Marlins' Nine-Game Skid Is a Reminder of Baseball's Cruel Reality

The Miami Marlins have hit their lowest point of the season, yet signs remain that another turnaround could be just around the corner.

Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It’s cliché to say that the MLB season is a roller coaster. As teams maneuver their way through the 162-game marathon, ups and downs are inevitable. One week, everything is going great. The pitching staff is clicking, the lineup can’t stop hitting, and the vibes are high all around.

The next week, everything is different. No one can seem to locate a pitch to save their lives, while the offense, which had just been finding consistent ways to get runners home, now doesn’t remember the fundamentals of hitting.

That’s just baseball, though. There’s a reason the cliché is a cliché.

The Miami Marlins are in the midst of one of those rough patches. Miami has dropped nine consecutive games, with the latest being a three-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros, a team that entered the series seven games below .500.

If this were a roller coaster, the Marlins would be in the middle of one of those turns that induces so much G-force that your head begins to spin and your vision begins to dim. They can only hope that, just like a roller coaster, everything levels back out and the fun times return.

Finding the Bright Spots in the Middle of the Storm

Miami Marlins catcher Joe Mack. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There are reasons to be positive amid these troubling times. For one, Sandy Alcantara appears to be throwing his heart out at the moment. Sure, last night's outing unraveled so quickly that it was hard to comprehend what had even occurred. After lighting up the box score for six innings, the seventh arrived and everything went down the drain. But that's just baseball sometimes. On the whole, Alcantara showed that he's still got the goods.

What's been more concerning over this nine-game losing streak has been the hitting. The Marlins have scored three or more runs just twice over their last nine games. That's simply unacceptable. The pitching, for the most part, has done its job. It's time for the offense to pick up the slack and perform the way it can.

Waiting for the Next Turn

Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough (86) speaks to first base umpire Laz Diaz (63). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

So, what's the moral of the last two weeks for Miami? Is it that all good things must come to an end? Some might come to that conclusion. There was a moment when it appeared this team could do no wrong and was destined to break the mold once again. But that was in June. It's now July 23, and life has flipped on a dime. Gone are the days of sweeping the Seattle Mariners and winning series against the likes of the Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Or are they?

Listen, there's so much to like about this Marlins squad. When they're clicking, they can be one of the most entertaining teams in baseball. It's now up to them to find that juice again. That's obviously easier said than done, but it must be done if they want to: 1) become reasonable buyers at the trade deadline on Aug. 3 and 2) make a run in October.

Right now, neither seems likely.

But as we've already noted, baseball changes on a dime. It's like a roller coaster. One second, you're going down. The next, you're going up.

Maybe an upswing is just on the horizon.