Chicago Cubs Baseball

I come neither to praise nor to bury former Chicago Cubs closer Kevin Gregg.  I simply am here to say, “so long.”

While Gregg undoubtedly will remain in a Cubs’ uniform through the end of this season, his days as the team’s closer unofficially ended Monday night.  Chicago manager Lou Piniella made the call following Gregg’s sixth blown save of the season, pushing the Cubs deeper into the National League’s playoff abyss.

Monday’s debacle was just the latest for Gregg in a season-long string of save opportunities gone awry.  And when the veteran right-hander wasn’t blowing opportunities, he seemed forever on the  edge of doing so.

Along with his six blown saves, Gregg also has accumulated five losses.  He could have more of both if not for late-inning Cub heroics that took him off the hook.

While I applaud Piniella for making the move, it was just another one of his managerial decisions that could be filed under “Too Little, Too Late.”  Like moving slumping underachiever Alfonso Soriano from the lead-off spot to sixth in the Chicago Cubs’ batting order.

In Piniella’s defense, it was a call he shouldn’t have had to make in the first place.

”Look, I can name a few of these, believe me,” Piniella said, following the 4-1 loss to San Diego. ”They all end the same way, with the home-run ball.”

Gregg’s struggles as a big-league closer isn’t exactly a new phenomenon.  Just last year the Florida Marlins made a similar decision regarding his role as the club’s closer.

In addition to compiling a 7-8 record, Gregg also led the National League with nine blown saves before being demoted.  Not exactly the kind of numbers that would warrant a one-year, $4.2 million contract.

One would think.  Somehow that didn’t stop Cubs’ general manager Jim Hendry from pursuing Gregg and bringing the franchise to the brink of another World Series-less season.

Which brings me to my point.  Despite his miserable performances, Gregg isn’t the lone culprit in this fine mess Jim Hendry hasn’t gotten the franchise into.  With each off-season or in-season move Hendry seems bent on dismantling a team once filled with promise.

Today, Kevin Gregg is either villain or victim, depending on one’s perspective.  And while it’s unlikely Gregg will be back next season, unfortunately, Chicago Cubs baseball is stuck with Hendry.