Cubs Sign Marquis to 3/21

[A New Era]

Some of Hendrys singings like this one arent the greatest..But damn, Im excited for the '07 season..To see all these new faces in Cubs uniforms and just curious to see how they do...Hopelly Derosa can remain a .300 hitter and become an awsome #2, hopefully Marquis can pitch like he did in '04,Soriano 40/40 again..Havent been this pumped since going into the '04 season since there was such high expectations that year..

 

THANK YOU! Finally another optomistic post to read. I feel the same way you do Primetime. It's exciting to see all these new faces. And I am going to put my trust in JH and Rothschild and Mcdunnough this off-season. I am going to assume Larry really is that good, and that he is confident he can help Marquis. That would be great if he pitched well, and stick it to the cardinals. .

[A New Era]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

[Soriano12]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

[A New Era]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

 

You don't have to turn your head far to find pessimism on this board. That's fine you say that, all I gotta do is twitch my head to see someone else say Zito will suck at Wrigely since he's such a flyball pitcher.

 

BTW, you are not arguing his case. He said an ace and 4, #5's. Which is absolutely ridiculous.

 

Hill has the potential to be a bonified #2, probably an ace in a couple of years. Miller is already a solid #4 by the way he was already pitching TWO MONTHS ago, while still rehabbing. Lilly is atleast a #4, and Marquis could also be a #4, #3. I'm no stat guru, but I THINK the average for "number 5 pitchers" ERA was probably just above 5.0. Last time I checked Marquis and Lily have carreer ERA's close to 4.5. I know alot of us love to be pessamistic about EVERYTHING cubs. But statements like that are absolutely silly. A #1 and 4 #5's. Please. :roll:

[Soriano12]

You don't have to turn your head far to find pessimism on this board.

 

66-96 will tend to have that affect on a fanbase.

[UMFan83]

Not that they are necessarily correct, but I like to read the mlbtraderumors comment boards for each signing. The site sucks, but the comments have some logic behind them and represent the general view of baseball fans.

 

Anyways, they seem to be unanimous in believing that the Cubs offseason approach was terrible and that the Cubs are a disaster and the best .500 team money can buy.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

 

You don't have to turn your head far to find pessimism on this board. That's fine you say that, all I gotta do is twitch my head to see someone else say Zito will suck at Wrigely since he's such a flyball pitcher.

 

BTW, you are not arguing his case. He said an ace and 4, #5's. Which is absolutely ridiculous.

 

Hill has the potential to be a bonified #2, probably an ace in a couple of years. Miller is already a solid #4 by the way he was already pitching TWO MONTHS ago, while still rehabbing. Lilly is atleast a #4, and Marquis could also be a #4, #3. I'm no stat guru, but I THINK the average for "number 5 pitchers" ERA was probably just above 5.0. Last time I checked Marquis and Lily have carreer ERA's close to 4.5. I know alot of us love to be pessamistic about EVERYTHING cubs. But statements like that are absolutely silly. A #1 and 4 #5's. Please. :roll:

 

I was about to disagree with you, but then you added the eyeroll. That made me realize that the opposing argument must be ludicrous, so I now agree with you.

[Guest]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

Agreed. It is easy to say we are missing a #2 starter. A case can be made that we don't have the #3 starter that can typically be found on the top staffs. But we have an average #3 starter in Lilly, Hill is something of a question still, but looks to be a really solid #3 starter at this point. Marquis is probably a decent #4 starter and could be better than that. I don't trust Miller to be much more than a #5, though.

 

Who knows what Prior could be. Anything from better than Z to nonexistent is possible.

[oldcubsfan]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

 

Zito just isn't that good. Lilly and Marquis will win more games together than Zito will. That's why overpaying with a 6 year deal is nonsense. Even the Mets won't do that.

[Soriano12]

Zito just isn't that good. .

 

yeah, sure. :roll:

[A New Era]

I was about to disagree with you, but then you added the eyeroll. That made me realize that the opposing argument must be ludicrous, so I now agree with you.

 

Sorry, the extrrrrrreeeeeme pessimism gets to me sometimes. It almost seems like people are going out of their way to make sure to be as mad and dissapointed as possible. To say we have an ace and 4 #5's, that's just crazy.

[VanceJergins]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

 

Zito just isn't that good. Lilly and Marquis will win more games together than Zito will. That's why overpaying with a 6 year deal is nonsense. Even the Mets won't do that.

 

Yeah, but will they win more games that Zito and Marshall or Guzman would have? I think they might, but you cant just say more than Zito without someone to replace Marquis as well.

[NorthsideAvenger]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

 

You don't have to turn your head far to find pessimism on this board. That's fine you say that, all I gotta do is twitch my head to see someone else say Zito will suck at Wrigely since he's such a flyball pitcher.

 

BTW, you are not arguing his case. He said an ace and 4, #5's. Which is absolutely ridiculous.

 

Hill has the potential to be a bonified #2, probably an ace in a couple of years. Miller is already a solid #4 by the way he was already pitching TWO MONTHS ago, while still rehabbing. Lilly is atleast a #4, and Marquis could also be a #4, #3. I'm no stat guru, but I THINK the average for "number 5 pitchers" ERA was probably just above 5.0. Last time I checked Marquis and Lily have carreer ERA's close to 4.5. I know alot of us love to be pessamistic about EVERYTHING cubs. But statements like that are absolutely silly. A #1 and 4 #5's. Please. :roll:

 

The Cards seem to get the breaks when it comes to turning around pitchers, but they've missed, also. I believe Marquis will be a pitcher that simply was not a fit in St. Lou. I hope Marquis comes into ST and with "chip on his shoulder" and wants to prove to St. Lou that he is the pitcher they thought he was when they trade JD Drew for.

 

I expect a great season out of Marquis in 2007. I know some people will laugh at me, go head (wait for the laughing to subside), but I honestly believe Marquis will be a surprise hit for the Cubs.

[A New Era]

Zito just isn't that good. .

 

yeah, sure. :roll:

 

I told you didnt I! :lol: (:sigh:, the heartache an optomistic cubs fan has to endure here) :D

[A New Era]

 

The Cards seem to get the breaks when it comes to turning around pitchers, but they've missed, also. I believe Marquis will be a pitcher that simply was not a fit in St. Lou. I hope Marquis comes into ST and with "chip on his shoulder" and wants to prove to St. Lou that he is the pitcher they thought he was when they trade JD Drew for.

 

I expect a great season out of Marquis in 2007. I know some people will laugh at me, go head (wait for the laughing to subside), but I honestly believe Marquis will be a surprise hit for the Cubs.

 

Yeah, he pitched at under 4.0 ERA 2 years ago. Is it crazy to think he can do it again?

[cubfan]

sweet. we have one #1 starter and six #5 starters.

 

A little pessamistic aren't we?

 

I think he is stating the facts.

 

Lilly + Marquis = 17+ Million.

 

Why not just overpay for Zito with that $$$?

 

Zambrano + Zito is a pretty good 1-2 punch.

 

So you are saying you think Zito would take a 3/51 Million contract?

I don't think you can ignore the length of the contracts when saying Lilly +Marquis would equal Zito.

[UMFan83]

Just for fun post relavent statistical predictions for the starting 6 (as I like to call them). I am just going to use WL (useless stat), ERA and WHIP

 

Zambrano - 16-8, 3.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

Lilly (will be slotted #2) - 14-12, 4.16 ERA, 1.41 WHIP

Hill - 11-10, 4.63 ERA, 1.32 WHIP (will be inconsistant, great at times, bad at times)

Marquis - 10-15, 4.98 ERA, 1.57 WHIP

Miller - 6-7, 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

Prior - 6-3, 4.58 ERA, 1.61 WHIP

 

My prediction is that Prior will start the season injured, start the season in June, will miss another 2 weeks with shoulder soreness and be very wild but with a good BAA when he does pitch. Miller will also get hurt at one point, and unless Prior happens to be healthy at that time, Cotts or Marmol will get a few spot starts.

Edited December 9, 2006 by UMFan83

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I was about to disagree with you, but then you added the eyeroll. That made me realize that the opposing argument must be ludicrous, so I now agree with you.

 

Sorry, the extrrrrrreeeeeme pessimism gets to me sometimes. It almost seems like people are going out of their way to make sure to be as mad and dissapointed as possible. To say we have an ace and 4 #5's, that's just crazy.

 

No, it's not crazy at all. Everyone besides Z has performed pretty terribly for a less than insignificant period of time in the not so distant past. Is it pessimistic to say that? Probably. Is it crazy? Not in the slightest, especially considering that we haven't exactly extracted the maximum from our staff in recent years, and we have the same pitching coach still.

[sethuel1]

If you told me in 2003 that Prior would be battling for the #5 starter slot and Kerry would be a middle reliever in 2007 I woulda just shot myself in the head.

[UMFan83]

If you told me in 2003 that Prior would be battling for the #5 starter slot and Kerry would be a middle reliever in 2007 I woulda just shot myself in the head.

 

I still might given the current situation

[Soriano12]

So you are saying you think Zito would take a 3/51 Million contract?

 

 

 

No, but a 4-5 deal at 17/season might be the top bid for him. And he will sign with the team that offers the top $$$$

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

But what is going to make him change if he wasn't receptive towards some of the best pitching coaches in the bigs? Greg Maddux and Mark DeRosa's word are nice and all, but I'm not sure I have faith in Marquis listening and improving much.

 

Three years? That sucks.

 

again, which is it? was he listening to Duncan in 04-05, or was that strictly his stubborn side putting up solid #3 numbers? and back in 01, was he listening to Cox, or was that his stubborn side?

 

where does this 'stubborn' / 'the best pitching coaches couldn't straighten him out' stuff come from other than looking at a situation and jumping to conclusions about cause and effect?

 

I think it goes in phases. Regardless of production, he has had a different view for how he can be most effective compared to Mazzone and Duncan. Moreso Duncan than Mazzone b/c Mazzone prefers the 4 seamer more than Duncan, which goes along with Marquis.

 

Imo, he's definitely a better pitcher using the sinker/slider combo. But his stubborn nature didn't lead to his struggling (that was more command/control and his slider went in the toilet). But, his stubbornness probably made it difficult to truly listen to advice rather than going out the other ear if he didn't agree with it.

 

Exactly, UK.

 

He has quite a bit of talent but even in his good years, he didn't use it to the fullest and he apparently has a rep of not listening to his coaches which certainly doesn't help.

[TruffleShuffle]

I was about to disagree with you, but then you added the eyeroll. That made me realize that the opposing argument must be ludicrous, so I now agree with you.

 

Sorry, the extrrrrrreeeeeme pessimism gets to me sometimes. It almost seems like people are going out of their way to make sure to be as mad and dissapointed as possible. To say we have an ace and 4 #5's, that's just crazy.

 

No, it's not crazy at all. Everyone besides Z has performed pretty terribly for a less than insignificant period of time in the not so distant past. Is it pessimistic to say that? Probably.

 

Probably? Of course it's pessimistic. You're assuming that Marquis pitches as poorly as last year, that Hill completely loses what he had in the second half of last year, that Lilly pitches like he did in his worst season (2005), that Miller doesn't get back any of what he had before his injuries, that Prior stays injured/ineffective, and that none of the kids stay healthy and prove they're worthy of a place in the rotation. That's how you end up with four #5 pitchers. It's really unlikely, and it's ridiculous to present this as something that's likely to happen in 2007. It's just as likely that everything goes right, but in reality, the results will be mixed.

[AramisRamirez]

I was about to disagree with you, but then you added the eyeroll. That made me realize that the opposing argument must be ludicrous, so I now agree with you.

 

Sorry, the extrrrrrreeeeeme pessimism gets to me sometimes. It almost seems like people are going out of their way to make sure to be as mad and dissapointed as possible. To say we have an ace and 4 #5's, that's just crazy.

 

we just a signed a guy with a 6.00+ ERA. calling him a 5th starter is being genous. so i rephrase...we have one #1 starter, four #5 starters, and one AAA pitcher.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

If you told me in 2003 that Prior would be battling for the #5 starter slot and Kerry would be a middle reliever in 2007 I woulda just shot myself in the head.

 

Um, I'm pretty sure I did...

 

Prior will be battling for the #5 starter slot and Kerry will be a middle reliever in 2007

Edited December 9, 2006 by Ding Dong Johnson