Knuckle Curve » kerry wood

Kevin Gregg Named Chicago Cubs Closer

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:08:09 +0000

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 comfortable with Marmol as the setup man once again, allowed Gregg to win the top job in the bullpen.

Marmol, a 26-year-old out of the Dominican Republic with dynamic stuff, pitched very well last year. He had a 2.68 ERA, a WHIP of 0.93 and 114 strikeouts in 87.1 innings. Marmol also finished the year with 30 holds in 82 outings.

Despite losing out on the closer role, Marmol is the next in line if Gregg struggles at any point during the 2009 Major League Baseball season.

Here is a video of Gregg while with the Marlins robbing the Cubs of a hit with a behind the back stab:

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Recent Baseball Transactions – Winter Frenzy

Stephen Kersey — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:17:43 +0000

-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 a spot in the starting rotation for the Tigers.

-The Cincinnati Reds have signed Arthur Rhodes to a two-year contract.

-The Colorado Rockies have signed relief pitcher Alan Embree to a one-year deal.

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Red Sox Fan Gives Middle Finger Salute – Video

Stephen Kersey — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:53:23 +0000

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:

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Kerry Wood Extends Middle Fingers – Video

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:25:50 +0000

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 and was primarily a starting pitcher. However, to lower the stress on his oft injured arm, the Cubs decided to move him to closer. He gave up three earned runs in his first save opportunity of the season but bounced back and has been pitching well ever since.

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So, Was It Good For You?

Geoff Young — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:50:31 +0000

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 in the bottom half and hanging on for a 12-11 victory. Xavier Nady, whom I’ve been following since he took home Cal League MVP honors in 2001 while playing for a great Lake Elsinore Storm club (Peavy and Mets left-hander Oliver Perez also played on that team, which went 91-49), knocked two homers, including the game winner.
The Giants really stink. Good thing they’re paying Barry Zito all that money.
The Brewers and Cubs ran a clinic on how not to close a game. Locked in a scoreless tie headed to the ninth, Milwaukee plated three runs in the top half off “closer” Kerry Wood, then watched “closer” Eric Gagne cough up three of his own in the bottom half. The Brewers scored in the top of the 10th and hung on to win, 4-3. Who got credit for the victory? The least deserving guy in the ballpark, of course: Gagne. The next time someone tries to tell you that a pitcher is good because of his won-loss record, remind them that the rules dictating how a win is “earned” don’t necessarily correlate with actually contributing to victory.
Break up the Nationals. With Monday’s 11-6 drubbing of Philadelphia, they’re assured of finishing no worse than 2-160 this year.
Livan Hernandez pitched well in his Twins debut. Actually, for all the grief Minnesota took in signing him, he matched Johan Santana’s line — two runs in seven innings — and got the win. Not that he’ll keep pace with Santana beyond, oh, right about now, but still…
The White Sox seem to be a sexy dark horse candidate this season, but I just don’t see it. By my count, they’ve got about three or four good pitchers, depending on whether you believe Octavio Dotel can stay of the disabled list. One of them (Mark Buehrle) got absolutely pounded at Cleveland. Granted, the Indians will do that to a pitcher, but if the White Sox can’t win behind Buehrle, then what are they going to do when, say, Gavin Floyd toes the slab?

Good times, my friends. Good times…

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