You have a couple of minutes?

We need to talk

---

TicketRev is the presenting sponsor of VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS. Click to learn more, and download the TicketRev app on the App Store and Google Play to save on tickets to see the Marlins this weekend against the Nationals or to see the Dolphins, Inter Miami and the rest of the games and concerts you don’t want to miss.

---

Hey…listen…I’ve been putting this off for a while because I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. But, Marlins fans…we uh…we need to talk.

I know the first half was a lot of fun. Beating the heck out of the Nationals, Royals, Angels, Red Sox and A’s. Man, what a blast.

18-0 against those guys…Just…Just…WOW!

I know we were under .500 overall against everybody else. The 1-9 against the Braves sure didn’t look great, but come on. Nobody beats them anyway, right?

All anybody wanted to talk about was our negative run differential. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Whatever.

You know what I think? I think they were just jealous of what we had.

14 games over .500 and leading the NL Wild Card race at the All-Star break.

That. Was. Awesome.

Remember the 12 straight one-run wins to start the year?

Remember when we were talking about Luis Arraez and Ted Williams in the same breath?

Remember the way Eury was pitching before he got sent to Double-A for a month?

If only we had the ability to make time stand still. We could have stayed in that moment forever.

Wait.

What’s that sound? Do you hear it too? I think I hear beautiful, sweet music in the distance.

You hear it, don’t you?

Could that possibly be…Is that Mary Hopkin?

But, look. Things change. Competition level changes. And I know it’s not easy to hear, but all I can do is give it to you straight, no beating around the bush.

12-25 since the All-Star break. That’s tied with the White Sox for worst in all of Baseball. And the White Sox just fired everybody except the Senior Vice President of Communications and Outreach.

That’s worse than Oakland. And nobody is worse than Oakland.

I looked at the standings this morning, and I thought it had to be a mistake. Closer to the Nationals in the NL East standings than to the 2nd-place Phillies?

How is that possible?

The Nats are rebuilding. They were supposed to be the worst team in the National League. They’re 10 games better than the Marlins since the break.

If you take away our 6-1 record against them head-to-head, the Marlins and Nats have the exact same record against everybody else this season. 59-63.

We were 14 games over .500 5 weeks ago. If we lose today, we’d be 65-65 with 32 to play.

I know Soler’s been hitting home runs, and Burger and Bell were nice additions. Sandy’s been better lately. Maybe Eury got back on track in LA.

But let’s be real. We just can’t beat the big boys. And lately, things haven’t even been great against the not-so-big boys.

I told Skip he shouldn’t have dropped Arraez out of the lead-off spot. We went from talking about him hitting .400 to just hoping he can hang on to win the batting title. .226 over his last 21 games. No wonder we’re back near the bottom of the majors in runs scored again.

And look, I don’t want to seem like I’m piling on here, but I’ve got to be real with you. After playing 7 of 9 against the Nats through next weekend, we’ve got the Dodgers, then the Phillies and Brewers. And, I’m so sorry. I really hate to do this to you. But I’m just going to say it: After that, we have 3 more against the Braves.

Don’t cry. You know how much it hurts me to see you like this.

Don’t give up. There’s still a chance. There are 3 Wild Cards available. The Phillies and Cubs are really playing well. It’s going to be tough for anyone to beat them out the rest of the way. So that would leave the D-Backs, the Giants, the Reds and us—the little engine that could for half a season.

Four teams potentially playing for one spot.

Other than 3 against the Phillies, we don’t have any games left against the other Wild Card contenders. So we’re going to have to take care of business and hope for some help. It could happen. It’s not like the D-Backs, Giants and Reds are playing like world beaters. So there really is still a chance.

But I watched the end of that game last night, and I knew it was time to say something. Even Sevi and Hut sounded a little down, so I thought it was really important that we have this talk.

I know it’s not easy for you to hear some of these things. Believe me, it’s not easy for me to say them.

But I owe you the truth, and that’s what I’m giving you.

I’m glad we had this talk. This is hard for both of us. But if we have any chance of pulling through this, it’ll have to be together.

Are you going to be OK? Are we good?

Good. Now I’ve got to run to Publix to grab some snacks. Inter Miami’s on at 7:30 tonight. You think Tata's going to finally give Messi a night off? I feel like he could use one.

🎶 Dai dai dai dai dai dai…Dai dai dai dai dai dai… 🎵

🎶 Dai dai dai dai…dai dai dai dai dai dai… 🎵 (music fades)

---

While you’re here…

• Have a question for my next “Hey, Geff!” Mailbag? Submit it to me directly on the VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS page on GlennGeffner.com.

• Learn more about one-on-one play-by-play coaching from Glenn Geffner via Zoom at glenngeffner.com.

• Your feedback is always appreciated. Hit the “LIKE” button below if you enjoyed this post.

• Interested in advertising on VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS? Contact me here to learn about opportunities to promote your business on a daily or weekly basis.