will issue less walks, and his numbers will improve. I believe a catcher calling a better game, and having a better cast of players behind him defensively will allow him to feel more comfortable throwing strikes.

I don’t care that much, except that it might affect his performance. Also, when does Marmol become a free-agent? Old-schoolers will hate it, but I would definitely give the closer job to Marmol if it gives him more incentive to stay here long term.

you have made a good argument.

I would be perfectly happy to have Marmol in that fireman role. It may also create some strategic angst in the other dugout as there is less certainty when the great arm comes out of the bullpen.

Rothschild seems attuned to the worries of many of us here regarding Marmol’s overuse, and says this of moving Marmol to the closer’s role:

“We could run into some bumps in the road, but you could look at the other side of it and say it’s actually going to be a little easier for him because he’s not going to be up and down as much. He’s not going to pitch as many multiple innings, so he should stay fresher and maybe be a little bit better.”

during the “meet the new Cubs” session:

Fuk-U-Meter: “If you take on the role of a 7th or 8th inning reliever instead of closer, does your mindset change coming in to the game?”

Gregg: “Nothing will change. Coming into the game in the late innings has the same amount of pressure and importance. I’ll prepare myself the same way going in to the 7th or 8th as I would the 9th”.

Those goggles have to go.

Because he’s there in place of Wood. I’m going to try to reserve my judgment until I see him in action in a Cubs uniform. Try.

Dan

bidder being chosen by the cubs?

I thought I was in the minority of the people that supported Gregg as closer and Marmol keeping the set-up role. I think it just makes too much sense to do it this way. Good post

His team, the Tigres de Licey, has won the championship and he saved the final game. The boxscore can be found here. But to sum it up he pitched one inning, no runs, two strikeouts, walked one and got the save.
“The brightest arm in the pen,” as BLou calls him, doesn’t warrant the closer job. If he’s more effective as a 7th-8th inning reliever, as he showed last year, I would keep him there and see what Gregg is made of.
I think Gregg may do a solid job—not quite Kerry Wood-esque—but he can close and save 30 games.

Great movie.

Sort it out based on performance in spring training which pitcher is going to be the setup guy and which pitcher will be the closer. Marmol and Gregg need to earn their respective roles.

so forgive me if it’s already been said. The problem with Lou’s “let ’em compete” comment is that presumably the best pitcher would be the closer (more than likely Marmol) rather than the 7th/8th inning fireman guy.

Stop pretending folks. Marmol is going to have some arm problems next season, Gregg won’t be anything special, and half way during the season, we are going to have to trade for some serious bullpen help. Samardzija will have a better season than both of them. Maybe he’ll end up being the closer before the seasons over….

and say that neither Gregg or Marmol are going to be the Fireman by the end of the year and that it is going to be Guzman. If that pans out, than you can have Marmol replacing Wood, Guzman replacing Marmol, and Gregg replacing the Good Howry.

I think if we don’t start believing that Guzman or somebody else can excel in the bullpen we are in for a troubled season. I cling to the 07 season as an example. Marmol came out of nowhere to help right the 07 bullpen and I hope that history repeats itself with Guzman or somebody else.

was on Murphy’s show last baseball season. He was saying the same thing, you should use your best guy in the bullpen in these types of situations. He had a ton of stats to back up his point, I don’t remember any, but it changed my perspective on the closer role and the pen in general.

and in my mind, the person that wants it more only has to do one thing…

…just casually start swinging a bat left-handed whenever Lou’s around!

But would holding out Marmol for the ninth inning only mean that Gregg, setting him up, would have blown the lead and there wouldn’t be anything for Marmol to save?

Yeah, he might not get into as many games… … after Gregg blows 7th and 8th inning leads.

Christ Al, Gregg’s not that bad. Also, if you’re using this logic, then we could say that Marmol comes in and plays God in the 8th inning, leaving Gregg to blow the lead and lose the game in the 9th. So, if you want to assert Gregg’s fatally bad, he’s going to be fatally bad whenever he pitches.

But often, closers come into games in low-leverage situations: ninth inning, three-run lead, bases empty.

For now, I think the best use of Lou Piniella’s bullpen would be for Gregg to close, after Marmol has put out the fires in the 7th or 8th inning.

What does it matter what inning it’s in? Big situations ("fires") can happen in any inning.

Look, saying who you want to close/set-up is one thing. But basing that decision on handwringing and wild predictions is another.

For me, a closer by two-man committee makes the most sense. Sure, neither Marmol or Gregg are piling up the saves. But, if it’s the 8th inning and Pujols is going to be the 6th batter of the inning, I’m saving Carlos for the 9th (or late in the 8th if Gregg can’t get the job done).

Is it part of the prep for that position? Perhaps this was what kept LaTroy from doing anything with the role.

We are actually arguing about which bad ass should close and which bad ass should be the set-up guy. God it’s good to be a Cub fan. BTW, I’m going to Spring Training again this year during spring break, March 16-23rd. I’d love to continue this debate then and in person over a few ice cold Old Styles lol.
My 2 cents: Both are professionals and are very competitive and both will be successful in whatever role Lou places them in. I think most of us who have seen Marmol develop are pulling for his continued success. No doubt about it, he has the kind of stuff that buckles the knees of some of the games best hitters. Hitters fear him. But since we are more familiar with him as fans, we lose sight of what Gregg can bring to the table because we just haven’t seen him as much. I say, lets give it time and let Lou do his thing. One thing is certain, our bullpen will be solid because of both of them. Our starters are solid. Our offense is solid. We are solid. I hope there are many fewer one run games and many more blowouts and shutouts.