Angel Guzman Intriguing as Potential Cubs Closer

Despite Cubs manager Lou Piniella's choice of Carlos Marmol to replace Kevin Gregg as closer, bullpen stalwart Angel Guzman remains an intriguing dark horse to land the job before the end of the year.

Sure, Marmol throws hard, but the landscape is littered with hurlers whose fastballs approach 100 mph or more but can't find the plate. Look for the Marmol experiment to be short lived, then see what Guzman does when he finally gets his shot -- which he will.

Though Marmol has been effectively wild, Piniella remains concerned that he gives up nearly a walk an inning and sometimes resists coaching to stick with fastballs rather than resort to off-speed offerings when he struggles with control.

Meanwhile, a vague undercurrent favoring Guzman as closer has been detected in the Cubs clubhouse for months, to say nothing of overt public speculation that Piniella should give Guzman a try. After all, Guzman has often been regarded as the closer of the future.

Cubs Go Easy on Closer Candidate Angel Guzman

To whatever degree the Cubs are serious about moving reliever Angel Guzman to the closer's role, his move to the disabled list only seems to underscore it.

Though he has only one save, Guzman, 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA, is surreptitiously regarded as the closer of the future, given the failings of setup man Carlos Marmol and closer Kevin Gregg. Guzman will keep his closer-in-waiting status as long as the soreness in his right triceps doesn't develop into a bigger problem, and by sidelining him manager Lou Piniella is making sure it doesn't.

Guzman may be a key player in the playoff run.

In other Cubs reports, injured third baseman Aramez Ramirez spent significant time swinging a small bat off a tee in the training room at Wrigley Field over the weekend, and continues to hope for a return to action shortly after the All-Star break.

But no promises.

Carlos Marmol Envisioned Replacing Kerry Wood

Cubs manager Lou Piniella's recent decision to let setup reliever Carlos Marmol face six consecutive batters in the eighth and ninth innings -- and chalk up six consecutive outs -- may set the stage for Marmol's promotion over Kerry Wood to the closer's roll, according to XM baseball talkshow host Rob Dibble.

Basing his prediction on Piniella's track record, Dibble said Piniella will not announce a change in the closer's job but rather subtly slide Marmol into the job by bringing him into games in the eighth inning, then leaving him in the game for the ninth inning for the save. The more often Marmol succeeds, the quicker he will win the closer's job, said Dibble, who played for Piniella when Piniella managed the Reds from 1990-93.

Dibble -- co-host of "The Show" heard daily on XM Radio channel 175 -- hints that despite Piniella's claims to the contrary, Piniella soon may lose patience with Wood, who has saved four games but lost one and blown three while his ERA has ballooned nearly to 5.00.

Though Wood has chalked up 15 strikeouts in 13 innings, Marmol has recorded two saves and no losses, plus 25 strikouts in 16 innings with a dazzling 1.29 ERA.


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