CHICAGO -- Tuesday’s first pitch wasn’t until 6:40 p.m. CT, but Connor Norby was dressed in full uniform by 2 p.m. Why, you might ask? Hours before the Marlins’ second game of a road series at Wrigley Field, Norby and more than 20 other players and staff members with limited Major League service time were tasked with fulfilling the organization’s orders on the annual coffee run. All 45 items went on ace Sandy Alcantara’s tab. Norby and right-handed reliever Tyler Phillips took charge by placing most of the orders, but they ensured everyone put in at least one, especially the complex ones. “It was great,” said Norby, who would go on to homer and triple that night. “We killed it. The only thing we messed up, I think, was that they did put numbers on each of the cups. We didn't realize this until after the fact, which, I think, would have made it easier, first of all, to decipher whose is this, instead of trying to read a sheet, because guys got some similar stuff as one another. But overall, it was good.” |
Left-hander Ryan Weathers kept his order simple, an iced latte, because he was in their shoes a year ago, when former closer Tanner Scott made him go with the group even though it was his second time partaking in the tradition; he also did something similar as a member of the Padres. “It's fun,” Weathers said. “Obviously, we're at Wrigley Field. There's been history here literally since baseball has been a thing. So just being at Wrigley is cool in itself. And then, having big league players get dressed up, full uniform and walk to Starbucks, I've done it a couple times, and just watching those guys do it, it's just a fun time.” During their walk from the ballpark to Starbucks, the Marlins had to deal with strange looks. Graham Pauley admitted it felt a bit weird and embarrassing at first to do a normal activity in full uniform, but it quickly turned into something fun. |
Some guys had to carry four coffees on a tray. Others had just one. Pauley was tasked with bringing back the orders of Anthony Bender and Otto Lopez, who requested a birthday cake pop. Phillips was arguably the most dedicated of all. After a couple of the orders came back wrong, he went back to the store for the correct drinks and brought them back to the clubhouse. “It was funny, just like walking across the street and people just staring at you, taking pictures and videos and a couple people yelling things,” Eric Wagaman said. “But that was a cool experience. It was fun. We got some fans heckling us out there. We got some cheering us on. It was a cool experience.” |
This was the first time manager Clayton McCullough had witnessed the rite of passage, and he saw past the humorous premise. “It's great,” McCullough said. “A long season. We spend a lot of time here together, so something that is kind of some team building, a little camaraderie. … [The] season becomes kind of like Groundhog Day sometimes, so to break that up and do a little something fun that's kind of away from the field is a good thing to get through the season.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Marlins hitting coach Pedro Guerrero discusses the club keeping it simple, showing patience and more. |
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The second annual Barbie Game Day™ will take place on Friday, when the Marlins begin their homestand against the Rays at 7:10 p.m. ET. Ticket packages include an exclusive Barbie™ x Marlins pink jersey. Saturday is Cuban Heritage Celebration. A Cuban Heritage ticket package includes an exclusive jersey, which commemorates the centennial of the late Celia Cruz. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket will benefit the Celia Cruz Foundation. Ticket prices are subject to change and the Cuban Heritage jersey is of limited quantity. Love for the “Queen of Salsa” continues on Sunday, when the first 8,000 fans in attendance will receive a Cruz bobblehead presented by LEON Medical Centers. |
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Talk about forcing one’s hand. Right-hander Valente Bellozo allowed just two runs (one earned) in 9 1/3 innings against the Dodgers and Cubs in his last two starts, so the Marlins kept him on the active roster despite Weathers’ return to the rotation. Bellozo will provide length out of the bullpen, in what McCullough called a “Swiss Army” role. “All he did when he got the ball, he went out there and he collected outs,” McCullough said. “How professional he is and how he goes about doing things, and he's a great competitor. And so we feel like the performance warranted him to continue to stay here with us and get some opportunities and help out maybe in a little different capacity.” Miami instead optioned left-handed reliever Anthony Veneziano, who had permitted two runs apiece in two of his past three appearances. That leaves Cade Gibson (four career outings) as the lone southpaw in the bullpen. “‘Go back and kind of get a reset,’” McCullough said of the message to Veneziano. “‘Perform a little bit better, get the velo back, get the crispness of the pitches back, the strike-throwing.’ Be able to come in and count on him to get out good left-handed hitters, and within a pocket as well, where there's a righty in there. But I think just kind of a reset, and to take a little bit of a breath away from the Major League level, and get your stuff back where we feel like it's capable of being. And also the execution part of it.” |
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