Wood to be Cubs Closer?
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Lou Piniella has typically favored veterans, and it shows again as he is reportedly leaning towards Kerry Wood as his closer. Although I think Kerry Wood can do a good job in the bullpen, pitching everyday or five times a week is not good for his arm. We have to remember that he is still recovering from injury, and should be used sparingly. Carlos Marmol is the obvious choice for closer. He throws very hard, had one of the lowest inherited runs total, and has a solid number two pitch. Piniella favoring veterans is only hurting Marmol and will eventually hurt other players like Felix Pie. I am a big fan of Felix Pie and believe that a full year in the MLB in 2008 will allow him to get comfortable up here and prepare for a big 2009, where we will then see his full potential. Look what happened last season with Matt Murton, a year after he hit .297 with 13 HR -- he was benched and played in just 97 games. There is no place for him now, and he will probably be traded this season. The Cubs really do not need someone to platoon with Pie. They have Eric Patterson, Ronny Cedeno, and Mark DeRosa if needed, and Pie is a very good player who has shown it this spring. When Piniella let Carl Crawford go out and play, he shined, and I think he should do that with Pie.
5 comments:
I couldn't agree more. I think Pie is going to be a very very good player. He just needs a chance to prove himself.
I disagree. Marmol brings more value to this team in the same role as he had last year. He bailed them out numerous times pitching 1 or 2 innings after the starter got in trouble. The kid is a stud, but I prefer him as the rubber arm stopper type guy over the closer. Wood is the perfect choice for closer on this team.
I agree, Marmol has WAY MORE value as the stopper in the pen putting out fires. Having him pitch the 9th means we only use him in one scenario, as the stopper he could be used more often and get us out of jams. Also saying Lou hates kids is retarded, you have him confused with Baker. Down the stretch last year he used Marmol, Hart, Theriot, and Soto. Lou is fair, he plays who deserves it and is helping the team the most. He developed kids in Seattle, Tampa, and already has here in Chicago.
I totally agree with the last post. If Lou hated kids so much, Soto surely wouldn't be the starter going into training camp at C. Theriot would have never been given the chance to win the SS job. We wouldn't even know who Fontenot was. And the list can go on and on. If that's the definition of hating kids as a manager, I would be curious which manager out there likes them.
I think Wood should be the closer. Marmol is much better suited for the role he did last year, and Howry always gets off to a slow start. And Lou doesn't always favor veterans. He put a lot of young players last year in some tough spots. He favors players who contribute more then anything, young or old.
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