Tommy Hutton Q&A: Marlins' early struggles a product of many things
A busy winter complete with upgrades and long-term extensions fueled hype and expectations leading up to the 2015 season.
And yet, through 14 games, the Miami Marlins (3-11) find themselves with the second-worst record in the majors.
The pitching ranks last in baseball with a 5.33 ERA. The lineup averages just 3.8 runs per game as many of its key cogs have yet to get going.
FOX Sports Florida's Christina De Nicola spoke with Marlins analyst Tom Hutton, whom you can follow on Twitter (@THUT14), about Miami's less-than-desirable start. She'll catch up with Hutton and other members of the broadcast team throughout the 2015 season for insight on the club.
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA: What have you seen that has gone wrong with this 3-11 start? It's obviously not what the team envisioned.
TOMMY HUTTON: Without question. If the hitters were doing what everybody expected them to do and if the pitchers were doing what everybody expected them to do, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's a combination of both. The mental mistakes show more when you're not hitting and pitching, so some of those have surfaced. When you're hitting and pitching you can kind of camouflage that stuff. So far, I think the Marlins have the worst ERA in the league. The bullpen -- their arms are all going to fall off by June if the starters don't start going deeper in games. That's basically what it's been.
FSF: Staying with the starters. Mat Latos hasn't had the start he imagined or the Marlins. Do you think it's maybe those injuries he's had? Maybe partly he didn't pitch as much last year? Is there concern that the Marlins might need to look at?
HUTTON: I think the injuries did come into play only because he was behind everybody else in spring training. I think he's had a late start. I don't think he got the work in he should have in the spring because of the injuries. I think you can see in his last three starts he has improved in those starts. It's almost like an early spring training for him.
FSF: One of the bright spots -- Dan Haren so far -- there was some uncertainty with the retirement drama. He's been a very pleasant surprise.
HUTTON: Bottom line: Dan Haren is a 34-year-old pro. He's done it, he's pitched for many different teams. He just knows what to do to prepare and get ready.
FSF: Another positive is Dee Gordon. Considering...
HUTTON: I think the amazing thing is if in spring training somebody would have told us after 13 games (entering Tuesday) Dee Gordon's going to have the second-most hits of any Marlin after the first 13 games, that he'd be hitting whatever he's hitting, we would've said, 'Oh, wow. That's going to be a good start. The club's going to get off to a good start.' Nobody's hitting behind him. That's the frustrating thing.
FSF: Going off that. It seems like maybe guys are pressing or trying to do too much. We've seen Christian Yelich struggle more than he probably ever has in his baseball career. How would you approach it if you were one of those guys trying to bounce out of this funk?
HUTTON: Probably the first time Yelich has ever struggled this mightily in his career. Ever. When that happens most of it is mental, and I think he just has to get back to his basics -- swinging at strikes. He's a good on-base guy. We've always seen that, but he's gone out of the zone a lot when he's struck out. Just clear your head and get back to your basics. That's the kind of hitter he is, and I'm sure this has never happened to him. When you go through that it's frustrating, especially a young player. We're forgetting he's only 23.
FSF: The last two games (in New York), the Marlins came back and fell short. They're trying to show some signs of life, but it seems like something is missing. Is that just me? Maybe the pitching hasn't been in tune with the hitting, especially the first week when the hitting wasn't there, now the pitching isn't. It seems like everything isn't in sync right now.
HUTTON: That's a good way to put it. You can't point to anything. I think the defense has been pretty good. Like I said before, there have been times where there have been some mental lapses, but like I also said, those are always more evident when you're not playing well. Guys make mental mistakes. It's going to happen over 162 games. It's hard to just focus every game, every night. But when you're playing well -- hitting well, pitching well -- you can camouflage that stuff. You don't want to. You want to minimize them.
FSF: Last thing. 3-11 not the start they wanted, a 14-game stretch like this. At the same time, in the middle of the season, it wouldn't have been as magnified.
HUTTON: Probably.
FSF: Is it a case of one of those stretches in the beginning of the season and things will right themselves out? Or should there be cause of concern and urgency?
HUTTON: I think in order to get out of this, you've got to put together a winning streak. In order to put together a winning streak, you need some good, solid starts. You can't go out and put a winning streak together if your starting pitcher's going 4 1/3, 5 1/3. You need some good, solid starts. And that's where the improvement's going to be to put together a streak to get back in.
FSF: This is where it hurts to have Henderson Alvarez on the DL and Jose (Fernandez) not back until midseason.
HUTTON: Sure, sure.
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
