Wood for starter!

[badger1679666666]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I can't believe how long I put up sifting through the crappy cubs.com message board.

 

As far as Wood goes, I am as big a Wood fan as there is. I know that he is a better starter than his numbers indicated, his support has been laughable in the past. Again, it just comes down to risk reward for me. Is it worth testing Wood in the rotation one more time, knowing that if he gets injured he will be shut down again. I will be content with a dominant Woody in the pen, and I wouldn't want to tempt the baseball gods by putting him back in the rotation. Seems like none of you concur, am I alone in this feeling?

 

I wouldn't mind seeing him in the pen and if he pitches well, doing a smoltz type deal.

 

That being said, Wins are the worst stat to judge the effectiveness of a pitcher on. They are a team stat not individual. I prefer to look at a combination of ERA+, K/9, K:BB ratios

[WearingTrousers]

Wins are the worst stat to judge the effectiveness of a pitcher on. They are a team stat not individual. I prefer to look at a combination of ERA+, K/9, K:BB ratios

 

Agreed, but consistency and longevity also need to be factored in. If he can't maintain his production it doesn't matter how good his ERA and other ratio stats are.

[A New Era]

I think we should just be happy wood had a great first outing. And happy about the prospect that Wood might actually beable to get through a whole season this year. And happy about the prospect of Wood coming out of that bullpen to the tune of 40 thousand screaming fans, to kick some major arse on that mound.

 

Let's not even worry about Wood starting right now. It's great he is pitching in ST and looks good. It makes my juices flow when I think about how exciting an effective Wood can be to this Cubs team this year.

 

and please, no "juices flow" and "wood" jokes here. :wink:

[NCCubFan]

For this year I'm hoping for Wood to be a dominant closer. Beyond that, it depends on his health and the needs of the team. I just hope that whatever his role is he's doing it with the Cubs.

[98navigator]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I can't believe how long I put up sifting through the crappy cubs.com message board.

 

As far as Wood goes, I am as big a Wood fan as there is. I know that he is a better starter than his numbers indicated, his support has been laughable in the past. Again, it just comes down to risk reward for me. Is it worth testing Wood in the rotation one more time, knowing that if he gets injured he will be shut down again. I will be content with a dominant Woody in the pen, and I wouldn't want to tempt the baseball gods by putting him back in the rotation. Seems like none of you concur, am I alone in this feeling?

 

I agree with you from the standpoint of keeping him in the bullpen. He still has a very violent pitching motion. My hope is that bullpen work will allow him to limit his pitches per outing thus reducing overall wear and tear on his arm. Also, I think working a maximum of 2 innings per appearance will go along way in helping him stay true with his mechanics.

 

The average starter reaches somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 pitches per outing. Depending on pitch count per outing, Kerry could possibly make 4-5 bullpen appearances per week without reaching 100 pitches. Of course, his number of appearances will be dictated by his ability to bounce back between outings (but you get the idea).

[BRASKYS SCOTCH]

 

I agree with you from the standpoint of keeping him in the bullpen. He still has a very violent pitching motion. My hope is that bullpen work will allow him to limit his pitches per outing thus reducing overall wear and tear on his arm. Also, I think working a maximum of 2 innings per appearance will go along way in helping him stay true with his mechanics.

 

The average starter reaches somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 pitches per outing. Depending on pitch count per outing, Kerry could possibly make 4-5 bullpen appearances per week without reaching 100 pitches. Of course, his number of appearances will be dictated by his ability to bounce back between outings (but you get the idea).

 

 

I heard the Mariners announcer talk about this a little before they got back to their non-baseball chit-chat show :stone:

 

Didn't they take steps last year to point out to Wood some of these mechanical issues he has? Or have we just given up on the notion that he could change his delivery and possibly lessen the risk of further injury?

[Soul]

I'd be very suprised if Wood's not closing by June.

 

Of course, if he isn't, that probably means we're getting good production from Dempster or someone else, so that's not a bad thing.

 

I've just got it in my head Wood is going to storm the league as a closer.

[WearingTrousers]

It seems like every year we hear about how Wood is going to straighten out his mechanics, and then nothing really changes. I'm resigned to the fact that he will always throw violently, and we just need to manage how we use his arm.

[Sammy Sofa]

It seems like every year we hear about how Wood is going to straighten out his mechanics, and then nothing really changes. I'm resigned to the fact that he will always throw violently, and we just need to manage how we use his arm.

 

I'm hoping that the weight loss means he has a new fitness and health routine he'll stick to, which will hopefully help his body better deal with the stress of his pitching.

[WearingTrousers]

I'm hoping that the weight loss means he has a new fitness and health routine he'll stick to, which will hopefully help his body better deal with the stress of his pitching.

 

Maybe, but there are plenty of overweight power pitchers who manage to stay healthy. Zambrano for one, Clemens is a bit tubby now too. I hope you're right, but I don't know if weight has a correlation with arm injuries.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm hoping that the weight loss means he has a new fitness and health routine he'll stick to, which will hopefully help his body better deal with the stress of his pitching.

 

Maybe, but there are plenty of overweight power pitchers who manage to stay healthy. Zambrano for one, Clemens is a bit tubby now too. I hope you're right, but I don't know if weight has a correlation with arm injuries.

 

Zambrano's back problems are directly tied into the weight he packs on during a season, and it's the main reason I'm incredibly apprehensive about the Cubs giving him a longterm deal. That weight is only going to be harder to keep off and keep down as he gets older. Clemens, as per usual, is the exception to the rule, and should rarely be compared to other pitchers, IMO.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Yeah, I'm pretty worried about Z too.

 

I don't think Wood will be starting this year, but he might be like Smoltz and return to the rotation if he's great in the pen and the Cubs have a suitable replacement for him.

[radarluv1]

i think wood would be a great closer. if the cubs agree, i could see where they could save money by limiting his save opportunities. give dempster a chance to lose the job first. that way he gets a similar reliever type contract and may not be able to demand top closer money next year. if wood is closer by early may and gets close to 25 saves he could ask for a lot more than if he is just a dominant set-up man. plus, i think he gets a bonus for games finished this year, so this sort of move by the cubs would be even more transparent.