Carlos Marmol as Cubs Closer? It's Insanity, I Tell You

I'll admit that I started writing this article before Carlos Marmol even took the mound to try to save the game on Tuesday night against the White Sox. But I was absolutely convinced that it would not end well for the Cubs.

Look, if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, then reinstalling Marmol as the closer is insane my friends.

Or so I thought.

We have seen, far too often, that Marmol seemingly has lost whatever he once had. He simply should not be closing again. Yet there he was, trying to save a one-run game and ensure a series victory for the Cubs over the hated Sox.

When Dale Sveum removed Marmol from the closers role, Cubs fans figured we would never have to endure his slider-happy lack of control in the ninth inning again.

I realize that high leverage situations occur in the seventh and eighth innings as well as the ninth, and games are often won or lost at that time. So it's not as if Marmol couldn't affect the outcome of a game if used as a set-up man.

But there is something scary about watching Marmol come into a game in the ninth inning, especially with a one-run lead. Heck, even as Marmol got out the first two Sox batters in the inning, I didn't stop writing.

In a lost season for the Cubs, it sure would be nice to beat the Sox twice in a row at their home park, I thought to myself. Sure, they swept us at Wrigley, but none of that would matter if the Cubs win tonight.

But no, Marmol is going to come in and ruin it.

I had no faith.

Meanwhile, I  was asking myself exactly what Marmol had done to earn this opportunity? I know the Cubs don't have anyone any better at pitching the ninth inning, but I would have rather seen almost anyone trot out there except for Marmol in this instance.

I just couldn't look as I continued to write this article. He had A.J. Pierzynski at a full count, but of course, he walked him. Even as he started Orlando Hudson at 0-2, I didn't turn around to face the television.

But you know what? He got the third out. I sat there kind of numb, enjoying the win but dumbfounded.

I mean, that familiar dread had come over me just like it did in 1984 and 2003. I don't understand this feeling. The Cubs actually won the game.

Now I have to eat my words. Maybe I'm the one who is insane, Cubs fans.

Words never tasted so sweet.