Luis Vizcaino News

The Rockies have made no secret of their build-from-within philosophy in recent years, but that doesn't mean they will sit on the sideline during the free-agent signing period, which begins Thursday night at 10:01 p.m. MT.

Various on-and-off field personnel for the Rockies had a common theme in recent conversations about the World Series: It was difficult to watch.

Good for them. Good, yes, for the Bros. Monfort. Don't pop the champagne yet, but .

Dan O'Dowd has long been one of this city's favorite punching bags. Critics blasted him, rightly so, for not beefing up the Rockies' rotation last year following the magic of Rocktober.

Jason Marquis has a 3.00 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break. If the Rockies pull off this extraordinary comeback to make the postseason, Marquis will become the first player in major league history whose teams have made the playoffs in each of his first 10 seasons, playing for at least three teams.

So, is Derrek Lee looking forward to facing old teammate Jason Marquis on Saturday night? "No," Lee replied with a laugh.

So, is Derrek Lee looking forward to facing old teammate Jason Marquis on Saturday night? "No," Lee replied with a laugh.

Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis delivers in the first inning against the Padres on Sunday in San Diego.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Spinning the Indians' season back to see what went wrong in the first half: Chris O'Meara/Associated Press In a scene that reflected all of the Indians' misery in the first half of the 2009 season, reliever Luis Vizcaino watches Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton celebrate a game-winning home run on May 15 in St.

The day the Chicago Cubs sent pitcher Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino, I wrote this .

St. Louis is where All-Star Marquis boosted his career Rockies pitcher has 11 victories this season, tied for most in majors.

When the Colorado Rockies acquired Jason Marquis in January, general manager Dan O'Dowd said the team knew how to make the right-hander a better pitcher.

Best trade in Rockies history? frowned. "I can't remember them all," he said, "but that's got to be right up there." Well, let's see.

DENVER, July 6 -- Pitching is baseball's lion, perched fierce atop the food chain. The best pitching trumps everything, consumes whatever it wants; that's just the natural order of things. Certain pitchers, they do what they want, when they want. Indeed, Manny Acta, when talking aces, lists them just by their last names. Nothing more is needed: Halladay. Santana. Sabathia.

But Marquis? Jason Marquis? Now, the Washington Nationals know. They walked right up to him on Monday and got too close. Marquis's last name is not yet a synonym for dominance and doom, but this year, he has unexpectedly become an ace. While the aura awaits, he maintains the excellence. With eight innings of shutout ball, he ripped the Nationals to scraps, pulling out his major league-leading 11th win and dictating a 1-0 Colorado win in this series opener.

As of today, it's no longer just his batter clip. It is a Cliff Notes version of this season.

It's doubtful any would have picked the Colorado Rockies ' Jason Marquis to be in the same position.

Kerry Wood goes home, fails. Browse more photos>> When a season is going down the toilet, every loss seems somehow bizarre.

The revolving door keeps spinning for the Indians. Chuck Crow The Plain Dealer Grady Sizemore is expected to start tonight in Pittsburgh.

This weekend, a former Cub will step onto the field at Wrigley Field, have his name announced, and despite performing well in his time in blue pinstripes, will be completely ignored.

Ryan Theriot's seeing-eye single in the bottom of the 10th inning capped a seven-run rally and gave the Chicago Cubs an 8-7 victory over Cleveland, in the opener of a three-game interleague set at Wrigley Field.