Recap: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Florida Marlins

KudoSurf Me!Follow @twittablogga

Recap: Marlins Series

1) First, James Shield is quite possibly Superman himself. James continued his impressive 2011 season with his second consecutive complete game. Sunday, Shields dominated the Marlins by only allowing 1 run on 4 hits. Shields has rebounded quite well from a lackluster 2010 season. He is without a doubt the Rays ace this year.

2) Not to take away from Shield’s performance but the Marlins morale was most likely at an all time low on Sunday. Marlins Manager Edwin Rodriguez unexpectedly resigned prior to Sunday’s game. The Marlins currently have a record of 1-18 in the month of June.

3) Casey Kotchman has been on fire of late. Kotchman went 2-3 in Sunday’s game and could be a player of the month candidate. In June, Kotchman is hitting .309 and in the last seven days Kotchman has hit. 364. The St. Petersburg native seems to have found a groove. "When it rains, it pours," Choate said. "You can use every cliche in the book. I felt I had him beat. They get paid to hit, like I get paid to pitch. Somehow he kept it inside the line. I'm not even quite sure how, because if I put it any more inside, it would have hit him.

4) Alex Cobb impressed again with six innings work allowing only 1 run. Cobb now has a 2-0 record with a 2.55 ERA. Neimann is back on the 25 man roster but can he get it going? If not we know that Cobb is a more than capable replacement.

5) Tampa handled the Marlins with relative ease sweeping the “OTHER” Florida team. Tampa’s bats were sporadic throughout the series but the pitching was lights out as always.

Marlins Manager Rodriquez resigned on Fathers Day

KudoSurf Me!Follow @twittablogga
ST. PETERSBURG --

Florida Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez has resigned with his team on a nine-game losing streak.

Bench coach Brandon Hyde will manage the Marlins against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, but the club will begin a search for an interim manager.

"It's been extremely frustrating for everyone," Florida president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. "I think everyone here knows what is going on — the way we've played, the way we've performed. It's tough on everyone, especially him.

"He communicated with me early this morning that this was something he was thinking about, and when I got to the ballpark we accepted his resignation."

Rodriguez, in his first full season as manager, became interim manager on June 23 last year after Fredi Gonzalez was fired. He was given the job permanently five days later, becoming the first Puerto Rican-born manager in major league history. Florida went 46-46 under Rodriguez, who had opened the season as the Marlins' Triple-A manager in New Orleans.

The Marlins fell to 1-17 in June with Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Rays. They were 32-39 and in last place in the NL East, 12 1/2 games behind the Phillies.

Beinfest said the team would move quickly to bring in an interim manager.

"So we can move ahead with the business of playing baseball and trying to win games," he said.

Beinfest informed the players of Rodriguez's decision during a team meeting before Sunday's game.

Rodriguez was at the ballpark and talked with individual players in the manager's office. He didn't speak with reporters.

By Associated Press