The Ideal Opponent.

The titles of these posts are becoming curiouser and curiouser as I go along and I apologize for this one; it reeks of "Look how smart I am." I just can't think of anything else to do with marlins. The fish in The Old Man and the Sea was a marlin and he was the ideal opponent.

Chris Volstad is a groundball pitcher with a low-nineties fastball, a good curveball, and a good change-up. He's generally around the strike zone; not a lot of walks but plenty of hits. He is also dedicated to doing his best impression of a beanpole and it's pretty close to the real thing; he's really tall and really slender. And perhaps as a function of his size, he seems to tire easily and when he's tired the ball comes up and becomes more hittable.

Andrew Miller is a big lefty who arrived in Florida via the Dontrelle Willis trade. He's got a mid-nineties fastball, a very good slider, and a change-up. Consistency can be an issue for him and walks are sometimes problematic. He does strike out right-handers with ease. Left-handed batters, on the other hand, have had decent success against him. He doesn't give up many home runs, at all.

Ricky Nolasco has good command of a low-nineties fastball, an excellent curveball, and a decent change-up. Last year was a break out year for Nolasco but his ERA+ this season sits at a lowly 55. He was sent down to AAA to work things out at the end of May and since his return seems to have done just that. In his last two starts he allowed just two earned runs in seven and six innings, respectively. He also struck out nine Blue Jays in his last start.

The Marlins have a pretty good offense with Hanley Ramirez leading the way. They aren't a particularly patient team; they lead the league in strike outs and are smack dab in the middle in terms of walks taken. They swing for the fences: lots of singles, lots of home runs, and not much in between. Ramirez, meanwhile, may have an axe to grind. When the rumors of the Ellsbury for Ramirez swap emerged, Ramirez was asked about it and said something to the extent of: I was so mad when they traded me, that I vowed to never go back to Boston unless they paid me a lot of money.