Cubs Better Off With Marmol As Set-Up Man

There is no doubt that Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol has the stuff needed to be a closer.  With his fastball and devastating breaking ball, Marmol could save upwards of 50 games with the Cubs in a season, provided the team had enough save chances to present him with.

Still, in spite of Marmol's talent and ability to do the job, when Lou Piniella finally announces the winner of this spring's closer competition on Sunday, Cubs fans should be hopeful that it's Kevin Gregg winning the job.

Gregg isn't as talented as Marmol, so on the surface it seems somewhat idiotic to give him the job of closer, but if you look a little closer to the situation the Cubs are in, it starts to make more sense.  First off, we know Gregg can handle the job.  He saved 61 games in 74 chances over his last two seasons in Florida with the Marlins, and even though he wasn't very awe-inspiring while doing it, he got the job done.  That's what really matters.

Second of all, working as a set-up man in the seventh and eighth innings is a role that Marmol has perfected, and has turned out to be invaluable to both Lou Piniella and the Cubs bullpen.  There aren't many relievers in the game today who have the ability to pitch two innings several times a week, and be consistent while doing so.  The Cubs are blessed to have one in Marmol, and Piniella shouldn't mess with something that isn't broken.

By keeping Marmol in his seventh and eighth inning role, not only is Piniella able to keep his other bullpen arms fresh, but he can also rest his starters.  Rich Harden is a very nice asset for the Cubs, but his injury history has proven that he can't be counted on for more than six innings, or else he's at a very high risk to injury.  Aside from Harden, Marmol's ability to pitch more than one inning will also allow Piniella to rest the other starters arms a bit more often, and therefore keep them fresh for any possible postseason run.

It's a nice feeling for a manager to have knowing that he really only needs six innings out of his starter and then he can just turn things over to his bullpen to finish the job.  With Marmol available in the seventh inning, that's exactly what Piniella has.

With every passing season in baseball, a team's bullpen becomes more and more important to a team's chance at success.  By keeping Marmol in the set-up spot the Cubs bullpen will be as strong as possible, and will give the team a better chance of getting back to the playoffs for a third season in a row.  Let's hope Piniella comes to this realization as well.

Along with writing for NBCCHICAGO.com, Tom Fornelli can also be found contributing at FanHouse, SPORTSbyBROOKS, and his own Chicago sports blog Foul Balls.