Jason Marquis

Heard This Blog ranked the top five Jewish current baseball players

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After the Washington Nationals’ 11-2 humbling at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, Ryan Zimmerman promised a better effort from the club on Tuesday. Then Zimmerman went out and backed up that promise.

Despite Zimmerman’s tremendous effort, a lack of clutch hitting and a tenth inning error by Jayson Werth allowed the Marlins to win 3-2 on a walk-off hit by Donnie Murphy.

Ever since the Washington Nationals settled in the nation's capitol in 2005, the franchise has consistently been the laughing stock of the National League East, and at times even the entire Major Leagues.

After a quick start in 2005 that placed the Nationals first in the NL East at the halfway mark, their downward spiral began, and so did their constant struggles.

The team has never finished higher than fourth in the division and has only won more than 80 games once.

The Mets have several holes to fill this winter, and one of the many concerns is the starting rotation.

Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey all may have the talent to be solid starters behind Johan Santana, but all three of them need to prove that they can contribute positively to the rotation for the whole season.

Perez missed a significant portion of the last season because of lingering knee trouble, which did require surgery, but prior to that, he had a lot of problems with his control and was placed in the bullpen. 

The Chicago Cubs look like they have started to take away some of the question marks surrounding this team. 

How can a pitching staff that's so good on paper (maybe the best in the National league, when healthy) keep losing one run games? Ted Lilly got the win in a close 2-1 ballgame. 

How can an offense that was so potent and productive last year not be scoring runs consistently? The Cubs, combined with a masterful performance from Ryan Dempster, shut out the Dodgers 7-0. 

We have finally arrived on the eve of Opening Day after a grueling and seemingly never-ending offseason, punctuated by our resident superstar's departure to the Bay Area.

With Matt Holliday now wearing Athletic green, the Rockies are projected by the national media to struggle in replacing the power Holliday produced on a daily basis in the purple pinstripes.

The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino in exchange for fifth starter Jason Marquis earlier this winter. The trade was sold to fans as the Cubs moving a high-paid veteran for bullpen depth.

Time to call bull.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Vizcaino is in danger of not coming north with the Cubs this Spring, likely making him a free agent. Is anyone really surprised?