Jason Marquis Confounding Critics and Hitters Alike

Watching Jason Marquis mow down opposing batters with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel in 2009 has brought a bit of sanity to the Rocky Mountains, while, at the same time, confounding both baseball purists and statheads from Bakersfield to Boston.

As Marquis extended his scoreless inning streak to 17 innings with eight more flawless frames against the lowly Washington Nationals en route to his Major League-leading 11th win of the season, it became apparent that Marquis' stellar season is not just a passing fad.

The right-hander has made his money with one pitch made all the more effective with a slight tweak to his mechanics in the offseason.

A sinkerballer by trade, Marquis added a bit of a pause at the top of his delivery to allow his arm to catch up to the lower half of his body in order to get biting movement on his sinker, making it akin to hitting a bowling ball with a piece of plywood.

He has relied on his bread and butter for most of 2009, churning his way to the best season of his career.

Marquis has compiled the best ground out/fly ball ratio of his career (2.35), nearly a full ground ball better than his career average (1.53).  He has parlayed all those ground balls into 14 double plays and the righty is tops in the Majors in groundouts (203). 

He has already won as many games as he did all of last season with the Cubs, while earning multiple complete games for the first time since 2005. 

He has also served as stopper for the Rox, putting the cork back into the proverbial wine bottle, going 8-3 after Rockies' losses, including Monday's eight-inning gem against the Natties after back-to-back losses to the Diamondbacks at Coors Field.

It does not hurt that the infield defense behind Marquis has been nothing short of spectacular this season with perennial Gold-Glove candidates Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki.

Helton and Tulowitzki are gobbling up grounders like Hungry-Hungry Hippos with Ian Stewart and Clint Barmes making both the routine and the remarkable plays as they dive across the diamond.

The curious case of Jason Marquis this season, however, has been how his statistics are far and away superior to the rest of his career track.

Here are just a sample of how Marquis' stats compare to his career totals:

Wins:  11 (career high 15)

Ground out/fly ball ratio:  2.35 (career 1.54)

WHIP:  1.31 (career 1.42)

Opponent's batting average:  .252 (career .266)

Opponent's slugging percentage:  .370 (career .429)

Opponent's on-base percentage:  .313 (career .335)

BB/9:  2.91 (career 3.48)

H/9:  8.74 (career 9.24)

It is not that normal for a 30-year-old journeyman starter to enjoy a Renaissance when coming to a place where hurler's have generally gone to put the finishing touches on their pitching obituary. 

Marquis is a special breed who is flourishing under the tutelage of pitching coach Bob Apodaca, a welcome reprieve from the pitchers who have regressed considerably since putting on the purple pinstripes.

The prognosticators at ESPN are already proclaiming Marquis as the "feel-good" story of the first half after earning his first-ever All-Star berth on Sunday.

Marquis has been a notoriously quick-starter, compiling a career 4.20 ERA before the All-Star break compared to a 4.93 mark in the season's second half.

But, with his career success at Coors Field (7-2, 3.66 ERA) and solid support from the rest of his pitching staff, Marquis is primed for a career year.

Don't blink Rockies fans, but, with Marquis at the helm tossing shutout stanzas, this team might give the Blake Street faithful something to cheer about deep into September.