Don’t Blame Kevin Gregg (Lou’s Scapegoat Edition)
After Gregg blew another game the other day, a lot of people were mad at him. I know I am. This is a little soon, but you know how when you start to hate someone everything about them annoys you? Well I am in that place. Like why does he wear those stupid glasses? Does he think he’s Eric Gagne? They look retarded and clearly they aren’t helping him see, because he can’t hit any of his spots.
Anyways, Lou decided that the blown save wasn’t Gregg’s fault at all. In fact, he blamed it entirely on Koyie Hill for calling the wrong pitches behind the plate:
“You can’t walk as many people as we did from the seventh inning on. You just can’t do it. You’re going to lose,” said Piniella, who was most upset about the Duffy walk — for the pitch selection as much as the result. ”Get the ball over the plate. Make the other team beat you. Period.”
Piniella called Hill into his office after the game to make the point clear enough to be heard out in the clubhouse: Don’t fool around with secondary pitches there; make Duffy hit a fastball.
Wow, so this was so much Koyie’s fault that Lou felt the need to embarass him publicly by yelling at him so everyone in the clubhouse could hear? Here’s my theory: Lou made a controversial decision to make Gregg the closer over Marmol. Now that it is starting to blow up in his face, he is trying to blame it on other people and defend his decision to make Gregg the closer.
On the other hand, maybe he is just trying to manage egos, and he doesn’t want Gregg’s fragile ego to be damaged. That way he still has confidence when Lou sends him to the mound. Either way, the Kevin Gregg experiment is off to a shaky start, and I think it’s getting close to Marmol time.
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Comments
Comment from Golan
Time April 13, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I think choosing Gregg as the closer was the wise move. 1) More often then not, the setup pitcher is called in higher pressure situations with runners already on base then a closer who typically starts off the last inning with a clean slate of zero runners on base. 2) Marmol can be brought in, in the 7th or 8th inning, and can last more then 3 outs. Typically, you use your closer almost exclusively in the 9th inning only. 3) Reccently Lou realized the degree that Gregg is still rehabbing from reconstructive knee-surgery. This means that Gregg can pretty much only pitch in one inning, because once he begins warming up, the minute he stops pitching (like at the end of an inning), his knee tightens up. Therefore, the optimal position to place Gregg is in the closer role where he knows he’s going to play and can warm-up appropriately.
Comment from bitternutz
Time April 13, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I echo Golan’s points…if Gregg is effective then the Cubs benefit from giving him an assigned role. Its a strong argument contingent on Gregg being pitching like he did the past 2 seasons. But if he continues to suck, then all of the situational advantages described above are nullified and he becomes the Cubs version of Mike Macdougal
Comment from james
Time May 10, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I think he looks cute in the glasses. They make him look much better and more focused.
Comment from MattTodd
Time May 10, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I agree. Not many sport heros wear glasses and it shoes he is bold and not afraid to be different. Cut him some slack.
(but does anyone think he should wear goggles? Goggles make a man look way more sophisticated, and besides goggles always look better than glasses)
Does anyone agree with me? please answer…
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Time June 8, 2009 at 1:33 pm
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Comment from Zoner
Time April 13, 2009 at 11:24 am
yeah was that the problem yesterday too?