Jason Marquis has grown up before our very eyes, Cardinal fans. With some
help and patience from Cardinal pitching Coach Dave Duncan, Marquis has become
the pitcher his former coach Leo Mazzone hoped he would be. That is no knock on
Mazzone, as Marquis was labeled as stubborn when he got to St. Louis, and he has
been stubborn in some ways. (Tipping pitches, nibbling, etc.) But since his
brilliant performance against Washington last August 27th when he
pitched a complete game shutout, Marquis has been a different pitcher. Different
as in he throws strikes. Since he began to heed Duncan’s sermons of pounding the
strike zone with two-seam fast balls, Marquis has been sharp, as demonstrated in
this stat line-
Stats since since 8/27/05
- 2.44 ERA
- K/9 5.2
- BB/9 1.1
- K/BB 4.75
- WHIP 0.94
- HR/9 1.2
- W-L 7-1
- 66.1 IP
All this from a pitcher many experts have prophesied doom over because of
some of his poor peripheral stats. It's a contract year for Jason, and I don't
see any reason why he would now change his approach given this newfound success
he's had. If he can continue it, he's going to find himself a very rich man and
a successful pitcher in this league for years to come. Walt Jocketty has said he
will depart from his normal mode of operation and negotiate contracts during the
season. With Marquis entering his prime, as in he will be 28 this year, he may
be wise to lock him up now.