Jason Marquis' Start Today

For all the "consistency" he is supposed to bring, so far he has been knocked around like a pinata. Because one of his starts was rained out, the sample size is small, but the 30+ WHIP will always catch someone's eye. Progress needs to be made today in locating the strike zone, as for what ever reason, Marquis seems to have lost it. Getting knocked around in the spring happens to many good pitchers, but that is usually because their velocity and movement doesn't catch up until they are loose after several throwing sessions. This is an important start, as he needs to start confidently hitting the zone before going up against major league hitters in April. He will not magically rediscover it once Chase Utley steps in on April 7th.

Remember, guys like John Lannan and Jason Marquis are only successful because of their ability to minimize home runs and walks... when one of those variables increases, they are hardly major league caliber. It happened to Barry Zito and he is still trying to figure it out.