Plenty of worries for Cubs over their bullpen depth
Even before Angel Guzman went down with a career-threatening shoulder injury, the Cubs had serious bullpen issues.
If things aren't at a crisis stage now, they're pretty close to it.
The Cubs have two proven veterans in the bullpen - and there are plenty of questions about both - and with Guzman out, they're scrambling for help.
The biggest need is for a veteran right-handed reliever. The Cubs dealt away Aaron Heilman over the winter and let erstwhile closer Kevin Gregg walk via free agency.
How good would Michael Wuertz look in the bullpen now? Partly because of money and partly because manager Lou Piniella grew impatient with Wuertz, the Cubs dealt him to Oakland last winter for a pair of minor-leaguers, both of whom are long gone.
That's water under the bridge now, but the Cubs still need to stay afloat in middle and late innings. Here are the questions facing them this season:
Can Carlos Marmol close? Marmol pouted last spring after getting back from the World Baseball Classic and learning Kevin Gregg had "won" the closer's job. Marmol got the job in August, and he went 11-for-11 in save chances after that.
In between was an amusement-park ride that made stomachs all around Cubdom queasy.
Here's the deal with Marmol: When he's on, nobody touches him as evidenced by the 43 hits he gave up in 74 innings. However, Marmol walked 65 and hit 12. His WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 1.46 was way above his mark of 0.93 in 2008.
Marmol knows the job is his this year, so maybe that will help.
Did they need to pay John Grabow $7.5 million over two years? The Cubs felt they did, and the contract was in keeping with the other deals general manager Jim Hendry has given in recent years to such veteran relievers as Mike Remlinger, LaTroy Hawkins, Bob Howry and Scott Eyre, with varying degrees of success.
Right now, Grabow is the lone lefty in the pen, depending on what the Cubs do with Sean Marshall.
After coming to the Cubs in a July trade with the Pirates, Grabow went 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in 30 games. Left-handed hitters were 4-for-30 against Grabow after the trade.
Who replaces Guzman? Hendry's track record suggests he'll make a trade for veteran reliever. Money and what Hendry has to give up in terms of prospects will be determining factors in who, if anyone, he gets.
Who else is there? Jeff Samardzija is being groomed to start, but he has bullpen experience. The Cubs may have to turn to him.
What about the kids? The Cubs have several promising arms in camp, both left-handed and right handed. Righty Esmailin Caridad has piqued interest because of his live arm and fearless approach, but he has just 14 games of big-league experience. That didn't stop Piniella from saying a job was his to lose this spring.
Blake Parker had 22 saves and a 1.24 WHIP at Class AAA Iowa last year.
Piniella has wondered openly about phenom Andrew Cashner, 23, breaking with the big club. Cashner was a closer at TCU, but the Cubs have been preparing him to start. Anything is possible now.
Jeff Stevens came from Cleveland in the Mark DeRosa trade of last off-season and pitched in 11 games for the Cubs. Sinkerballer Justin Berg had an 0.75 ERA in 11 games with the big club last season, allowing 1 walk and 10 hits in 12 innings.
The Cubs plucked Thomas Diamond out of the Texas system. He's hoping his command is all the way back after his recovery from 2007 Tommy John surgery.
David Patton, a Rule 5 pick last year, is a long shot who figures to spend this year at Class AA Tennessee.
From the left side, John Gaub also came in the DeRosa trade, and he figures to be up sometime this year. James Russell showed he could pitch in relief last year at Iowa. His dad, Jeff, was a big-league closer.
<p class="factboxheadblack">NL's top closers</p>
<p class="News">1. Huston Street, Rockies</p>
<p class="News">2. Francisco Cordero, Reds</p>
<p class="News">3. Trevor Hoffman, Brewers</p>
<p class="News">10. CARLOS MARMOL, CUBS</p>
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