FanPost

What I hope the Cubs learned

With the off-season now about 35 minutes old, here is what I hope that the Cubs brass noticed in preparation for 07-08.

1.) The adage that good pitching will always beat good hitting is true.
2.) You can never have enough good pitching.
3.) In addition to good overall pitching, a great bullpen is necessary to win a world championship. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it certainly helps.

With all our hopes for 2007, our improved offense, our new starters, the Cubs were better but still inadequate in this last category. They were awful in 2004, and I believe the failures of the bullpen, and the fact that there were no "lights out" relievers, are partially to blame for the NLCS collapse.

So what does this mean? It means that Ryan Dempster need not apply for the closer's job. He is average, but that isn't enough. Average might get you to the postseason, but it won't win you a championship. Let him go be average somewhere else.

I think Carlos Marmol could be the closer the Cubs are looking for. But I would love to see them go after Mariano Rivera, to serve as both the closer and as Marmol's tutor. I would love to see the Cubs try to keep Wood, even giving him near-starter money, if he wants to be a member of that pen.

Regardless of who they bring in, I want the bullpen to be the number one off-season priority of this organization. Not a bunch of retreads, not a handful of AAAA guys. Not anybody who makes the entire ballpark cringe when they see him warming up. Nobody that the Orioles would ever take. No, I want blue chip pitchers who can get the job done. That isn't too much to ask, is it?

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