Crystal Lake Signs Marquez to Extension

[Apollos]

General manager Dean Giesey and his staff entered this particular period of the season with two major goals in mind: Re-sign key players before they head into free agency, and obtain a slugger to augment the middle of the batting order. The Gnats accomplished a part of that first goal signing Jesus Marquez to a long term contract. The third baseman adds a right-handed power presence to the middle of the Gnats order. Although his batting average has been poor, Jesus has driven in 23 runs, first on the team. He has suffered from a number of ailments but is healthy again. At age 27, he should just be coming into his prime.

Marquez and the team agreed to a three year deal with a team option fourth year. The contract was valued at 9.1 million. Jesus, gave the Gnats a home team discount. He could have received a more lucrative offer from free agency, but anyone who knows the way Marquez operates understands that money was far from the most crucial issue in the negotiations.

Marquez wanted to play for a championship-caliber team, which the Crystal Lake Sand Gnats certainly hope to be in 2007. He also wanted to, at the very least, train somewhere close to his Cary, Illinois home. Marquez was born in Puerto Rico but now calls Illinois home.

Marquez became the team leader both on and off the field, with his cool and calm demeanor in the clubhouse. It was Marquez who constantly reminded the media and the Gnat fans during the team's struggles several weeks ago that the team would come out of its mini slump after exciting fans with a 7-0 season start.

When queried about which player was next to be signed, General manager Dean Giesey just smiled and replied “you will have to wait and see. I thought we had a big announcement to make but we are still ironing out our differences. We are hopeful and optimistic that we can get something done. In a mid range market such as ours we need to be careful with our finances.” When asked about a slugger, he replied, “I know the acquisition of Scot Christen was not what everyone was expecting. This was a good trade for us. It only cost us a late round pick and we received an excellent defensive back stop with a little pop. Jerry Lee has been doing most of the catching and we needed to get him someone to help fill in. We haven’t given up on rookie Nathan Clark either. He needs to work on some things and our staff felt we needed a veteran presence behind the plate. Scotty will help us!”

[John]

That is one heck of a hometown discount. Witness the power of high loyalty and desire to play for a winner! You really helped your cause by striking while the player is cold, too, something I always consider to be a good strategy. This to my eyes is one of the most astute contracts handed out so far!