The Miami Marlins were hoping to have a big season in 2012. They were opening their awesome stadium (I have been there and it was incredible) and they spent big time money to bring in Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell and manager Ozzie Guillen. But, they finished the first half in 4th place in the A.L. East with a 41-44 record, 9 games behind the Nationals. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts in the first half of the 2012 season, in my opinion:

Team MVP: Giancarlo Stanton - 22-year old righty swinging RF Giancarlo Stanton was by far the best player the Marlins had in the first half of the 2012 season. He has played in 80 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 81 of 285 (.284 avg, .919 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 19 homers, 50 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Marlins are really going to miss Stanton in the second half as he is going to miss the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

Biggest Surprise: Justin Ruggiano - When the Marlins dealt with the Astros for 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Justin Ruggiano, it barely made a blip on baseball sites. But, he has been hitting the heck out of the baseball for the Marlins so far this year. Ruggiano has played in 32 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 32 of 82 (.390 avg, 1.214 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 6 homers, 17 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Marlins need Ruggiano to keep up the good work in the second half of the 2012 season.

Biggest Disappointment: Heath Bell - The Marlins gave 34-year old righty reliever Heath Bell a big contract over the winter to close for them. But, he has been pathetic so far this year. He has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 2-5 with 19 saves, a 6.75 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP.

The Florida Marlins have started the season with a 1-3 record. They have been outscored 17-14 as the offense’s slow start has been the big reason for the sub-par record so far this year. The Marlins are only hitting .226 with a .641 OPS so far this year as a team. 3B Hanley Ramirez and 1B Gaby Sanchez are the main culprits in the Marlins’ slow start offensively. Ramirez is 2 for 15 (.133 avg, .569 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base so far this year. Sanchez is 1 for 12 (.083 avg, .250 OPS) with 1 run scored so far this year. The Marlins need Ramirez & Sanchez to start hitting better as the Marlins are expecting them to be run producers this year. One bright spot for the Marlins so far this year has been the starting pitchers, who have each worked at least six innings in their starts so far this year. Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Ricky Nolasco and Carlos Zambrano are a combined 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP so far this year. The Marlins are playing the Phillies on the road starting today.

The Florida Marlins finished the first half on a 5-game winning streak as they are starting to respond to “new” manager Jack McKeon. The Marlins are 11-8 (57.9%) under McKeon. The Marlins finished the first half of the season in last place in the N.L. East with a 43-48 record which has them 14 games behind the Phillies. The Marlins are also 10.5 games behind the Braves in the Wild Card race. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact in the first half of the season for the Marlins:

Team MVP: No one in baseball has more raw power than 21-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton. He’s streaky but when he’s on, he hits everything hard. Stanton has played in 85 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 77 for 302 (.255 avg, .842 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 18 homers, 51 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Stanton has whiffed 96 times so far this year so he has a lot of holes in his swing, but he has carried the team quite a bit this year offensively.

Biggest Surprise: 32-year old lefty swinging 3B Greg Dobbs was just supposed to be a pinch hitter for the Marlins this year but they have needed him more than that and he has responded well. Dobbs has played in 75 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 63 for 215 (.293 avg, .718 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers and 21 RBIs. In his first seven years in the majors prior to this year, Dobbs had never batted more than 324 times in a season.

Biggest Disappointment: 27-year old righty swinging shorstop Hanley Ramirez has been the best hitter on the Marlins every year he has been on the team until 2011. Ramirez has played in 73 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 64 for 265 (.242 avg, .706 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 8 homers, 37 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. The Marlins are hoping for Ramirez to have a big second half as he has a lot better since Jack McKeon has taken over as the manager.

The Florida Marlins are 1-2 after the woeful Mets came to Miami over the weekend and pushed them around. The Marlins looked like the Bad News Bears in the field and some of the pitching was awful. They were outscored 17-12 by the Mets. The Marlins are too good to keep playing like they did over the weekend, so I think they will start to get their act together this week.

The Florida Marlins are 42-46 which has them in 4th place in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Braves. The Marlins might go into a selling mode in the second half of the season. This year though they have had a lot of surprises and disappointments and here’s a look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 26-year old righty swinging 1B Gaby Sanchez has burst onto the scene this year and he is playing well. Sanchez has played in 84 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 95 of 315 (.302 avg, .832 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 9 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 26-year old righty starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez is finally healthy right now and he’s pitching well. Sanchez has started 17 games for the Marlins this year and he is 7-6 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. 26-year old righty closer Leo Nunez had a very solid first half of 2010 for the Marlins. Nunez has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 3-2 with 20 saves, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. 30-year old righty reliever Clay Hensley has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 1-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

Disappointments: 23-year old righty swinging Cameron Maybin was supposed to be the starting CF this season but he’s already in AAA. Maybin played in 51 games for the Marlins this season and he was 41 of 182 (.225 avg, .631 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 27-year old righty reliever Burke Badenhop was part of the return for Miguel Cabrera (along with Maybin) and he has also been pathetic this year. Badenhop has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 1-5 with 1 save, a 5.70 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. 28-year old lefty reliever Dan Meyer had a career year for the Marlins last season but he has been awful this year. Meyer has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA and a 2.89 WHIP. 23-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Volstad got sent back down to AAA right before the All-Star Break. He has started 17 games for the Marlins this year and he is 4-8 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

The Marlins took two out of three from the Phillies in Philly this past weekend so it’s all smiles right now in Florida. The Marlins are 8-5 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the N.L. East, 1/2 a game behind the Phillies. The Marlins are outscoring their opponents 68-62 on the season so they need to tighten up the pitching staff a tad if they are going to keep winning a lot of ballgames. The Marlins travel to Houston (3 games) and Colorado (3 games) this week.

The Marlins are now 4-2 on the season after taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers over the weekend. They are one game behind the Phillies despite being outscored 32-27 on the season. The Marlins are getting a lot of clutch hitting so far this season and that is the biggest reason they are 4-2. The Reds are coming to town for a four game series and then the Marlins travel to Philly this weekend to tangle with the Phillies. This will be a tough 7 game stretch for the Marlins so I’m sure they would be happy with 4 wins. Anything more than that would be gravy if the Marlins are good enough to do it.

The Florida Marlins are 2-2 to start the season despite being outscored 21-14. The offense and the bullpen have had issues so far this season. The Marlins are having a hard time stringing hits together so far this season but I think they will snap out of that soon as they have a good hitting team. The bullpen however will likely be a problem all year long. The pen is a combined 1-0 with 2 saves, a 5.54 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP so far this season. Hopefully Marlins’ starting pitchers will start working later in ballgames. The starters are 1-2 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP so far this season so they are doing their job.

Dontrelle Willis, Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre have all pitched like crap in the 2nd half of the season.  The D-Train has started 13 games since the All-Star Break and he is 2-8 with a 6.30 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.  In 74.1 innings, Willis has allowed 105 hits, walked 28 batters and whiffed 51.  It seems as if Willis just took his first season making the big bucks off!  He has started 32 games this season and he is 9-15 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.  Scott Olsen is also having a rough 2nd half of the season.  In his 12 starts since the All-Star Break, Olsen is 3-7 with a 7.43 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP.  In 63 innings, Olsen has allowed 90 hits, 16 homers, walked 30 batters and whiffed 46.  Olsen has now started 31 games this season and he is 9-14 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP.  Sergio Mitre has proven that his first half success was a fluke.  In 12 starts since the All-Star Game, Mitre is 2-4 with a 7.27 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP.  In 60.2 innings, Mitre has allowed 88 hits, walked 22 batters and whiffed 25.  For the season, Mitre has started 27 games and he is 5-8 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.  The Marlins are now 65-86 on the season which has them in last place in the National League West, 18.5 games behind the Mets and 3 games behind the Nationals for 4th place.

The Florida Marlins are truly one of the worst teams in all of baseball.  They are now 62-83 which has them in last place in the National League East, 20.5 games behind the Mets.  The Marlins are only 1 game better than each the White Sox and the Devil Rays for draft position in 2008.  It’s a shame because this teams’ future appeared bright after a surprising 2006 season.