The Miami Marlins are looking forward to slugger Giancarlo Stanton taking aim at the home-run structure in left-center field at Marlins Park. Maybe he’ll hit a ball into it and it will burst into fireworks like the light tower did in “The Natural”!
Or not. Anyway, now the Marlins are simply hoping that Stanton will be healthy for the start of the regular season. Manny Navarro:
The Marlins starting left fielder and clean-up hitter said Friday an MRI performed Wednesday revealed “a little bit of inflammation in his left knee” and he’ll wait a couple days before being reevaluated.
This can’t be good. The article goes on to say that Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen “hopes” to have his entire lineup “ready to go” by March 24 — that’s a week from Saturday, so that still gives Stanton time to rest up and be ready. But:
Asked if he thought he would be back by then, Stanton said: “We’re working towards it.”
“It all depends on how it responds. I’m trying to get there,” he said.
Navarro reports that Stanton had played through some left knee issues during 2011, which didn’t stop him from hitting .262/.356/.537 with 34 home runs. Pretty good if you’re healthy, very good if you’re playing through pain.
As always, we await further developments.