May 30 -- FIRST-PLACE FISH?

Before Tuesday night's game, I ran into a scout from a National League team. He's a guy I've known for years, someone whose opinion I trust. Anyway, he mentioned that he'd just come from Florida, where he watched the Marlins play last weekend. I asked him, point blank, if he thought the surprising Marlins are for real.

"No way," he said.

Why?

Foremost, he mentioned their pitching. Presently, the Marlins rotation consists of top prospect Andrew Miller (4-4, 5.53), Scott Olsen (4-2, 3.65), Ricky Nolasco (4-3, 4.70), somebody named Burke Badenhop (1-3, 6.75) and tonight's starter, 6-foot-9 lefty Mark Hendrickson (7-2, 4.14), who is known more around here for his jumpshot with the Sixers than his lifetime 4.95 ERA. Add them together, and the ERA of the Marlins' starting rotation is 5.00, third-worst in the NL behind Colorado (5.46) and Pittsburgh (5.69).

But my scout friend also mentioned the Fish's offense, which is greatly dependent on home runs (sound familiar?). But, unlike the Phillies, the Marlins have yet to show they can manufacture runs. Dan Uggla (.307, 16 homers, 38 RBIs) is beyond hot right now; Hanley Ramirez (.291, nine homers, 23 RBIs, 13 steals) is among the game's most exciting players, and Mike Jacobs (.257, 11 homers, 29 RBIs) is a legit power threat. But can Jorge Cantu continue to produce? What about 40-year-old Luis Gonzalez? Will Josh Willingham's back problems nag him throughout the season? How much will Jacque Jones help?

These are all questions that will be answered over the next few months. For now, though, it should be interesting to get our first look at the surprising Marlins. Here's the series preview that ran in The Paper today:

MARLINS (30-22) at PHILLIES (31-24)
Fri., 7:05: LHP Mark Hendrickson (7-2, 4.14) vs. RHP Brett Myers (2-6, 5.79)
Sat., 7:05: RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-3, 4.70) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (5-3, 3.18)
Sun., 1:35: LHP Andrew Miller (4-4, 5.53) vs. LHP Jamie Moyer (5-3, 4.45)
Hot: Marlins 2B Dan Uggla is batting .397 with eight home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 17 games; Marlins LF Luis Gonzalez is batting .346 with 12 RBIs over his last 22 games; Phillies CF Shane Victorino is batting .442 (19-for-43) and has scored 13 runs during his 10-game hitting streak; Phillies 2B Chase Utley tops the majors with 17 home runs and is on pace to hit 50, which would break the single-season record for a second baseman (Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson hit 42).
Not: Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez has one hit in his last 13 at-bats; Marlins OF Josh Willingham has been on the disabled list since May 2 with back problems; Phillies RHP Brett Myers is 0-4 with an 8.02 ERA in his last four starts; Phillies LF Pat Burrell is batting .194 with five RBIs since May 4.

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Jason Weitzel, who runs the excellent Beerleaguer blog, asked me yesterday about the leadership dynamic in the Phillies' clubhouse. I shared my thoughts with him here.