MIAMI (AP) - Former major leaguer Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez recently joined the Florida Marlins' small bandwagon, bringing his Little League team to a game, and he snared two foul balls while watching the home team win.
The Marlins' ballpark remains a great place to catch a souvenir because the abundance of elbow room ensures little competition. Fan apathy runs rampant, and few seemed to notice when the Marlins spent 18 hours alone atop the NL East this week.
Nonetheless, nearly a month into the season, the perennially neglected Marlins rank as one of baseball's best surprises.
At 15-8, they've matched their fastest start ever - and this is a franchise with two World Series titles. Florida ended a homestand Wednesday tied for the third-best record in the majors and briefly overtook Philadelphia atop the division.
What's the Marlins' secret?
"We surprise teams," All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez said.
It's easy to overlook a club that has ranked last in the NL in attendance the past six seasons. Fan expectations are so modest this year the Marlins have sold fewer season tickets for 2011 than for 2012, when they're scheduled to open a new ballpark.
But ever-thrifty Marlins management is building a strong foundation for the transition, eager to be competitive in the team's new home. And Florida's young talent is maturing so quickly the players envision themselves in the playoff picture this season.
"We're playing real good ball," center fielder Chris Coghlan said. "We're fighting, we're not lying down, and our pitching is doing a tremendous job. If we keep playing that way, we're going to be right where we need to be at the end of the year."
Pitching has been the team's strength so far. The rotation is anchored by Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, and while the Phillies have a big edge in publicity, Florida's starters have a better record (9-4) and ERA (3.63).
"That's a very good rotation," said manager Jim Tracy, whose Colorado Rockies scored seven runs in three games against Florida last week. "We've never been able to do anything against Ricky Nolasco. Josh Johnson is Josh Johnson. And Sanchez is throwing harder than a year ago."
Even better has been a bullpen that received an offseason makeover. With four newcomers, the relief corps leads the majors with an ERA of 1.93. Mike Dunn, Brian Sanches and closer Leo Nunez have allowed three runs combined in 33 2-3 innings.
Such pitching is what catcher John Buck anticipated when the season began.
"The expectations of this staff should be high," Buck said. "It's a good staff, and they should expect that out of themselves. I don't think it's something we're satisfied with. It's something we want to continue to do and keep consistent."
Thanks to the solid pitching and an improved defense, the Marlins have been winning despite little offense and a wave of injuries. Ramirez started so poorly he changed his stance, and the 2009 NL batting champion is hitting only .197 with no home runs. Young slugger Mike Stanton has been slowed by injuries to both hamstrings, and he was dropped from the cleanup spot before showing signs of life lately.
"Our guys who are supposed to be hitters aren't hitting," Buck said.
Left fielder Logan Morrison, who is in his first full major-league season, provided the biggest bat early but may be sidelined until mid-May with a left foot injury. Coghlan leads the team with 16 RBIs from the leadoff spot but has been nursing a sore throwing shoulder that may be an issue all season.
The injuries are especially alarming because depth is thin. But the pitching and youthful feistiness might be enough to annoy the Phillies and Atlanta Braves in the East all season.
Florida is 5-2 in one-run games and ranks second in the majors with 10 comeback wins.
"We seem to make it real fun in the seventh, eighth and ninth," Sanches said. "You're seeing a lot of special things. It's a really fun team, and it's exciting. We like what we've got. It's just: Keep going."
