Jason Marquis – thecubsfan.com

we have a winner

probably not the Cubs, but at least I’m correct Piniella also said Jason Marquis would be the team’s fifth starter while Jon Lieber would hold down the role of long reliever. – ESPN, ChicagoSports Lesson learned: publicly complaining about losing your role will give you a better shot of keeping it. Please make a trade … Continue reading “we have a winner”

probably not the Cubs, but at least I’m correct

Piniella also said Jason Marquis would be the team’s fifth starter while Jon Lieber would hold down the role of long reliever.

– ESPN, ChicagoSports

Lesson learned: publicly complaining about losing your role will give you a better shot of keeping it. Please make a trade already.

In other news we already guessed, The Riot’s leading off, Soriano’s batting second, and on base is completely optional. DeRosa will be critical, because he’ll be getting tons of RBI chances batting sixth.

Scott Eyre hiding an injury during Spring Training means he’s going to be hid on the DL to start the season and one of Marshall or Pignatiello starts the season on the team.

I don’t get Paul Sullivan’s math here, or I’ve totally missed on a story:

The last two bench spots remain open, with Alex Cintron, Mike Fontenot and Ronny Cedeno competing for two jobs.

Unless they’re going to an 11 man rotation – which would be nice but a story in itself – I only see one bench spot for those three guys. Is there a Hart/Wuertz battle for a spot in the bullpen now?

how to lose friends and influence no one

Jason Marquis is not a smart man. I mean, I don’t know him, maybe he’s just the best at Brain Age or something, but he sure isn’t smart when it comes to taking the temperature of the room. The Cubs have quietly, but noticeably, been offering him up to other teams in trade proposals this off season. (That’s the only way his name gets in rumors; no other team is looking for Marquis.) The Cubs are giving him a shot at staying in the rotation in the meantime, less because of his promise and more because of his contract, but Jason Marquis still has control of his own destiny.

Today, Marquis took that control and gave up 2 runs in 2 IP. Not good, but it’s not going to bury him this early. Jason words can do a lot better

“So as much as I want to be here in Chicago — I love it, I love the fans, I love the stadium — I also have a family to worry about, too. I think I can take my services elsewhere if that’s the case and I can help another team, in that capacity as a starter.

“So, my value doesn’t lie in the bullpen in my mind.”

Marquis need to worry more about his budget if the current 3 year/$21 mil contract he signed is not enough to support his family, because it’s probably the biggest he’ll ever see.

Lou’s response was brilliant:

“Sure it’s a surprise,” he said. “We’ve got seven guys here that are competing for spots in the rotation and everyone is going to be given an equal chance. After the first start of spring training, saying if I’m not going to make the rotation I’d like to go somewhere else?

“He can go somewhere else right now if he wants. How’s that?

(ChicagoSports.com)

I don’t think Lou gets his wish, quite yet. (Beat guys can start writing the “they had a meeting and everything’s straightened out now” stories now.) If this was the NBA, I’d think the Cubs would buy out Marquis’ contract by June. This being MLB, I bet he’s traded away for junk (and the Cubs paying most of his salary) by the same time, and the Cubs will be better off for it.

many words about non issues

If a heart issue only requires a week off before getting back to normal, is it really an issue? (Alternate question: if the old Cubs Post Only page, still with VGA era graphics, exists but I forget to include a link to it for a month, does it still count?) I think this at least … Continue reading “many words about non issues”

If a heart issue only requires a week off before getting back to normal, is it really an issue? (Alternate question: if the old Cubs Post Only page, still with VGA era graphics, exists but I forget to include a link to it for a month, does it still count?) I think this at least a 2% chance it’s only a plan to get out of boring February drills (and a 50% chance a call was put into the O’s.)

Since Mark DeRosa will be back before they start playing games that even matter a little, this doesn’t seem to matter much. The projected lineup is kinda interesting…

LF Soriano
SS Theriot
RF KOSUKE
1B D-Lee
3B A-Ram
2B DeRosa
CA Soto
CF Pie

…because there seems to be a plan of stacking the OBP guys in front of Ram and giving him possibly a million RBI opportunities, while allowing Soriano to continue to be in his own world. It puts early pressure on Kosuke and Ryan to be getting on early, because flaws won’t be hidden there.

On the flipside, it allows Pie (and to a lesser extent, Soto) to just play every day and not worry about what he does at the plate. If everything else works moderately well, Felix can struggle at the plate as long as he’s fielding the way we figure he should and there’s no real problem. I’m still thinking they’ll find someone as a right handed platoon partner (because Pinella likes to rest guys anyway, and Pie off the bench in a close game has a lot of value), but it’s not a must situation if he’s batting eight.

Still, I’d be surprised if this was the default lineup by May 1st. Something will surely break before then.

There’s really nothing else going on, except the quiet dwindling of rotation options. It seems like they’ve set the order as

1) Z!
2) Lilly
3) Dempster – sounds as though a lock unless he stinks in Spring Training
4) Hill – 4th only for lefty/righty alternation
5) Marquis or Lieber
Out without throwing an in-game pitch: Marshall, Gallagher, Hart

I’m not quite sure it’ll end up being the best possible five, but I’m also not sure the difference between 5 and 9 is all that significant. Lou’s comments about Marquis or Lieber were interrupted as loser may be willing to go to the bullpen, but it feels more likely that a last minute trade might happen. I think the Cubs would like Lieber to take it and someone else to take Marquis, because the trust is gone there, but I don’t know if it’ll work out that way.

There’s that battle, there’s the closer battle (which I also don’t think is so vital – it’s more important to have people who can pitch well close & late than what order they’re in), the last two spots in the pen (totally unclear until the rotation falls out) and maybe the last spot on the bench (depending on if there’s a trade.) The roster spots are about as uncritical as they come, which is maybe why there hasn’t been much stuff to come out of camp so far.

The most intriguing news item of the spring to me so far is the new (home) bullpen seats being sold at auction. People might go a bit crazy spending for those on some weekends, though less than if they auctioned them out thru the season (they’ll only be doing it from 03/03 to 03/13.) The Cubs might make back all the money for the field resurfacing just from a couple St. Louis weekend stints.

Game 115: Cubs 6 – Rockies 2

(from 08/10) Cubs 60-55, -0.5 Rockies 59-56, -6.0 POTG: SP Jason Marquis (6.2 IP, 5 H, R, 5 K, 0 BB!, W [9]; H, R) Runner Up: RF Jacque Jones (HR, 2B, SB, 2 RBI, R), LF Matt Murton (HR, 3H, 2R), C Jason Kendall (3 H, 2 RBI, BB, CS) Quite the scorned Cubs … Continue reading “Game 115: Cubs 6 – Rockies 2”

(from 08/10)

Cubs 60-55, -0.5
Rockies 59-56, -6.0

POTG: SP Jason Marquis (6.2 IP, 5 H, R, 5 K, 0 BB!, W [9]; H, R)
Runner Up: RF Jacque Jones (HR, 2B, SB, 2 RBI, R), LF Matt Murton (HR, 3H, 2R), C Jason Kendall (3 H, 2 RBI, BB, CS)

Quite the scorned Cubs vindication game – Kendall’s brought himself back up to 241, Murton’s found his missing power, Jacque Jones’s only problem with the 2 slot is Lee not hitting behind him, and Jason Marquis is back to guy he was at the start of the season.

Jason Marquis has not been as advertised. 9-7 and a 4.18 ERA coming out of this game is a bit better than expected, I’m not complaining about. This start was pretty nice, with 0 ER. (Mark DeRosa had a tough day, but it’s bound to happen when you play five positions.) It’s Marquis’ batting which has really let me down – he’s still treated as the guy who hit 292 and 310 the last two years, but he’s been scuffling at the plate. I don’t know if it’s small sample size (though he was awful last year) or pitchers just trying a bit harder, but the hits are still not there. Maybe the hit here will get him out of his funk. Jason is probably still the second best pitching hitter in the rotation, because Lilly is still an AL guy and Hill and Marshall are all sorts of useless.

Thru two games, the Rockies looked like the Same Ol’ Rockies, not a team that was a few games closer to the playoff race than usual. I couldn’t figure if it was just a couple of odd games, because the lineup looks great, or if that’s just the level of competition in the NL this year. It was just weird to see the Cubs and the Rockies with the same record despite looking at quite different levels.

Game 100: Cardinals 11 – Cubs 1

Cubs 53-47, 2/1 Cardinals 46-52, 8/7 POTG: 1B Derek Lee (HR) Runner Up: RF Cliff Floyd (2 H), C Jason Kendall (2 H, 2B) (lifted from B-R’s gamelog, which I use extensively for these things.) (bottom of the 6th) A Miles Single to LF (Ground Ball) B Looper Walk; Miles to 2B D Eckstein Bunt … Continue reading “Game 100: Cardinals 11 – Cubs 1”

Cubs 53-47, 2/1
Cardinals 46-52, 8/7

POTG: 1B Derek Lee (HR)
Runner Up: RF Cliff Floyd (2 H), C Jason Kendall (2 H, 2B)

(lifted from B-R’s gamelog, which I use extensively for these things.)

(bottom of the 6th)
A Miles         Single to LF (Ground Ball)
B Looper        Walk; Miles to 2B
D Eckstein      Bunt Groundout: 3B-2B; Miles to 3B; Looper to 2B
J Edmonds       Walk
A Pujols        Hit By Pitch; Miles Scores; Looper to 3B; Edmonds to 2B
C Duncan        ...

I was, like your average person on a Thursday night, hanging out in the parking lot of the O’Hare Oasis (overlooking 294, heading north) when Chris Duncan came up to bat. I had just stopped there, about 15 mintues before 9. Except for the McDonalds, everything in the Oasis closes down at 9 PM, and some of the food places shut down an hour before. Making a decision between sticking around to hear this at bat or wandering around inside to see if the pretzel stand just happened to be open late wasn’t really much of a decision. I figured out which way this one was going.

C Duncan Home Run (Fly Ball to RF); Looper Scores; Edmonds Scores; Pujols Scores

The pretzel stand was closed, too.

Looper wanted to bunt, but Marquis wouldn’t let him give up the out. Edmonds was down 1-2, and Marquis threw 3 straight balls. Hitting Pujols might have been the best move Marquis made the decision – at least it limited him to one run. Didn’t matter much in the long run.

They really should’ve had someone warming up as soon as he walked the pitcher, to face Pujols. Maybe next time.

When Jason Marquis was signed (for THREE YEARS! We have 2.39 more years of this!), he was promoted as a guy who’d At Least eat up some innings. In fact, he’s on pace to get exactly 200 innings at this moment, and his ERA is actually below average. But those numbers are coasting on his performance in the first two months. He’s been a drag on the staff since Summer.

IP/Start (ERA)
April: 6.13 innings (2.35)
May: 6.67 innings (3.38)
June: 4.6 innings (5.09)
July 5.6 innings (6.67)

In a perfect scenario, I’d love for the Cubs to pick up Torii Hunter from the Twins as a rental the rest of the season, because I think it’d be the best way to improve. (The Indians just beat the Cubs to the Kenny Lofton idea.) But I think the easiest way to put a league average pitcher in Jason Marquis spot – he’s putting the Cubs in low win situations and stretching out the bullpen. Another Sean Marshall would pick up a lot of slack.

I just did some fast counting, and realized I’m going to just miss going to Marquis’ next start (assuming it’s on schedule.) I’m so thrilled.

Santo and Corey, the radio crew with Pat out sick, have absolutely no chemistry so far. Maybe they’ll get it someday, but it sure wasn’t happening last night. Santo was at least more informative than usual, explaining Marquis’ meltdown of an inning was because he had decided to solely use a fastball and couldn’t locate it. Santo explained this while losing his mind, but he did explain it.

In the slightly bigger picture, 2 out of 3 is good enough. It’s just very disappointing when there was a game to be gained on both the NL Central (where they’d be 1 game back) and the Wild Card (where they’d be leading.

Game 95: Cubs 6 – Diamondbacks 2

Cubs 51-44; 2.5/2.0 Diamondbacks 50-48; 4.5/4.5 POTG: CF Jacque Jones (2 H, 2 RBI, CS) Runner Up: 2B Mike Fontenot (2 H, 3 R, BB, 2 SB), 3B A Ram (2 H, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR), RF Angel Pagan (2 H), SP Jason Marquis (7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB, 3 K, W … Continue reading “Game 95: Cubs 6 – Diamondbacks 2”

Cubs 51-44; 2.5/2.0
Diamondbacks 50-48; 4.5/4.5

POTG: CF Jacque Jones (2 H, 2 RBI, CS)
Runner Up: 2B Mike Fontenot (2 H, 3 R, BB, 2 SB), 3B A Ram (2 H, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR), RF Angel Pagan (2 H), SP Jason Marquis (7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB, 3 K, W [7/63])

At some point, the Cubs should stop “winning games they have no business winning.” Not that they should stop winning, that’d suck, but that the Cubs would seem good enough that the wins don’t seem like luck overpowering skill. Still, with Webb (who’s good) and Marquis (who hasn’t been) on the mound, and the Cubs starting a lineup which featured a grand total of 1 player in the spot they started the season and 4 guys who started the season in Iowa – I watched this game and I still have trouble believing they won, again.

Marquis was the difference. It’s nice that the offense got it together to get six runs, but the way Jason’s pitched lately, I dunno if that would’ve been enough. Marquis’s numbers don’t seem to indicate this is all him – out of 108 pitches, he thru 44 balls but some how the Diamondbacks only took 1 walk. It works this game, hope it keeps up happening, but I’m not convinced.

Mike Fontenot batting third, and it worked. Jacque Jones 5th and it worked. This team is strange. Scott Moore was a little bit too anxious, but the way things are going, he’ll probably have 4 RBIs in the next game.

It’s good Ram has learned absolutely nothing about watching the ball hit to left field.

Game 2: Cubs 4 – Reds 1

Cubs 1-1 Reds 1-1 POTG: SP Ted Lilly (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K; W 60) Runner Up: 3B A Ram (3 H, 2 R), 2B D Rosa (2 H, 2 RBI) Vegas is laying odds of me making all 162 at about 100:1. I think I’ll fare better if I … Continue reading “Game 2: Cubs 4 – Reds 1”

Cubs 1-1
Reds 1-1

POTG: SP Ted Lilly (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K; W 60)
Runner Up: 3B A Ram (3 H, 2 R), 2B D Rosa (2 H, 2 RBI)

Vegas is laying odds of me making all 162 at about 100:1. I think I’ll fare better if I don’t drag these out so much.

Gil Meche pitched good in his debut, Ted Lilly pitched good in his debut – obviously, these big money deals for pitchers well spent. I look forward to Marquis’ 7 IP, 1 R performance!

It seems the plan is to throw Ryan Theriot in random positions with no warning (except not SS, because he’s actually played that!) and see if he sinks or swims. Based on his first experience in LF, this should be good for some laughs. By the way, I’d like to start a movement: all Cubs fans should refer to Ryan as athletic (which he is) and compare him to Chone Figgins (which remains to be seen), just to confuse fans of other teams when he turns out to a white guy.

It’d nice if we could get extra base hits, but it’s too soon to get picky about those technicalities.

Pinella being proactive, and yelling at Dempster to stop walking people before he blew a save doing it, was great to see.