Throwdowns > Completed

Views
8
Comments
11
  • May 25, 2008 12:49 PM ET

Who will finish with a better record? The Tampa Bay Rays or the Florida Marlins

Mike4redsox: So long guys (61-71-16) vs Dyhard:Homecoming Week (248-184-35)
3
Votes
10
Votes
3
Votes
10
Votes


I know most people would take the Rays here but I'm taking the Marlins.
Here's Why:

The Marlins have some great hitters including young talent Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez. Uggla is hitting like last year's Prince Fielder and Hanley is a base-stealing, run-driving, great-fielding machine. Jeremy Hermida is also a great addition to the batting order, and once Josh Willingham comes back from being injured. This lineup will be a dangerous one.

Marlins pitching is suprisingly good this year.

Matt Hendrickson is doing great so far with a 6-2 record and a 3.74 ERA.
Scott Olsen is 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA
Andrew Miller is 4-3 with a 5.33 ERA
And Ricky Nolasco is 3-3 with a 4.62 ERA

The fact of the matter is that all of these guys are doing better than they were projected to do. None of them have an ERA over 5.50 and all of them have at least 29 Strikeouts so far.

They also have an extremely underrated closer in Kevin Gregg.
So far this year he is 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 9 saves. In 24 innings pitched he only allowed 6 Earned Runs.

I think the Marlins finish .500 or just above .500.


I'm picking the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays have good talent in the batting order and in the pitching squad.

I'm going to start off my argument with the batting side of it.

Carlos Pena is a good 1st baseman with a lot of power, and is a good player, that helps out a lot. They have a young Evan Longoria who has been helping out the Rays this season, and will for the rest of the season (ROY?). Akinori Iwamura is a good player, who can hit for contact, and has some power in him too. Carl Crawford, who has a lot of speed, and can hit for contact very well. Jonny Gomes is a good ballplayer who supplies the Rays with a lot of hitting talent. B.J. Upton, who is Justin Uptons older brother, and who players like his younger brother. They have other good hitters on their team.

Pitching is another key component of why the Rays will finish with a better record. Scott Kazmir, who is a very good pitcher, and is a huge key to this starting rotation. They have James Shields, who is a great pitcher this year, and will be for the rest of the year. Matt Garza, a young pitcher, has a lot of talent in him. Troy Percival has been doing really well closing out games.


The Rays are in a very tough division. Where everyone is playing around .500 ball and really no weak teams based on play so far. New York always makes a nice run despite their slow start so you knowthey will give the Rays some losses. They still have 7 series to play against the Red Sox and Yankees this year. Bottomline: The Rays are playing well but the division is much too strong for the Rays to keep this act up

Season Prediction
79-83

The Marlins are one of the strongest at home and on the road this year. They are one of 5 teams in the MLB that have a winning record on the road. Florida also has a solid bullpen:
6-4, 3.48 ERA, 103 K's, and 66 Walks.

As you can see, this bullpen has done much better than they did last year and with less weapons.

The Marlins are also in a tough division, but the Nationals are a very weak team, the Mets are struggling, and against division opponents the Marlins are 12-5. An outstanding record against one of the toughest divisions in baseball.

Season Prediction:
82-80


The Rays are in a tough division and have been able to be in first. The teams aren't really playing that well...but do you think they are playing that well in the NL East? No, they are playing under par in both divisions, and when the teams play like they are suppose to play, the Marlins are going to lose a lot, and the Rays are going to have the better record.

The Rays have better pitching, and can control teams better than the Marlins can. Yes, they might be playing well now for the Marlins, but they aren't going to keep that up. The Rays have good starters, who will keep up what they are doing. Scott Kazmir, who also had a chance to win the AL Cy Young last year, they have James Shields who is a very good pitcher, who is underrated and not that well known for his good talent.

That winning record on the road will catch up to them, and they will start losing more and more games.

The bullpen is doing good this year, but they will fall down as they get farther into the season. That isn't the case with the Rays though. Their bullpen will falter a little, but they will still keep their feet up.

You just said the NL East is struggling, so 12-5 isn't impressive.


I said the Mets were struggling, not the NL East. There's 3 teams playing well in the NL East right now and that hardly makes it struggling. The Marlins are playing great against the Braves and the Mets (they have yet to play the Phillies) and the key thing here is that they have not yet lost a series against a division opponent.


How do you know if the Marlins bullpen will falter? The Rays have a young bullpen just as the Marlins do and I think will falter down the stretch too.

The Marlins have been swept only once and only have been shutout twice. Their offense is kicking, their defense is solid, and their pitching is great. They have two MVP Candidates in Uggla and Ramirez and more young talent in Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida. Again, another key hitter in Josh Willingham should be healthy soon, and he will add another dangerous threat to this already great batting order. The Marlins will finish with a better record than the Devil Rays.


Well...the NL East is struggling, and that is the main reason why the Marlins are doing well right now. The Braves are okay...the Phillies are okay, and the Mets suck. THe Marlins are the only team that is doing good in that division.

The Marlins have yet to play the Phillies, so they don't know what to expect from them yet. When they play the Phillies for the first time this year, they will be able to know all the teams, and it would be easier to dissect the NL East finishes.

It is still early, but the Marlins don't really seem to have a good chance to win the division.

The Rays will falter too....but the Marlins don't seem that they will last as long. Plus, the hitting is young and doesn't look like it will last the entire season. The Rays have veterans that will build up the younger players, and it will be easier for them to stay going as the season comes to an end.

The defense is going to fall down later in the season, and not perform well...the offense is going to fall down too as they have a lot of young players, and the pitching isn't going to last.

The Rays have a lot of solid players, and they will last longer, and finish with a better record.

Comments (11) Add A Comment

May 25, 2008  01:17 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

Just under 1200 characters and I had even more to say...

May 25, 2008  01:18 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

Good luck Dyhard

May 25, 2008  01:23 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

just did the same throwdown yesterday. I pick the rays, but i'll wait for arguments.

May 25, 2008  01:35 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

By August, no one will care. They will both be fighting for 4th place.

May 25, 2008  02:43 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

Marlins

May 25, 2008  04:56 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

This one had been done three times now. Him, perhaps a new concept is in order.

May 25, 2008  05:57 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

it's hard to decide most people would takethe Marlins because they play in an easier division but i am going t hve to take the rays becaue i am a rays fan

May 25, 2008  06:27 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

C-CHEATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHEATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! H-E-A-T-I-N-G IS THE BEST THING TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C-H-E-A-T-I-N-G THAT SPELLS CHEATING CHEATING REPORT.COM BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 26, 2008  03:56 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

I LOVE CHEATERS, are you five?

May 26, 2008  09:35 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

In a year where the NL teams actually seem tougher than AL teams, it will be harder for Florida to do well than Tampa.

 
May 27, 2008  09:08 PM ET
Report Abuse | QUOTE

agree with RHATER, the NL teams this year seem to be overall stronger. I think the marlins will finish with a better record, but finish third in their division behind the fightin phillies and the braves

Comment

Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.


Leaderboard

  Fan W L T Win %
1 DetroitFan* BS: Start Stanton! 132 9 7 91.6%
2 Porkins: Catches bullets 138 13 1 91.1%
3 Baun-ded=PUCKHEAD 52 5 1 90.5%
4 The Ram 138 17 4 88.1%
5 Foosball 68 9 2 87.3%
6 Philly-- www.sportsnoise.com 74 11 4 85.4%
7 Hyped78 113 19 5 84.3%
8 Dookie: Here We Go Steelers 117 19 8 84.0%
9 [The] Coach 97 18 5 82.9%
10 BSchwartz07 129 27 6 81.5%

Truth & Rumors

MOST POPULAR

  1. 1
    Plaxico shows no remorse
    Views
    4054
    Comments
    887
  2. 2
    Teixeira good fit for Yankees?
    Views
    11510
    Comments
    639
  3. 3
    Burnett won't be on market long
    Views
    7745
    Comments
    151
  4. 4
    Warner hasn't ruled out retirement
    Views
    4042
    Comments
    58
  5. 5
    Bengals coach on hot seat?
    Views
    4907
    Comments
    48

Weekly Most Active Users

Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

Message Boards

  1. MMA > Fight Club

    Who will be the new 'face of…
    Views
    1093
    Replies
    10

  2. NFL > General NFL

    Ed Hochuli needs to be FIRED!!
    Views
    416
    Replies
    24

  3. NFL > General NFL

    Taking bids for a new team!!!
    Views
    25
    Replies
    2

Blogs

SI.com

Swimsuit

Melissa HaroMelissa Haro
Jessica GomesJessica Gomes

SI Photos

Rookies to Watch in the NHLRookies to Watch in the NHL
Dominant Pitching SeasonsDominant Pitching Seasons

SI Vault