More on Marquis

• From “The Nationals Journal,” a blog on The Washington Post, Marquis’ new home town paper.
• From Sports Illustrated‘s Jon Heyman

Marquis will be hard pressed to continue his record of elevating his teams.

He made his debut with the Atlanta Braves in June, 2000. The Braves had already been an excellent team for most of the 1990s, so his  addition to the roster wasn’t that much of an issue.

Marquis was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2003 season. The Cardinals had finished in third place in the Central Division in 2002 with a record of 85-77. Their first season with Marquis in their rotation? 105-57, and a division title (Marquis went 15-7). In fact, they made it all the way to the World Series before running into the Red Sox juggernaut. His record dropped below .500 in each his next two seasons with the Cards, but they continued to finish in first place and, in 2006, won the World Championship.

Marquis signed with the Cubs as a free agent for the 2007 season. In 2006, the Cubs had finished in the Central cellar with a 66-96 mark. With Marquis? First place/85-77. The righty was 12-9 and followed with an 11-9 mark as the Cubs again finished in first.

He was traded to the Colorado Rockies before the 2009 season. In 2008, the Rockies finished third in the Western Division with a 74-88 record. With Marquis the following year? Care to guess? Right you are: first place (92-70).

Now he moves into another challenge. The Nationals have finished in last place in the Eastern division in four of the five years since they relocated from Montreal. Wouldn’t it be sweet if he could…Nah. That’s asking too much. Still…

UPDATE: From today’s Wall Street Journal:

0: Number of seasons in which pitcher Jason Marquis’s team has missed the playoffs during his 10-year baseball career. On Monday, he reportedly signed with the Washington Nationals, who finished 34 games out of first place last season.

In fact, Marquis signed a two-year deal today for a reported $15 million; he earned $9.785 mill for the Rockies in 2009.

More from The Washington Post

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