Did this game come with an asterisk? You know, that this game will count in place of next Monday's game if the Rockies lose the season opener. Jason Marquis was on today, minus the two-run homer by Josh Whitesell. He went five innings and struck out five. Now that's what we wanted to see out of Marquis in his previous outings. As we learned a few days ago, some of Marquis's teammates voiced concerns over his performance to date, but today hopefully quieted those doubts:

"It definitely feels good,’’ said Marquis. "It can erase away any doubts the coaches and my teammates had. I got back to basics and let my athletic ability take over.’’

Please repeat this performance when you start the home opener, Jason!

Todd Helton's back and ready to rock. He went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles. Brad Hawpe chimed in with a three-run blast in the four-run first inning.

Todd "I'm Back" Helton

#17 / First Base / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 20, 1973

Big Question: WIll we see today's versions of Todd Helton and Jason Marquis during the regular season on a consistent basis?

Miscellaneous News: Give early congratulations to Seth Smith and his wife on the birth of their first child, expected on Wednesday. Josh Fogg was reassigned to minor-league camp. There should be a news alert at the top of the page about SBN going down at 5:30 am EST. We'll be down for two hours, but when we come back we should have some new stuff for y'all to enjoy.

Thanks to DbacksSkins, Tom (RFTN), Jabberwocky, pedalpusher, frightenedinmate#2, RoxnSox09, Hizilla, Mondogarage, Silverblood, jrockies, Rox Girl, Chacinisthefuture, holly96, RockiesDave, biondino, muzia02, TuLoRocks2008, RockiesMagicNumber, Rockie4Ever, holliday5, mkorpal, blooming rock, Redhawk, smokinRox, pierzynskirules, rockiesfan4ever, Klingb00, and Poseidon's Fist for setting a spring training record of 845 comments (and still rising) in two game threads.