Marquis Shines, Causes Dugout Indigestion

Jason Marquis? Really?

The oft-maligned, former back of the rotation starter for the Cubs returned to Wrigley Field in Cy Young form, helping the Rockies avoid the two-game series sweep with a 5-2 win over his former employers.

Marquis dazzled from the outset, holding the Cubs to one run over seven innings. The victor [Jason Marquis? Really?] only issued two free passes, which probably gave Lou a serious bout of indigestion since Marquis' M.O. last year was turning the base paths into a carousel of walkers. That's my theory at least. Even worse, he was responsible for the Rockies first two RBIs. Yes, Jason Marquis has more RBIs than our starting catcher and reigning Rookie of the Year.

Jason Marquis? Really?

The eye-searing devastation didn't end there though. Enter Rich Harden. Harden barely escaped three innings, topping out at 92 pitches before he was pulled for the so-far-really-reliable David Patton. With two appearances under his belt now, Patton has cruised through four innings, giving up only one run, a meaningless solo home run that came against the first major league batter he ever faced. The feel-good Spring Training sensation continues.

But back to Harden. I'm not letting him off that easily. Did you see that first inning? Harden looked as if he had a personal vendetta against the Rockies, as if they knocked him out of the postseason, not the Dodgers. Harden struck out the side with stuff so filthy, disgruntled Rockies mothers labeled it pornographic.

The second inning was a bit different, however. Harden struck out the first tbatter he faced, but found himself in trouble after two walks and an infiled single. True to form, Harden struck out the next batter he faced, bringing Jason Marquis to the plate.

Now, Marquis is a great hitting pitcher, the 2005 National League Silver Slugger winner at his position. And frankly, Reed Johnson should have made that catch in center on Marquis' flare hit. But c'mon Rich. The pitcher? Jason Marquis? Really? Harden was terrific in Milwaukee, showing the same form that put him in the conversation as the best trade in baseball last year. But Harden got himself into trouble by putting runners on and running up his pitch count, not exactly music to Lou and Larry's ears. Hopefully, nothing more than a blip on the road.

[Before you laugh that statement off, Sabathia fans out there will want to look at the numbers. While Sabathia threw more innings and finished with seven complete games, Harden sported a 1.78 ERA over 12 starts that compares favorably to Sabathia's 1.65 ERA over 17 starts. While both floundered in the postseason, they both were HUGE midseason acquisitions. Thus, we hold Harden to an incredibly high standard.]

Harden's short outing wasn't the only games only noticable occurence. The other was Derrek Lee. I think, just maybe, we're seeing Lee come to life. It couldn't have come at a better time for both Lee and the Cubs. With Lous strapping on Micah Hoffpauir's batting gloves, Lee went 3-for-4 with a ninth inning home run that helped put the Cubs in position to win this game [more on that later].

As I've said, we need Lee to drive the ball, and that home run was a good sign, especially since it came at a key situation in the game. "Clutch" is a hard statistic to define, but that's where Lee's performance would rank. On a day when the offense was stagnant, Lee roared. Hopefully, this is only the beginning.

[Side note: True to form, Hoffpauir chimed in with a pinch-hit double. Lee's timing couldn't have been any better.]

This loss was a lot toughrer to stomach after watching the ninth. Angel Guzman gave up a run in the top-half of the inning, and after Lee's home run to lead off their half of the ninth, Mike Fontenot walked and Johnson singled to put two on with nobody out.

Enter hysterics.

Fontenot was then thrown out at third on a base running gaffe, and our hard-luck catcher Geo Soto reintroduced Cubs fans to the game-ending double play. Like I said, "clutch" is a hard statistic to define, but I can make an exception here. This was about as close to clutch as Meg Ryan is to her golden years. Yeah, I went there.

So, to recap: Harden got his bad start out of the way and will resume his Cy Young campiagn next week. Instead of slamming his helmet into the dirt, Derrek Lee is hammering pitches into the bleachers. Geo Soto? Frigidly cold. Luis Vizcaino , the man the Rockies shipped us after we begged them to take this game's MVP off of out hands? A scoreless inning. And Jason Marquis? The game's MVP on the mound and at the plate. Yeah, that about sums up a 5-2 loss. Well, there is one more thing:

Jason Marquis? Really?