Always Be Closing: Marmol Enters 2010 as Cubs Closer

It was one of the more hotly debated topics of the off-season, which spilled into Spring Training and even the regular season. We wanted to know if Kevin Gregg or Carlos Marmol would close out games for the Chicago Cubs. We won't have any of the intrigue or mystery headed into 2010 as Lou Pinella has already announced that Marmol would be the closer next season.

''He's done enough and shown enough, and we have confidence in him enough that going into spring training next year it's his job,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''And we'll leave it just at that.''

While this is good news for Marmol, it's more a result of Gregg stinking in the closer's role, more so then Marmol beating him out for the job.

In 66 innings of work Gregg has a record of 5-and-6 with 23 saves. His ERA is high for a closer at 4.77, but some of his other pitching numbers seem good enough to be in that role. He strikes out more then a batter per inning, and actually strikes out 9.3 batters per nine innings. The high strikeout rate is exactly what you want in a closer.

Unfortunately for Gregg, and this was his downfall, he had a propensity of giving up home runs late in games. In all, Gregg has given up 13 home runs in 2009, which is far too many for a closer to keep his job.

Marmol isn't without his own faults though. He's 2-and-3 with 13 saves and his ERA is better then Gregg's at 3.41. Marmol even has a higher strikeout rate then Gregg, striking out 11.1 batters per nine innings. But, Marmol walks almost a batter per inning. He's accrued 62 walks in 68.2 innings and has a 8.1 BB/9 ratio. One of the last things you want is your closer to walk batters. But, as Marmol has only given up one home run this season, at least he's not getting beat by the longball.

Bullpen Still Struggling in Phily
Brad Lidge has followed his perfect 2008 season with a craptastic journey in 2009, he even lost his job to Ryan Madson. But now Madson isn't doing so well.

In the past month Madson has four saves but his ERA has spiked. Since taking over as the Phillies closer, Madson has seen his ERA jump from 3.15 to 3.36. He's also already blown a save and given up earned runs in two of his five save opportunities. And now manager Charlie Manuel thinks his new closer may be tiring.

As Lidge struggles, Manuel has turned to Madson as a closer. He has been in five of the last six save situations. The results have been mixed. Madson has blown six saves this season, and Manuel has expressed concern the lanky righthander is fatigued.

This bullpen, which has had its fair share of question marks already this season, now heads into the playoffs without a dominating ninth inning option. And if that wasn't cause for concern, Manuel may be thinking of shaking up the roles of the pitchers in his bullpen. He may even enter the playoffs with a bullpen where there are no defined roles at all.

"It's always good for a guy to kind of know what his role is," he said. "The public likes it. You guys [the media] like it. Me, I don't like it. I think if I'm the manager, I ought to be able to put you in the damn game when I want to, if you want to know the truth.

"And when you think about it, roles change. You might have a guy you want in the sixth who has thrown and you can't use him, things like that. But for some reason, they like it when you find a role for them. To a certain degree it's good, but it's also hard to stick to."

Get ready for an interesting ride over the next few weeks.