Has Marquis Changed Your Mind?
Jul. 1, 2009 | 12:33 am
20 
By Tracy Ringolsby
The Rockies added Jason Marquis in the off-season because they felt they were going to need a veteran who could eat up innings. They anticiapted the loss of Jeff Francis for the season with arm problems, although they had to wait for Francis to decide to have arm surgery.
Did you like the Marquis trade when it was made?
Do you like it now?
Some numbers to think about. He has seven of his 10 wins after a Rockies loss. His 10 wins lead the NL. He provided a foundation for a rotation that won 19 games in June, the first NL team to have a rotation win 19 games in a month since the 1985 Mets.
Tagged: jason marquis, jeff francis
I liked the idea of bringing in a veteran as security. He pitched well in a hitter’s park in Chicago and just get’s things going.
He set the stage at the home opener and has been the only dependable person on the team throughout the entire season.
I think his leadership and competitiveness has helped get the Rockies to where they are today.
I liked the trade then and I love it now. What a performance tonight.
At first, I thought it was addition by subtraction. My expectations for the year were for less than 10 wins. Along with Hawp’s growth, this must rank as the #1 development of the year. He was winning big when the Rocks were losing most of their games. You could argue Marquis has done more for the Rockies than has their new Skipper. Best sinker in the game now?
The trade was great when it was made because two of the Rockies’ goals in the offseason were to obtain a starting pitcher and to dump Vizcaino’s salary and they accomplished both goals with the trade and didn’t have to give up anything to accomplish the goals and they even got the Cubs to pick up part of Marquis’ salary.
The trade looks even better now because Marquis has always been a solid No. 3 or 4 starter and that was what was expected this season but he has pitched like an ace.
Rockies are second in MLB in quality starts (behind Cubs) and Marquis is a big part of that and how well the team has performed in June. I can’t believe how comfortable I am watching our starters (except DLR), and I’m sure the team feels the same way.
I was ok with the trade when it happened. I had thought the Rockies had plenty of starting pitching depth in Morales, Reynolds, Hirsh, Greg Smith, Hynrick, Deduno, Roe, Rodgers, and Chacin, and I thought they might be thin in the bullpen with Bucholtz injury. Getting the ball to the 8th and 8th inning guys (Corpas and Street) I thought was going to be an issue. (side issue…it’s time to start converting a starter or two that won’t be major league starters to the pen)
Turns out the Rockies needed another quality starting pitcher, and Marquis has far out performed my expectations of him.
That said, if I were the Rockies I’d listen to trade offers for Marquis. His career splits are much higher in the first half of the season than in the 2nd half…startling so. Like the stock market, the time to sell is when value is highest and will never be higher for Marquis. He could bring in a haul. I mean a HAUL. And the Rockies still have starting pitching depth in the minors.
I liked the idea of bringing in an innings eater. My only worry was that Marquis’ ERA was already a bit on the high side. I was hoping for a pitcher that had about a 50-50 won loss ratio. He has obviously exceeded my expectations. I can’t even remember who the Rox gave up.
Tracy, has anything changed concerning Marquis’ arsenal to explain how well he is doing or is my memory faulty in what his career stats are? I think I read he starts seasons well but I don’t believe it was as good as we are seeing. Also, is there any update on the Torrealba situation?
Thanks in advance.
I saw Tim Lincecum pitch a gem Monday night vs the Cards and thought: “Why can’t we have an ace like that?”. Then Tuesday’s performance, and I thought: “we DO have an ace like that.” Marquis’ night was just a thing of beauty.
I cant believe how good the pitching staff is doing with all the injuries
Tracy, has anything changed concerning Marquis’ arsenal to explain how well he is doing or is my memory faulty in what his career stats are?
There were articles about how he made adjustments to his delivery in spring training, which resulted in more movement. There’s some evidence that batters are swinging at more pitches out of the zone this year than in previous years. The proportion of groundballs he’s induced so far is a career high, and will be the key to his continued success.
His career stats weren’t impressive (ERA about league average for a starting pitcher). However, he’s been mostly healthy, so being able to pencil in 30 starts has a lot of value. Not $10 million, which is why the Cubs traded him in a cost-cutting move for their sale, but valuable. Obviously he’s exceeded that.
He’s in a contract year, which has been known to motivate players. He’s been this good before (2004). He may well not have as good a second half, but there’s plenty of room for some loss in efficiency.
I saw Tim Lincecum pitch a gem Monday night vs the Cards and thought: “Why can’t we have an ace like that?”.
I think that was why they drafted Matzek–if everything breaks right, he could develop into that sort of #1.
I was luke warm on Jason at the beginning having watched him in Chicago, but then I saw him at Spring Training and got excited about his prospect for the Rox. He pitched 5 innings the day I saw him, and then ran sprints in the outfield the entire rest of the game. The trainer running with him couldn’t keep up! Many of the other guys ran sprints too, but Jason was there twice as long as any of them. I believe his work ethic and burning desire to succeed are driving him to new heights this season, and very thankfully while wearing a purple jersey.
He has definitely exceeded my expectations to this point. Hopefully he can keep it going throughout the 2nd half. I thought it was a good trade for the Rox at the time but right now it looks like a great trade.
Looked good then. Looks GREAT now. If he keeps it going, he will be a Cy Young contender. How about we start thinking about signing him for another couple of years. He brings much needed stability to the rotation. Besides, having extra starters is never a bad thing.
Tracy,
Are you hearing anything about the Rox trading away Street? It seems to be on the lips of the East Coast writers (Dayn Perry/Ken Rosenthal). I don’t put any stock in what they say, but I was wondering if you had heard anything. Thanx.
I liked the trade but the Rox could have traded Vizcaino for the Cubs’ bat boy and I’d be excited.
Figmon, do you have the cite for the Rosenthal?
The Dayn Perry thing was just lazy citation of stuff linked to MLBTraderumors. There was some activity reported in mid-May where the Rockies were supposedly scouting the Yankees farm system, and that keeps getting recycled. Obviously the story is different now that they’ve pulled so close in the WC race.
I wonder if the Rosenthal is the same. Some of these guys don’t update their notes.
I echo Drew’s sentiments – I was more happy to get rid of Vizcaino than I was about getting Jason.
Right now – I am thrilled we have Jason and still very happy that Vizcaino is nowhere near this team
Figmon, I believe Rosenthal’s suggestion was written a month ago, before things turned around. There have been no discussions. Teams might inquire but that doesn’t mean the Rockies are looking to move him. I would put talk about trading Street on the way back burner.
I loved the move from the get go I don’t think Luis Vizcaino was worth as much as he was being payed and I have always been a fan of Marquis. Marquis is worth all of the money we are paying him and I also liked the trade when we thought there was a slight chance of Francis coming back sometime this year and it is a better trade now that Jeff isn’t able to pitch. Even if Marquis had only won 5 games thus far I’d be happy with the trade and seeing him help carry this rotation with Cook is just unbelievable. I wonder if we will be able to sign him for an extension and I also wonder how much he would be wanting.
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