ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Florida Marlins preview


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Thursday, April 5
Florida Marlins preview

ESPN.com

POWER RANKINGS


	Antonio Alfonseca led the NL with 45 saves, but his 4.24 ERA was unimpressive.

Strength of schedule
.494, 10th in NL
Lineup ranking
7th in NL
Pitching ranking
13th in NL
Prediction
3rd in NL East

The lowdown
2000 record: 79-82 (3rd in NL East)
Runs scored: 731, 15th in NL
Runs allowed: 797, 8th in NL

Three key issues for 2001
1. Will Preston Wilson and Derrek Lee take another step forward and give the Marlins a stronger middle of the order?

2. Young starters Brad Penny and A.J. Burnett have ace-type stuff. Will they turn that into victories?

3. Can Antonio Alfonseca repeat his 45-for-49 save percentage?

Three key facts
1. The Marlins ended the 2000 season on a six-game winning streak, giving them a 15-game improvement over 1999 and making them just the second NL team in the last 50 years to post a 10-win improvement in back-to-back seasons.

2. Second baseman Luis Castillo led the majors with a franchise-record 62 stolen bases, and also set club records for average (.334), hits (180) and multi-hit games (55).

3. Florida relievers won 31 games, tied for second in the NL, and Antonio Alfonseca led the major leagues with 45 saves. The Marlins' bullpen figured in every one of their 79 wins.

RETURNING 2000 STATISTICAL LEADERS

AVG	L. Castillo	.334
HR	P. Wilson	31
RBI	P. Wilson	121
RUN	L. Castillo	101
SB	L. Castillo	62
WIN	R. Dempster	14
SV	A. Alfonseca	45
ERA	R. Dempster	3.66
Complete 2000 Statistics: Batting \| Pitching

Dave Campbell's scenarios
Best case: Flying Fish.
Marlins could be the up-and-coming team to look out for in the National League.

Worst case: Bottom Feeders.
Could be extremely difficult for John Boles' squad to show improvement three years in a row.

ESPN.com's lineup analysis
Player	Comment	Pos. rank*
L. Castillo, 2B	Hit .380 with bases empty, .217 with runners on	6
E. Owens, RF	.293 average, but just 32 extra-base hits	16
C. Floyd, LF	He's still only 28; let's hope he stays healthy	4
P. Wilson, CF	OPS actually dropped from .852 to .817	6
M. Lowell, 3B	Quietly drove in 91 runs, 4th among NL third basemen	7
C. Johnson, C	Marlins catchers hit .246 with just two HRs	4
D. Lee, 1B	At 25, could improve upon 28 HRs, .507 slugging	10
A. Gonzalez, SS	The black hole; did nothing well a year ago	16
ESPN.com's pitching staff analysis
R. Dempster, RHP	Yes, he's the real deal; 209 K's tells us that	10
M. Clement, RHP	Led NL in walks (125), wild pitches (23)	41
B. Penny, RHP	Scuffled a bit as rookie, but has ace potential	34
C. Smith, RHP	30-year-old rookie had 3.23 ERA in 19 starts	46
Middle relief	Deep, but lacking a top No. 2; Braden Looper not it	12
A. Alfonseca, CL	Good closers don't post 4.24 ERAs	11

	Position average (NL rank):	7.88 (T6th)
	Pitching index (NL rank):	11.00 (13th)

* Position rank, compiled by ESPN.com's baseball staff, compares each NL team's strength at that position, including platoons, based on players' total projected value (offense, defense, durability) for the 2001 season.

NL position players and bullpens ranked on a 1-16 basis, with 1 being best.
NL starting pitchers ranked on 1-64 basis, with 1 being best. Cumulative rankings of starting pitchers are combined with bullpen and closer for overall pitching index, with more weight given to starters.
In both rankings, 1.00 is the best possible score, 16.00 the worst.

Click here for position-by-position NL rankings.

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