I dont understand it. Really the only arguments I have heard is that he doesnt have the experience and it's harder than alot of people think to go from the 8th to the 9th inning. I dont buy that argument. Did Wood have alot of experience in the pen? Plus the Cubs look like arguably the best team in MLB right now, they could afford to eat a game or two if necessary to get him that experience by the postseason.

Marmol, by many accounts, is the best reliever in baseball, or certainly up there. Why is Wood closing games still? I dont get it. I dont pretend to be a baseball expert, and thats why Im posing the question to those who pretend to be. Why isn't Marmol the Cubs closer yet?

Edit: I posted this while watching the hockey game and looking at the box score for the Cubs game. Either way, I still feel Marmol should be the closer but am very open to comments on why Im wrong on those who have followed the team closer than I have.

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Marmol is probably better equiped to come in like tonite with runners on base in the middle of an inning and shut down any rallies. He also can go more than one inning, whereas the Cubs are still worried about Wood going more than one inning due to his medical history.

Marmol's current role as a set up man is more taxing than the closer role.

People will come and argue both sides of the issue, but in reality, whether you go Marmol->Wood or Wood->Marmol will probably make very little difference over the course of a season.

Both are going to be very good, either one of them can occasionally blow up on a given night. Either way they go, the Cubs will lose a few games this season in the 8th and a few games in the 9th.

That said, I do like keeping Marmol for those "jam" situations, as you need strikeouts when runners are on base, and his Ks/9 are outstanding.

I disagree that both are very good. I consider Wood to be an above average reliever when healthy, which isnt often, and Marmol to be a very good reliever. Im admittedly not a baseball expert, but it seems very clear to me Marmol is the better reliever. I feel like the closer is the more important position, and therefore Marmol should be closing.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

im not sure i understand why marmol needs to be closing. he has been exceptional in his role, and wood has really been quite effective as well, particularly in the last couple of weeks. wood has shown he has what it takes to be a closer, and at times has been absolutely dominating. his only hang up has been hitting left-handed batters with that biting slider. other than that, he has given up very few hits and walks, has shown great control. he hasnt had any outings where he has come in and just gotten lit up. 8th/9th inning relief not a problem right now anyway. it is working very well, so there is no need to change it.

marmol has been so good doing what he is doing in the 7th and 8th, why would you want to move him anyway? just because he is good in a setup role does not gaurantee he is going to be a great stopper. there have been lots of real good setup guys who have been disasters as closers (remember mel rojas and latroy hawkins, octavio dotel is another one). nah, i wouldnt mess with this bullpen.

Over the last few years, the importance of getting the ball to your 9th inning closer has been highlighted like never before.
The Cubs need Marmol to get the ball to the closers hand with a lead. Right now, no one else in the bullpen has this particular talent, especially ESPECIALLY when it comes to stranding runners.
Riddle me this, you want Wood coming in the 7th with RISP and 1 out? Or Marmol?
By the way, Wood has been OUTASTANDING with the exception of 3 appearances this year. Killed them last night in the 9th when Marmol ran out of gas. if you think he is only average or slightly above average you haven't been watching.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

It's working pretty well as is. Once Wood warms up, he has to go in. Marmol can warm up, sit down, warm up again and then go in. Wood has been pretty consistant of late and seems well suited to the role.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Like Darkside and others said, I'd much rather have Marmol come in and defuse a situation. I'd rather have Wood come in with a clean slate (so there's an open base when he inevitably hits the first batter).

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IMO this is an important point in this discussion. Marmol has been great at coming in and getting out of trouble, I would much rather him come in in the 7th or 8th to get out of trouble to allow Wood to save it in the 9th.

Marmol will have his chance to be a closer in the coming years, but for right now you have the best record in baseball, you have won 8 straight, you leave things alone and keep things rolling.

If this is the Cubs' biggest issue, then hot damn it's gonna be a fun season. The closer role is a very controlled position. There is ample time to warm up, ample time to prepare mentally. With Wood's history I think he is very good in that role. Last night was the first time he had to hurry up to get ready and get in. He is also 15/19 in Save situations, and even with the blown saves only has 1 loss. He may have given up the lead, but doesn't put them in a hole. But what the hell, when a team is 16 games over .500 and only about 1/3 of the way through the season we gotta find constructive criticism somewhere.

+1.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Darko. Pure genius!

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Seriously?

agreed, unfortunately i dont think it is their biggest issue. it has still been a fun season, though!

kerry wood is fine, and so is marmol. what im worried about is the rotation.

DING!

The seemingly inevitable Marquis suckfest in the 2nd half is still in the offing. He isn't very good now. Can Dempster last an entire 200+ inning season? Lilly has been hot/cold. Gallagher is a pleasant surprise... so far.
Z? Yeah. I'll take that all season AND his bat. 2nd highest OPS on the team? Silly point to make as the sample size isn't fair, but I found it amusing nonetheless.

So, pitching rotation remains my greatest concern. Insofar as the original point goes, I'll stay with what we have. Marmol GETS the game to the closer. He's not there, Wood doesn't get a chance to give heartburn and angina to Cubs fans.

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Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

this is by no means advocating marquis as a solid starter, but i am going to point out that he has pitched at least through the 5th in every start this year, and, for the most part, kept the cubs in most of his games. he has not been dominating, or even deserving of wins, but he has stayed away from getting destroyed and chased in the 2nd or 3rd. he is a 5th starter, and if you can get your 5th starter to just keep you in games, you arent that bad off. yes, i know he historically has gotten worse as the summer wears on, but for now, i wont argue with what he is bringing. did you expect more?

it is the middle starters that concern me. they dont have depth once you get beyond zambrano. dempster is doing great, i am glad to see it, but it is still to be seen if he can keep it up for the whole season. for now he is really doing well. i just worry about down the stretch (and god forbid if they get in the playoffs) how zambrano, dempster and lilly stack up in a playoff series against a team like, well, arizona. they just seem one decent starting arm short of being solid in that area.

I can see a scenario where if Gallagher continues to show some promise, he might be included in a package in order to get another quality starter.

The cubs would rather have a veteran starter going down the stretch than a young pitcher.

espn was showing a speculative list of pitchers who could possibly be available before the deadline. i dont know how accurate the list was, but it was ugly, a lot of retreads and tired arms. there were a couple of decent arms, but there werent any real top-notch names.

Well let me ask this: Why is it that the unwritten rules of baseball dictate that your best relief pitcher must be the closer?

Take the often-cited example of a playoff series where you are winning the series going into game 6 or 7. Many managers in that situation have saved their ace starting pitcher for game 1 of the following series, only to lose the remaining games and never get to that game 1. The lesson is, win today, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. That's now widely assumed to be the only logical way to approach the situation.

So then, why does that same logic not apply when leading in the 7th inning of a game? How does saving your best pitcher for the 9th make sense if your other guys can't get you there?

Good point. Perhaps Lou is applying the lesson from last fall to this year's pen. Either way some good points were made in this thread.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Just like Zambrano was ready for game 4 of the division series last year.


Ooopss

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i still think that a 9th inning closer is a less stressful job than the 7th/8th inning bridge guy most of the time. a large portion of a closers appearances start with 0 on 0 out. a large portion of a set-up guys job starts with putting out fires in tough spots. that is not to say closer is an easy or unimportant job, but i think they usually only have to worry about their own messes.