Lilly, Marquis quickly prove their worth
Well, so far, so good three games into the season. And if the first start by each new Cubs pitcher says anything about what's to come, it looks like money well-spent. The only reason it hasn't bought a pair of wins and a series victory was the bullpen meltdown Thursday after Marquis left the game.
After Marquis' six innings of four-hit pitching, here's the combined line of the Nos. 2 and 3 starters, signed as free agents over the winter: 13 innings, seven hits, two earned runs, three walks, 10 strikeouts (nine by Lilly) and a 1.38 ERA.
Not bad for a pair of guys who combined for 29 losses and 63 home runs allowed last season and were considered no better than middle- or end-of-the-rotation pitchers.
Lilly dazzled Wednesday night with constantly changing speed and direction to earn the Cubs' first win. And Marquis was the major bright spot during a cold, dreary end of the opening series.
Marquis, a sinkerball pitcher who could not keep the ball down the second half of last season, adjusted his delivery over the last two weeks, and it produced results Thursday.
''It feels comfortable. I feel my delivery's where I want it to be,'' said Marquis, who recorded 10 of his 18 outs on ground balls. ''I'm able to keep my arm in the right position and create the downhill plane that I've been looking for with consistency. And I'm going to just keep working on it.''
''He had the sinker working,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''He pitched very well.''
CHALLENGE FOR THERIOT: Consider utility infielder Ryan Theriot more of a utility outfielder at this point. With a less-than-stellar starting outfield defensively, Piniella is using Theriot as his replacement in left field with late-inning leads.
That's the role Angel Pagan, now at Class AAA Iowa, would have filled if the Cubs could have afforded to take only 11 pitchers north.
''That's what we're going to do, and if we can't, we're going to have to go and get an outfielder that can do that for us,'' said Piniella, who played Theriot in the outfield late in spring training when the roster was cut down close to Opening Day numbers.
''I'm hoping he can do that for us. He's an athlete. He's been getting a lot of work with Mike Quade, our outfield instructor. He gives us good speed, and he's got a good arm out there. And he's got good range.''
Even if Theriot hasn't looked very comfortable on several fly balls, especially when the wind was blowing on a cold night Wednesday.
''It's just a question of getting acclimated,'' Piniella said. ''But we do need that in our team makeup. We've got to pick up in the outfield at times defensively.''
SHORT HOPS: Piniella on why he replaced Theriot at second base in the lineup Wednesday with Mark DeRosa, who wound up hitting a crucial two-run single in the eighth inning: ''Carmac.'' Huh? ''Carmac, the magician,'' he said. It's believed he meant Carnac the Magnificent, the old Johnny Carson soothsayer character.
• *Marquis on the bullpen blowing his would-be first win as a Cub: ''It's a long season. We have all the confidence in the world in our bullpen. And tomorrow's a new day. These guys are good enough to put it behind them and go get 'em tomorrow.''
• *Catcher Michael Barrett said he was bracing for a pitch on the other side of the plate when reliever Will Ohman's slider got past him low and to his right for a passed ball that allowed the go-ahead run to score in the seventh. But there was no miscommunication, both Barrett and Ohman said.
• *Marquis said he felt strong enough to continue after throwing 84 pitches in the first six innings. But after a pitching change extended the top of the seventh on a day when temperatures were in the 30s, Piniella replaced Marquis with Bob Howry, who promptly gave up a single and eventually blew the save. ''He threw [84] pitches,'' Piniella said of Marquis. ''He did his job for six innings.''