[ayaghmour2]

March 29th, 2018: Here we go! Opening day as the Miami Marlins and rookie Dillon Peters (Are sorry excuse for an ace) faces off against the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs and surprise Opening Day starter Jose Qunitana (not Darvish? Or Lester? Or even Hendricks!?!?).

As expected, the Cubs pulled ahead and one an easy game, 4-1. They added a run in each of the first two innings, before the Marlins added one in the 4th. Then in the 5th, Anthony Rizzo hit a 2 run homer off Brian Ellington. to end the scoring there. The Cubs outhit the Marlins 12-4.

Peters only went 3.1 innings before picking up an injury, shoulder inflmmation that would cost him 6 days. It's day to day, but I may have to place him on the DL and call up a AAA scrub to pick up his next start. He allowed 6 hits and 2 runs, while striking out four and picking up the loss. Ellington allowed 2 on 2 hits in the next 1.2 innings, but he struck out 2. Then Nick Wittgren went 2 without allowing a run, followed by Brad Ziegler and schokingly closer Drew Stecknrider (don't know what Mattingly was thinking) each adding a scorless frame. All three got a strikeout, while Ziegler allowed 2 hits compared to 1 each from the others.

Offensively not too much happened. J.T. Realmuto tripled and drove in a run, going 1-for-4. Starlin Castro scored on the Realmuto fielder choice after him and Justin Bour singled. Miguel Rojas picked up the final hit. Realmuto added a stolen base in the 5th. Nothing else to write home about.

Qunitana pitched a solid 6.2 innings for the cubs, allowing all 4 hits, the run, four walks, and adding 3 strikeouts. The Marlins pitchers didn't walk a single Cub. Carl Edwards Jr. and Justin Wilson picked up holds while Brandon Morrow earned the first save of his season. Addison Russell went 3-for-5 with a run scored and Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist had 2 hit efforts.

I'm expecting a lot of games like this.

March 30th, 2018: A lot of guys decided to sign, RP Joe Thatcher, RP Lucas Benenati, SP Brett Anderson, SP Alex Cobb, RP Kevin Chapman, RP Jairo Labourt, RF Tulio Garcia (who's potential already dropped), and RF Tracy Hadley. I had a ton of room on my 40 man roster, so Anderson, Cobb, Chapman, and Thatcher were called up, raising the 40 man total to 30.

To make room for these guys, Dillon Peters was placed on the 10-Day-DL, Odrisamer Despaigne, Jarlin Garcia, and Brian Ellington were optioned to AAA New Orleas to make room.

I had to rearrange my minors a bit to make up for it, and i was sitting on 80 players in GCL. For some reason the Marlins had a lot of extra guys to start with. RP Tyler Cloyd was realeased. He wasn't ready for AA and was 30. RP Esmerling De La Rosa was released as well. I didn't want a 26 year old in A- and he didn't really show any promise.

Jose Urena was set to take the mound against Yu Darvish for game two of the opening series in Miami. Miami did a bit better today, losing 4-2. Ben Zobrist scored in the 1st off a hit by pitch, and then in the 3rd Kyle Schwarber went deep for his first homer of the year. Wilson Contreras singled off Kyle Barraclough in the 7th, and then Albert Almora drove in the final Cub run in the 8th. In the bottom of the 8th, Garrett Cooper hit a two run triple, scoring Martin Prado and Miguel Rojas. But that was all the Marlins could muster as Carl Edwards Jr. finished the 8th for Justin Wilson and Brandon Morrow picked up his second save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Urena couldn't get out of the 4th, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits. He walked 3 and struck out six cubs. His conuterpart Darvish went 7, allowing only 2 hits and a walk while striking out 9 in his much anticipated Cubs debut. Junichi Tazawa and Brad Ziegler were also charged with runs for the Marlins. Castro and Rojas are the only Marlins with hits in both games.

The waiver wire had some interesting players, including 44-year-old Bartolo Colon. I laid claim on Boston lefty Brian Johnson who could be a solid starter. In 6 MLB starts he's 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA, but he's 27 and a decent 2 star pitcher who throws from a 3/4 arm slot. I also placed a claim on speedy utility guy Hernan Perez from the Brewers. I personally really like him and he's a great guy off the bench, but he does come with a $1,975,000 salary that is a lot for the Marlins pocketbooks to handle. But again, he can play every position except catcher and of course, pitcher.

March 31st, 2018: A pair of arms signed, lefty Luis Noguera and righty Reid Redman. I released 29-year-old Drew Rucinski. He's had a few brief MLB trips, but a 7.23 ERA in 18.2 innings and his ratings aren't that good either.

Game 3 took place between lefty Jon Lester and new acquisition right hander Alex Cobb. Again, the Marlins got closer, this time losing 3-2, dropping to a nice 0-3 start with one more against the Cubs tommorow. Rizzo hit a solo homer in the 1st to welcome Cobb to Miami. Ex-Cub Starlin Castro hit a 2-run single off Lester in the 6th, driving in pinch hitter Garrett Cooper (he's 2-for-2 with a single and triple) and CF Issac Galloway. The lead wouldn't last, as Kyle Barraclough allowed a 2 run double to Albert Almora. Him and Rizzo both have 3 RBI's on the season. The Marlins tried to answer back in the 7th, but pinch hitter Johnny Giavotella lined out to end the inning, and Lester's day. Pedro Strop and Brian Duensing picked up holds and Brandon Morrow earned save number 3.

Cobb had a nice debut, going 6 and allowing just the 1 run off 3 while striking out 3. Tazawa had 2 solid innings of relief to end the game, although he walked 2 but didn't allow a run or a hit. Galloway went 2-for-4 in his major league debut with a 6th inning double. Castro and Rojas both picked up hits again, Rojas with a 7th inning 2 out double with Martin Prado ahead of him. Kevin Chapman made his Marlin debut, getting the final out of the 7th on 10 pitches for Barraclough.

Around the league, Michael Brantley went 5-for-5 against the Mariners, who still topped the Indians 6-5. He was a triple away from the cycle, with a pair of doubles and singles to go with the homer. Reclamation project Tim Lincecum flamed out after just 0.2 innings, tearing his flexor tendon and will now miss the rest of the season. He allowed a run and struck out a batter for Texas.

April 1st, 2018: After this, we'd finally be done with the Cubs, for now. Kyle Hendricks took the mound against former Cub starter and new Marlin Brett Anderson. I told manager Don Mattingly to replace the 0-for-11 Lewis Brinson with 2-for-2 Garrett Cooper. He'd hit 6th and play rightfield. We lost 5-3, with the Cubs completing the road sweep, but Cooper went 2-for-4 and scored twice, so that's a win in my book.

We started the scoring with a run in the 3rd, but the Cubs tied it in the top of the 5th. Miguel Rojas doubled off Hendricks, scoring one and giving the Marlins a 2-1 lead. The Cubs quickly tied it with a Kyle Scwarber single off new Marlin Joe Thatcher. For some reason Thatcher wanted to come back for a 3rd, and then eventual 4th inning, as he allowed a Wilson Contreras 2 run homer in the top of the 7th. We scored one more in the bottom to make it 4-3, but Thatcher allowed a run scoring single to Addison Russell, ending the scoring at 5-3. Morrow was too tired I guess, and Justin Wilson earned the save today.

So why did Joe Thatcher pitch 4 innings of relief? Brett Anderson only went 1.2 innings before leaving with an injury. Nick Wittgren grabbed 2.1 innings of mop up, striking out 3 and allowing not a single hit or walk. The pen was gassed, so Thatcher, the lefty specialist, needed the 4 innings before turning it over to Kevin Chapman in the 9th. We need a day off, but we have a 2-game series against Boston at home starting tommorow. Then we'll have the needed off day. We did manage 7 hits, but 5 of them were Cooper and Miguel Rojas. Rojas went 3-for-4 with his second double and a pair of RBI's. We still don't have a homer, so Brett Anderson (alphabetical) is listed as my teams' home run leader.

A sweep is never nice, but it's not like the Marlins are supposed to win, especially against a playoff team like the Cubs. We did play them hard though.

April 2nd, 2018: Brian Johnson and Hernan Perez were both officially claimed, and I added each to the 25-man roster. I placed Anderson on the DL, depsite not knowing the official diagnosis, and then optioned Issac Galloway to AAA. He was 2-for-4, but he didn't have any other MLB experience as a 28-year-old and I didn't have any other outfielder I could option. Johnson instantly became the staff ace and will start today against his former team. I wish the AI knew that Dan Straily, our 5th starter, could be used as a relief pitcher and since we had an off day on the 4th, but there's no way to tell my AI manager.

Johnson took on Jake Peavy and the 3-1 2017 American League East Champion Boston Red Sox. Johnson is now on the right side of the matchup, as the Marlins pulled off the 6-2 upset to pick up their first win of the season. I got to say, our pitching has been pretty great so far.

We started this game off strong, as Derek Dietrich hit the first Marlin homer of the year, and it couldn't have come at a much better time, with the bases loaded. The Red Sox got a run in the 3rd, but that was all untill the 7th when Starlin Castro gave the Marlins a 6-1 lead with a 2-run double off Carson Smith. The Red Sox managed one more in the 8th off Nick Wittgren, but that was all the scoring for today.

Johnson was great, even ace-like, going 7 strong, allowing just 1 run off 5 hits, no walks, and adding 7 strikeouts. Cameron Maybin was a monster, as the former Astro went 3-for-4 and scored twice, before leaving the game in the 8th for a better defensive center fielder. Castro and Dietrich, the run producer, both had a pair of hits while soring once. Rojas and Realmuto had the last of the 9 hits, as Rojas raised his average to .412, the best on the team.

After the game, I made a $440,000 minor league offer to 17-year-old Ronier Lascarro. My scout is fond of the young outfielder, rating him at 3.5 potential stars, although OSA isn't as kind. The former Ranger was released on the 29th of March. Dominican righty Jose Betances was also offered a minor league deal. The former Astro looked like he could become a decent big league starter, but he's still far off.

April 3rd, 2018: The Nationals were dealt a blow with star Daniel Murphey missing the rest of the year with a torn ACL. The Phillies lost young reliever Edubray Ramos to a torn flexor tendon, ending his season early. Boston added injured righty Trevor Rosenthal. The former Cardinal is recovering from Tommy John, but will sign a $3,280,000 contract to rehab with the Red Sox.

Our last game before a day off saw Adam Conley facing the scary lefty Chris Sale. The game looked good, as the Marlins were able to put up 3 runs on him in 6 innings, but everything fell apart in the 9th. Closer Drew Steckenrider allowed 4 runs, but only one was earned as the Red Sox won 4-3. A Miguel Rojas error cost the game, but I can't get too mad at the guy who went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hitting .421. Lewis Brinson woke up, and he went 3-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI's. He had half our hits, were Brinson, and Bour and Prado picked up the final two. The Red Sox Mookie Betts was 3-for-3 after being awful coming in.

Adam Conley went 7 strong, allowing 3 of the only 4 Red Sox hits. They scored 4 runs off only 1 hit in the 9th... There were four walks, but still. Conley did allow 5 walks and struck out only 2, but he pitched as well as I could expect. Brad Ziegler also delivevered a 1-2-3 8th.

After the game I claimed "LA Swiftness" from the Braves. For those not familiar, as I was, that's OF Lane Adams. The speedy 28-year-old has elite RF defense and is passable in left and center. He's a career .265/.328/.451 hitter with 5 homers and 20 RBI's. His only meaningful playing time was last year, but he was pretty solid. He could replace Rafael Ortega as the 4th outfielder.

April 4th: Our first off day of the season was headlined by a pair of minor league signings, RHP Jose Betances and RF Ronier Lascarro. Betances looks like a middle of the rotation starter and Lascarro has 77 gap potential and 92 eye potential.

We traveled to Philadelphia today, set to play a series there before returning home to face the Mets. This was weird, we had one game against the Phillies, then an off day, and then two more. I've never seen a series structured like this that wasn't an opening series. I checked the real life Marlins schedule, and sure enough, that's exactly how it'll play out this year.