The Miami Marlins have a new ballpark, a new manager, a new name and a number of high-profile free agent signees joining a solid nucleus of young players who are developing into solid players. Adding Ozzie Guillen as the field general alone would make Miami a team to watch, but all these other factors make the Marlins one of the most difficult teams to project heading into the season.

There’s already been a couple dust-ups with the stream-of-consciousness speaking Ozzie. His comments about his post-game drinking raised eyebrows. Then his expression of admiration for Fidel Castro infuriated Miami’s Cuban population. But that’s what you get from Guillen, a hard-nosed baseball guy who has no filter when speaking.

None of us at Brushbackpitch.com project the Marlins as a playoff team, but I do believe this is a team that could find itself right in the mix as the season winds down. So just how high is the ceiling for this team? Michael Jong, manager of the fan blog Fish Stripes, shared his thoughts with Brushbackpitch.com. Here’s what he had to say:

Brushbackpitch: Marlins added Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell to Hanley Ramirez and youngsters like Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason, so they’re very talented. But they’re also in a division with Philadelphia, Atlanta and up-and-coming Washington. How good can this team be?

Michael Jong: Prior to the season, I had the Miami Marlins as around an 86-win team, and that opinion has not changed from the start of the season. The team is going to be in and around contention simply because the regression of players like Ramirez and Josh Johnson to their more typical seasons combined with the addition of Reyes to replace the black hole that the team previously ran at third base should add 12 wins to the team from last season. From there, slight improvements from players like Stanton put them on the fringes of contention in a season in which the two teams above them either remained static or got worse over the offseason.

Brushbackpitch: BBP HQ is in Minnesota so we got to see Ozzie Guillen quite a bit in recent years. What’s your sense of how Ozzie Guillen will do in Miami and what his fiery presence will mean for the team?

Jong: Guillen is a competitor and an intense manager, so if there is one thing he can do, it is light a fire under players who may become complacent as the season wears on. This is especially important for Ramirez, a guy who carries a reputation of being lazy and disinterested. If there is a person who can motivate Hanley Ramirez to be his absolute best, it is Ozzie Guillen. Other than that, I do not see Guillen’s addition as being game-breaking in any way, but it does help also add interest and flavor to an already intriguing team.

Brushbackpitch: Do you think the Guillen apology this afternoon and accompanying five-game suspension will be enough to end the controversy over his comments regarding Fidel Castro?

Jong: Guillen’s apology and suspension should be enough to end the controversy, though it likely will not be for Cuban residents of Miami that insist there was more to it than what he said. Yes, the comments were very ridiculous and should not have been said, but Guillen was simply talking without a filter as usual, and something that should never have been mentioned, no matter what the actual point was, was said. In time, no one will remember this incident, but for now I imagine it will still be front and center in the world of the Miami Marlins.

Brushbackpitch: How does Josh Johnson look coming off of his injury and what do you make of the overall rotation with additions like Buehrle and Carlos Zambrano?

Jong: Josh Johnson had a rougher start than expected on Opening Day, but otherwise looked decent and should be expected to pitch better as the season progresses. He has shown no ill signs regarding the shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the season, so concerns about his play are not warranted as of now. With the additions of Buehrle and Zambrano, the Marlins’ rotation is worlds better than the Johnson-less crew they ran last season, and it should be improved over the projected rotation that would have started had the team made no moves. Buehrle essentially replaces Javier Vazquez’s spot at similar productivity, while Zambrano is a slight addition over previous fifth starter Chris Volstad.

Brushbackpitch: Marlins have had success in the past with two World Series wins. Those championships have been followed by several lean years. Do you get the sense ownership is committed to retaining some of these stars and trying to win for the long haul now? Why or why not?

Jong: The ownership looks committed to attempting to increase payroll after the move to the new stadium. This is evident by the fact that the Fish made numerous free agent signings this offseason in order to bolster a solid core and transform them into a playoff contender. It is in the Marlins’ best long-term interests to maintaining as many core players as possible, as they need to build the confidence of the fans in order to rebuild a broken fan base that has not supported the team in the last 10-plus years.

Brushbackpitch: Have you seen the new ballpark yet? What are some of the memorable features (do you have a photo you could send?)?

Jong: I have not yet seen the ballpark in person, though I have caught a glimpse of it from the outside and have seen numerous pictures of its cozy confines. It does look beautiful as a whole, though fans may not be so excited to see certain aspects such as the hideous home run structure in left center field. Overall, however, it appears to be a smashing success design-wise.

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