For the Fish, they are in a heated race with the positively resurgent Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Fish have dropped three straight. If you asked anyone in this league except maybe the Cardinals if they thought the Cards and Fish would be tied for the final wild card spot they would have said you were crazy. But here we are. The Fish have been putting up points like it’s going out of style, but it just hasn’t been enough to get it done. This is a stark contrast to midseason when the Fish and whoever they played would forget it was baseball and not golf. The Dbacks are ninth in the league in points but have the great record due to timely scoring and management… success in the close ones. That’s a bad sign for Phil but let’s break down the matchup.
The lineups are both young and very good… potentially very streaky. So, this category has to be a push.
This is being written Wednesday and the Marlins charged out to a 197-148.5 lead over the first two days. But, 50 point leads are nothing in this league. Today is a pivotal day; the Fish have 4 starters going and the Dbacks have 3. Zito Parnell, Anderson, and Bazardo for the Fish have very questionable matchups @ CIN, vs ATL, vs NYY, vs FLA. That last is a killer because well, he has Fish in his lineup. Meanwhile the Dbacks are rolling with Haren vs It doesn’t matter, Niemann vs BAL, Tillman @ TB (will he start him?) and Marquis @ WAS. That last one is especially intriguing and should produce a high score.
Key Matchups for The Fish: Washburn vs SEA (will he have the same success the rest of the AL had against his former team?), Lincecum @ COL (can he put up numbers a mile high?); Billingsley vs Cubs
Key Matchups for the Dbacks: Cueto @ PIT, Laffe vs SEA, Villanueva @ Was, Lohse @ SD, Porcello @ OAK, Pavano @ KC, Oswalt vs ARI
I think I just listed all the Dbacks matchups as ones to watch where big points could be scored. Despite a season long pitching advantage for the Fish over almost everyone, the edge has to go to the Dbacks due to those great matchups listed before. I could see those guys easily averaging 30 points a piece. Final Score: Dbacks 640 Marlins 570.
Prove me wrong buddy! For the record, I need no grammar corrections, I am an appraiser not a writer.