Wow, What an Opening Day!

Wow, what an opening day that was! Only one thing would have made it better; it was definitely a good game. Of course the league does not have a good scouting report on Fukudome yet. After one day he has all the team's extra base hits and all 3 RBIs. I'm very happy with this pickup so far. It validates all my offseason rantings that we needed Fukudome.

Kerry Wood was not so great in the ninth; Howry was the losing pitcher in the 10th. Marmol was dominant in his inning and a third. I think Wood will make a fine closer; he has everything a closer needs, both in his arsenal and in his attitude. Marmol is the only reason that there could be any real controversy. He is so dominant in his appearances. Have the Cubs ever had such a great eighth-inning pitcher, ever in their history?

Recently Steve Stone was on AM-670 talking about why Kerry Wood was not going to be chosen as closer. He cited Wood's difficulty with the first batter, his long delivery (which makes it easy to steal bases against him), and maybe some other reasons. Stone is wrong here; Wood has overpowering stuff; that is why he can be a great closer. Opposing stolen bases matter much less when the opposing hitters cannot drive in the run because they strike out. Also in the vein of situational baseball, Woody would have to be considered VERY tough to bunt against, which weakens Stone's small-ball argument. Wood's level of power pitching makes OBP much less useful than against a typical pitcher.