The Football Fan Spot

            Before his all-star season in 2009, the casual baseball fan probably wouldn’t know who Jason Marquis is. Even after his 2009 season, in which he has gone 15-12 with a 3.95 ERA, many casual baseball fans probably still don’t know the name Jason Marquis. Yet Marquis has been around a long time and his rise to ace of the surprising Colorado Rockies pitching staff is hardly a breakout season. Marquis has 10 wins or more in each of his last 6 season and has made at least 29 starts in each of his last 6 seasons as well. He has 230 career starts, 94 career wins, to 82 losses, and an ERA of 4.47. He’s hardly Cy Young or Nolan Ryan, but he’s the type of guy you can depend on.

            On May 29th, the Colorado Rockies were 18-28 and without a manager after firing Clint Hurdle, who had been their coach since 2002 and led them to the World Series in 2007. Matt Holliday had been traded, Jeff Francis, their former ace, was out for the season with an injury. Jason Marquis had to step in and be their #1 starter. About 4 months later, the Rockies, Jason Marquis included, were popping champagne after clinching a playoff spot. The Rockies are currently 92-68, 1 game back of the Dodgers for the division and the best record in the NL, with 2 games left to go. The Rockies’ comeback is as improbable as Jason Marquis is subtle, but there stories are intertwined in more ways than you may think.

            Question, who is the longest tenured major leaguer to have never missed the playoffs. Derek Jeter? Nope, even he missed the playoffs last season. It is, you guessed it, Mr. Jason Marquis. Marquis has been the playoffs 10 times in his career, with 4 different teams, the Braves, the Cardinals, the Cubs, and now the Rockies. After a while, it stops being a coincidence.

Jason Marquis’ attitude and dependability are one of the main reasons why the Rockies, like everyone of Marquis’ former teams, are playoff bound. Marquis is a quiet leader in every clubhouse and shares his pitching wisdom with the entire staff. Marquis is hardly the guy throwing 98 MPH or even 90 MPH. He does it with smarts and this has been a very smart Rockies pitching staff this season. This pitching staff, filled with no names such as Jorge De La Rosa and Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation, and a bullpen of guys who, with the exception of Huston Street, the average baseball fan couldn’t pick out of a lineup, is tenth in the Majors, out of 30 teams, with a 4.21 ERA. Still confused as to why the Rockies are in the playoffs? Other teams should take notice. Jason Marquis is a free agent this offseason.