NL East UpdateBy Tom Brew They were the team nobody wanted. The Florida Marlins sold off almost all of their best players in the offseason, begged for a new stadium and were denied, then hinted about riding off into the sunset, with Miami in their rear-view mirror. They slashed their payroll to $15 million, called up a ton of rookies and made a mockery of the game. They were an embarrassment to baseball, all the talking heads said. ''Everybody was saying we were going to lose 120 games,'' rookie right-hander Josh Johnson said. We just wanted to prove everybody wrong.'' That didn't happen early, when they won only 11 of their first 42 games. But look at them now: After beating Milwaukee 4-2 on Monday for their eighth straight win, the Marlins -- yes, the Marlins -- are only 1 games out of the ''They have proven that they can win,'' Marlins manager Joe Girardi said. Now they have to prove that they can keep winning. Next up is a difficult road trip to St. Louis and Milwaukee, and they need to keep winning to stay in the race. Their schedule down the stretch is very difficult, with 20 of their final 23 games against teams a combined 34 games over .500. The Marlins are two games under .500 heading to St. Louis, and a winning road trip would at least get them back to even. Then they can take it from there. ''When you look at the wild-card standings, the teams have been leading it all year have been over .500,'' Girardi said. So you have to get over .500 to catch them.'' This playoff run hardly seemed possible three months ago, when the Marlins had the worst record in the league. But give a great deal of credit to their front office, which added a lot of young talent with all their trades. This team is very young, but it is also very good. ''When you're 11-31, the hill looks pretty steep,'' said second baseman Dan Uggla, who had two hits and drove in two runs Monday. We've come a long way since we were 11-31.'' Johnson, the dominating rookie pitcher, went a career-high 7 2/3 innings Monday and raised his record to 12-6 with a 2.87 ERA, the lowest among all starters in the majors leagues. ''I felt like I was in control the whole game,'' said Johnson (12-6), whose 12 wins are the most in the NL among rookies. The Marlins are also in control of their own fate now, and sweeping four games from Milwaukee served a dual purpose in the crowded wild-card race. It kept the Marlins near the front and pretty much knocked Milwaukee out of the race. That might help in the return games on the back end of this trip. ''Sweeping this series really means a lot,'' Uggla said. Four games. It's huge. It gives us a great attitude going into St. Louis." Even though the Cardinals have the second-best record in the National League, I love the Marlins in the first game of the series tonight. Rookie 22-year-old Scott Olsen is pitching for the Marlins, and l love his stuff. I also love the matchup against Mark Mulder, who has been injured and ineffective all year. He came back last Wednesday from a two-month stint on the disabled list and gave nine earned runs to the Mets in only three innings. Expect the Marlins' hot bats to rough him up as well. The wagerweb.com number (Florida +$108) should be good for the Marlins, so roll with it. Mulder has done nothing all year and the Marlins are hot. METS BEING CAREFUL WITH PITCHERSMets manager Willie Randolph announced his pitching rotation for the road trip beginning tonight in Denver, and right now it doesn't include Orlando Hernandez. Steve Trachsel, Dave Williams and Oliver Perez will pitch against Colorado, while Tom Glavine will return Friday in Houston. El Duque, who played catch for about 30 throws on Sunday and also played long-toss yesterday, is not yet ready to be slotted back into the rotation, Randolph said. Hernandez last worked on Aug. 20 vs. Colorado and has been held out to get extra rest. "He hasn't really pitched," Randolph said. "That, to me, would be rushing him." With the Rockies playing well at home and the Mets stretching their lead to 15 games in the NL East, this might be a good time to take a flyer or two on the Rockies, because the baseball betting lines will be good. 
Click here for the 2008 World Series betting odds and the 2008 baseball World Series predictions by Tom Morgan! --- by Tom Brew at wagerweb.com on September 01, 2006
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