Good Job, Wood

[CuseCubFan69]

*yawn* I guess these threads are going to pop up every time Kerry gives up runs. Whatever.

 

I remember a time when Hawkins struggled and we had the same type of threads. As a matter of fact, all closers get this scrutiny.

[fromthestretch]

The official season of making excuses for Saint Kerry has begun!

 

Or it could just be that rational people aren't going to get bent out of shape after the first game of the season. You know damn well that if he continues to have outings like this, people won't want him taking innings away from more effective pitchers.

 

Somehow the fact that he can't stay healthy and he doesn't even look particularly great as a reliever when he is healthy has bamboozled 95% of Cubs fans into thinking this guy is the #1 badass.

 

Limited sample size aside, his 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 10.2 K/9, and .559 opponent's OPS in relief for his career coming into this season certainly don't look bad.

[soapy]

Somehow the fact that he can't stay healthy and he doesn't even look particularly great as a reliever when he is healthy has bamboozled 95% of Cubs fans into thinking this guy is the #1 badass.

 

Limited sample size aside, his 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 10.2 K/9, and .559 opponent's OPS in relief for his career coming into this season certainly don't look bad.

I came here to post that same thing. What exactly is it about Wood's numbers as a reliever that makes people think he can't be a closer again?

[Derwood]

anti-Wood people would have scrutinized Piniella for NOT putting him into the game in the 9th inning if Howry or Wuertz had come in instead and given up 3 runs

[98navigator]

*yawn* I guess these threads are going to pop up every time Kerry gives up runs. Whatever.

 

I remember a time when Hawkins struggled and we had the same type of threads. As a matter of fact, all closers get this scrutiny.

 

Hello, yesterday was the first game of the season. People were willing to give Hawkins the benefit of doubt initially because he had been a lights out set-up man. However, LaTroy was horrible for a prolonged stretch so fans, and media, were justified in constantly raking him over the coals. He's also most famous for popping off to the media by telling them "I can do what you do but you can't do what I do..." He deserved everything he got.

[Mugged By Fluffy]

I think Kerry Wood is best used as a closer as a way to keep him healthy. Middle relievers have to be able to get warm quickly and be able to warm up, sit down, warm up, sit down according to the situations in the game. That's a lot to ask for a guy with a crankly shoulder. As a closer he'll get much more time to warm up and he won't have to warm up, sit down and so forth as often. Sure he's not better than Marmol but would you rather have Kerry closing and Marmol in middle relief or Marmol closing and Kerry Wood on the DL? I'll take the former every time.

 

I don't know...there are lots of situations throughout the season where the closer doesn't always get a lot of time to warm up. You get KW throwing in the pen in the bottom of the 8th inning, your hitters go down 1-2-3 on 11 pitches and next thing you know it's Kerry time. Solo shot by Ramirez with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th inning, Cubs are up 1-0 and the next thing you know it is Kerry time. He can't pitch under these tight closer restraints where every pitch counts.

 

Everyone says "relax, it is only one game...." and I agree, but yesterday's game is a prime example of why Kerry shouldn't be used as a closer. He takes a long time to warm up and needs to throw a few pitches and face a few batters to settle into a pitching groove. You Wood followers know that he has been like this his entire career.

[The R-Train]

When Kerry Wood hit Rickie Weeks yesterday, there were a lot of idiots around me cheering, and saying things like "they hit our second baseman, we hit theirs." Do these people not understand how unbelievably stupid that would be, to put a man on in a tied game in the ninth? Or are they just so enamored with Kerry Wood, they'd refuse to admit to themselves that he might have been a little wild.

[CuseCubFan69]

When Kerry Wood hit Rickie Weeks yesterday, there were a lot of idiots around me cheering, and saying things like "they hit our second baseman, we hit theirs." Do these people not understand how unbelievably stupid that would be, to put a man on in a tied game in the ninth? Or are they just so enamored with Kerry Wood, they'd refuse to admit to themselves that he might have been a little wild.

 

There's a time and a place for payback and that wasn't one of them.

[Jehrico]

he still hasn't blown a save

i hope that was sarcasm.

Well...he hasn't...

 

Wood also did not lose today. ;)

Neither did Theriot (lose or blow a save).

[DiamondMind]

Imagine if Dempster was the one that blew up yesterday for 3 runs.

[Sammy Sofa]

He stunk it up on Monday, but the booing he got was asinine.

[abuck1220]

Still nobody has answered why people don't want Marmol closing over Wood. It's certainly not because Wood is better than Marmol, because we all know that is false.

 

no, it's because marmol is better than wood.

[Guest]

Marmol should be starting.

[Sammy Sofa]

Marmol should be traded.

[SpongeWorthy]

I think Kerry Wood is best used as a closer as a way to keep him healthy. Middle relievers have to be able to get warm quickly and be able to warm up, sit down, warm up, sit down according to the situations in the game. That's a lot to ask for a guy with a crankly shoulder. As a closer he'll get much more time to warm up and he won't have to warm up, sit down and so forth as often. Sure he's not better than Marmol but would you rather have Kerry closing and Marmol in middle relief or Marmol closing and Kerry Wood on the DL? I'll take the former every time.

 

I don't know...there are lots of situations throughout the season where the closer doesn't always get a lot of time to warm up. You get KW throwing in the pen in the bottom of the 8th inning, your hitters go down 1-2-3 on 11 pitches and next thing you know it's Kerry time. Solo shot by Ramirez with 2 out in the bottom of the 8th inning, Cubs are up 1-0 and the next thing you know it is Kerry time. He can't pitch under these tight closer restraints where every pitch counts.

 

Everyone says "relax, it is only one game...." and I agree, but yesterday's game is a prime example of why Kerry shouldn't be used as a closer. He takes a long time to warm up and needs to throw a few pitches and face a few batters to settle into a pitching groove. You Wood followers know that he has been like this his entire career.

 

I really think this aspect is being overlooked by a lot of people. Granted, it's a trait that doesn't bode well for any reliever but it does spell out some of the concerns I have of using Wood in high-lev situations.

[Kosuke1]

I think Kerry Wood is best used as a closer as a way to keep him healthy. Middle relievers have to be able to get warm quickly and be able to warm up, sit down, warm up, sit down according to the situations in the game. That's a lot to ask for a guy with a crankly shoulder. As a closer he'll get much more time to warm up and he won't have to warm up, sit down and so forth as often. Sure he's not better than Marmol but would you rather have Kerry closing and Marmol in middle relief or Marmol closing and Kerry Wood on the DL? I'll take the former every time.

 

Everyone says "relax, it is only one game...." and I agree, but yesterday's game is a prime example of why Kerry shouldn't be used as a closer. He takes a long time to warm up and needs to throw a few pitches and face a few batters to settle into a pitching groove. You Wood followers know that he has been like this his entire career.

 

All starting pitchers "struggle" the first 20-25 pitches of a game relative to the rest of the game. This is expected because pitches 1-25 come against the best five hitters in the offense. We shouldn't be surprised that they hit Wood or any other starter decently well. It's not struggles.

[SpongeWorthy]

I think Kerry Wood is best used as a closer as a way to keep him healthy. Middle relievers have to be able to get warm quickly and be able to warm up, sit down, warm up, sit down according to the situations in the game. That's a lot to ask for a guy with a crankly shoulder. As a closer he'll get much more time to warm up and he won't have to warm up, sit down and so forth as often. Sure he's not better than Marmol but would you rather have Kerry closing and Marmol in middle relief or Marmol closing and Kerry Wood on the DL? I'll take the former every time.

 

Everyone says "relax, it is only one game...." and I agree, but yesterday's game is a prime example of why Kerry shouldn't be used as a closer. He takes a long time to warm up and needs to throw a few pitches and face a few batters to settle into a pitching groove. You Wood followers know that he has been like this his entire career.

 

Kerry Wood has a career .707 OPS allowed in the first inning. He has a career .674 OPS allowed in the second inning. Generally the second inning has the bottom of the order, so a drop is expected. He has a career .705 OPS allowed in the third inning.

 

Sure his OPS against is about 40 points higher for pitches 1-25. But that's true for every starter. Pitches 1-25 come against hitters 1-5. Pitches 25-40 probably go to hitters 6-9. Is it really all that much of a surprise that better hitters hit better against him? Johan Santana's the same (.692 to .644). Pedro Martinez's the same (.639 to .599).

 

Fair point. I don't have any explicit numbers to back it up but Kerry's "feast or famine" tendencies seem much more apparent than other pitchers given the erratic control he's shown over the years. If he's hitting his spots, he's dominant--but has he ever done that consistently? He's never going to be the guy that is going to hit the black with regularity (ala a Pedro or Santana) but when his release point or arm angle is out of wack it's pretty obvious. Consequently, he falls behind more often and grooves more pitches in hitters counts. That worries me.

[Soul]

Even I won't freak out after only one day. Sheesh people, at least wait for Wednesday :mrgreen:

[jersey cubs fan]

Even I won't freak out after only one day. Sheesh people, at least wait for Wednesday :mrgreen:

 

I will wait until the Philly series.

[Kosuke1]

Fair point. I don't have any explicit numbers to back it up but Kerry's "feast or famine" tendencies seem much more apparent than other pitchers given the erratic control he's shown over the years. If he's hitting his spots, he's dominant--but has he ever done that consistently? He's never going to be the guy that is going to hit the black with regularity (ala a Pedro or Santana) but when his release point or arm angle is out of wack it's pretty obvious. Consequently, he falls behind more often and grooves more pitches in hitters counts. That worries me.

 

Carlos Marmol's worse at this than Kerry Wood. Really the only righty the Cubs have in the back end of the pen who doesn't have poor control is Bob Howry. Most relievers with outstanding stuff like Marmol are relievers because they can't throw strikes. For a flyball pitcher Kerry has never had problems with the long ball and has never given up many hits. Grooving pitches doesn't seem to be a problem if he falls behind. It never has been. He still has enough stuff to get away with it most of the time.

[Jehrico]

Fair point. I don't have any explicit numbers to back it up but Kerry's "feast or famine" tendencies seem much more apparent than other pitchers given the erratic control he's shown over the years. If he's hitting his spots, he's dominant--but has he ever done that consistently? He's never going to be the guy that is going to hit the black with regularity (ala a Pedro or Santana) but when his release point or arm angle is out of wack it's pretty obvious. Consequently, he falls behind more often and grooves more pitches in hitters counts. That worries me.

 

Carlos Marmol's worse at this than Kerry Wood. Really the only righty the Cubs have in the back end of the pen who doesn't have poor control is Bob Howry. Most relievers with outstanding stuff like Marmol are relievers because they can't throw strikes. For a flyball pitcher Kerry has never had problems with the long ball and has never given up many hits. Grooving pitches doesn't seem to be a problem if he falls behind. It never has been. He still has enough stuff to get away with it most of the time.

Not really. Many relievers with good stuff are relievers because they don't have a good 3d pitch. With only two good pitches (and Marmol is a good example) to show hitters, they're easier to pick up the second and third time a lineup comes around, making them more suitable for relief than starting. If you can't throw strikes, you not only aren't a good starting candidate, but you're not a good candidate for relief either. To be a good reliever, you have to be able to come into the game with guys on and throw strikes in order to get out of jams. If you're a reliever because you can't consistantly throw strikes, the book will get out on you, and you'll be done for. That never happened to Marmol last year because that's not the case. Like any young flamethrower though, that doesn't mean he didn't have his days when his control wasn't as good as it was on other days.

[CuseCubFan69]

Even I won't freak out after only one day. Sheesh people, at least wait for Wednesday :mrgreen:

 

I will wait until the Philly series.

 

Freaking after one game fits the Philly mold as well. When do they go to Philly?

[Soul]

Good job Lee, too. Nice 1 hit. What's that? Trade this guy.

[jersey cubs fan]

Even I won't freak out after only one day. Sheesh people, at least wait for Wednesday :mrgreen:

 

I will wait until the Philly series.

 

Freaking after one game fits the Philly mold as well. When do they go to Philly?

 

They go next Friday, I go Saturday and Sunday.

[Derwood]

Even I won't freak out after only one day. Sheesh people, at least wait for Wednesday :mrgreen:

 

I will wait until the Philly series.

 

Freaking after one game fits the Philly mold as well. When do they go to Philly?

 

They go next Friday, I go Saturday and Sunday.

 

next Friday, not this Friday