PHILADELPHIA — As disappointing as this season has been for him, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said he’s confident that, with the right moves to the roster, the team can become a winner by next year.
“I don’t think it’s going to take a long time at all,” Loria said Monday of the retooling process.
Once again, Loria refused to discuss any plans he might have involving possible changes with the team’s front office staff. And he also refused to offer his assessment on the job Ozzie Guillen has done as Marlins manager.
“I’m not going to comment on any of that,” Loria said. “I just don’t want to get drawn into that until the end of the season. There’s good and bad with every situation.”
But without going into specifics, Loria said there are definite “holes” on the team that need to be filled.
“We’re going to have to do some work to fill some holes we’ve obviously created,” Loria said. “But I don’t want to fill them just for the sake of filling them. We need to fill them to complement some of the other really good parts that are here.”
Third base is one area the team is likely to explore.
Loria was more than happy to talk about players he believes have met or exceeded expectations.
“What have I been thrilled with?” Loria said, asking his own question. “Watching Jose Reyes. Every breath he takes is worth watching. [ Rob] Brantly coming along. [ Josh] Johnson coming back.”
Loria said Mark Buehrle, one of the Marlins’ big offseason free agent signings, has a “professional approach to everything” and “gives you the usual 2,000 innings.”
Loria said infielder Donovan Solano and outfielder Justin Ruggiano have been “pleasant surprises.” He also has liked what he has seen so far from rookie pitcher Jacob Turner, who was acquired with Brantly in the trade with Detroit.
“When you start to add up the pleasant surprises, you ask yourself: ‘Where did we go wrong? What happened?’ ” he said. “I don’t have the answer.”
Loria said he doesn’t want to sit through another season like this one.
“I don’t have any patience for that,” he said. “[With] a little bit of adjustments, we should be doing what we were supposed to do. We will do what we were supposed to do.”
Dobbs on errors
Greg Dobbs had a pair of three-hit games in the Washington series, lifting his average to .308.
But his defensive failings at third base also continued. Dobbs has made eight errors over his past 14 games at third base.
“Don’t have an answer,” Dobbs said. “Just continue to work and prepare, that’s all you can do. It’s one of those things you go through as a player, whether or not you’re going through it with hitting, or whether you’re going through it with defense. You try to battle through it. It’s absolutely frustrating, not so much personally, but for the team.”
• Ricky Nolasco was named the National League’s co-player of the week after winning both of his starts and holding his opponents to one run in 16 innings. Nolasco shut out the Nationals on Sunday. Nolasco shared the award with Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce.
UPCOMING
• Tuesday: Marlins RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-11, 4.44 ERA) at Philadelphia Phillies RHP Roy Halladay (9-7, 3.87), 7:05 p.m., Citizens Bank Park.
• Wednesday: Marlins RHP Josh Johnson (8-11, 3.81) at Philadelphia Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (4-7, 3.50), 4:05 p.m., Citizens Bank Park.
• Scouting report: Halladay, who threw a perfect game against the Marlins in 2010, hasn’t been quite as dominant against them lately.
Over the past two seasons, Halladay has gone 1-2 with a 2.83 ERA in five starts.




