After incumbent closer Kerry Wood left the Chicago Cubs in free agency, many baseball insiders believed that the team would simply hand over the closer role to Carlos Marmol. Marmol spent 2008 as the Cubs setup man and he did a fine job in that role. However, after a shaky spring, manager Lou Piniella has decided to give the closer job to Kevin Gregg.
Last year with the Florida Marlins, Gregg racked up 29 saves along with a 3.41 ERA. Acquired via trade in the offseason, Gregg hasn’t given up a run during spring training. That fact, along with Piniella being …read more

-The Cleveland Indians signed Kerry Wood to a two-year contract. Wood will become the closer for the Indians. The contract is believed to be worth more than $20 million.
-The Kansas City Royals have signed Kyle Farnsworth to a two-year contract. Farnsworth, who split 2008 with the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, joins a Royals bullpen which has been given a makeover this winter.
-The Detroit Tigers have traded Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Edwin Jackson. Joyce will have a chance to start for the Rays in the outfield, while Jackson will likely be given …read more

Apparently, Kerry Wood is a teacher of sorts. This unhappy Boston Red Sox fan was caught on camera showing the world how unhappy he was at the moment. I’m not sure if he was flipping off the camera or people around him, but either way it made for entertaining television.
Here is the video of the Boston Red Sox fan and his middle finger:

Check out this video of Kerry Wood showing off his middle fingers. Why was he extending those two fingers for the world to see? Your guess is as good as mine.
Whatever the case may be, the 31-year-old closer for the Chicago Cubs is having his best season in a long while. He has a 2.50 ERA to go with 20 saves and four wins. He remains one of the hardest pitchers to hit, evident by his 49 strikeouts in less than 40 innings of work.
Prior to this year, Wood had never had a save …read more

Ah, Opening Day. I hope you had as much fun as we did (full report at Ducksnorts). Beyond the thrill of a packed house at Petco Park watching Jake Peavy spin a shutout, here are a few items from Monday that caught my eye:

The Mets beat the Marlins, 7-2. The planet’s best pitcher against a Triple-A squad — who could’ve have anticipated such a result? Uh, everyone.
The Pittsburgh/Atlanta game was insane. The Pirates took a 9-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Braves tied. Then the Bucs jumped ahead in the 12th, 12-9, before allowing two runs …read more