Goat Reader boredblue recently said,
Please dont tell me they are dying to get Sean Marshall into the rotation. I thought we wanted to upgrade from Marquis. Marshal at best is a 8 win pitcher and that would be with 30 starts.
I'm curious about what Sean Marshall did for boredblue to give up on him. Did Marshall steal his girlfriend? Perhaps Sean broke the bro code and seduced his mother?
Surely, it can't be based on Marshall's performance in the major leagues. I'll admit that Marshall has yet to prove he can do it on a regular basis, but last season was a pretty interesting litmus test for the guy.
In 19 starts and 103.1 innings of work, Marshall went 7-8 with an ERA of 3.92. In other words, he came damn close to your 8 wins in 11 fewer starts than you thought it would take him.
It's the ERA that really interests me. In 2007, there were only 18 pitchers in all of the National League who posted an ERA as good or better than that. Considering that there are 16 teams in the NL, that means it's plausible that Marshall and his 3.92 ERA would have made him a top pitcher or a next-to-top pitcher on a number of those teams.
Now, in terms about what worries me about Sean Marshall, I'm not a huge fan of his low strikeout total and he has demonstrated periods of inconsistency regarding walks. Last year he was still at roughly a 2:1 ratio in terms of K's to BB's, and we have learned that pitchers can certainly win without getting a lot of strikeouts, but it worries me nonetheless that he may not have the best stuff in the world.
Regardless, based on his past performance and his age, Marshall is good enough for my starting rotation, especially over Marquis. However, I definitely wouldn't sub him in there in place of Gallagher - at least, not yet.
Kurt Kurt Kurt, girlfriends
Kurt Kurt Kurt, girlfriends maybe but Mammas noooo. Sean Marshall had that low ERA because Carlos Marmol kept saving his arse. I thought you where the biggest Cub fan or where you not paying attention to the games Marshall pitched instead of loving him from a far and staring at his arse. If he was so good why was he replaced by gulp Steve Thrachsel. And am i wrong or did Lou not even have him on the post season roster. I rest my case. 8 win pitcher. But I could live with him instead of Marquis.
You're asking me to explain
You're asking me to explain why Jim Hendry felt the need to make an idiotic trade rather than trust the team he built?
Anyway, I'm not exactly sure about how much of an affect a relief pitcher can have on a starting pitcher's ERA, unless said starting pitcher leaves with the bases juiced every time he pitches. But, for the record... (and you're going to regret this)
In 19 starts, Marshall averaged around 5 IP per start. He went 7-8. In 5 of his 8 losses, he gave up 2 earned runs or fewer.
On June 3rd, Marmol relieved Marshall for the first time after Sean was unable to get out of the 7th inning. However, the Cubs won that game 10-1. Marmol hardly "saved his arse."
His next start, Marshall went 6 innings and left the game without needing an emergency relief appearance from Marmol or anybody else.
On June 13th, Marshall went 8 strong and was successfully relieved by Dempster in a 3-2 win against Seattle.
On June 19th, Marmol came in early for Marshall, went 3 innings, struck out 5, and got the win. He didn't bail our Marshall so much as he bailed out the Cubs. But I think this is the game you had in mind when you made that statement, as it is pretty much the only time all year that Marshall got "his arse saved."
On June 24th, Marshall pitched into the 7th inning and was relieved by Marmol after getting 1 out. Marmol came in with the bases empty. The Cubs won 3-0.
On July 5th, Marmol pitched in the same game as Marshall, although they pitched three or so innings apart.
On July 17th, Marmol relieved Marshall and promptly coughed up the game. When Sean left, it had been a 2-all tie.
Marshall next lost to the D-Backs, on July 22nd. When he left, it was a 1-0 deficit, but Marmol coughed up 2 runs in the 7th.
Against the Reds on July 28th, Marshall got the win. Marmol relieved him in the 7th after Sean surrendered a leadoff single. However, considering that the Cubs won the game 8-1, it's probably unrealistic to suggest that Marmol "saved his ass."
Marshall had his worst outing of the season on August 2nd against the Phillies. Marmol was nowhere to be seen. He followed it up with another loss and another poor performance.
The next time Marshall and Marmol appeared in a game together was on August 24th. Sean went 6 strong innings of 2-hit ball and Marmol took over fresh in the 7th. The Cubs won 6-2; Marmol hardly "saved his arse."
All told, Marshall and Marmol pitched in a number of shared games, but Marshall's success hardly had anything to do with Marmol. However, it is accurate to say that Marshall either wore out or lost his edge late in the season. Regardless of that, he OWNED the D-backs last year. Maybe Lou should have used him in the playoffs.
So, I say to you, boredblue, c'mon. You remind me of a Cubs fan I once sat near in 2000 who spouted out BS and entirely wrong statistics as if nobody would know any better. If you're going to make a statement as bold as the ones you've made, it should at least be true.