Column: The Cracks in the Sand

 By Rhys Thomason – Sunday Column, May 17, 2020

It’s hard to know what to make of the Miami Palms right now. You look at their 26–23 record, and it says “competitive.” You watch them for a weekend like this one, and it says “tired.”

The Brewers came in and did just about everything right in two of the three games, and the Palms looked like a team in need of more than just a Monday off. It’s not that there’s no talent here — there clearly is — but it’s starting to look like the gas tank is reading “E.”

Erick Fedde, who had been counted on to help stabilize the rotation while Jarod Lantz rehabs and Blake Johnston finds his rhythm, was hit around like it was batting practice. He wasn’t alone. The bullpen didn’t hold up, either — but honestly, what’s left to hold up after a 15-run bludgeoning?

The lineup, too, seems brittle right now. Brett Gardner and Jaspero González are on the shelf. Jason Roeder’s been tossed into the deep end. Yairo Muñoz continues to hit, Nick Markakis is doing his thing, and Frank Sohn seems to have rediscovered his footing after a quiet stretch — but after that, it’s duct tape and willpower.

The good news? The schedule offers both opportunity and peril. The White Sox come to town next, and they’ve been one of the few teams more inconsistent than Miami. If the Palms want to wash out the taste of Sunday’s drubbing, that’s their chance.

But then things get interesting — a trip through the National League, then a finale against Toronto’s rising offense. It’s not a stretch that could define the season, but it might reveal what kind of team the Palms really are.

They’re not in trouble — not yet. But this feels like one of those points in a long season when identity starts to set. Will this be the grind-it-out, rally-around-each-other version of Miami we saw in April, or the weary, erratic bunch we just watched this weekend?

A day off will help. A few healthy bodies will help more. But they’re going to have to decide soon whether this is just a stumble — or the start of a slide.


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