Fifty games ago, the Marlins had just been swept by the worst team in baseball. The Colorado Rockies didn’t just beat them- they embarrassed them. Morale was at rock bottom, and expectations for the rest of the season were about as low as they could get.
Then something happened. The Fish rattled off a 32–18 run, capped by a sweep of the Yankees. For the first time since the magical 2023 playoff run, Marlins fans were watching a team that felt like it could matter in September- and maybe beyond. The trade deadline came and went without the fire sale many outside Miami expected. Peter Bendix, the new President of Baseball Operations, held firm. The roster stayed mostly intact. For a fan base conditioned to brace for gut punches, hope had crept back in.
Hope changes the way we watch baseball. When you expect nothing, every series win feels like October baseball, every home run is a small miracle. But when you believe you might have something real, the stakes get higher. The games still matter, but so do the decisions. We stop being happy-go-lucky underdogs and start holding the front office and manager to a higher standard.
That’s why the last week has been so frustrating. The same young, talented group that looked ready to push for something meaningful has been undercut by questionable decision-making- most notably from first-year manager Clayton McCullough.
To be clear, plenty of great MLB managers never played in the big leagues. That’s not the problem. The problem is execution. McCullough, who came to Miami after four seasons as the Dodgers’ first base coach, has shown an over-reliance on the numbers without the in-game flexibility to adjust when the situation calls for it.
This isn’t about being anti-analytics. Data is essential in modern baseball, but data is a tool, not a script. Too often this season, bullpen management has felt automated, pinch-hitting moves have ignored hot bats or matchups, and moments that called for defending his players have been met with silence. From the outside looking in, it appears McCullough is managing to satisfy a spreadsheet rather than the flow of the game in front of him. Yes, we as fans don’t see everything- there are health updates, scouting reports, and advanced metrics we aren’t privy to, but when the same visible mistakes repeat themselves, the pattern is hard to ignore.
To peak behind the on-the-field operations, it’s not difficult to admit that Bendix’s tenure so far has been far from a disaster. Holding the roster together at the deadline was a statement in itself, and the long-term health of the organization feels stronger than it has in years, but even the best executives miss sometimes.
From the outside, sending Cade Gibson back to Jacksonville instead of struggling lefty Josh Simpson, designating for assignment one of the only left-handed relievers (Anthony Veneziano) instead of George Soriano, and recalling Soriano over other MLB-ready arms were questionable calls. There may be behind-the-scenes reasons for each move, but the results speak for themselves- and in these cases, they haven’t been good.
Here’s a hard truth: this team probably isn’t playoff-ready. The hot streak showed what they can be when everything clicks, but the inconsistencies are still there. Bullpen depth, inconsistent hitting with runners in scoring position, and the development curve for several key players are all factors keeping them from being a true contender right now. And barring something unexpected, McCullough isn’t going anywhere this season. A talented roster can win in spite of a manager, but over 162 games, poor in-game management is hard to outrun.
The good news is that the future is bright. The Marlins’ farm system has impact talent on the way, and some of it will be ready sooner rather than later. We’ve already seen flashes from this young core, and the version of the Marlins we saw in that 50-game stretch after the Rockies series could be just the beginning.
This rebuild is still in progress, but for the first time in a while, it feels like it’s on track. Whether or not they make a serious playoff push in 2025, this season has given fans something we haven’t had in years: a reason to believe the best is still to come.
So enjoy the ride. The season isn’t over, and the Fish have shown they won’t go down without a fight.