Marquis went to the media yesterday and said that, although he loves being in Chicago, he signed there to be a starter and wouldn't mind going somewhere else if he couldn't crack the rotation this year.
When situations like this come up, there are a lot of things said that aren't really being said and mixed messages and vague statements. Luckily I can translate the situation for you.
Marquis: I love Chicago. I definitely want to stay here. This is the place I want to be. I signed here for a reason.
Translation: And that reason was the money. No one else wanted me. I could have easily been the Kyle Lohse of 2007.
Marquis: But I also signed as a starter, and I think that's where I help the team the most.
Translation: Sure that sounds good on paper, but really, who am I kidding? Everyone knows that 80 innings of 5.00 ERA out of the pen is much better than 160 of them as a starter.
Piniella: Well if that's the case, he can go somewhere else.
Translation: Fuck Jason Marquis. Never heard of him.
Piniella: Win a spot in the rotation, you don't have to worry about it.
Translation: I know I can say things like that because Marquis couldn't win a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation.
Some may argue that Marquis and Piniella are idiots for taking these comments public instead of doing everything behind closed doors. After all, if other teams know that the Cubs are desperate to unload a player, they'll never get anything good back in a trade (see: Sosa, Sammy).
To those people I say: What are you smoking? Anyone who thought that the Cubs could get anything more than a low-level prospect for Marquis even before this whole fiasco is not right in the head. If anything, I think that taking this argument public is a good thing. It gives Sweet Lou another chance to show everyone that he is the boss right now and that no one is going to give him any crap.
Apparently Lou made some kind of half-hearted apology to Marquis today. I saw the headline, but I didn't bother reading the article. I don't have to. Any apology that Lou Piniella made to Jason Marquis was strictly for PR purposes. We know who's boss.
And to anyone who thinks that the Cubs should stick Marquis into any trade that happens for Brian Roberts, the Orioles would have to be the worst run team in history to take Marquis right now. So yes, expect to see Marquis in Baltimore this season.
In other news...
- Soriano broke his finger today. I guess he's only supposed to miss a week or so. As long as he doesn't do anything to hurt those quads again, I'll be happy.
- The Cubs are still in the market for both Brian Roberts and Coco Crisp. Coco Crisp? How many outfielders do we need? Are we taking a page out of the Dodger playbook now?
- Add a 3-3 day to Thunder Matt's spring resume. The man is a hitting machine. What happens if Murton tears up Spring Training? Could the Cubs break camp with Fukudome in center and Murton in right? I'd be all for that.
- Prince Fielder is apparently pissed off that the Brewers gave him "only" $600K to play baseball this year. The dude is a selfish player. Remember last August when he was asked what his goal for the season was? Prince said his main goal was to get to 50 home runs because it's something his father never did. A better goal probably would have been "make the playoffs". But that's cool...Prince got his wish. And anything that can make the Brewers' clubhouse a little more dysfunctional than it already was is ok by me.
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