Kerry Wood is back, should he be the closer?

He can't close until we know if he can pitch every day. Lou didn't use him back to back last year. Lou didn't even use him in crucial situations. So, he probably didn't think he was ready. Maybe after an off season and a normal spring training he will be stronger and healthier. Don't forget he had a tear in his shoulder that he decided not to have surgery on. Time will tell.

Wood is a talent, and I've always thought that he was going to go down as one of the cubs' best (which isn't exactly saying a whole lot), even with all of the injuries. The bullpen is obviously the way to go, and the cubs haven't had a real closer in ages, so why not at least try it in spring training?

While I agree that Kerry should be in the bullpen, I don't like the idea of relying on a pitcher with his history of arm trouble as our everyday closer. It's too important a position.

The fact that we are still talking about who will be the Cub closer just goes to further show how inept Jim Hendry is. He has had how many years to shore up our closer spot? All he does is look for cheap middle relief help. Cubs won't win more then an occasional division as long as Hendry is on board. Sadly looks like we'll have to suffer another year without a solid closer spot, great job as usual Jim!

I imagine Kerry is gonna get first crack at it....and you're right...I don't know if Marmol has the mentality to close...no question Kerry Wood does..

Mark Prior...he's just an employee...all unempowered...no autonomy....

sorry, couldn't help it

What position should Kerry Wood play?

Beer vendor.

4M....you gotta be kidding!

I think they should go into spring training with the job up for grabs and the best man the victor and Wood should be in that mix.
The one thing they should try but I don't expect them to is have two closers. That a way your not depended one closer all of the time.

Wood can't close. He's got to be the 8th inning guy. Move Marmol to closer. He'll blow a few saves early on, but he's special.

Are we getting Carl Crawford or what

I'm delighted that Wood is still a Cub. Perhaps they can try him out in the closer role in sp. tr. I think he has the mentality for it & can dominate. The big question is can he pitch 2-3 days in a row? Hopefully, he can. If not, he can return to a set-up role. Either way we have a clubhouse leader & fan favorite. Can't wait for spring training ! ! !

wood is just what the doctor ordered, oops did i say doctor? but i would be very sure that his arm is sound before putting him in the closers role

most closers pitch one inning and sometimes only one or 2 hitters. if Wood's arm is so fragile he can't pitch one inning 2 or 3 days in a row should he even be pitching period? amny people thought when Dennis Eckersly lsft the Cubs he was washed up but he was sent to the pen and was a very effective closer for many season's after that. maybe Wood can return to the spot light as a closer.

Forget it. Wood hasn't pitched a full season in what, 6 or 7 years? Keep him in middle relief, where he belongs. Giv Howry the job for now, until Marmol is ready. Man, doesn't take much to get 4.2 million/year any more. 22 games pitced = 4.2 mil?

The one thing I want to know is, if Wood has trouble due to arm trouble, where does that leave Jonathan Paplebon? He has some issues with staying healthy and avoid "aches" in his arm. Boston took it easy on him this year and I think Howry and Marmol are just as good as Timlin and Okajima.

But I agree Closer needs to be "won" during Spring Training.

Wood should be kept in middle relief.Just a shell of a pitcher he once was. But can't remember if he ever was that great other than a hand full of games. He'll go down as the most over hype under performer in Cubs history. Prior...he's just fragile!

I agree that the position should be won in spring training, whether it be Wood or whomever...I am impressed that after all he has been through, that we are still talking about Kerry Wood. This kid has heart. As for Prior, get rid of him, his heart is probably the size of a pea, we need men if the Cubs are going to be playoff contenders.

What? I thought farnsworth was going to be our closer, well, Smith and Sutter were pretty good, I'll go back to zleep now zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Golly guys - I just signed the 1998 NL rookie of the year at a bargain price and some of you are criticizing me? Have you read why he signed the cheap deal with us? Because of (1) the winning atmosphere and (2) because I have been so good to him over the years, he wanted to remain loyal. I think I should get "executive of the year" for convincing him that we have a winning atmosphere. And lets face it - loyalty to me is nice - but it isn't going to be worth anything next season when the new owner finally gets a real GM and kicks me to the curb (what is MacFail's number in Baltimore, I know I can help him with Corey Patterson).

Besides - was there any real doubt whether I would resign Wood? What am I going to do with all the "We've Got Wood" t-shirts that I have?

Chicago,Give Kerry Wood a chance...How many guys do you see being loyal to a team? We all complain about guys bolting for the money, here is a guy that spurned the money to stay with the team. Sure , Kerry needs to pitch on consecutive days but he only pitches 1 or 2 innings not 7 or 8. He has the mental toughness for the job and although I like Marmol alot, lets support Kerry, he will give us a needed spark in the bullpen.

always been a fan of Woodie....but he can't be a closer

Why does everyone think that the bullpen is going to save Wood from arm trouble. Pitching (or warming up to possibly come in) almost every day at times mixed with the inconsistency, (5 pitches one day, 42 the next) is horrible on the arm. That is why Smoltz (sp?) is back starting. He got tired of all the injuries/surgeries while closing and insisted on going back to starting. Most bullpen guys pitch in 60 plus games plus warm up in another 30 plus games.

Do you hear that slapping sound? Is it the sound of Kerry Wood's fastballs hitting a catchers mitt or the sound of the Cubs and their fans beating a dead horse?

You pitch your best reliever at closer. No such thing as "closer's mentality". J.J. Putz in 2006 and Manny Corpas in 2007 were middle relievers thrown into the closer's role, and they did very well. Rafael Soriano has moved in and out of the closer's role for the Braves and has done a fine job. Where are we getting this "Marmol doesn't have the mentality for it" BS? Was Marmol the closer for an extended period of time that I wasn't aware of? Did he tank really badly or something?

He's the same pitcher in the 9th inning as the 8th inning, people. Same guy. Carlos Marmol.

Cub fans are amazing!!! Why do they like Kerry Wood so much? This guy has really done nothng but steal money just because he has "POTENTIAL". He has not proven anything since he struck out 20 batters about 15 or 20 years ago but the Cub fans keep re-signing him like he's going to turn into Nolan Ryan. I keep saying that Cub fans have serious issues because if you remember the other average players that were ran out of town and called all sort of names( Jacque Jones, LaTroy Hawkins, Corey Patterson). Why is this guy different? He cant pitch over five innings or on consecutive days and never has won over 15 games but gets over four million dollars. He was smart to accept the offer with the Cubs instead of the Red Sox or anyone else because if he had left and went to Boston he would have been ran out of town in less than a year. I cant blame him if suckers keep paying me I will keep taking it.

Its simple, if Kerry Wood stays healthy, he will dominate. Think about it, the Cubs must of got a thumbs up from the doctors on his arm. So give the guy a chance. Marmol can also do it if he needs time off. They should be a great combo.

Micheal Walker, I'll tell you why Kerry Wood has been here so long and then I will tell you why I like him. He was brought up in 1998 so I think the Cubs had 5 years before he was a free agent. You say he has never won more than 15 games in his career but you know as a baseball fan that wins and losses for a starter don't always tell the whole story. In 2001 he was 12-6 with a 3.36 era. In 2002 he was 12-11 with a 3.66 era and in 2003 he was 14-11 with a 3.20. 3.20!!! He pitched over 200 innings in 2002 and 2003. I know you say he hasn't accomplished anything but he was great in those 3 years. He also carried this team on his back through the playoffs against Atlanta to get us to the Florida series. I know you say Cub fans keep resigning him but we don't. That would be the GM. But after those three years I would have done the same thing Jim Hendry did. Give him a nice big contract. He didn't steal anything. After three strong years, he negotiated a contract. As luck would have it, he was hurt again in 2004 and hasn't been the same since. Now why do I like him? Because he has battled to overcome injuries his whole career. While battling those injuries he has been 72-57 with a 3.67 era. He has never made excuses. When he lost to Florida, he said, "it's my fault. Put it on me." He has raised money for Chicago charities every year whether he was hurt or not. He is on record as loving Chicago and wanting to stay here. In short, he has character. If he can help us out of the bullpen, great. He could have gotten more money elsewhere but would like to finish his career here and win a championship here. So that's why I like Kerry Wood.

I think it's too bad what happened to Hawkins and Patterson. I think it's a managers job to put his people in a position where they can be successful. Hawkins was a great set-up man who was forced to close. He gave up 10 home runs in his first year and unfortunately blew some games in the process. When he was "booed" for his performance he took it personally and never recovered. The same with Patterson. He can not lead off. He is a low on base % guy. If left to play great defense and bat 7th, he would be fine. But they insisted on batting him lead off and he was terrible. Again, the boo-birds let him have it and he was done here. Patterson and hawkins were put in a position to fail. Jones is a little different because he did perform offensively in his first year. He was "booed" for throwing the ball straight down into the ground and some bad base running. Overall, he was the same J. Jones that he was in Minnesota. In 2007 he started slow and was benched. I thought he handled it with class. He had a great second half. I don't know why he was traded except that they think it's time for Pie to play center. Jones only had 5 homers, so maybe they think they can upgrade with someone else. We'll see.

I don't know when or why the booing started but I think it is out of control. I have been going to Cub games for 48 years. I have never booed because I don't think it accomplishes anything positive. I'm not saying people can't "boo". It's a free country.
But I don't think a guy is going to perform better if he is booed. As a matter of fact I think in most cases it won't improve performances and in some cases it will have the opposite effect. I think Patterson and Hawkins got worse because they were booed. I told my son, who I take to games, that the only reason to boo a player is if he didn't hustle. Especially in baseball. Baseball is a game of failure. Guys that fail two out of three times at the plate go to the hall of fame. It might be a good question to the readers, Roman. Is booing productive?

Wood was a few outs as going down as one of the best pitchers ever. That playoff game against the Marlins when he scored all our runs. He will always be a legend in my book.

LIKE I SAID CUB FANS ARE DELIRIOUS!!! KERRY WOOD IS A LEGEND? ARE YOU KIDDING??? Rick, BCOOLZ stop drinking that Kool-Aid. This guy came to Chicago with the hype like he was going to be the next Roger Clemens but all we got was an average pitcher with a few flashes of brilliance. This is not legend material. This is a guy who didnt live up to expectations. Cub fans like him only because they can relate to him, not because he was a great pitcher or ballplayer. If he was in New York or Boston and continued to be inconsistent he would have been in Triple A by now. 12-6, 12-11, 14-11 are average numbers for a fragile pitcher with bad mechanics who didnt listen to his coaches. Just ask Steve Stone, he said the same thing. He refused to change his delivery so he kept getting hurt. CUB FANS PLEASE STOP DRINKING THAT KOOL-AID!!!

Walker, you completely ignore the facts for whatever reasons you may have. It makes no sense to debate an issue with someone with a closed mind. Bye, bye.

Mike Walker....any relation to the gossip columnists...with the same name??

ummm...I said ALMOST A LEGEND....as in...a FEW BAD BREAKS HERE AND THERE....

read my writing....before you comment on it.

Like a butterfly needs to breaks its own cocoon ... Wood needs to struggle his way to the closers job ... demote Marmol and you may sway his progress in the wrong direction ... Carlos should be considered as the closer entering into Spring Training ... if he succeeds, there you go ... if not, Howry starts the season with Wood next in line ... its a long season ... its baseball ... or just go with a three man closing crew ... less pressure on Wood's arm, less pressure on Marmol's confidence and less pressure on Howry's salary ... actually on all three's salary !

The Kubs will never win nothing with Kerry Woods Or Mark Prior.
Thats why the Kubs lost this year fooling around with old left overs.

The Kubs will never win nothing with Kerry Woods Or Mark Prior.
Thats why the Kubs lost this year fooling around with old left overs.