Marshall Law-Marshall named 4th starter

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http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060330&content_id=1374743&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

Sean Marshall will start April 9th against the St. Louis Cardinals, Jerome Williams will go to the long relief role until April 15th, the first game the Cubs need a 5th starter.


Wuertz realized a mechanical error in his delivery and has fixed it...he now has more confidence and has done much better his last few outings.


I personally LOVE Marshall and am glad we gave him a shot

[letsgocubbies]

Hopefully Marshall can pitch as well as he did in spring training in the regular season until Prior and Wood come. I think that Marshall is a heck of a pitcher and maybe when/if Kerry Wood gets hurt again he could be our number 5.
Zambrano
Prior
Maddux
Wood/Marshall
Miller
Doesn't look too bad but knowing our luck one of our starters will get hurt. Hopefully that doesn't happen though.

[runningshoes]

Hopefully Marshall can pitch as well as he did in spring training in the regular season until Prior and Wood come. I think that Marshall is a heck of a pitcher and maybe when/if Kerry Wood gets hurt again he could be our number 5.

Sounds like you're are hoping.

[Bob Sacamento]

Marshall is in essence getting the shot that the Cubs didn't give to Angel Guzman heading into 2003. If you don't remember, Angel Guzman was in camp was dominating the rest of the Cactus League. At the time the Cubs didn't have a Ron Santo/Billy Williams Award, but if they did, Guzman would have walked away with it. In 5 games, Guzman went 16 IP giving up 8 hits, 2 ER, 0 hr, 6 bb, 17 k and drew praise all around baseball including Barry Bonds. When Bonds was asked which of the Cub pitchers, Wood, Prior, Clement, or Zambrano was the hardest to hit; Bonds said none of them, instead saying Angel Guzman was. Still Guzman was bypassed in favor of veteran lefty Shawn Estes, the main reasoning was Guzman's minor league experience and his age, 21 at the time. At the time the highest level he had pitched at was High A Daytona but he was dominant (in 15 starts, 2.39 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 94 IP, 99 hits, 33 bb, 74 k). Guzman went back down to the minors that season, AA, where in 15 starts he was impressive (2.81 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 89 IP, 82 hits, 26 bb, 87 k) but suffered a shoulder injury that is just now getting cleared up. Which put a hamper in the Cubs' plans for Guzman, supposedly Hendry/Fleita's plan was to call Guzman up to the parent club in late August 2003 and use him out of the pen in the playoffs like the Angels had with Frankie Rodriguez the year prior, then convert Angel back to a starter for the 2004 season and beyond. Now Marshall is getting the chance the Cubs never gave to the inexperienced yet able Guzman in 2003. Hopefully and likely, Marshall will make the most of his limited opportunities in April and May and even when guys like Prior, Wood, and Miller come back and he's sent down, he's left a good taste in the parent clubs mouth that they call him back up in fill in spots for injuries and even as a late season callup this year. What this is more escalating is that Marshall is lining himself up a spot for the 2007 rotation when Maddux and Wood depart leaving only Prior and Zambrano as guarenteed starters under contract.

Sean is also getting an opportunity that the Cubs have held back on in quite a few of their young arms, that is a speedy chance to pitch in the the majors without too much upper level experience (Marshall only has 10 games experience at AA). But when one demonstrates the poise on the mound and control as Marshall does, then they tend to get earlier and quicker promotions. It also doesn't hurt Sean that he's a big lefty, and probably the most precise lefty the Cubs have had in the organization since Dontrelle Willis, who coincidently only pitched in 6 games in AA before he stuck with the Florida Marlins. Both pitchers also saw only a few minor league starts before getting the call, Willis 54 games, Marshall 44 games; the quick thought is Marshall is in the MLB for only a little bit before the big boys (Prior, Wood, Miller) come back but Sean is fully capable of stealing a spot in this rotation as far off of a possibility that seems with a healthy rotation of Zambrano, Prior, Maddux, Wood, Miller/Rusch/etc. In terms of age, Willis just turned 24 a few months away (with close to 3 years of MLB experience), Marshall won't be 24 until late August. Part of Marshall's excuse for his age in leagues (slightly above average) is due to his finger injury and that he pitched in college for 3 years. But that also gives him sort of an advantage, he has college seasoning with a quality program in a challanging atmosphere. Good luck to Marshall, we'll be seeing more of him no matter what happens though.

Scouting Report on Marshall

[burger eater]

I'd still rather have seen Guzman get the shot, but hopefully Marshall will out-pitch Rusch and stick with the team as a starter when some of the DL-gang starts returning.

[Bob Sacamento]

I'd still rather have seen Guzman get the shot, but hopefully Marshall will out-pitch Rusch and stick with the team as a starter when some of the DL-gang starts returning.

Currently, the only problem with Guzman is arm strength, and location of his curve. He's flashed brilliance this spring and in the AFL, but he's probably not able to go much past an 85 pitch all count outing. And with him having a high strikeout rate, it's possible he wouldn't make it out the 5th in several occasions despite a good outing. Marshall on the other hand, hasn't had shoulder/arm problems (the worst being a tendon injury due to the splitter). Sean is a groundball pitcher who makes hitters get themselves out all while having the ability to strike out batters when needed, making his likely total pitch count low. If Marshall gets into trouble early (or any other Cub starter) that's why Williams will be on the roster, he has the ability to go deep out of the pen.

[aarond23]

It will be interesting to see if Marshall can duplicate some of the success he has had in March. I remember quite a few guys who have had 'Gary Scott' syndrome. Tear it up in March and then do nothing in April.

I hope he does well.