Chicago Cubs - Atlanta Braves: Series Preview
Talking Chop — ... Conversely, when the starter is pulled, that's where things have gone south. Despite the presence of good setup men in Carlos Marmol and ...

All Is Not Wells: Bullpen Implosion Ruins Randy's Gem, Cubs Lose 6-5 In 12
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... , Wells was lifted for Carlos Marmol. Marmol's been off and on this year, and last night was definitely "off". Marmol's control was poor -- only 11 strikes in 23 pitches, and Wells was charged with a second run, unearned, when Marmol issued a bases-loaded walk, which made the score 5-2. A sac fly made it 5-3, still a very winnable game. But then ...

Tuesday Roto Round Up: Roy Halladay For Real. Joe Mauer, Too?
FakeTeams — ... a game in which closer Chad Qualls was reported to be available after missing a thumbless man's handful of games with a sore forearm. Schlereth was used in the 8th inning to rescue Tony Pena from a mess.  The 2008 1st round pick did not such thing and was credited with a blown save.  Was Qualls still hurt or did A.J. Hinch make a poor bullpen decision?   8th Inning Set-up: John Grabow PIT (8), Carlos Marmol CHC (13), Grant Balfour TB (6), Manny Corpas COL (3), Jose Mijares MIN (7), ...

Micah Hoffpauir, Your Table Is Ready: Cubs Beat Braves In 11, 3-2
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Kudos are also deserved this morning for the bullpen's work beyond Gregg; Carlos Marmol settled down from his wild appearance on Tuesday to throw a scoreless inning, and I can't say enough good things about ...

With Z, There's Always Something: Zambrano Says He'll Retire After His Contract Is Up. Oh, Yes: Cubs Win 2-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... I'm a little concerned still about Carlos Marmol, who gave up the Reds' only run while being wild (only 12 strikes in 23 pitches and two walks). His slider looked OK, but the fastball was all over the place. ...

A Long Day's Journey Into... Victory! Cubs Bats Awaken In 14th For 6-3 Win Over Reds
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... It wouldn't have lasted that long if Carlos Marmol had any semblance of command today; he walked both of the hitters he faced and threw only three strikes in his 11 pitches. I'm worried about him, especially since he seems to usually throw better with more work. ...

Grading The Cubs At The Season's One-Third Mark
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... was so bad he had to be demoted. And the formerly trustworthy Carlos Marmol has had control problems, probably from overuse. Guzman may be the savior here. ...

Should Zambrano Have Started The Ninth? Guzman Fails, Cubs Lose To Astros 2-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... has been lights-out in his last few outings and, of course, Lou Piniella trusts him, just as he trusted Carlos Marmol in ...

Maybe We're Looking At The Wrong Third Baseman: Blum Beats Cubs Again, 2-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... a run in the first inning and then nothing else; he didn't walk anyone and got his ERA under 4.00 (3.87) for the first time all year. Carlos Marmol and ...

Bailing Season: UBA NL-Only League Trades
FakeTeams — ... get dealt. Then again, I thought he would be the closer last year. Then on Friday, I made a trade with Eric's brother, the 2nd bailer in UBA, which included me trading away a $5 S2 Andrew McCutchen, $10 S2 Craig Counsell, $10 S2 Kenshin Kawakami, minor league catching prospect Kyle Skipworth and my 2nd round pick in the 2010 minor league draft, for a $42 S1 Lance Berkman, a $14 O Nick Johnson  and a $10 O Carlos Marmol. I felt I had to give up McCutchen in any deal for a ...

A Quick Guide To Realistic Options To Fix The 2009 Cubs
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... more eighth-inning responsibility. Guzman has been the Cubs' most consistent reliever all year and in his last 13 appearances, has allowed only eight hits and one run for a 0.71 ERA. If Carlos Marmol is struggling or has been overused, let Guzman throw the eighth, setting up ...

Cubs Find Lost Offense, Win In Comeback 6-5! Sun Rises In West, Cubs And Sox Fans Get Along ... Well, Nothing's Impossible, Right?
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... "What on Earth can I write recapping this disaster?", when Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto suddenly brought life to the blue-shirted portion of today's sellout of 40,467 by slamming back-to-back homers, Lee's into the basket in right, Soto's deep to left-center. It was the Cubs' first multi-homer game since a 7-1 win over the Reds in Cincinnati on June 7, in which Ryan Theriot and Alfonso Soriano homered. That tied a game that it appeared Carlos Marmol had put out of reach in favor of the White Sox in ...

Carlos Marmol And The Giant Glove
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... This one requires a bit of explanation. This glove belongs to one of the Waveland ballhawks. Somehow it made its way into the ballpark during batting practice on Thursday. Several players tried it out, including Carlos Marmol. (Ballhawk, feel free to elaborate if you know more.) ...

MARMOL'S GIANT GLOVE/ CUBS WIN
Docksquad Sports — ... This glove belongs to one of the Waveland ballhawks. Somehow it made its way into the ballpark during batting practice on Thursday. Several players tried it out, including Carlos Marmol. ...

How Do You Top The Last Two Games? Win Again! - Cubs vs. Indians Preview, Saturday 6/20, 12:05 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Piniella was more anxious to use Carlos Marmol more frequently. Marmol hadn't pitched for four days before coming in Thursday and giving up two runs on three hits against the Sox in two-thirds of an inning. ...

Cardiac Cubs Win Walkoff Again 6-5; Wood Wild Pitches In Winning Run
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... threw another capable six innings, though the longballs he gave up were uncharacteristic of his last few outings. It wasn't just the two homers; the two doubles leading off the game that gave Cleveland its first run were both hard-hit. I still worry about Carlos Marmol, who doesn't seem to have his command back, and though ...

Celebrate The Sweep! Cubs Get Randy Wells His First Major League Win, 6-2 Over Indians
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... because Guzman had established himself as the 8th-inning alternative to the somewhat shaky Carlos Marmol. Hart has been starting at Iowa, with decent results (a 1.41 ERA in his last six starts); let's hope he can throw better than he did in his stints with the Cubs in 2008. ...

Cubs Lose Battle Of Two-Run Homers; Tigers Win In Walkoff 5-4
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... slammed off him; a solid inning of relief from Carlos Marmol, and some timely hitting capped by a two-run homer from ...

Wednesday Walk-a-Thon: Tigers 5, Cubs 3
Bless You Boys — ... they needed them, especially home runs from Miguel Cabrera and Gerald Laird, along with a bases-loaded single from Adam Everett that put the home team ahead for good.  (That go-ahead run, by the way, should really be charged to Geovany Soto who dropped a foul pop-up by Marcus Thames.  Thames walked two pitches later, and eventually scored.)  We should probably also credit Aaron Heilman and Carlos Marmol for both walking in runs, as well. The final ...

Hurry Back, Aramis: Cubs' Offense Again Impotent In 5-3 Loss To Tigers
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... And what's up with Carlos Marmol? His command is nearly completely gone. He is averaging an astoundingly bad 8.8 walks per nine innings, and he put the game out of reach by walking in a run in the eighth inning. Even at that, the Cubs managed to get the tying run on base with nobody out in the ninth inning off Tigers closer ...

Milton Bradley, I'm Done With You. Meanwhile, Cubs Use Soto HR To Beat White Sox, 5-4
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... All of this is yet another unwelcome distraction from this season, and today was a nicely-played win, despite yet another bullpen meltdown from Carlos Marmol, who threw only 10 strikes in 24 pitches. Whatever's wrong with Marmol, someone better figure it out soon, because with ...

Bullpen Fails Again In 8-7 Cubs Loss To White Sox
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Carlos Marmol -- and I think we all have to agree, something's got to be wrong with him -- coughed the lead right back up. In his one inning of work he at least threw strikes today (18 in 26 pitches), but the slider wasn't working and he didn't strike out anyone. ...

Cubs Find Favorite Punching Bag Ready And Waiting, Beat Pirates 3-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Now, that's more like it, right? Obviously, there's a lot more work to be done, but a win like this gives something to build on. In addition to Harden's fine pitching, Carlos Marmol had an uneventful inning (the last time he had a truly uneventful inning: four appearances ago in Detroit), and ...

See You in September - Pitching Wrap-up From Cubs vs. White Sox
South Side Sox — ... Kevin Hart 94.7 Scott Linebrink 94.4 Angel Guzman 93.9 Carlos Marmol 93.6 Aaron Poreda 93.4 ...

Derrek Lee's Career Day Leads Cubs To 9-5 Win Over Brewers
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... before ending the inning. Despite allowing a pair of homers, Dempster was never in trouble because of Lee's big day. Carlos Marmol was a bit shaky in the ninth inning, issuing a two-out walk to ...

Cubs, Ted Lilly, Weather Star In 8-2 Blowout Of Brewers
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... threw 1.2 solid innings of relief without walking anyone (14 strikes in 19 pitches), and Carlos Marmol looked good again; this was a perfect no-pressure situation for him to get some of his command back (17 pitches, 10 strikes). ...

Wells, Lee Lead Cubs To 4-2 Win Over Braves
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... (Lou must have fallen asleep, because he let Marshall throw an entire inning, including facing some right-handed hitters) threw a good inning; Carlos Marmol did issue a walk, but got out of it with a DP; and ...

All-Star Lilly Dominates Cardinals; Cubs Win 5-2 (Still Worried About Marmol, Though)
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Then Lou decided to, again, give Carlos Marmol some work in a low-pressure situation, four runs up in the ninth inning. It was... not pretty. After an easy groundout, a single and walk put two runners on and then Marmol got a comebacker... which he almost threw into center field; it took a great stab by ...

First Half Relievers
Viva El Birdos — ... So just as the Cards’ hopes seem to ride on the backs of their starters, the Brewers’ seem to ride on the backs of their pen, which has been fantastic during the first half. The same appears to be true for the Reds, though w/ their young pitching, they’re awfully scary. I’d also expect the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol to pitch better during the 2nd half, though he put a scare into the hearts of Cubbie fans worldwide w/ his 9th inning hijinx yesterday. Adding in the totals of the starters, this brings each team’s rotation’s numbers to: The totals for the teams’ ...

Cubs In Splitsville: Zambrano, Hoffpauir Homer In 7-3 Game One Win; Ludwick Goes Deep Twice Off Wells In 4-2 Nightcap Loss
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Ferrell, who pitched mostly for Cleveland, Boston and Washington in the 1930's. (Ferrell hit 38 career HR; one was as a pinch-hitter, and it was memorable: a three-run walkoff on June 21, 1935.) Digression over; after Z's homer he settled down on the mound, too, retiring the last ten batters he faced (yes, one of them, Albert Pujols, reached base when Ryan Theriot dropped his popup, but then Theriot threw him out trying to take second). Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol (who looked pretty good even with one walk) and Kevin ...

Cubs All-Star Break Report Card
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Relief pitcher: Carlos Marmol, C. Marmol's troubles with control have been well-documented and discussed on this site. He has to get that back to be successful in the second half, and the Cubs need him to do that. It's just that simple. ...

The Same Old Washington Nationals Drop One To The Chicago Cubs, 6-2 final.
Federal Baseball — ... Jason Bergmann makes an ill-advised return to mound in the eighth. Milton Bradley flies out to Nyjer Morgan in center. Derrek Lee rips a liner to third, Zim knocks it down and pockets it. Ground ball to short from Aramis Ramirez, Guzman to Alberto, to Nick Johnson at first, double play!!...Carlos Marmol vs Alberto Gonzalez. The General rolls a dribble out to first. ...

The Washington Nationals Have Nothing, Cubs Win 3-1 For Chicago's Second Straight In DC.
Federal Baseball — ... vs Ryan Theriot to start the eighth. Leadoff walk. Derrek Lee singles on a line drive to right. Aramis Ramirez pops out to first. Milton Bradley ground to second, Willie Harris fields, tags Lee and makes a leaping throw to first for the DP...Milton Bradley comes in with his glove covering his eyes and makes the catch on Adam Dunn’s liner. Sean Marshall’s out, Carlos Marmol comes in. Josh Willingham gets a two-strike slider and K’s trying. Willie Harris flies out to right to end the eighth. ...

Carlos Zambrano, You Drive Us Nuts! Cubs Win 2nd In Row, 3-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... had a nice inning, striking out two, and the good Carlos Marmol showed up last night -- even though it drives me nuts when managers do this. ...

Washington Nationals (0-3) Under Jim Riggleman After 6-5 Loss To The Chicago Cubs.
Federal Baseball — ... Jason Bergmann starts the seventh by giving up a leadoff triple to Kosuke Fukudome. Alberto Gonzalez looks Fukudome back to third and throws to first on Ryan Theriot’s groundout. Derrek Lee swings through a 1-2 fastball. Aramis Ramirez flies out to right-center and Bergmann strands the triple...Nick Johnson grounds out to short. Ryan Zimmerman sneaks a single in in front of Fukudome. Adam Dunn walks to chase Sean Marshall. Carlos Marmol on to face Willingham. Hammer gets hit. Willie Harris grounds to first, Carlos Lee takes the force at home. Alberto ...

Werth the Wait: Phillies 4, Cubs 1 (13)
The Good Phight — ... combined to throw six innings of no-run, no-hit baseball, with Park easily the most impressive in going three innings and striking out five. For the Cubs, Carlos Marmol, ...

Everyone Digs The Long Ball: Cubs Use Four Homers To Beat Reds 8-5
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... had gotten up to throw when Lee's homer gave the Cubs an 8-3 lead. Again, Gregg stood in the bullpen as if to say, "Get me out of this situation!" Samardzija could have kept warming up and the Cubs could have sent Carlos Marmol out to loosen up on the mound, then the Shark could have come in ready to go. ...

Trade Rumors Fly As Cubs Win Third Straight, 5-3 Over Reds
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... and Carlos Marmol looked really good in relief today, and that's especially good news about Marmol, who looks to have gotten back into his groove. ...

Part 4 of the D-Backs Deadline Possibilities: The Chad Qualls/Jon Rauch Trade Market
AZ Snakepit — ... , despite his lackluster ERA in the mid-3's for a closer, has converted 21 of 24 save opportunities.  Carlos Marmol continues to be a workhorse in the seventh and eighth innings, and abandoned starter ...

Soriano's Walkoff Slam In 13th Gives Cubs 5-1 Win, Fifth In Row
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... made the home record 31-18, which is now creeping up on the great home start the Cubs had in 2008; after 49 home games last year, the record was 36-13. And in between the two solo homers and the grand slam, there was outstanding pitching on both sides -- although sixteen walks were issued among the eleven pitchers who took the mound last night, five of them intentional. The bullpens for both teams did a terrific job, particularly Aaron Heilman (who would have guessed?), Carlos Marmol (who looked like the Marmol of old, with two called K's), ...

Marmol Meltdown Sends Cubs To 5-2 Defeat By Marlins
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Unfortunately, no. Carlos Marmol had one of his bad innings, walking the first two batters he faced (and throwing only 10 strikes in 22 pitches). He almost got out of the inning by getting the next two men out, but then ...

Mike Pelfrey May Have Found His Out-Pitch
Amazin' Avenue — ... Notice how the orange line (two-seam) has a distinct break in and the blue line (slider) has a distinct break out from all the other pitches? Carlos Marmol has one the nastiest sliders in the game, with 4.9 inches of average horizontal break, 3 more than Pelfrey. When you consider, however, that Pelfrey's two-seamer breaks 2.3 inches more away  from the batter than Marmol's four-seamer, the difference may seem minimal to the batter who's looking for the two-seamer. ...

Kevin Gregg Blows Save, Cubs Lose 3-2; But This One's On Lou
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Still, the calls for Gregg to be removed as closer (or worse, as I saw last night here, to "DFA him!!!1!" are ridiculous. Many closers have outings like this -- and yesterday's was more on the head of his manager than on him; Gregg probably shouldn't have been in the game at all. And who would you suggest replacing him with? Carlos Marmol? Marmol's head doesn't seem on straight, and he's been walking almost a batter an inning. ...

Alex Gonzalez gets his good game out of the way. Reds lose 4-2.
Red Reporter — ... singled to get him to second.  With two outs, Alex Gonzalez was at the plate again.  In an 11 pitch battle with Carlos Marmol, Gonzalez laced a double to left field, scoring Nix.  Despite having ...

What's Wrong With Carlos Marmol? Cubs Win 4-2, But The Question Stands
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Well, sure, but there are still these nagging questions: "What's wrong with Carlos Marmol? Why can't he throw strikes consistently?" ...

Tom Gorzelanny, Not Only Is Your Table Ready, You Can Have The Whole Restaurant; Cubs Beat Reds 6-3
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... but he threw almost as many pitches -- 96 -- in 5.1 innings as Gorzelanny did in 7.1 last night, and that was the game where Carlos Marmol helped blow a 7-run lead; the Cubs eventually won in 11 innings.) ...

New Arms of the Week and a Half
Beyond the Box Score — ... sinker. Nasty stuff. For the slurve, think Carlos Marmol minus a few mph and a with less sweep and sink. Feliz has trouble throwing his offspeed pitches for strikes. He's just 3 for 15 so far. ...

NL Central leaders come to Coors in battle of Wild Card contenders
Purple Row — ... He rested his arm early this week, then threw a perfect inning Wednesday, but in the meantime, setup man Carlos Marmol got the save opportunity.  Also in Lou Piniella's bullpen are lefties ...

Much-Maligned Bullpen & Fukudome Lead Cubs To 6-5 Win Over Rockies
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... right field with Theriot on second. It came right back to Brad Hawpe, who gunned down Bradley trying to stretch this hit into a double. It wasn't an unreasonable chance, but the tag came down only a second or so after Theriot scored; had it been a little bit quicker the run wouldn't have counted. Fukudome's homer made it 6-4 and then the bullpen took over. After Clint Barmes homered off Dempster with nobody out in the seventh to make it 6-5, Angel Guzman, Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg shut down the Rockies over the last ...

Francisco Treat: Phillies 4, Cubs 3 (12)
The Good Phight — ... With Harden finally out of the game, the Phillies took a 3-2 lead in the eighth without benefit of a hit, thanks to the wildness of Chicago reliever Carlos Marmol. Ruiz walked, and with two outs Marmol hit ...

Lou Piniella, This One's On You: Bullpen Mismanagement Sends Cubs To 4-3 Loss
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Let's reconstruct Carlos Marmol's disastrous eighth inning, in which he wound up walking in a run which gave the ...

Now We're Cooking: Baker Helps Lead Cubs To 3-1 Win Over Pirates
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Gorzo was done after that, having run a fair number of high counts in five innings, throwing 83 pitches and striking out eight while walking three. His ERA dropped by nearly a run, from 6.23 to 5.24, and gives him a good base for starting again, likely the first game of the series in Los Angeles next Thursday. The bullpen did a fine job today, giving the Pirates only a pair of hits over the last four innings. Just as he did last Saturday in Colorado, Carlos Marmol threw a scoreless inning and threw strikes (12 of 18 pitches). Now, he has to build on that by ...

Groundhog Day: Kevin Gregg Gives Up Walkoff Again, Cubs Lose 4-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... blown save of the year and Lou Piniella has, at last, had enough: After Kevin Gregg gave up four two-out runs in the ninth inning in a 4-1 loss to the Padres on Monday night, Piniella said he plans on removing Gregg from the closer's role. "I think we're going to make some changes as far as what we're going to do in late innings," Piniella said. "We'll have some more tomorrow [Tuesday]." Piniella didn't say who would be his new closer, though Carlos Marmol and Angel Guzman are considered the likeliest ...

Cubs Lose Again. Jim Hendry And Lou Piniella: This Is Your Fault
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... warming up with the three best LH hitters in the NL due up and Carlos Marmol walking the world was inexcusable. (And now he wants to make Marmol the closer? I shake my head in dismay.) Is it because Lou's embarrassed that he asked for this kind of team and it's failing? Or is he just past his managerial prime and wants to go home? ...

You Know Things Are Rough For The Mets When...
Amazin' Avenue — ... aren't convinced that Carlos Marmol can turn around his control problems they could be in the market for a closer next year. A straight swap for ...

"F Troop" Leads Cubs To 3-1 Win Over Dodgers
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... anyway; Russell Martin advanced to third base on the play and he would have scored on the next at-bat had 3B umpire Wally Bell not called time before Orlando Hudson popped a ball into short center field that was lost in the sun. The ruling was "no play" and Hudson had to hit again. Only then did Grabow get him to hit into a double play to end the inning. Here's how I see that. The Cubs have 100 years' worth of breaks coming to them. We'll take it. And Carlos Marmol was outstanding in getting his fifth save of the year, and ...

Dempster, Fox Stifle Dodgers
True Blue LA — ... you still have to go out there and play the game.  We have plated them well this year and we have to continue to do that. Clayton Kershaw faces Jason Hammel Tuesday in a rematch of their 1-0 thriller on July 1 at Dodger Stadium. WP - Ryan Dempster (7-7):  7 IP, 3 hits, 1 unearned run, 1 walk,  strikeouts LP - Chad Billingsley (12-7):  6 IP, 9 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk,  strikeouts Sv - Carlos Marmol (5):  1 IP, 2 strikeouts Box Score ...

Chicago Cubs Pound Washington Nationals' Bullpen, Ruin Livan Hernandez's Return. 9-4 Final.
Federal Baseball — ... Carlos Marmol walks Josh Willingham to start the ninth. Elijah Dukes walks. Marmol walks Alberto Gonzalez to load the bases. Wil Nieves grounds into a force at third. Willingham scores. 9-3 Cubs. ...

Cubs Remember How To Win, Dismantle Nationals 9-4
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... got timely hitting, good defense, and -- with the exception of Carlos Marmol, who I'll discuss later on -- outstanding pitching. ...

Soriano's First HR In August Leads Cubs To 5-2 Win Over Mets
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Carlos Marmol made us think he was going to play walkathon again, walking the leadoff hitter in the 9th, but then he got three quick outs including a pair of K's and ...

Milton Bradley: Yes Or No?
Amazin' Avenue — ... recently removed from the role and Carlos Marmol walking a ridiculous 8.35 per 9 innings.  Worried about who will close for the Mets?  Here is a list of useful soon-to-be free agent relievers: ...

September Begins With Win: Bradley, Wells Lead Cubs To 4-1 Triumph
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... and Carlos Marmol allowed no hits and just a single walk in 2.1 innings. Marmol, in particular, looked like the lights-out Marmol of old. His mechanics seemed far better, and after a leadoff single to Pence, he struck out the side to end the game. ...

The L Words: Lee, Lilly Lead Cubs To 2-0 Lancing Of Astros
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Just goes to show you that team effort is required for postseason play, and the Cubs had that today. They didn't hit much, but didn't need to, given Lilly's outstanding pitching performance, and in spite of a little shakiness from Carlos Marmol in the 9th, he settled down and registered his eighth save. Lou Piniella seems to have a pathological aversion to complete games -- the Cubs have only two nine-inning CG since he's been managing -- and even though Lilly had 105 pitches (69 strikes) through eight, I think I would have given him a shot at finishing. ...

Welcome To The World, Dylan Lee. Thanks For Sending Your Dad Back; Derrek Lee Homers Twice In 5-3 Cubs Win
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... after five innings after throwing 102 pitches; the bullpen did a decent job, except for Aaron Heilman, who was back to his old ways of not hitting his spots. He didn't walk anyone, but was charged with the Mets' third run. He was roundly booed when introduced and then again when he was taken out for John Grabow -- I thought, "Why are Mets fans booing him? He just gave them a run, they should be cheering and wanting him to stay in the game!" Carlos Marmol was summoned with the tying runs on base in the eighth ...

Lee's Two Homers Lead Cubs To History-Making Win Over Pirates
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... had eight-pitch innings and Carlos Marmol looked like the Marmol of 2008, dispatching the Bucs easily with 11 strikes in 13 pitches. ...

Sweep! Cubs Keep Faint Playoff Hopes Alive With 8-5 Win Over Pirates
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... What it did do was force Lou to go to Carlos Marmol to save the game in the 9th, and credit to Marmol -- since he was officially anointed closer he has posted a 1.93 ERA in nine appearances, has seven saves and no blown saves, and most importantly, he has recovered his control. He's walked six in that time, but three of those were in a lost-cause game against the ...

Winning Streak At Four: Cubs Defeat Reds 6-4 Despite Harden's Struggles
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Carlos Marmol will definitely be the anchor of that pen -- it appears he has finally settled down now that he's been officially named closer. Despite a walk and single (which wouldn't have been a single if ...

Reds lose at least five in a row for the fourth time since the All-Star break. Cubs win, 6-4.
Red Reporter — ... 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 X 6 7 0 WP: Jeff Stevens (1 - 0) SV: Carlos Marmol (12) LP: Justin Lehr (4 - 2) ...

The Tale Of The Season: Cubs Defense, Marmol Fail In 7-5 Loss To Reds
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... But then, Carlos Marmol came in. Marmol has been very good since being anointed closer, but this was not a save situation and Marmol pitched like the old, bad, pre-closer Marmol. Even after a slick DP got him to two out and no one on, he walked a pair and gave up a two-run double to a .176 hitter, ...

Cubs 2, Brewers 0
Brew Crew Ball — ... W: Ryan Dempster (10-8) L: Jeff Suppan (6-10) S: Carlos Marmol (13) HR: Derrek Lee (33) MVP: Jeff Suppan (+.228) LVP: Prince Fielder (-.174) Win Expectancy Graph SBNation Coverage If you had made a list of likely outcomes in a Suppan-Dempster matchup at Wrigley Field, a 1-0 game into the eighth inning probably wouldn't have been high on that list, but here we are. Jeff Suppan posted his best performance of the season, allowing just one earned run on three ...

Cubs Ride Outstanding Starting Pitching To 2nd Win In Row, 2-0 Over Brewers
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Carlos Marmol finished up with a scoreless inning for his 13th save. Though Marmol does have four blown saves this year, he has none since officially being named closer in mid-August. He did issue a walk, which appears typical for him this year; command and control will be things he'll have to work on in the offseason. I was reminded last night of the way Mitch Williams closed out games for the 1989 division champs; Williams walked 52 in 81.2 innings and saved 36 games despite a 1.51 WHIP (and ten blown saves!). Closing was a different animal in ...

Game Thread #144: Brewers (69-74) at Cubs (74-68)
Brew Crew Ball — ... WP: Ryan Dempster (10 - 8) SV: Carlos Marmol LP: Jeff Suppan (6 - 10) ...

Game Thread #145: Brewers (69-75) at Cubs (75-68)
Brew Crew Ball — ... WP: Ryan Dempster (10 - 8) SV: Carlos Marmol LP: Jeff Suppan (6 - 10) ...

Game Thread #146: Brewers (70-75) at Cubs (75-69)
Brew Crew Ball — ... WP: Ryan Dempster (10 - 8) SV: Carlos Marmol LP: Jeff Suppan (6 - 10) ...

Fantasy Baseball: The Volatility of NL Closers Continues
FakeTeams — ... Kevin Gregg as he blew 6 games this season to go with his 23 saves and 4,70 ERA. Carlos Marmol is the Cubs current closer and he will open up the 2010 season as the team closer as well. ...

Scales Scales The Wall! He Catches -- Oh, Wait. No, He Doesn't. Cubs Lose 2-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Today's 2-1 Cubs loss to the Cardinals, their fourth in a row, wasn't all Bobby Scales' fault, obviously. The Cubs did manage to tie the game up in the 9th inning before the Cardinals got three quick hits and the winning run off Carlos Marmol. And I shouldn't blame Scales, either. Like LaTroy Hawkins under Dusty Baker, Scales is being asked to do a job by his manager that he isn't qualified to do. So let's say this in big, loud, bold type so maybe Lou will pay attention: Hey, Lou. Bobby Scales isn't an ...

Fantasy Baseball: NL Closers Peripheral Stats
FakeTeams — ... I sorted this list by K/BB and included Save percentage (S%), HR/9, ERA, WHIP and Batting Average Against (BAA). I am not surprised to see Francisco Rodriguez in the tier with Brad Lidge, Kevin Gregg, Matt Lidstrom and Carlos Marmol. I would be very wary of K-Rod going into 2010 drafts. I would also be short Leo Nunez, Matt Capps and Carlos Marmol going into 2010. I would be looking to acquire the setup men for the Marlins, Pirates and Cubs going into 2010 drafts. Mike McDougal ...

Milton Bradley Suspended; Cubs Win In Extra Innings
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... ; Carlos Marmol dispatched St. Louis easily in the last of the 11th and the Cubs had their 76th win of the season. ...

Baker Leads Cubs Past Former Candlestick Players, 3-2
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... That's why Hoffpauir moved from LF to 1B for the last of the ninth, which Carlos Marmol finished off without too much incident for his 15th save (and 12th in a row). It was one of the best games of 2009, preventing the ...

Facing Lincecum: Cubs vs. Giants Preview, Friday 9/25, 9:15 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Well. Rowand has had a mediocre year (and looked awful striking out against Carlos Marmol last night) and is two years removed from his fine offensive season with the ...

All's Wells That Ends Wells: Cubs' Randy Wells Outstanding In Final 2009 Start
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... (a 1-2-3 eighth) and Carlos Marmol (a 1-2-3 ninth) were keeping the Diamondbacks off the bases, the Cubs were drawing walks and hitting the hapless ...

Bill James Handbook 2010 Projections
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... : 30 starts, 188 IP, 60 BB, 147 K, 10-10, 4.16 Carlos Marmol: 74 games, 73 IP, 45 BB, 84 K, 5-3, 3.45, 34 saves ...

Cubs Negotiating Multi-Year Deal With John Grabow
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Agent Paul Kinzer represents Grabow, who would be the team's left-handed set-up man and a possible back-up closer in the event Carlos Marmol is injured or needs a day off. ...

Building A Cubs Champion: 2010 Edition
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... reported figures are "between $6.5 and $7.5 million" for the two years. Let's assume for this post that it's in between, and Grabow gets $3.5 million for 2010. We've got $12,250,000 left and six spots to fill on the pitching staff. Carlos Marmol is going to close; he made $575,000 in 2009, so let's bump him to $800,000. ...

The Great General Manager Debate: NL Central Edition
The Crawfish Boxes — ... into an effective pitcher in his new role with the Cubs. Hendry also has a productive farm system, with guys like Carlos Marmol and Geovanny Soto picking up the team on the cheap. ...

Comparative Advantage: A Collaborative A's/Rays Solution
Athletics Nation — ... Unfortunately, the strategy to beat Henry Rodriguez does not involve swinging at said fastball. He walked 41 batters in 52 1/3 innings this season. He has also, for whatever reason, consistently posted BABIPs against that range from bad to baffling. If Barry Zito is one end of the BABIP-as-skill spectrum, so far it looks like Rodriguez is at the extreme other end. Trying to project him as a reliever is basically hopeless, so I'm going to give up and pretend that he's 2009 Carlos Marmol, who posted a WAR of 0.6 despite being very lucky on home run balls. ...

Where the Wild Things Are - A Story in Pictures
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... The Chicago Cubs are relying on Carlos Marmol to be their closer in 2009. Is this a good idea? Well, Marmol is incredibly tough to hit. (via www.fangraphs.com) Marmol was tough to hit primarily due his ability to get strike outs at an incredibly high rate. (via www.fangraphs.com) In addition to striking out batters, Marmol also doesn't give up many home runs. (via www.fangraphs.com) So he's a great pitcher, right? He doesn't ...

WTF happened to my piece on WTF happened to Carlos Marmol in 2009?
Another Cubs Blog — Well, I got busy. And then it took me a while to put this p.o.s. together. The good news is I’ve got the pitch F/X database now, and it should be easier for me to do analysis going forward. Anyways, it’s done now. I hope you enjoy it. The Chicago Cubs are relying on Carlos Marmol to be their closer in 2009. Is this a good idea? Well, Marmol is incredibly tough to hit. (via www.fangraphs.com) Marmol was tough to hit primarily due his ability to get strike outs at an incredibly high ...

Building a spreadsheet champion, 2010
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... from 2009 plus Luis Vizciano: Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Dempster, Derrek Lee, Ted Lilly, Milton Bradley, Jeff Samardzija, and Aaron Miles. Al projected a total of $10,175,000 in payouts to the following 12 players: Geovany Soto, Koyie Hill, Jeff Baker, Ryan Theriot, Andres Blanco, Sam Fuld, Jake Fox, John Grabow, Carlos Marmol, Angel Guzman, Randy Wells, and Sean ...

Lunchtime Prowl: Dombrowski In-Depth, Granderson Rumors, Centerfield Options, and Magglio's Homer
Bless You Boys — ... comes at the right time. And maybe it clues us in as to what can be expected in the weeks to come.   The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers had three Tigers-related notes in his Sunday "Whispers" column: 1) The Brewers were interested in Curtis Granderson before they dealt J.J. Hardy to the Twins, but Detroit wanted more than a shortstop in return. 2) The Cubs want Granderson, but not at the cost of Carlos Marmol or Starlin Castro. 3) The Tigers are one ...

Winter Meetings Catch-Up 12/07/09
Bless You Boys — ... , with 71 strikeouts and 30 walks in 68.2 innings. He beat out Carlos Marmol for the team's closer job, but eventually lost it in mid-August. ...

The NL Central Offseason Revue: Ursine Children
Viva El Birdos — ... Carlos Marmol is sort of the pitching equivalent of a British motorcycle. Yeah, it's a whole lot of fun when it's working, and it certainly looks impressive, but damned if the thing isn't broken down and spilling oil all over your driveway more often than not. Marmol has some of the nastiest stuff in the game, but not much idea where it's going a fair amount of the time. Hitters did a much better job of laying off his slider in 2009, and he had a tough time throwing it for strikes. He still struck out a bunch of hitters (93 in 74 innings), ...