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The Florida Marlins are out of baseball’s playoff race and have been for more than two months. What’s left for the rest of the season? Well, outfielder Mike Stanton might hit the most homers in the National League, so there’s that. Otherwise, the Marlins are left playing the spoiler role, motivating themselves by having the potential to ruin another team’s season. In both 2007 and 2008, the Marlins gleefully kept the New York Mets out of the playoffs by winning two games on each season’s final weekend.
When the Fish take on the Philadelphia Phillies, they won’t have a chance to knock them out of the playoffs, at least not just yet. The Phillies have a healthy lead in the division, but the Marlins can make it a lot less comfortable with a few wins. Such is the life of a team with nothing to play for: You become spiteful, mean, and evil. It’s baseball’s version of taking your ball and going home. It is undeniably fun, though. The wicked plotting begins Friday at Sun Life Stadium.
Fri., Sept. 2, 7:10 p.m., 2011
