L Boros discussed Jason Marquis's latest struggles, starting from the San Diego game on July 27th when Marquis threw 132 pitches. I have two points to add:

(1) Marquis has one win since June 10th. Marquis actually didn't pitch that badly in July, posting an ERA of 2.80, albeit with a few unearned runs, and a 1.22 WHIP, but tradition dictates that starting pitchers aren't doing their jobs unless they pick up W's. In San Diego LaRussa was stretching Marquis to get that W, and he even said as much to the Post-Dispatch. It's a long season and individual goals help keep players focused, so I'm not complaining too much about one high pitch count game. A calculated risk can make sense, even if the results are unsatisfactory.

(2) LaRussa does need to manage those risks though. Marquis ran out of gas in the 9th against the Padres and lost traction in the 6th against the Marlins and Braves. There were three crucial at-bats in those three games, Robert Fick's game-ending single, Lenny Harris's bases-loaded double and Andruw Jones's grand slam. Immediately prior to each of those at-bats LaRussa or Duncan visited the mound. They're recognizing the risks and now they need to find the appropriate response. If they keep taking Marquis one batter too far, then they're not helping anybody.