Jason Marquis wasn't good enough to be the Cubs' 5th starter. Well, that's not true. But maybe that was his mindset when he took the mound earlier today and dominated against his former team. Marquis went 7 innings, gave up just 1 run on 5 hits and 2 BBs, and had 3 Ks. He also had 2 RBIs on a base hit off Rich Harden.One thing I'll say about Cubs fans jeering Marquis during the introductions: classless. Marquis was very effective in his two years here, considering he was the 5th starter. It's not his fault the team was swept in the NLDS. Two years in a row. By teams that didn't even make it to the World Series.
To all of the bitter Cubs fans out there who took part in the booing, ask yourselves this: would you also boo Mark DeRosa? Or Kerry Wood? Or Henry Blanco? If the answer is no, then maybe you should cut Marquis some fucking slack. That or stop going to Wrigley Field. Because knowledgeable fans you are not.
6 comments:
My one wish for you as a writer, Josh, is that you would learn how to express how you really feel. hehe.
I was anticipating Marquis' start today against his former club this morning when I was making my picks for the day at BallHype.com (boy did I suck at picking last week). I figured he would be extra motivated and picked him to win. Good for him. He's a class act and you are right, he did the Cubs well.
Yeah, I was a little riled up. Ordinarily, I avoid cursing on this blog, but I thought it was warranted.
As a Cubs fan, I can see why Cubs fans would boo Marquis. Keep in mind that he was signed to a 3 year, $21 million contract after putting up pretty mediocre numbers for the hated Cardinals. He was acceptable for a 5th starter, but many felt that his presence and contract blocked more deserving pitchers from breaking into the rotation (see Seans Gallagher and Marshall).
Kerry, through the ups and downs of his career, was always a Cub. And DeRosa was an absolute bargain compared to Marquis (3 years $12 million).
Marquis wasn't an unclassy player, but he never did anything to really endear himself to Cubs fans. Between his player friendly contract, being an ex-Card, and being a 5th starter who was blocking young up-and-comers, the deck was certainly stacked against him. I doubt the booing was as bad as it is against LaChoke Hawkins or Jacquestrap Jones.
I see where you're coming from, but most players are overpaid and Marquis' numbers here were in line with his career numbers, so it's not like he underperformed. They DID overpay for him, but you can hardly blame him for signing on the dotted line.
Being with the Cards obviously didn't endear Marquis to the fans, but they eventually accepted Edmonds last year. And so far they haven't turned on Aaron Miles. For whatever reason, it wasn't in the "cards" for Marquis.
DeRosa WAS a bargain, I'll grant you that. And I've always had a soft spot for Woody, but I'd be lying if I said his yearly stints on the DL didn't irritate me.
Gallagher has been a bust so far. It's hard not to be high on Marshall, but again it's not Marquis' fault that the FO went with him instead of youth.
You forget that Marquis had that one big game last year where he stopped the bleeding. Evidently, so did everyone else. I don't think enough fans understand the importance of a guy who can consistently give you 200 innings a la Bronson Arroyo.
Yes, one cannot blame Marquis for front office decisions. However, until the front office is traded to an opposing team and comes back to pitch against the Cubs, the player is a proxy for those decisions. I don't think that is a Cubs fan-centric problem; most fans would engage in similar behavior.
Comparing Marquis to BroYo is a little unfair; Marquis never pitched over 192 innings in his two years for the Cubs, whereas BroYo has pitched at least 200 in the same timeframe. Additionally, BroYo struck out about 40% more batters per inning than Marquis while walking about 25% fewer.
While Marquis was about as 'good' as a 5th starter can be, he still wasn't very good. Sure, Marquis had a good game down the stretch last year (that I quite frankly had forgotten about), but that's really not enough to outweigh the general mediocrity of his reign in the 5 spot.
Edmonds was initially hated, but he quickly won over the fans by going out and being possibly the best Cubs offensive center fielder I've seen in my lifetime. The harm that Aaron Miles can create is hopefully minimized by him keeping his tuchus on the bench.
And to end on a more non-argumentative note, excellent blog! It is fun to keep up with the JMLs.
Arroyo is a slightly better pitcher, but Marquis is just as durable. I remember he was upset last year that Lou gave some of his starts to Marshall. The point is had Lou been so inclined to pitch him more, he was capable of pitching 200 innings with the Cubs.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of the Aaron Miles signing either. I like Fontenot (did you see that 13 pitch AB the other day where he drew a walk?), but I still think letting DeRosa go will come back to bite them in the ass. Bradley already has a groin pull. Only a matter of time before Soriano and A-Ram go down as well. DeRosa's versatility will be missed.
Thanks Matt. Hope I haven't put you off with this argument.
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