Occasionally, I visit other blogs. In recent months, I have heard nothing positive about Jason Marquis. One blog likes to refer to him as ‘He who must not be named’. I admit that is pretty funny.
Yet, I had a suspicion that the scoffing Cardinal fans and pained Cub fans would be pleasantly surprised by the still young man. So far this spring, I have been proven right.
Marquis became the first pitcher to stretch to three innings this spring, facing thirteen batters, giving up two hits and a walk while striking out two and allowing no runs. His ERA has dropped to under 2.00. It is early, but unlike Mark Prior’s recent showing, this is nice to see.
The team did well today, marching to their second win in a row, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 3 to 2. It was nice to see Ryan Dempster strike out two while giving up one hit. Non-roster left-hander Les Walrond, who turned thirty, last November, picked up the win, shutting down the Brewers in the top of the ninth. Left-handed hitting first baseman Micah Hoffpauir launched the game-winning homer off of Luther Hackman with one out in the bottom half of the ninth.
There are several non-roster players making some noise in the early spring. Carmen Pignatiello and Les Walrond have both pitched well. Hoffpauir and Mike Kinkade have each launched home runs. Eric Patterson singled, doubled and stole a base for a productive day today. None have any real hope of making the roster on opening day, but they are all certainly getting noticed by Manager Lou Piniella.
Jacque Jones was also a hitting star, with a first inning single driving in Patterson and Derrick Lee to stake the Cubs to a 2-0 lead. The Brewers fought back, gaining an unearned run against Angel Guzman and an earned one against future star Sean Gallagher.
No pitcher meltdowns today, unless you count Gallagher, who walked two and gave up a hit in his one inning of work. The only other sour note was another round of poor fielding. Four error, including one each by superstars Alfonzo Soriano and Aramis Ramierz and two by future second baseman Patterson. Piniella has already complained about sloppy fielding this spring and I am sure today’s action did not make him relax.
Still, winning relaxes players and managers. The Cubs are one game away from .500. Zambrano and Samardzija are hitting the rubber tomorrow against the A’s. Here is hoping to get even with the league.
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