Kerry Wood

[YardBirds]

Anyone think that Kerry Wood takes the move to the closer roll for the Cubs, since he obviously isn't a great starter w/ his nagging tendenitis?

[beltrans_boy]

No, he walks too many batters and his 1st inning WHIP and ERA are way too high. Plus, he's kind of a hothead. He wouldn't be good at closing out ballgames.

[RugbyD]

maybe in 2 years, at the earliest.

[Q]

It wont happen this year but it is a possibility in the future if the injuries continue.

[myteamsucks]

anyone know when wood is coming back? its been 2 weeks.

[Yoda]

It would be interesting for sure. I used to think that he wouldn't be any good but now I think he can be.

He wil got 5-6 innnings K'ing every other batter then boom! He will walk someone on 4 straight pitches with 2 men out. He unravels until he gives up equal amount of runs as scored by the opposiing team. Otherwise, how do you explain a pitcher with a 3.69 ERA to not win 15 games? Just two years ago for the playoff team, he pitched 32 G, 211 IP, 266 K, 3.20 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and couldn't scrape together 15 Ws.

A lot of dominant starters with pure stuff become dominant closers: Gagne, Smoltz, etc. I think that if he can focus for one or two innings, he will be very successful. Cubs SHOULD do it.

[hybrid]

Besides the obvious reason as to why some wouldn't think he would be a good fit for closer. Does anyone think he can put his ego aside for a lesser role on a team?

[reznorsboy]

If Borowski and Dempster falter then maybe it is worth a shot.

[WittyC]

No, he walks too many batters and his 1st inning WHIP and ERA are way too high. Plus, he's kind of a hothead. He wouldn't be good at closing out ballgames.

I'm not sure that first inning WHIP and ERA are a good indicator of how successful he could be as a closer. His warmup routine would be completely different, plus he wouldn't hold back at all as some starters do in the first few innings so they can go deep in the game.

Also, being a hothead isn't always a bad thing for a closer. See exhibit A: Gagne. Though I will admit that Wood needs to have more control over his anger than he currently does.

I wouldn't be completely against this move, but if it were to take place, that would mean both Dempster and Rusch would have to start. Suddenly that vaunted Cubs staff looks pretty average with Prior, Zamby, Maddux, Rusch and Dempster.

Also, it's tough to say whether or not coming out of the bullpen would actually be better for his arm anyways.

That being said, I'd love to see it. But the Cubs should just go by committee for a while and see if anyone else can hold it down (Wellemeyer, Ohman, Wuertz). Wellemeyer's got the stuff, he just has control issues at times. I'd love to just see him get a shot at it for a couple weeks. Ride the ups and downs, and I think he'd pan out. Of course, I said the same thing about Farnsworth over the last 2 years...

[Conner]

A lot of dominant starters with pure stuff become dominant closers: Gagne, Smoltz, etc. I think that if he can focus for one or two innings, he will be very successful. Cubs SHOULD do it.

Two or three guys really isn't "a lot" (Gagne wasn't a "dominant starter". to begin with)..

Usually, it's the bad starters that can become good relievers....because they simply weren't cut out for starting.

Pitching 4 or 5 times a week is a whole lot different than starting, and Wood's problems haven't been with his ability to start...it's his inability to stay healthy. If he can't pitch once a week and 30 times per year...I'm not sure why anyone would assume he can pitch 4 times a week and 70 times per year.