Sean Marshall

The Cincinnati Reds played well Saturday in narrow victory at Yankee Stadium.  Homer Bailey is showing signs of being the starter that, for years, fans were told he was.  The bats were alive, and the Reds made the most of their opportunities.  

Joey Votto is looking hot, Heisey and Phillips are heating up and talents like Costanzo are revealing their worth.  But that's not all the 6-5 win over New York revealed.

Just in case you don't follow me on Twitter (@FrostyAustin), which I do not blame you, considering you are already reading this—following me on a social network may drive you to insanity 140 characters at a time—you missed out on this tweet brigade inspired by Sean Marshall's 7th inning heroics last night.

The Chicago Cubs are a great team. I may be a big White Sox fan, but I'm no slouch when it comes to knowing baseball. Believe me when I say that the Cubs will be bad next year.

Every year it's the same. The Cubs are World Series favorites, they start off hot, but then the second half is filled with losses and they eventually miss the championship series.

And, I am very happy.

But this article isn't about me. This piece is about the Cubs and their misfortunes.

This might be hard to believe, but Sean Marshall has probably been better than most Chicago Cubs fans think this season.

Marshall, who turned 28 last month, has had a marvelous season in the Cubs' bullpen in 2010.

His 6-5 record reflects the confidence both Lou Piniella and Mike Quade have shown in Marshall, using him in tie games 21 times and on back-to-back days 25 times.

Yet there are numbers in Marshall's stat line this season that leap off the page unexpectedly.

Since Carlos Marmol was moved to full-time closer duties, a big question was not how Marmol would perform in the new role, but who would replace him as the set-up man or relief ace role.

Sean Marshall has answered all those questions, dominating opposing offenses as a full-time reliever this year.

Marshall currently sports a sparkling 2.70 ERA in 18 relief appearances, which doesn't show how truly awesome he is pitching, as his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is sitting at 1.29.