| | Associated Press
MIAMI -- The surprising Florida Marlins are 13-10, and manager John Boles says that's not good enough.
Florida's second extra-inning loss in 24 hours Wednesday
prompted an angry Boles to chastise his young team in a clubhouse
meeting.
Boles said he was unhappy about poor execution and two missed
signs in a 12-inning, 8-7 loss to San Francisco. He said he was
also upset that several players seem content with the team's
record.
"I'm talking about a handful of kindergarten kids who need to
grow up right away," he said. "You come out, you compete for nine
innings and you hurt when you lose -- or see ya.
"I have a different feeling about this club than most people in
the country. I told the team: Everybody is real excited because the
fish are 13-10. I think we should be 18-5. I think in a couple of
places we could have played a little smarter, and a couple of times
the intensity level could have been raised a little bit."
Despite back-to-back losses against San Francisco to close a
homestand, the Marlins are far ahead of last year's pace, when they
started 6-22 and finished with the worst record in the majors for
the second straight year.
Boles declined to discuss which plays angered him Wednesday, but
one likely occurred in the 10th inning. Kevin Millar walked to lead
off, but apparently missed a sign and tried to steal as Pablo Ozuna
popped up a bunt that was caught. Millar was easily doubled off
first, ending the threat.
"I don't want anybody to think; I just want them to react,"
Boles said. "It's like Pavlov's dogs -- animal reaction to stimuli.
That's what we're looking for."
Boles was also upset that when pitcher Brad Penny popped out and
cursed Tuesday night, a player at the other end of the dugout
laughed.
"I thought, 'That's certainly not the place for laughter,"'
Boles said. "I was so livid that I didn't want to go down there
and take a bat to somebody's head."
Boles' comments drew a mixed reaction from players.
"We can't be satisfied," catcher Mike Redmond said. "That's
the message."
Left fielder Cliff Floyd attributed Boles' anger to consecutive tough losses, but said the Marlins should be happy with their record.
"I'm thrilled to death," Floyd said. "We're 13-10. You can't
cry. Yeah, we should be better, but probably everybody in the game
can say that."
| |
ALSO SEE
Extras déjà vu: Giants top Marlins after blowing lead
 |
