Speedy and strong defensively, Maybin showed flashes of power but struggled at the plate. His struggles continued in Carolina where he hit only .225 in April with 37 strikeouts in 89 at-bats. He’s shown improvement in May hitting .255 and slugging his OPS up to .828 but strikeouts continue to plague him. In the Raleigh (NC) News-Observer, Mudcat manager Matt Raleigh had this to say about Maybin: ”His base stealing has been pretty good,” Raleigh said. “His outfield play has been phenomenal. He can play defensive center field for anybody in the major leagues right now. His power is good. It’s just the consistency. The strikeouts are high — pitch recognition.” 

At this point the Marlins have given no indication that they are worried about him. He’s only 21 and some scouts still expect him to get a call up later this year but right now what the Marlins need is offensive consistency from the center field position. While Maybin might be ready defensively to take over in center, his plate discipline needs to develop in a relatively low pressure environment. With the Marlins surprisingly on top of the NL East, it may not make sense to jeopardize the development of their top prospect by placing him in a situation where his production will be crucial to their continued success in 2008. Right now there’s hope for what many thought would be a wasted season. If the Marlins fade later on then they might reconsider bringing Maybin up, but he’s got to show the Marlins that he is making the most of his time in the minors and learning to become the kind of hitter they project him to be..

John Raynor 0-3, 1 R, 1 RBI (18), 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB (13)
Cam Maybin 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 SB (7)
Chris Coghlan 0-5, 1 K, 1 SB (13)
Gaby Sanchez 1-5, 1 2B (11), 2 RBI (18), 1 K, 1 CS (2)
Lee Mitchell 2-3, 2 BB, 1 K
Manuel Mayorson 1-4, 1 CS (3)
Kris Harvey 0-2, 1 BB
Andy Jenkins 1-1, 1 R, 1 2B (4)
Lorenzo Scot t 0-3
Ryan Tucker 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K; 1-2, 1 2B (1)
Jesus Delgado 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 3 K
Chris Mobley (W, 2-0) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K
Carlos Martinez (S, 1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

SINGLE A ADVANCED: Allison solid as Hammerheads top Brevard County 5-2

Bryan Petersen 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR (1), 2 RBI (2), 1 BB, 1 K
Smelin Perez 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Logan Morrison 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR (5), 2 RBI (24), 2 K
Kevin Randel 0-4
Jacob Blackwood 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Greg Burns 0-4, 2 K
John Purdom 0-3, 1 BB
Guillermo Martinez 1-4, 2 K
Chris Dunn 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI (2)
Jeff Allison (W, 2-4) 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 1 K
Kurt Koehler (H, 1) 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
Jay Buente (S, 1) 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 4 K

SINGLE A: Grasshoppers topple Lakewood 8-5

Ryan Curry 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR (4), 2 RBI (11)
Ryan Anetsberger 2-2, 3 R, 1 HR (2), 1 RBI (21), 2 BB
Thomas Hickman 3-3, 2 R, 2 HR (4), 3 RBI (21), 1 BB
Torre Langley 2-4, 1 R, 1 3B (1), 1 RBI (14)
Jameson Smith 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B (2), 1 RBI (4), 1 BB, 1 K
Matt Mallory 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
Kyle Kaminska 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 4 K
Steven Cishek (W, 1-0) 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 3 K
Garrett Parcell (S, 11) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

Albuquerque was postponed

TRIPLE A: Topes fall to Colorado Springs 9-6

Jai Miller 0-1, 1 BB

Dante Brinkley 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI (5)

Andrew Beattie 1-5, 1 R, 1 2B (15)

John Gall 1-4, 3 RBI (28)

Tagg Bozied 2-5, 1 RBI (10)

Dallas McPherson 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR (12), 1 RBI (28)

John Baker 0-5

Chase Lambin 3-4, 1 R, 1 K

Chris Barnwell 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B (9)

George Lombard 0-1

Steve Woodard (L, 0-1) 2.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R (6 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

Marcos Carvajal 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 1 K

Scott Nestor 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

Brandon Villafuerte 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 0 K

DOUBLE A: Mudcats fall to Chattanooga 6-4

John Raynor 1-5, 1 R, 1 2B (9), 1 K

Manuel Mayorson 1-4, 2 R, 1 SB (10)

Cam Maybin 2-5, 1 2B (4), 1 K

Gaby Sanchez 2-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Lee Mitchell 0-2, 1 RBI (24), 2 BB, 1 K

Andy Jenkins 2-5, 2 RBI (20)

Brad Davis 0-3, 1 BB

Chris Coghlan 0-1

Kris Harvey 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR (2), 1 RBI (5), 1 K

Brett Hayes 0-1, 1 K

Lorenzo Scott 0-0, 1 BB, 1 SB (9)

Brett Sinkbiel (L, 1-5) 6.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R (6 ER), 3 BB, 4 K

Jesus Delgado 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

Carlos Martinez 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

SINGLE A ADVANCED: Hammerheads fall to Palm Beach 9-5

Smelin Perez 1-5, 1 RBI (7), 1 K, 1 CS (3)

Bryan Petersen 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (1)

Logan Morrison 0-4, 1 BB

Kevin Randel 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B (5), 1 HR (1), 1 RBI (6), 1 K

Spike McDougall 1-4

John Purdom 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB

Gregory Burns 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB

Guillermo Martinez 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Agustin Septimo 2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI (12), 1 SB (3)

Derrell McCall 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HRA

Jay Buente 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

Chris Leroux (BS, 2)(L, 3-2) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 0 K

Adalberto Mendez 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K

SINGLE A: Grasshoppers top Lakewood 7-5

Osvaldo Martinez 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI (8), 1 K

Ryan Curry 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB

Michael Stanton 0-4, 1 R

Ryan Anetsberger 0-3, 1 R, 1 RBI (20), 1 BB

Hunter Mense 0-0

Thomas Hickman 0-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Torre Langley 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B (2), 2 RBI (13), 1 BB

Adam Howard 0-4, 1 K

Justin Jacobs 2-4, 1 R, 1 3B (1), 2 K

Emilio Ontiveros 1-3, 1 K

Stu Alexander 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HRA

Andrew Battisto (W, 2-0) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

Don Czyz (S, 2) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 5 K

Mike Jacobs and Josh Willingham were left out of the starting lineup once again for the Fish. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco took the mound to face Bronson Arroyo. Nolasco and Arroyo dueled it out until the fifth inning, when Nolasco gave up two runs. Some mediocre base-running by Matt Treanor and Hanley Ramirez, as well as a crucial error by Jorge Cantu, forced the Marlins to face a 0-6 deficit by the ninth.

Luis Gonzalez began the comeback with a ninth inning RBI double. The Marlins were able to load the bases on Reds closer Francisco Cordero later on in the inning with no outs. Treanor later added a two-run single, and Cody Ross topped the six-run ninth with a three-run homer. But the momentum was haulted when Marlins reliever Renyel Pinto walked two with two outs in the tenth and gave up a walk-off single to Paul Janish. It was Janish’s first Major League hit.

Loss aside, the Marlins were lucky enough to not lose ground in the standings. The not-so-lively Fish remain in first place with a 1.5 game lead on the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Marlins close out their long road trip tonight, trying to avoid being swept by the Reds. They return home to Dolphin Stadium on Friday for inter-league play against the Kansas City Royals.

Hendrickson gave up 4 earned runs in his five innings of work that also included 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. He was charged with the loss ending his undefeated streak of decisions that had been ongoing ever since his 2nd start of the year. This was Hendrickson’s first loss since Opening Day vs the New York Mets. Doug Waechter pitched 2 innings of relief in which he gave up 1 earned run. Matt Lindstrom threw a scoreless inning which was his 3rd consecutive appearance with a perfect frame of work.

The bats were mostly quiet for the Marlins on Tuesday. Cody Ross hit a home run, his 3rd of the season. Dan Uggla continued to swing a hot bat with a 2 hit day. Alfredo Amezaga also had 2 hits in this game. Hendrickson added two hits of his own raising his average to .316 for the season.

The series will continue on Wednesday as Ricky Nolasco toes the rubber for the Marlins. Bronson Arroyo will be on the mound for the Reds.

Double A: Mudcats rally to top Chattanooga 9-7

John Raynor 2-4, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Cam Maybin 1-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Chris Coghlan 3-3, 2 R, 1 3B (1), 3 RBI (21), 2 BB, 1 SB (12)
Gaby Sanchez 1-4, 1 2B (10), 2 RBI (16)
Lee Mitchell 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B (6), 2 BB, 1 K
Manuel Mayorson 1-3, 2 BB, 1 SB (9)
Alberto Concepcion 2-4, 2 RBI (12)
Kris Harvey 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR (1), 1 RBI (4), 1 K
Aaron Thompson 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 5 K
Jacob Marceaux 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 0 K
Matt Yourkin (W, 1-2) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 0 K
Chris Mobley (S, 2) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

Class A Advanced: Hammerheads rally to top Palm Beach 4-3 in the ninth

Smelin Perez 4-5, 2 R, 1 3B (1), 1 HR (1), 2 RBI (6)
Jacob Blackwood 0-5, 2 K
Logan Morrison 3-5, 1 2B (13), 2 RBI (22), 1 K
Kevin Randel 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
Spike McDougall 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
John Purdom 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Gregory Burns 2-4
Chris Dunn 1-4, 1 R, 1 K
Agustin Septimo 3-4, 1 R
Sean West 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
Jarrett Santos 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
Bradley Stone 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 0 K
Timothy Wood (W, 2-1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

CLASS A: Grasshoppers topple Lakewood 7-5

Bryan Petersen 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI (19), 1 K
Ryan Curry 1-5, 1 R
Hunter Mense 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI (8)
Ryan Anetsberger 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B (10), 1 HR (1), 3 RBI (19)
Thomas Hickman 2-5, 2 RBI (18), 1 K
Michael Stanton 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Ben Lasater 1-4
Jameson Smith 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Osvaldo Martinez 1-4, 1 R
Brett Durand (W, 5-1) 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HRA
Steven Cishek (H, 1) 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K
Garrett Parcell (S, 9) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K

It’s a bird, it’s a plane… It’s Kevin Gregg in for the save! Coming into the 2008 season, it was no surprise that the strength of the team was in its bullpen. With the whole 2007 squad returning for the 2008 tour of duty, Kevin Gregg will be anchoring the 9^th again.

Kevin Gregg, of Corvallis, Oregon, grew up a multi-sport athlete. He starred in football, basketball and baseball while attending Corvallis High School. At age 18 however, Gregg was drafted 435^th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 1996 draft, out of High School.

He spent the next seven years bouncing around the Athletics’ minor league organization, putting up good but never great numbers in 198 games pitched. He split time between starting and relief, starting in 128 of his 198 appearances as an Oakland farm hand.

Arguably his best season in the Oakland system was 1999 with the Midland Rockhounds, Kevin Gregg posted a 3.76 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 160 IP. He went 4-7 in this AA stint, but obviously his record wasn’t indicative of his performance. Considering his lack of overwhelming stuff, and subsequent lack of eye catching stats, Gregg never quite established himself in the Oakland system and was considered expendable.

Having never been called up with the A’s, Gregg was eventually granted Minor League Free Agency in 2003 and signed with the Anaheim Angels. Coming off their 2002 World Championship against the San Francisco Giants, the organization, like most, felt that they could never have enough pitching.

It was in 2003 that Gregg got his first “cup of coffee” with the big leagues. In 5 games, and 3 starts, with the Angels, formerly of Anaheim, Gregg went 2-0 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.054 WHIP in 24.2 IP. Unfortunately for Gregg, the team didn’t repeat as World Champs, nor did they even make the playoffs. But, Gregg was a teammate of current Marlin Alfredo Amezaga. Sometimes baseball is funny like that…

It was 2004 that Gregg finally established himself as a bonafide major leaguer. Appearing in 55 games, with no starts, in the elite Angels bullpen, featuring the likes of Francisco Rodriguez, Troy Percival, Scot Shields and Brendan Donnelly, Gregg was easily overshadowed, especially considering his 4.21 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. In the 2004 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, Gregg posted one two inning outing allowing 3 hits and 1 walk in his team’s loss.

In 2005, Gregg regressed, in only 33 games; Gregg posted an ERA of 5.04 and a WHIP of 1.539. He also started 2 games, and went 1-2 on the year as a whole. Gregg again made the postseason squad, and again only had one outing against the Chicago White Sox, again pitching only 2 innings, but this time only allowing 1 hit and one walk, striking out 3.

In what would be his last season as an Angel, Gregg would start 3 games, pitch another 29 in relief. He improved upon his previous season, posting a 4.14 ERA and a 1.391 WHIP. He went 3-4 and remained a long reliever/spot starter option, unable to unseat the likes of Scot Shields in terms of favor in the bullpen.

In the 2006 offseason the Marlins, looking for a change in their bullpen, swapped relievers with the Angels, giving up young RHP Chris Resop in exchange for Kevin Gregg. After surviving the Jorge Julio fiasco, and suffering an injury to reliever Henry Owens, Gregg managed to take the Closer’s job. In 2007, Gregg set career highs in ERA, Strikeouts, WHIP and Saves in a full season.

As a Marlin, Gregg has taken the nickname Clark Kent, due to his resemblance to the Man of Steel’s alter ego, and his use of prescription glasses as he pitches. He demonstrates overpowering stuff occasionally, but the exception isn’t the rule. He’s equally effective against hitters from both sides. And this year, he’ll be closing for your Florida Marlins.

Badenhop lasted 6 innings allowing 3 earned runs and 2 walks while striking out 2. A wild pitch with a runner on 3rd was a key mistake for Badenhop as it allowed the go ahead runner to score in the 6th inning. The Hopper was taken off the hook by the Marlins offense, however Taylor Tankersley was charged with the loss. Tank allowed 4 earned runs in one inning raising his season E.R.A to 8.25. Matt Lindstrom pitched the 8th inning for the fish and threw a scoreless inning.

The bats started early in this game as Jeremy Hermida and Hanley Ramirez his back-to-back home runs in the first inning. Dan Uggla added a home run of his own, his 12th of the season and 8th in the last 10 games. This was also Uggla’s 3rd straight game with at least one home run as his hot streak continued. The fish scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th when they were down 4 to cut the lead to 1 but it would be the end of the scoring leaving the Marlins one run short of tying the game.

The series continues on Tuesday as Mark Hendrickson takes the hill for the Marlins. The Reds will counter with Edinson Volquez.

Before the second game in May players and fans alike were surprised to see a new order in the Marlins lineup; a lineup that featured shortstop Hanley Ramirez batting third and second baseman Dan Uggla batting sixth. Since the shuffle, both players seem to be playing better offensively and the team is winning more games. With the new batting order, the Marlins offensive production has risen by 2 whole runs from 4.4 runs per game to 6.4 runs per game. The team has also won 80% of their games (which can also be accredited to better production from the starting rotation). The team has also scored 7 or more runs in five of their past ten games, only one time less than in their previous 28 games. However, it is important to note that the Marlins have faced only five pitchers with an ERA lower than 4.00 while facing three pitchers with an ERA higher than 6.00 during this ten-game stretch.

Since moving to sixth in the order and subsequently fifth due to his production, Uggla has accounted for 14 hits resulting in a batting average of .438 over this ten-game time span. This is 193 points better than his batting average before the lineup switch. The Marlins shortstop has also produced 16 RBIs and 8 home runs while scoring 16 times himself during this recent hot streak. In the last ten games, Uggla has risen his on-base percentage 40 points and slugging percentage 165 points resulting in an OPS increase of 205 points to help the Marlins achieve a MLB-best record of 23-15.

Hanley Ramirez has also produced a higher batting average in the last 10 games then he did prior to the switch. During this 10-game stretch, Rameriz accounted for 12 hits and a batting average of .364 in the third spot, 42 points higher than his batting average of .322 prior to the second of May. Although the team as a whole has a better runs per game average during this stretch, Hanley has only contributed 3 RBIs and 1 home run from the plate. The Marlins shortstop has however scored 11 times and stolen 4 bases. The former NL rookie of the year has seen a rise in his season on-base percentage by 30 points since the change in the lineup.

One could only imagine how much better this line up could be once injured first baseman Mike Jacobs and leftfielder Josh Willingham return to the lineup to replace the aging Luis Gonzalez and Wes Helms (who turned 32 today).