Morning Prowl: Bondo's Change-Up, Best and Worst ERAs, Grandy's Power, and Former Tigers
Bless You Boys — ... lists the former Tigers currently playing in the majors and tells us how they're doing.  Rogo also posts the numbers of various players Detroit was rumored to be pursuing in the offseason (Kerry Wood, ...

All Is Not Wells: Bullpen Implosion Ruins Randy's Gem, Cubs Lose 6-5 In 12
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... ' fifth major league start -- at first, it appeared that Wells, like Kerry Wood 11 years ago in his fifth ML start, might put his name in the record books. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before ...

Game 59: Indians 8, White Sox 4
Let's Go Tribe! — ... to get the third out. Kerry Wood pitched a relatively smooth ninth, and the Indians won a key division road series. ...

Cubs Draft Preview-The Rest of the Pack
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... 6'4" and 200 lbs. He too can add a tick or two to the fastball down the road, which already sits at 91-94. His best pitch is a power curve that is probably the best in the country.  Gould does not throw much of a changeup and will need to add one in pro ball.  After watching some video of him, I was a little concerned with his mechanics.  Gould does not use his lower half well, putting added stress on the arm.  Also, he tends to fall towards first-base (similar to Kerry Wood) in his follow through.  His higher arm slot means there ...

Drafting a Masterpiece
Viva El Birdos — ... What Miller brings to the table for the Cardinals is that classic, front-end starter stuff, something this system has been badly lacking for quite some time. I like the term smoke artist, personally; just has a nice ring to it, you know? His fastball is clocked consistently in the 93-94 range, and has been as high as 98. He pairs the heater with a curve that is wicked nasty at times, though it isn't at all consistent at this point. You want a comp? Easy. Kerry Wood. Tall, thin, with off the charts stuff. Can you tell I really like this kid? ...

Game 64: Indians 7, Cardinals 3
Let's Go Tribe! — ... hit a liner right at Jhonny Peralta. That was the closest the Cardinals would get, for the Indians would add two more runs in their half of the inning, and brought in Kerry Wood in the ninth just to make sure. ...

Game 66: Brewers 14, Indians 12
Let's Go Tribe! — ... . When Perez came into the game, the Indians were still leading by three. Even if he allowed a run or two, the Indians had Kerry Wood for the ninth. But he threw a high pitch to ...

Follow-up Appointment with the Disabled List.
Beyond the Box Score — ... Juan Gonzalez 6 482 Chin-hui Tsao 6 472 Tim Spooneybarger 3 468 Kerry Wood 8 449 Scott Elarton ...

Game 68: Brewers 9, Indians 8 (11 Innings)
Let's Go Tribe! — ... But still that minor detail remained: how to get outs using the bullpen. Kerry Wood did his job in the tenth, but he was only usable for an inning. After that it was ...

Return Of The Prodigals: Cubs vs. Indians Preview, Friday 6/19, 1:20 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... And if Kerry Wood gets into a game this weekend, I hope it will be for the purpose of giving him work because the Indians don't have any situations for him to close. ...

Game 69: Cubs 8, Indians 7 (10 Innings)
Let's Go Tribe! — ... allowed four runs to cross the plate (one inherited) but, entering the ninth the Indians still led 7-6 with Kerry Wood entering the game. Before the season there was a lot of ink (much of it my own) devoted to building an instant mythology for Kerry Wood and, frankly, it all looks wasted right now. Wood blew his third save of the season when he surrendered a game tying solo shot to ...

A Tale Of Two Bullpens: Cubs Overcome 7-Run Deficit, Win Again In Walkoff 8-7 In 10 Innings
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... themselves a huge hole early, and also... ... the offense looking impotent for the first few innings. But: The Cubs' bullpen turned in a good performance; a bit shaky at times, but ultimately five one-hit, no-run innings, and... Cleveland's bullpen is as bad as advertised, blowing yet another game for their best starter, Cliff Lee. And just to add a little intrigue, all three ex-Cubs on the Cleveland roster, Mark DeRosa, Kerry Wood and Luis Vizcaino, played pivotal roles in the game. ...

Friday's Roto Round Up: Is Jason Marquis An Elite Starter?
FakeTeams — ... 1B, Derrek Lee, CHC-Lee his two solo HRs, one off former Cub Kerry Wood, to give him 10 on the season to go along with 33 RBI and a .285 Avg. Many roto owners, and baseball writers, were calling for Lee's demise about a month ago, but he has turned his season around. Now if only ...

Game 70: Cubs 6, Indians 5 (13 Innings)
Let's Go Tribe! — ... But for now, you can't talk about the good things on this team, for the endings are always the same nowadays: brutal, come-from-ahead losses. This team, to use a time-worn cliché, is finding ways to lose. Most of them having something to do with the bullpen. Today it wasn't the eighth inning crew, or any of the setup cronies for that matter. Setup pitched six innings of scoreless baseball, a good outing by any relief group. It was Kerry Wood, who blew a one-run save opportunity yesterday, who this time blew not only the save, but the game. Kerry ...

Cardiac Cubs Win Walkoff Again 6-5; Wood Wild Pitches In Winning Run
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... If I'm Cleveland manager Eric Wedge, I tell Kerry Wood to get on a plane back to Cleveland tonight or tomorrow morning so I'm not even tempted to use him in tomorrow's game. ...

LC: How's Kerry Wood Working Out?
Driveline Mechanics — ... 2009 - Kerry Wood 2-3 28 0 0 0 8 4 24.2 23 15 15 5 14 28 5.47 1.50 ...

Kudos & Wet Willies,' Week in Review
Pinstripe Alley — ... by his doctor and Girardi knew that. Why did A-Rod have to beg for time off, and General Manager Brian Cashman have to insist on it? I like Girardi, but I think at times this season he has managed like a desperate guy who knows his managerial future is on the line. To me, his handling of A-Rod has been an example. Sammy Sosa: The latest big-name guy to have tested positive for steroids. Do we call him 'Sammy Steroids' or 'Steroid-osa?' Kerry Wood: In his return to Chicago, the Cleveland closer blew saves ...

Saturday Roto Round Up: The New York Yankees Found Their 8th Inning Man in Phil Hughes
FakeTeams — ... FLA (10), Sean White SEA (8), LaTroy Hawkins HOU (5), Scott Linebrink CSX (4), Chan Ho Park PHI (3), Dan Wheeler TB (8) Saves: Ryan Franklin STL (17), J.P. Howell TB (4), George Sherrill BAL (14), Jose Valverde HOU (4), Bobby Jenks CSX (16), David Aardsma SEA (14), Matt Lindstrom FLA (13), Andrew Bailey OAK (8) Blown Saves: Ryan Madson PHI (3), Kerry Wood CLE (4) Poll Is ...

Celebrate The Sweep! Cubs Get Randy Wells His First Major League Win, 6-2 Over Indians
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... drove him in with a sacrifice fly. For the series DeRosa was 1-for-7 with one RBI and four strikeouts. Who would want such a guy on their team? Seriously, I suspect DeRo was, like Kerry Wood, trying too hard on returning to a place where he specifically said he had his best times in baseball. I'd still take him back, and the Cubs do need another hitter, and after the sweep put the ...

Which Baseball All-Stars Should Be Benched
FakeTeams — ... Philadelphia Phillies 3B  Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees OF  Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds OF  Magglio Ordonez, Chicago White Sox OF  OF Corey Hart, Milwaukee Brewers SP  John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels SP  Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros SP  Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins CL  Kerry Wood, Cleveland Indians ...

Indians 5, Pirates 4: Cleveland Survives Bullpen Implosion
Bucs Dugout — ... had an RBI single and a stolen base. Finally, the bases were loaded with two outs and a score of 5-4, and Kerry Wood had entered the game. Wood had obvious trouble finding the strike zone, and I hoped that LaRoche, who had ended up coming to bat for the second time that inning, might be able to force Wood to walk in the winning run, but instead LaRoche flied out to right to end the game. ...

Game 72: Indians 5, Pirates 4
Let's Go Tribe! — ... and Kerry Wood pitched as bad as humanly possible in the ninth while only giving up four runs. Herges started the inning by giving up an ...

Lunchtime Prowl: The Fu-Te Ni Mixtape, All-Star Picks, Same Ol' Maggs, and Bobby Seay's Holds
Bless You Boys — ... .  Kerry Wood is on the "worst" list, which might mean that the Tigers dodged a bullet in losing out on him this winter. ...

Game 80: White Sox 6, Indians 2
Let's Go Tribe! — ... Ben Francisco .076 Jeremy Sowers -.246 Jose Veras .007 Asdrubal Cabrera -.114 Kerry Wood .004 Jhonny Peralta -.079 ...

Cubs Play With Hart, Lose To Braves Anyway 4-1
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... was as dreary as the 63-degree rainy weather. In fact, I mentioned to Mike that today's conditions were almost exactly the same as they were the day Kerry Wood struck out 20 in 1998 -- except that game was on May 6, when you'd expect the temperature to be in the mid-60's and a chance of rain, which is what that day was like. Today's game was played nearly entirely in a gentle rainfall, which delayed the start by 42 minutes. ...

Game 88: Indians 5, Tigers 4
Let's Go Tribe! — ... Kerry Wood got the save despite walking the leadoff batter and giving up a two-run homer. I know it's tough to put yourself in a player's shoes, but when you're pitching to ...

Why So Timid, Armando? Indians 5, Tigers 4
Bless You Boys — ... has been playing well lately, so it's probably unfair to single him out for this.  But in the ninth inning, after Kerry Wood walked ...

Game 92: Mariners 3, Indians 1
Let's Go Tribe! — ... Asdrubal of a no doubt double today. Tonight, the Indians wasted a stellar start (7IP, 3 ER) from Tomo Ohka. The Tribe was only able to plate one run all day despite outhitting the Mariners 8 to 5: a large part of this club's struggles over the last five seasons can be summed up by stupidly pointing out that they don't get hits at the right time. On the positive side of the ledger, Travis Hafner had two more hits today and both Rafael Betancourt and Kerry Wood put in scoreless innings of work, with Wood being especially ...

Game 93: Mariners 5, Indians 3
Let's Go Tribe! — ... , should have been thrown out at second but wasn't, and eventually scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. Kerry Wood worked the ninth, and although he go himself into a jam, should have have got out unscathed had ...

View From the Other Side: Cleveland Indians Series Preview
Bluebird Banter — ... has been almost as good as his 2007 season, but the rest of starters, whether they be the guys counted on initially in the rotation or in reserve, have either gotten injured or have been horrible on the mound. The bullpen has been even worse, with only Kerry Wood remaining on the active roster the first three months of the season. The rest of the Opening Day bullpen has either gotten hurt or sent down. And the defense has to poor to boot. ...

Game 94: Indians 2, Blue Jays 1
Let's Go Tribe! — ... There was no way in The Bronx Eric Wedge was taking Cliff Lee out of the game for Kerry Wood, not after how well he'd pitched not only tonight, but all season. Lee had little trouble in the ninth, and finished off another almost flawless start. ...

Game 96: Indians 5, Blue Jays 4
Let's Go Tribe! — ... groundout with a little heads-up base running. Kerry Wood came in to nail down the 5-4 win and looked fine after drilling Alexis Rios in the head with an 0-2 pitch. When watching Wood it's pretty obvious that there's still a dominant reliever in there; perhaps he's just trying to frighten 2010 opponents with these control issues? ...

Transactions: Betancourt Traded
Let's Go Tribe! — ... , as he was approaching free agency. And now, Betancourt has become too expensive to hang onto. He has a 2010 option that very few teams would pick up, and there was no chance the Indians would bring him back. For a club already committed to paying Kerry Wood $10.5M in 2010, paying a declining setup man $5.4M was out of the question. He had his first bad season as a major-leaguer in 2008, and he missed over 30 games with a groin injury this year. He's still an effective reliever, but not good enough to keep at that salary. ...

Clayton Kershaw is not for sale at any price
True Blue LA — ... Pitchers seemingly on their way to dominant careers who were derailed by injury or some other issue (8): Dwight Gooden, Kerry Wood, Frank Tanana (who still had an excellent career), ...

Iowa... Er, Chicago Cubs Shut Out Astros 12-0
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... and a fresh arm in Atkins in the pen, it was probably wise to get Wells out of there and rest him up for his next start. Wells' ERA, now 2.85, would rank eighth in the league if he had enough innings to qualify. His eight innings today give him 95; the Cubs have played 99 games, so he'd need to throw a CG to qualify after his next start. More likely, it'll take two starts to get him there, but Wells, who with his seventh win now has more than any Cub rookie pitcher in a season since Kerry Wood's 13 in 1998, has been just about the most consistent pitcher ...

Transactions: Cliff Lee, Ben Francisco Traded
Let's Go Tribe! — ... otherwise a sickly roster and barren minor-league system. Bartolo's departure was the first step in a major organizational turnover. The Indians of today have glaring problems, but much better young talent than at the beginning of the last cycle. The roster will not have to be gutted, but the team as is isn't good enough to win in 2010 without external additions, and according to Mark Shapiro at today's press conference, all that ownership was willing to promise was payroll stasis. Kerry Wood was supposed to be the big splash that put the Indians back into ...

Friday the 13 Innings: Indians 6, Tigers 5
Bless You Boys — ... could end up being the extra bat the team needs.  And with one swing in the ninth inning against Kerry Wood, Guillen showed there might be some truth behind that contention.  Having to throw a strike, as he'd fallen behind 3-1, Wood grooved a fastball down the middle.  And Guillen didn't miss it, launching a game-tying, two-run homer to right field.  ...

Did You Ever Think You'd Be This Glad To See Dusty Baker? - Cubs vs. Reds Preview, Monday 8/3, 6:10 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... before 2008, will finish out the last year of that deal in 2010. The Reds have appeared to regress since last year -- they are currently on pace to lose 92 games -- and the game seems to have passed Dusty by, even more so than it did during his last year as Cubs manager. There have been rumors that Tony LaRussa will leave the Cardinals after this year and join his former GM, Walt Jocketty, who is now in charge of the Reds. Many people blame Dusty for the troubles Kerry Wood and Mark Prior had during his tenure. There's ...

Game 108: Cleveland 2, Minnesota 1
Let's Go Tribe! — ... stuck around in the game just long enough to give up the go-ahead run on a Trevor Crowe double, bringing home Travis Hafner. And the bullpen did what it was supposed to.  Tony Sipp came in and worked a clean 7th.  Coming out again for the 8th, Sipp got one out before giving up a single to noted Indian-killer Jason Kubel.  Wedge made the switch to Joe Smith who then made quick work of Michael Cuddyer and Joe Crede.  Kerry Wood, who hadn't pitched since August 1st, got the first batter of ...

This Week's Poll: Best Move Tigers Didn't Make?
Bless You Boys — ... But this got me to thinking about the other transactions Detroit didn't make this winter.  That J.J. Putz deal falling through might have been the best thing to happen to the Tigers' 2009 season.  Mostly because it led to Dave Dombrowski making a trade instead for Edwin Jackson.  But also because Putz suffered an elbow injury that will keep him out until September, if not the rest of the season.   And what about Kerry Wood?  He seemed to be the Tigers' first choice as closer, ...

Game 117: Indians 7, Twins 4
Let's Go Tribe! — ... had very poor pitching as of late, with Swarzak and Blackburn especially struggling. Laffey got out of a particularly dangerous jam in the bottom of the fourth. He loaded the bases with three walks, and faced Delmon Young with one out. Young, who had taken Laffey deep his last time at-bat, grounded into a double play, and that turned out to be the at-bat of the game. Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, and Chris Perez held the Twins at bay after Laffey left, and Kerry Wood allowed a run but closed the game out in the ninth. ...

Cubs Lose Again. Jim Hendry And Lou Piniella: This Is Your Fault
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... It was further decided that last year's closer, Kerry Wood, should go get more money from another team (his "reward") instead of offering him arbitration to stay, and another closer, ...

The All-Randy Show (Wells vs. Wolf): Cubs vs. Dodgers Preview, Friday 8/21, 9:10 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... Now, to be fair, Zambrano called himself lazy in not doing the ab work he needs to do to keep his back in shape. But Slezak's comment was a cheap shot. As DeLuca said, like it or not, Z is the Cubs' "ace", regardless of whether he wins 20 games a year or not. He's the leader of the rotation, and with Kerry Wood departed, he is the senior Cub, now in his ninth season -- yes, that's right, he first stepped onto the field as a Cub in 2001. Z became the first major leaguer born in the 1980s when he made his major league debut only two months past his ...

Game 122: Indians 4, Mariners 3 (11 Innings)
Let's Go Tribe! — ... Luis Valbuena .509 Jhonny Peralta -.228 Joe Smith .230 Asdrubal Cabrera -.214 Kerry Wood .143 Shin-Soo Choo -.148 ...

This Week's Poll: Which Tiger Would Eat the Most Eggs?
Bless You Boys — ... How did our last poll go? No one liked the Putz, eh?  Yeah, this season would likely be much, much different if the Tigers had traded for J.J. Putz instead of Edwin Jackson.  Possibly the best consolation prize ever. What's the best move the Tigers didn't make this offseason? 19%  Sign John Smoltz 42%  Trade for J.J. Putz 29%  Sign Kerry Wood 8%  Trade for Jack Wilson ...

Game 127: Cleveland 5, Baltimore 4
Let's Go Tribe! — ... a one-run, ninth inning, come from behind lead.  Kerry Wood then came through and delivered the bottom of the ninth for his 17th save on the season (and 42nd game finished, not that anyone's counting). ...

You think you hate the Joba rules now? You'll REALLY hate the Phil Hughes rules next year!
Pinstripe Alley — ... 82 starts, pitched 661 innings, and threw 51 complete games.  He managed to throw a total of 384 1/3 innings over the rest of his career.  Fernando Valenzuela threw 2,348 2/3 innings and 107 complete games before he turned 30, and only 581 1/3 innings and 6 complete games after.  Dave Stieb pitched 2,667 2/3 innings up to and including his age-32 season, and only 227 2/3 innings after it. And more recently, we all know about Bill Pulsipher, Paul Wilson, Kerry Wood, Fausto Carmona, and Dontrelle Willis. As ...

Game 133: Tigers 4, Indians 3 (10 innings)
Let's Go Tribe! — ... were outstanding again, offering up 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball, fanning five and generally scaring the crap out of everybody. Perez, especially, can't be spoken of highly enough: he is consistently throwing his fastball at the knees on either side of the plate and his breaking stuff has been swing and miss for weeks now. In short, Chris Perez looks like what many expected of Kerry Wood. ...

Don't Give Up. The Players Haven't: Cubs vs. Mets Preview, Sunday 9/6, 12:10 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... 13 in 1998. Drott, incidentally, was kind of the Kerry Wood of his day; he finished 2nd in the NL in K's, led the league in walks, and was third in ROY voting. Randy Wells isn't a strikeout pitcher, but he does have an outside chance of having the most wins for a Cub rookie pitcher since Drott. Today would be a nice time for win #11. Wells has never faced the Mets. ...

Game 136: Indians 3, Twins 1
Let's Go Tribe! — ... and Kerry Wood finished things up with two scoreless innings between them. Sipp has given up one earned run since August 1st, and Wood, although he's had very few save opportunities since the beginning of August, he hasn't blown any of them. The bullpen, which had been a disaster, is now one of the stronger parts of this team. ...

This Week's Poll: Should the Tigers Re-Sign Rodney?
Bless You Boys — ... every time he'd been given the responsibility of closing games? Yet here's Rodney with 32 saves in 33 opportunities.  Sure, several of those saves have been treacherous affairs.  The man's given up 51 hits and 30 walks in 60.2 innings.  He hasn't been the ideal "lights-out" closer, though his final results look that way.  And he might get to cash in because of it. Last winter, Francisco Rodriguez got $37 million from the Mets.  Kerry Wood signed a $20 million deal with the Indians.  ...

Game 143: Royals 7, Indians 0
Let's Go Tribe! — ... , who turned in a perfect inning on just 8 pitches and Kerry Wood, who looked as he has all too often this season, allowing two hits, a walk and a run before settling down and finishing the game. ...

Fire Everyone! - Carl Willis
Let's Go Tribe! — ... was brought in to fortify what was viewed as promising core in 2008, which turned into another debacle.  Topping prior efforts, the Indians acquired Kerry Wood and ...

A Feat Not Seen In Eighty Years: Cubs vs. Brewers Preview, Tuesday 9/22, 7:05 CT
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... of all Cubs rookie starting pitchers who have thrown enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. Surprisingly, it's a very short list -- only ten pitchers. The last of those was Kerry Wood in 1998. Only three of them -- the last being ...

Derrek Lee Again Leads Cubs Over Brewers, 7-2
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... -- so unless he throws a CG (something Lou's unlikely to let him do unless his pitch count is unusually low), he'll wind up two or three innings short of qualifying for the ERA title. Still, Wells has has the best season for a Cubs rookie pitcher since Kerry Wood in 1998, something to look forward to for 2010. ...

Game 155: Indians 9, Orioles 8
Let's Go Tribe! — ... have won two in a row. Sowers was bad tonight, leaving the game trailing five to four, with peripherals that indicated no better. The Indians took the lead for the second time (they had been up 4-0 before Sowers' fifth inning implostion) with a four run outburst in the seventh, lost the lead when Kerry Wood was horrible in the ninth, and then finally won the game on a ...

Ten Lessons Jim Hendry Needs To Learn From The 2009 Season
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... and Kerry Wood after 2008 and added one player who reportedly was not a good clubhouse presence. NOTE! I am NOT saying that the Cubs must go out and reacquire DeRosa and Wood. However, I am saying that I believe all successful teams have players like this in their clubhouse. Hendry needs to identify some such players who can both do this and be productive in the lineup, and acquire a couple of them. Without trying to ignite the stats debate again, I believe having guys like this does ...

Thinking About My Lack of Thoughts Regarding the Eric Wedge Firing
Driveline Mechanics — ... (who'd really only been good in 2007) and a bunch of question marks.  The bullpen had had problems in the past, but Kerry Wood was supposed to shore up a strong middle relief core of ...

Diamondbacks 0, Cubs 5: From Heroes to Zeroes
AZ Snakepit — ... hit a two-out single in the fifth. Wells' 12 wins are the most by a Cubs rookie since Kerry Wood had 13 victor... Ah, who am I trying to kid? It's the blandness of those kind of reports which drove me to start up my first blog, way back in the days when the Internet consisted of two tin-cans with a piece of string connecting them. I needed to express my passion, my enthusiasm, my dedication to the team, and Mrs. SnakePit was fed up hearing about it. ...

Sam Fuld's First Two Career RBI Lead Cubs To 5-2 Loss To Diamondbacks
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... out ten, tying his season high and giving him the club leadership for the 2009 season at 172, one more than Rich Harden. One of the K's allowed Gerardo Parra to reach base on a wild pitch. That allowed Dempster to register four strikeouts in the fifth inning. That's the 52nd time in baseball history that a pitcher has done that; Dempster becomes the fifth Cub to do it. Here is the complete list of those who have accomplished this feat; the last Cub to do it was Kerry Wood in the second game of a doubleheader on September 2, ...

Fire Everyone! - Mark Shapiro
Let's Go Tribe! — ... For all that, however, the brilliant executive can't necessarily tell you whether it's better to overspend on Raul Ibañez or Kerry Wood.  He can't necessarily devise a process to tell you that, and he can't necessarily hire the right person to tell you that, either.  Nor can he devise a process to hire the right person to tell you that.  It doesn't always come down to objective analysis or having a good process.  Sometimes it comes down to talent: the talent to play, the talent to evaluate talent, the talent to develop talent, and ...

Larry Jansen (7/16/20 to 10/10/09) - What to Learn from His Brief Career
Beyond the Box Score — ... , Larry comes in at #350.  They are several current injury prone pitchers around him such as Kerry Wood (#352), ...

Why Omar Minaya Failed And What It Means For The Future
Amazin' Avenue — ... For all that, however, the brilliant executive can't necessarily tell you whether it's better to overspend on Raul Ibañez or Kerry Wood.  He can't necessarily devise a process to tell you that, and he can't necessarily hire the right person to tell you that, either.  Nor can he devise a process to hire the right person to tell you that.  It doesn't always come down to objective analysis or having a good process.  Sometimes it comes down to talent: the talent to play, the talent to evaluate talent, the talent to develop ...

Building A Cubs Champion: 2010 Edition
Bleed Cubbie Blue — ... in 2009, posting a 12.00 ERA). So let me go about this project this year in a different sort of way. A year ago (actually, October 20, 2008 was the date I wrote the post about my proposed 2009 roster) we were all still stunned and angry that the 97-win team that had dominated the National League all season went three-and-out in the playoffs. This was before Lou's "we've gotta get more lefthanded" mantra led us to the Milton Bradley disaster, before popular favorites Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa were traded, and a lot of us were ...

First volley of projections for 2010 Indians
Let's Go Tribe! — ... L K SV ERA Kerry Wood 56 4 3 ...

MLB Trade Rumors: On the Beat with John Perrotto Version
FakeTeams — ...                                     Kerry Wood ...

Free Agent Profile: Jose Valverde
The Crawfish Boxes — ... Notes: K-Rod was not worth his contract last season, earning a value of just 1.5 million. Though relievers are typically devalued in WAR, I found that this wasn't necessarily the case with closers. Plenty of the contemporaries on this list had good, valuable seasons in the past. For instance, K-Rod was worth 17 million from 2007 to 2008. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong year to get injured. This contract would appear to be the upper range of Valverde's money. Kerry Wood, RHP, Cleveland Indians Contract Details: 2 ...

Top 50 All-Time Jays: #3 Roy Halladay
Bluebird Banter — ... Notable Accomplishments: Cy Young Award 2003, All-Star 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 Roy Halladay was born May 14th, 1977 in Denver, Colorado. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 1995 amateur draft by the Jays out of Arvada West High School where he played both baseball and basketball. He was the 17th pick overall. Darin Erstad was the first pick that year. Other notables picked up before him were Jose Cruz, Jr., Kerry Wood, Todd Helton and Matt Morris. Michael ...

Pondering Kerry Wood at closer for the Braves
Talking Chop — ... Keith Law makes some good points about the Indians closer, Kerry Wood: "Wood had a better year than he's getting credit for having - once you consider ballpark, defense, and league, he probably had the best year of the three major free agent closers from last winter. With just one year left on his deal and a team motivated to cut payroll, he could be a nice pickup on the cheap for a team unwilling to go multiple years for Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez." He's not cheap at $10 ...

Moments in Diamondbacks History: Randy Johnson K's 20
AZ Snakepit — ... "I feel blessed to have seen this twice. When a guy is pitching like that, you put your glove on top of your head because you are not going to need it." -- Mark Grace, who was also playing first-base in the game where Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters. ...

News and Notes: Acta Speaks, Again.
Let's Go Tribe! — ... ) get traded for prospects. And while last offseason the Indians made a splash by signing Kerry Wood to a big free agent contract, it seems extremely unlikely that type of move will happen this winter. The major moves have already been made, and aside from a couple roster decisions ( ...