Come To Think Of It...Hello Kevin Gregg, Goodbye Kerry Wood

The Cubs completed a trade with the Florida Marlins this afternoon, acquiring closer Kevin Gregg for 22-year-old minor league pitcher Jose Ceda.

The most obvious ramificaiton of this trade is that it signals the end of Kerry Wood's tenure with the Chicago Cubs.

Kerry Wood has been a Cub his entire professional career.  Drafted out of high school, Wood was the rookie-of-the-year in 1998, as he went 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA and 233 strikeouts.

Who can forget the 20 strikeout game against Houston? The way "Kid K" embraced himself to Cubs fans by throwing heat? The "We Got Wood" t-shirts?

Oh, there were frustrating times too.  Wood missed the 1999 season with Tommy John surgery. Talk about a sophomore slump.

And he endured more than his share of injuries during his time as a Cub. Yet he always tried to come back, never gave up, never gave excuses.

Unlike Mark Prior, we respected him for that.

Then, last year, the decision was made to turn Kerry Wood into a closer. And that decision has breathed new life into his career. Wood saved 34 games for the Cubs in 2008, with 84 Ks in just over 66 innings of work.

Somehow, you can't help but feel that Woody kind of owes the Cubs and Hendry for their faith in him. And for paying him huge dollars even when he couldn't pitch. Ah, but there's no loyalty in the game anymore.

Chances are, Wood is seeking a multi-year deal and the Cubs may be balking based on his checkered past. In any case, they now have another option at closer.

Perhaps Carlos Marmol will be the 9th inning guy. Maybe it will be Gregg, who blew the most saves of any closer last year. One thing we do know: it won't be Kerry Wood.

Thus marks the end of Woody's career with the Cubs, and I'll miss him, come to think of it. But baseball is a business after all. 

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