The Lone Bright Spot

"You're a Cubs fan?"
"Yeah. That's why I don't date. I have enough pain in my life."

As predicted, the Cubs offense has vanished now that Lee is on the DL. During their last six games, do you know how many runs the Cubs have scored? Four! Four runs in the six games combined. In three of those six games the Cubs have been shutout. One of those shutouts even went to 11 innings. The most runs the Cubs have scored in one game during this six game span? Two! The miraculous thing is they won that game. Why did they win that game? Sean Marshall. Out of nowhere this season, a bit of sunshine has poked through. Marshall is a rookie who got a chance during spring training. Before then he had never pitched above AA. Now the big left hander along with old man Maddux have at least kept the Cubs in games. In Marshall's last four starts he has given up only 11 hits and 4 ER through a little over 25 innings. His ERA is a measly 1.42. He was never really touted as a top prospect, yet here he is. Why has he been successful? I think it's poise...and a really nasty curveball. Prior used to have that poise till Alou threw a tantrum in that certain playoff game in 2003. Wood has never had it, or at least never consistently had it. Now there's talk of him being the odd man out when Wood and Prior come back. Whaaat? Of course he's not going to keep up this ridiculous pace. He is still a rookie. He hasn't exactly faced power line-ups. I still think he's deserved to be locked into the rotation. Scouts often talk about players having "it." Well, Marshall has "it."

Of course I realize he's going to suck now that I posted about him.