If you’re a Phillies fan – as I am – the simple mention of the “Marlins” – even out of context – sends you into a soul-shaking, shudder-starting, stuttering and stammering, and stumbling stream of massive panic.
I wish it were without good reason. Yet, the Florida Marlins, the Miami Marlins, the Covid-19-era Marlins… all of the branches of that franchise have consistently and monstrously destroyed the Phillies, and it’s not just a matter of wins and losses – though Philadelphia is just 10-13 (.435) over the last two seasons, heck, they even lost 10 of 18 to the Fish during their World Series campaign in 2008 – it’s how they win. The Marlins never just beat the Phillies – they dramatize it. The Phillies are positively pummeled; and it so often beats them up on a larger scale.
Last night was no exception. The Phillies opened up a seven-game series against the Marlins last night with a loss. They had a three-run lead going into the eighth inning, before their very well-known bullpen allowed the Marlins to tie it up. With two outs. Two-out hits are every baseball fan’s favorite when their team hits them; every baseball fan’s devastation when their team gives them up.
So it’s never easy. It never seems to be an example of Phils’ fans saying “we pitched well, they just beat us.” Or, “our bats were competent, theirs were just better.” Not with the Marlins. The Phillies beat themselves. There is a serious stigma. It’s another kind of contagious.
And here they stand. During the strangest season, one that no imagination could conjure, Philadelphia has to face them seven times in five days. The Phillies are just three games behind a Braves team that is carrying a .591 winning percentage (and oh, that also scored 29 runs against the Marlins the day before Philly’s seven-game tussle). Meanwhile, the Marlins are suddenly Wildcard contenders.
This series matters.
This isn’t the first time the Phillies have had to control their own destiny with the Fish hanging them on the line. One of my most begrudging memories is of the 2006 Phillies, all of Philadelphia and the greater areas had high hopes for making the playoffs in Ryan Howard’s MVP year. The Mets ran away with the division, but the Wildcard was well within reach. It was the Phillies or the Dodgers.
The Phillies’ hopes came down to the last series of the season, which was against, of course, the Marlins. Ironically, these were the Joe Girardi-led Marlins. On Oct. 1, 2006, the Marlins beat the Phillies, 3-2, during the only October baseball the Phils would play, while the Dodgers topped the Giants, 4-3. One-run losses are every baseball fan’s least favorite way to lose; one-run victories are every baseball fan’s favorite way to win.
The Phillies ended the season with an 85-77 record. The Cardinals ended the season with an 83-78 record. The Phillies were percentage points away from the same record, and they didn’t make the playoffs.
The Cardinals won the World Series.
Thanks to *sigh* – the Marlins.
