Carlos Marmol

And while I liked Carlos Marmol as a setup man, I have my doubts for him as closer. I know he had over 100 stikeouts, but let's not forget he's in his third season in the majors and as his SO's went up so have his innings. Which of course is caution for any Cubs player to wear his arm down by the time the Fall Classic rolls around. As for Kevin Gregg, I hadn't seen much of him last year and I think I know why: He had 9 blown saves. If both these guys can control their pitch count, and Sweet Lou can control how many games they pitch, then sure, they can go all the way.

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Carlos Marmol sustained a few minor injuries in his home country of the Dominican Republic a day or two ago.  He was picked up from the airport by a few friends and family members, when the car they were driving was hit.  Reports are that he is fine, with only a few bruises and "swelling" of the forehead, which I assume means a bump on the head.  Since he's going to be the Cubs 8th-inning set-up man for years to come (I hope), all the best to him, and hopefully he's feeling great by the time 2009 rolls around.

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The bullpen is solid with righty fireballers Carlos Marmol, Jaff Samardzija, Chad Gaudin, and Bob Howry, as well as lefty Neal Cotts, and Kerry Wood nailing down games as a closer (28 saves in 33 chances). His stuff is still sick. Truth be told, Howry, Cotts, and Gaudin have had their share of struggles lately, but they have been good enough, and more help in this department could be on its way if Michael Wuertz, Jon Lieber, Kevin Hart, or Angel Guzman got in a groove as a late season call-up. 

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Kerry Wood pulled out to heal a blister, which meant that Carlos Marmol’s now in the Game—even though his manager Lou Pinella recently said he needed the rest afforded by the All-Star Break. Plus there’s the aforementioned unwritten Little League “everybody plays” rule, which must now be balanced with (rather than eliminated by) the desire to win. Oh, yeah, and every team needs to send a representative, even the lowly Royals and Mariners.

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I would like to see Lilly step up, I just can't see Dempster finishing the season 20-4. Carlos Marmol has been incredible, but unfortunately I can't say the same about anyone else in middle relief. Howry is starting to look better, and if Neal Cotts can be of any use to this team at all, it would be a super bonus, because I pretty much forgot about his existence on this planet (and he was the setup man of the year in '05 with the Sox). I just don't want Lou to have to put Marmol in every single time they need some clutch outs and burn out his arm before the second half of the season.

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   Along with Wood as the closer, Bob Howry will remain in the eight inning role and Carlos Marmol in the seventh. If, and this a big if, this bullpen can stay to together in this format the Cubs will undoubtedly be playing baseball in October. 

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cemented his eighth inning role from last season.

     Now, that leaves Carlos Marmol and this might just be by default. Eventhough he has the best stuff on the staff, Marmol has been erratic with his control and their are still lingering question marks about his ability to close games this year. The odds that Marmol finishes the season as the closer are greater if he does not start the season in that role.

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Bob Howry and Carlos Marmol provide an excellent tandem of set up men and Ryan Dempster, who is capable of providing 200 innings, can return to the starting rotation, giving the Cubs even more depth and experience there. There are different schools of thought on whether the quantity of innings a starter goes through or the frequent appearances of a relief pitcher cause a greater strain on a pitchers’ arm, so it is tough to predict if the move to the bullpen will keep Wood healthy. Following guidelines similar to the ones the Red Sox set for Jonathan Papelbon last season could be just as beneficial to Wood. If Wood’s health does allow the Cubs pitching to fall into place, they certainly become the easy favorite in the division.

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Still no Brian Roberts, still no centerfielder acquisition. That's okay, because it still looks like at least one of those is going to happen before opening day. And Soriano has finally been nudged from the leadoff spot, thank god. It will be good to see him driving in runs this year. I don't really like him in the 2 spot though because he isn't going to advance any runners (unless they plan on stealing constantly, which may work because pitchers will avoid throwing him fastballs at all costs). 

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probably owes it to the fans and the organization for not giving up on him. 

(7)  Carlos Marmol will be a one year Wonder

  After having a sensation season in 2007 with an ERA of 1.43 in 69.1 innings pitch, you can throw all of that out the window.  He will not be as dominating as he was last year.  The reason he was making hitters sit right back on their seat last year was because most of the National League has never seen his stuff.  Players started to hate facing him, that was until August and September began.  Players began to figure out Marmols stuff and some began to notice he was tipping some of his pitches.  Do you remember that one game in which the Cubs had to win to ensure they were going to the playoffs and they were facing the Marlins?  Do you remember Marmol pitching in the 8th inning with the Cubs up 4-3 and Marlins 7,8,9 hitters were up and he gave up two runs which made us all dizzy because we thought the Cubs were not going to make the playoffs?  Speaking of playoffs, the Diamondbacks easily figured Marmol out.  In the first game, he gave up two runs and the second game he gave up one run.  His playoff line was this: 3 hits, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 3 BB, ERA of 9, and threw a grand total of 68 pitches in two games.  That is a lot of pitches for just three innings.  Expect the same trend in 2008 when his ERA skyrockets to 4.50 and gives up 20 home runs.

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the ingredients a manager can ask for.  With Eyre and Howry, it is a dynamic dual.  With Carlos Marmol as the setup man, it should be no problem to give the ball to Kerry Wood.  Even though it is his first year as a closer, Wood should be in a comforable position.

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