The Marlins lost 5-2 to the Braves today to fall into a tie for the division. The Marlins are having a good offensive season; they entered the day third in the NL in runs scored per game. The Marlins are achieving this despite poor years from beginning and end of their offense. Juan Pierre is not getting on base. He's played 25 games and has walked only 4 times; that would work out to about 25 for the season. That's way down from his last two seasons. His OBA stands at .316.

At the other end, Mike Lowell is hitting below the Mendoza line. Lowell has been up their with Rolen as the premier NL third basemen over the last two seasons. With the players getting on base ahead of him, Mike should be having a monster RBI year.

If these are just slumps, it's good news for the Fish. When Juan and Mike bounce back, the team will be that much stronger. If not, it's good they've added LoDoca and Delgado to make up for the lack of offense.