It was just two seasons ago that the Miami Marlins went hard in free agency, acquiring a star-studded crop of players that were supposed to lift them back into World Series contention.
Since then, the Marlins have unloaded everything of value, and entering tonight’s game against the Colorado Rockies are mired in a streak of 30-plus innings without scoring a run for the second times in as many years.
The Marlins haven't scored in 37 innings, the longest such streak in club history and the longest in the majors since the 1985 Houston Astros flashed the “Hollow Stick Syndrome” for 42 innings. That team had hella pitching though. Miami’s just bad all the way around. Miami's offense hasn't produced jack since July 14th. Sunday's 1-0, 13-inning loss to Milwaukee kept the streak alive, and now they sit just one extra-inning game away from the record of 48-consecutive scoreless innings.
Marlins manager Mike Redmond must feel like he’s in a Ghetto Boys video.
“It's really tough to see every single guy in the lineup struggle," Marlins manager Mike Redmond told the AP. "I don't think I've seen that before."
Maybe he hasn’t, but Marlins fans have. Florida had a 30-inning drought in 2012 under manager Ozzie Guillen, whose tenure at Miami was nothing short of an abomination.
The Marlins have already been shut out 12 times this season and at 35-61 are battling the 33-win Astros for MLB’s worst squad.
It’s getting so bad, fans might watch just to see if they can get the record. When you’re a bag-over-the-head, walking example of baseball failure, some sense of accomplishment is better than nothing, right?
