Mentality to be a closer...simple. Have you seen Wood after being pounded in a game? Does he look like he wants to come out and get it over with? He is big, he is mean and he brings the heat. That is the makeup of a good closer.
Actually... I can't remember for the life of me what Kerry Wood looks like out on the mound... I guess it's been a while since I've seen him pitch... hahaha. I suppose according to this logic... a person who is tall and in shape is clearly a great basketball player and a blonde female is definitely an idiot. You're right... simple... got it.
mod edit Your analogies are horrible. Kerry Wood has already pitched in the majors and done so successfully for a period of time so he isn't just some random guy that is big and mean and throws hard. He is someone that is big, mean, brings heat and (although I left it out I thought it was obvious) has shown he can pitch at the big league level. Apparently I shouldn't leave out obvious facts with idiots like you hanging around. If you are going to make analogies, make ones that actually apply.
Yeah that period of time was about 3 years ago. Unless of course you are referring to last year's 19.2 innings of brilliance or the 66 innings of dazzling baseball the year before that. And can we even come close to verifying this "heat" he apparantly still throws. Last time I checked you aren't throwing heat in long toss buddy. The only thing Kerry Wood has been dominating the last couple years is rehabilitation. Also, at last check there have been plenty of big mean hard throwing pitchers who were unable to get the job done closing. There is no way to judge a pitchers "closer mentality" unless he closes a game, period, you'd have to be some kind of moron to figure otherwise. Besides, they have another big mean former starter closing games right now, and doing a good job of it. Ryan Dempster is striking out better then one an inning, has a 0.63 WHIP and a BAA of .122... those are good numbers, and even though he had a high WHIP two years ago he was a successful closer (33 of 35... I'd say he displayed a pretty good closer mentality that year wouldn't you?). Finally, how many career saves does Kerry Wood have... I'll give you a hint...it's less then 1 and they don't award fractional saves.
As a Cubs fan, I don't want to see Wood close. They signed Dempster to a contract for that purpose. 2 seasons ago he had the best save rate in the majors. Last season sucked, but the Cubs couldn't win, so he wasn't getting regular work. So far this year he looks great, so there is no reason to look to someone else. The only way Wood gets the job is if he comes back puts up great numbers for a month, and Dempster blows a handful of saves in a row.
I have no doubt that Wood can be an effective reliever when healthy (although they have said that he took a long time to warm up as a starter, so I don't know how that will work out for him as a reliever). But I don't want him to take over the job, get hurt a couple weeks later, and Dempster has to come back and get in the closer mentality again.
If Dempster can't get the job done, we have Howry and Weurtz (and possible COTF Cherry), so why throw a guy in the spot that's going to get injured after a few appearances when your healthy guys can get some reps in at closer and be that much more effective at the end of the year (when Wood will most likely be back on the DL - if he ever makes it off).
2 years ago? Look at Dempsters stats from last year? He is a bad closer, period. Doesn't matter if you think Wood would make a good closer or not, your analogy of a tall guy automatically assumed to be good at basketball is way off from being relevant. Get a clue. A career ERA just under 5 and WHIP over 1.5 and you say Dempster is a good closer? Lets just forget all that and look at his 10 appearances this year right? haha
I appologize... I didn't realize you can't read. Hopefully if I re-type the next part in caps it will then sink in. RYAN DEMPSTER WAS A CLOSER TWO YEARS AGO. HE WAS A SUCCESSFUL CLOSER. IN FACT, HE WAS 33 OF 35 IN SAVE OPPORTUNITIES. 33 DIVIDED BY 35 IS JUST OVER .92. THAT MEANS HE WAS SUCCESSFUL JUST OVER 92 PERCENT OF THE TIME HE WAS CALLED UPON IN A SAVE OPPORTUNITY. KERRY WOOD IS A CAREER 0 FOR 0 IN SAVE OPPORTUNITIES. HE HAS CLEARLY ILLUSTRATED A CLOSERS MENTALITY IN SUCH A LARGE BODY OF WORK. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WAS THINKING QUESTIONING KERRY WOOD'S CLOSERS MENTALITY. MY ANALOGY OF A TALL GUY BEING ASSUMED GOOD AT BASKETBALL IS ALMOST AS RELEVANT TO KERRY WOOD'S CLOSER MENTALITY AS HIS PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. I'D ASSUME IF YOU WERE A FAN OF NFL FOOTBALL IN THE 1970'S YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE BELIEVED THERE COULD POSSIBLY BE A BLACK QUARTERBACK STARTING FOR AN NFL BECAUSE THEY CLEARLY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE APPEARANCE OF A QUARTERBACK.
haha, everyone think's dempster is a quality closer. You are right on that! A 1.5+ WHIP is exactly what you look for in a closer. Putting guys on, that is how you get it done. One year's conversion percentage? haha. I am done with you now. Don't want to get warned again for calling someone what they are.
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by Nomarrrrrrrrrr » Wed May 02, 2007 2:37 pm 
