The Miami Marlins are in deep trouble

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Giancarlo Stanton said it best – and we were waiting for some quote like this to leak out of the Miami clubhouse:

“We’re not really giving ourselves a chance, it feels like,” the All-Star slugger said after the loss. “We’ve got a positive vibe, but [something] is just not there.

“The fire is not there, it seems like. You always want to have it. But when you’re out there and it’s game time, it’s just nothing there.”

Things didn’t get much better on Saturday night in a 5-4 loss at Citi Field. Despite an okay five innings from Mat Latos, and five hits from Dee Gordon; Jacob deGrom threw seven scoreless innings striking out eight and walking nobody. Stanton went hitless (down to .220) and Christian Yelich went 1 for 5 (down to .225).

You could make the case that this is baseball’s most disappointing team; a label they have tried desperately to avoid with all the offseason moves and roster makeover.

Perhaps this was the test that was meant to happen all along. If they’re one of baseball’s worst teams in the first half of the season will Jeffrey Loria stick to his promise to continue trying to build a championship team or will they deal a few veterans for prospects?

This just wasn’t the way it was supposed to go down in Miami. Our call is that they continue to struggle, only to become one of baseball’s hottest teams when they get back Jose Fernandez, falling just short of a Wildcard berth by season’s end because they couldn’t break out of their slumber soon enough.

If you’re wondering on an update for Fernandez, he’s been throwing off a mound for the last month and he’s expected back in June.

If you’re wondering about the Marlins salvaging something on Sunday in Queens, they’re staring down the barrel of Matt Harvey; as always a team seems to when they’re struggling most.