Marlins Team History: Part II

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Marlins Team History: Part II

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IBC Florida Marlins: Team History

2005-2007: The IBC Baltimore Orioles

2005

After moving from Milwaukee to Baltimore, the 2004 draft (my first official new player draft) laid the groundwork for the current Marlins with a solid haul of young arms who would develp into some of the games most highly regarded young starters. With the 4th pick in each round, the Orioles selected:

1. Justin Verlander, RH SP
2. Ray Liotta, RH SP
3. Gio Gonzalez, LH SP
4. Mike Butia, OF
5. Jeffrey Marquez, RH SP
FA. Carlos Carrasco, RH SP

Liotta and Butia would be dropped and disappear. Unfortunately, Marquez and Carrasco were also eventually dropped after subpar seasons, and both would re-establish themselves and make the O's regret it (especially Carrasco). However, Verlander has become one of the game's best young aces, and Gonzalez appears on the cusp of providing the current Marlins with an elite young LH starter to pair with JV at the top of the Florida rotation for the next decade.

Trades

I made my first three IBC trades before the 2005 season began, kicking it off with a typical mistake by a new GM undervaluing his young talent.

Bal Hanley Ramirez, SS to SF
SF Jason Kendall, C to Bal

Ouch! To be fair, this was the period when Ramirez's stock was down a bit as there were questions about his maturity, and whether his amazing tools would translate to the big leagues. Also, Kendall did put up 2 consecutive solid seasons as the O's backstop. Anyway, the first one was definitely the one I most wish I could take back.

The next two offseason deals would provide the Orioles with a couple of key pieces that would stabilize part of the infield for the next several years.

Bal Jeromy Burnitz, OF to SD
Bal Chad Moeller, C to SD
SD Jeff Kent, 2B to Bal

Bal Roger Clemens, SP to ChN
Bal Alan Embree, RP to ChN
Bal Brian Dopirak, 1B to ChN
ChN Aramis Ramirez, 3B to Bal
ChN Horacio Ramirez, SP to Bal
ChN Luis Ayala, RP to Bal


As much as the Kendall trade hurts, these two deals took away some of the sting, as the O's would get All-Star production at 2B and 3B for the next few years. Aramis and Ayala are still with the Marlins.

2005 Season

(84-78, 3rd place - AL East)

2005 IBC Orioles

1. Carl Crawford CF, L
2. Jason Kendall C, R
3. Hideki Matsui LF, L
4. David Ortiz DH, L
5. Jeff Kent 2B, R
6. Ben Broussard 1B, L
7. Aramis Ramirez 3B, R
8. Ian Kinsler SS, R
9. Jeff Francoeur RF, R

B Nook Logan, CF
B Geronimo Gil, C
B Eric Young, UTIL
B Emil Brown, OF
B Ramon E. Martinez, UTIL

1. Ben Sheets, R
2. Nate Robertson, L
3. Zach Duke, L
4. Paul Wilson, R
5. Noah Lowry, L

CL Chad Cordero, R
SU Jamie Walker, L
SU Luis Ayala, R
MR Orber Moreno, R
MR Horacio Ramirez, L
LR Luke Hudson, R


In 2005, a vastly improved Orioles team managed to finish a respectable six games above .500 in an always difficult AL East. A shaky pitching staff, and injuries to B. Sheets, A. Ramirez and P. Wilson (right after the Reds signed him to a big contract) helped to sink the O's postseason hopes. Although Baltimore posted the AL's 5th best record, the team never threatened AL Wild Card winner Toronto, who finished 12 games ahead of the O's. A few notable performances from the 2005 season:

David Ortiz, DH: .260/.373/.505, 97 R, 35 HR, 111 RBI
Hideki Matsui, LF: .311/.390/.466, 104 R, 18 HR, 93 RBI
Jason Kendall, C: .302/.382/.366, 82 R, 4 HR, 58 RBI, 22 SB, 4 CS
Ben Sheets, SP: 10-7, 3.32 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 152 IP, 131 H, 28 BB, 136 K

2005 also saw its share of unfortunate drops, but you can't get 'em all right I guess.

The 2005 Oops! List

Carlos Carrasco
Radhames Liz
Jesus Flores
Brendan Ryan


2006 coming soon....


2006: 86-76 (4th place, AL East)
2007: 92-70 (4th place, AL East)

2023 GM Totals: 1780 W - 1460 L | 0.549 wpct | 89-73 (avg 162 G record)
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