@MarkKnudson41
German Marquez was the Colorado Rockies lone All-Star last season, and he was rewarded by getting to pitch in the game in front of his home crowd. At the time, he had a 7-6 record but was coming off a nifty 4-1 June, when he posted a dazzling 2.41 ERA and almost threw the franchise’s second no-hitter.
Then came the second half.
It’s not uncommon for players to have an ebb and flow to a season. Good times and bad. That’s normal. But sadly, it’s become very normal…even predictable…for the 27-year-old with the stuff to be a staff ace to fall off the ledge for a considerable amount of time…like an entire second half. In 2021, after being an All-Star, Marquez went 6-6 and had an ERA of over 6.00 for both August and September. He finished a pedestrian 12-11 with a 4.35 ERA.
Not All-Star numbers for a dude with All-Star stuff.
The Rockies and their fans keep waiting for Marquez to become that badly needed staff leader. That ace to build around. He’s got the goods. But something is missing.
The same fan base played the same waiting game with another Rockies All-Star pitcher a generation ago: Ubaldo Jimenez.
Ubaldo will always be remembered as the Rockies hurler who did complete a no-hitter, back on April 17, 2010. That was the same season he was an All-Star. He was the National League pitcher of the Month for April and May, winning 11 of his first 12 decisions and posting the lowest ERA (0.78) in MLB history in his first 11 starts.
Ubaldo was a staggering 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA when he was selected to start the All-Star game for the NL. He was a lock to become the franchise’s first 20-game and Cy Young award winner.
Then he wasn’t. And he’ll always be remembered for that, too.
Sure, if Clint Barmes had caught a pop fly late in a mid-August Sunday afternoon game, Huston Street wouldn’t have blown a save and Jimenez would have picked up another win with an eight-inning, 10-strike performance against Milwaukee. Then he would have reached the 20-win plateau. But it’s not like he didn’t have a lot of other chances. Ubaldo shrunk and went 4-7 in the second half, finishing 19-8 overall and losing out on a Cy Young Award that was his for the taking at the break.
More importantly, the following season, the former Rockies ace was 6-9 at the trade deadline when he was sent off to the Cleveland Indians.
Frustrating and maddening.
Fast forward. This time it’s Marquez, with an illustration from 2019. Early that season, the powerful right-hander dominated the San Francisco Giants, tossing a one-hitter at AT&T Park. Almost exactly three months to the day after that, the same Giants line-up pummeled him for 11 runs in just 2 2/3 innings at Coors Field. Same pitcher, same line-up. Wildly different results.
Inconsistency. It’s the trait that binds Marquez and Jimenez. And it’s maddening. So many hurlers (raises hand) would have given anything to have stuff like these two have possessed in their primes. They didn’t/don’t break bats, they explode them. They could/can dominate any line-up on any given night. But half the time, they don’t.
No pitcher takes his best stuff to the mound every night. In fact, if you take a 10-start segment, you can expect a guy to be dominant twice and stink twice. The other six starts – some things are working, other’s aren’t – will determine how good that pitcher can be and how much he can be counted on.
Adapting to what you have that day and giving your team a consistent perform each time out is the key.
Marquez had a sensational 12-5 season in 2019, but other than that has been a below .500 pitcher for Colorado. This season, he’s tossed a great game in his first start against the Dodgers and was really poor in his second start against the Cubs.
Par for the course, unfortunately.
We’ll see what happens next time out.
Be sure to catch Mark Knudson and Manny Randhawa on the Park Adjusted Rockies Podcast each week, available on all major Podcast platforms.