||||||
| James, LaMichael | RB | 5-9 | 195 | 10/22/92 | 4 | Oregon '11 | |||||||||||
| Ajayi, Jay | RB | 6-0 | 216 | 6/15/93 | R | Boise State '15 | |||||||||||
| Williams, Damien | RB | 5-11 | 221 | 4/3/92 | 2 | Oklahoma '14 | |||||||||||
| WIDE RECEIVER (12) | |||||||||||||||||
| Jones, Christion | WR | 5-11 | 187 | 12/20/92 | R | Alabama '15 | |||||||||||
| King, Nigel | WR | 6-3 | 210 | 10/9/92 | R | Kansas '15 | |||||||||||
| Stills, Kenny | WR | 6-0 | 194 | 4/22/92 | 3 | Oklahoma '13 | |||||||||||
| Parker, DeVante | WR | 6-3 | 211 | 1/20/93 | R | Louisville '15 | |||||||||||
| Landry, Jarvis | WR | 5-11 | 202 | 11/28/92 | 2 | LSU '15 | |||||||||||
| McDonald, Tyler | WR | 6-3 | 190 | 5/9/91 | 1 | South Carolina State '13 | |||||||||||
| Matthews, Rishard | WR | 6-0 | 215 | 10/12/89 | 4 | Nevada '12 | |||||||||||
| Preston, Michael | WR | 6-5 | 213 | 6/1/89 | 3 | Heidelberg '10 | |||||||||||
| Byrd, LaRon | WR | 6-4 | 220 | 8/18/89 | 3 | Miami (FL) '11 | |||||||||||
| Hazel, Matt | WR | 6-1 | 202 | 1/23/92 | 1 | Coastal Carolina '14 | |||||||||||
| Jennings, Greg | WR | 6-0 | 195 | 9/21/83 | 10 | Western Michigan '05 | |||||||||||
| Aultman, Damarr | WR | 5-11 | 198 | 1/13/92 | R | Maine, '15 | |||||||||||
| TIGHT ENDS (6) | |||||||||||||||||
| Sims, Dion | TE | 6-4 | 265 | 2/18/91 | 3 | Michigan State '14 | |||||||||||
| Taylor, Ryan | TE | 6-3 | 254 | 11/16/87 | 5 | North Carolina '10 | |||||||||||
| Cameron, Jordan | TE | 6-5 | 249 | 8/7/88 | 5 | Southern California '10 | |||||||||||
| Stoneburner, Jake | TE | 6-3 | 249 | 8/25/89 | 2 | Ohio State ' 13 | |||||||||||
| Lynch, Arthur | TE | 6-5 | 255 | 6/17/90 | 1 | Georgia '14 | |||||||||||
| Robinson, Gerell | TE | 6-4 | 220 | 10/13/89 | 2 | Arizona State '13 | |||||||||||
| OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (15) | |||||||||||||||||
| Pouncey, Mike | C | 6-5 | 305 | 7/24/89 | 5 | Florida '11 | |||||||||||
| Walton, J.D. | OL | 6-3 | 305 | 3/24/87 | 6 | Baylor '09 | |||||||||||
| Walker, Aundrey | OL | 6-6 | 315 | 1/15/93 | R | Southern California '15 | |||||||||||
| Asper, Mark | T | 6-6 | 321 | 11/8/85 | 2 | Oregon '12 | |||||||||||
| Thomas, Dallas | G | 6-5 | 315 | 10/30/89 | 3 | Tennessee '13 | |||||||||||
| Savage, Dionte | OL | 6-4 | 343 | 2/10/92 | R | Oklahoma '15 | |||||||||||
| Brenner, Sam | C | 6-2 | 310 | 4/27/90 | 2 | Utah '13 | |||||||||||
| McClendon, Jacques | OL | 6-3 | 324 | 12/10/87 | 4 | Tennessee '09 | |||||||||||
| Baucus, Mickey | OL | 6-8 | 293 | 2/13/92 | R | Arizona '15 | |||||||||||
| Liedtke, Michael | OL | 6-3 | 305 | 1/15/92 | R | Illinois State '15 | |||||||||||
| James, Ja'Wuan | T | 6-6 | 315 | 6/3/92 | 2 | Tennessee '14 | |||||||||||
| Albert, Branden | T | 6-5 | 310 | 11/4/84 | 8 | Virginia '09 | |||||||||||
| Linkenbach, Jeff | OL | 6-6 | 325 | 6/9/87 | 6 | Cincinnati '09 | |||||||||||
| Fox, Jason | T | 6-6 | 310 | 5/2/88 | 6 | Miami (FL) '10 | |||||||||||
| Douglas, Jamil | OL | 6-4 | 300 | 2/28/92 | R | Arizona State '15 | |||||||||||
| Turner, Billy | G | 6-5 | 313 | 10/17/91 | 1 | North Dakota State '14 | |||||||||||
| PRACTICE SQUAD (0) | |||||||||||||||||
### We'll run the defensive roster later this week.
### So Tom Brady, suspended for four games, will miss one AFC East game (against Buffalo) but no games against Miami and the Jets. That compromises the integrity of the AFC East race, but it's unavoidable unless leagues start suspending players against specific opponents, which would set a dangerous precedent.
Unless the suspension is reduced on appeal, Brady will miss the NFL's Thursday night regular-season opener against Pittsburgh on NBC, CBS regional telecasts at Buffalo and Jacksonville and a CBS 4:25 p.m. double-header game against Dallas. (CBS also has Denver-0akland in the late window that day.)
Brady's return will be an NBC-televised Sunday night game at Indianapolis on Oct. 18.
The Patriots also were docked $1 million and must relinquish their 2016 first-round pick and 2017 fourth-round pick.
### Do not tell Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, under any circumstances, that he’s leading baseball in batting average at .439. Gordon, like Christian Yelich, goes out of his way to avoid seeing his batting average. “It’s not good for the mind,” Gordon explained.
Gordon has studied two excellent former leadoff hitters –-- Juan Pierre and Chone Figgins --- and keeps in touch with both. Gordon is so gifted that he said he believes he could have been an NBA player; Louisville coach Rick Pitino, a big Marlins fan and season-ticket holder, wanted to sign him as a point guard out of high school in Avon Park, Fla.
Why did he pick baseball? “My dad made me,” Gordon said. That would be former big-league pitcher Tom Gordon.
“You don’t want to put down anybody, but I think he’s a little bit better than what Jose Reyes was in his prime because he’s incredibly fast,” Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels told Philadelphia media.
### A high-ranking UM official who has spent time with new UM president Julio Frenk said he doubts Frenk will inject himself into decisions regarding the future of Al Golden if next season is disappointing and Frenk likely will defer to what athletic director Blake James believes is best.
### Charlotte (N.C.) based three-star center Ebuka Izundu will announce his college choice on Wednesday, and UM is a finalist with Arkansas and Cincinnati, according to the Charlotte Observer. He averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocks last season.
### DeAndre Burnett, who said recently that he's leaving the UM basketball team, announced on Twitter that he's transferring to Mississippi. A UM official said Burnett indicated he wanted more shots.
### Wonder how UM feels about this: Hallandale three-star cornerback Deion Jackson told Canesport's Matt Shodell that he is "75 percent" committed to UM but that if USC (his favorite team since 2004) should offer him, he would de-commit from UM. Temple is his only other offer.
Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
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