Chicago Cubs On Trial: Did They Make the Wrong Move with Kid-K? Part I

When it was announced earlier today that the Cubs were moving on and letting Kerry Wood go via free agency, I had a lot of mixed emotions.

My immediate reaction was of course one of sadness. Kerry Wood has been a Cub for nearly half my life, and to see him in another uniform is something I never thought I would see.

My secondary reaction was one of guarded optimism. "Perhaps the team will be better off without him. Kevin Gregg is pretty good, and we DO have guys like Marmol, Samardzija, and Hart waiting in the wings if he isn't."

After these reactions, however, I came to a conclusion: I need more justification than just "we're letting him move on". So, in response to all of these feelings, and the feelings shared by my fellow Cub fans, I have decided to put Jim Hendry on trial for the following crimes:

-Allegedly sabotaging the team's playoff chances by throwing in their chips on an untested reliever who was a middle-ranked closer for a small market team and discarding a more tested brand.

-Civil damages for causing emotional distress for a generation of Cub fans who have grown up with Kerry in Cub colors.

I will first present the case of the prosecution in this trial. They will present four arguments that will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the team acted irrationally and should be punished.

Prosecution

Ladies and gentlemen of the Cub nation, Kerry Wood has been an integral part of North Side baseball for the better part of a decade now. Even through his many injuries, he has continued to be a beacon of what old school baseball is all about: throw it hard, make them hit it.

His off-field actions have all be honorable as well. Never has he had disrespectful words for teammates or management, and he has been great with fans as well. His charitable works in the city are also legendary, and have helped out numerous people.

Even with all of these good deeds and character traits that make for a consummate professional and great teammate, he has been callously discarded like yesterday's trash, a clear indication that the organization lacks significant respect not only for him but a blatant disregard for the immediate future of the team.

There are four reasons that the Cubs are out of line in making this decision.

Reason No. 1 is the emotional fire with which Kerry Wood plays the game of baseball. When you look at him on the mound, you see coolness in his body language, almost a surreal calm about his demeanor. When you look at his face, however, you see in his eyes a fire that is uncommon among most pitchers.

He has that rare mix of fire and ice that makes him a very uncommon breed amongst pitchers in the game. He also takes that fire off the mound with him.

In 2004, when Sammy Sosa was on the outs with the organization and left the clubhouse during the last game of the season, his famous boombox ended up getting smashed to bits with a bat. Kerry Wood never fully acknowledged he did it, but he all but admitted it on a radio show last year.

That is the kind of irreplaceable intensity that Wood brought to the Cubs, and it will be sorely missed by the organization.

Reason No. 2 is his leadership status with the club. On a team loaded with quiet guys (Lee, Ramirez, Soriano) and younger players (Soto, Theriot, Fontenot), Kerry Wood spoke not only from his experience but also his willingness to speak up in support of his team.

Kerry is the guy who is always available for radio interviews, and he is widely considered to be the most popular Cub among the fans for his accessibility not only to them but also to the media.

He also has never once questioned his manager or general manager, and maintains fantastic relationships with both. Unlike other prima donna closers in the game, he respects his authority figures and encourages his teammates to do the same. He also is brutally honest, which is a refreshing change from other sports figures in this city.

Without Wood's quiet but firm leadership in the clubhouse, and pretty much serving as the de facto voice of the franchise, the club will suffer greatly in public and private.

The third reason the Cubs should be held accountable is his grit and determination in the face of adversity. Kerry Wood is notorious in town for his penchant for getting hurt, then taunting fans with false hope of imminent recovery, only to then let them down again.

While this could be considered by some to be a detriment to the club, I believe that this is actually a positive reflection on Mr. Wood. He never gave up, even in the face of all of his injuries and setbacks. Through Tommy John surgery and so many recoveries that we can't even count, Kerry always kept pushing, and the results have shown.

His performances in the 2003 and 2008 playoff campaigns show the kind of player that he truly is. He has made great strides, improving on his fundamentals in order to keep himself from getting hurt. He also worked out harder than perhaps anybody else on the team, which shows that he takes his craft seriously.

He ended up his Cubs career with good health, and if he stays in that category of the baseball population, the Blue Hose will live to regret their decision.

The fourth and final reason are the many happy memories that he has brought to the North Side.

For instance, no one will ever forget his first massive accomplishment on the Chicago sports scene: his 20-strikeout performance in his fifth career start against a pretty good Astros club that featured Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

Another great memory was his performances in the 2003 playoffs. Couple his stellar pitching with his great hitting throughout the postseason, he was certainly well on his way to possibly leading the Cubs to a championship.

The last memory, of which there are certainly many more than could possibly be mentioned here, was his memorable re-emergence on the scene this season. After a run to the postseason the previous year with Dempster as the closer, Wood figured to be at best a set-up guy in 2008.

Instead, he was asked to take on the monumental task of being the closer for the team when Dempster was moved to the starting rotation. He had 34 saves and five wins in his first year in the role, and never really showed any significant signs of wear and tear, other than a brief stint on the pine in the early part of July.

After the All-Star break, he came back better and ever in guiding the Cubs to the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1906-1908.

So, as you can see Chicago Cubs fans, Kerry Wood has been an integral part of the fabric of this franchise. They used him, held onto him through thick and thin, and now that he finally is achieving some stability in this league, they are running him out of town.

Shame on the Cubs for cutting and running now. They should be made to pay for their foolish decision, and hopefully they will get their just desserts from you, the jury of fans.