Memories Of Kerry Wood & Kyle Farnsworth

Just a pair of items here since I'm struggling to come up with items to talk about that aren't of the "Cubs have a lot of problems and it's depressing" variety.



1) I'll start with a link to "Drawing Pitchers," an article for The New Yorker by Michael Rosenwald.

Witte’s scientific theory, the specifics of which he refuses to divulge, has something to do with how successful pitchers keep their gloves elevated at the start of their windups, let their back shoulders drop, and lift their front legs high.

Basically, this guy Michael Witte thinks he sees a pattern among the deliveries of successful / hall-of-fame pitchers, such as Bob Gibson. Now he's something of a consultant for the Cardinals. Obviously, everyone's instinct is to figure the guy is full of crap, and that's fine. Although, he did identify some guys with problematic deliveries, and his observations were born out; whether that was exceptional or not is something different altogether.

Still, is anyone else thinking... Kerry Wood... ? As in, maybe with a repaired elbow and a cleaned up shoulder, if Wood could just imitate Bob Gibson's delivery, he could be as unstoppable as Gibson was in '68? (22-9, 1.12 ERA, only 11 HR allowed.) Maybe, if a coach could just tell him -- we don't want you to not be Kerry Wood, we just think that you could still be the next Bob Gibson, and here's what Gibson did -- might that finally click with Kerry? Or am I just delusional here?

It's just that I can't give up on Wood. No way. Can't do it. It's too personal. He's my guy. He was there for me in '98, when I renewed my interest in the Cubs after having left Chicagoland and moved around the Midwest a bit, and he was there in '01 when the Cubs were about the most solid thing in my life for a while. He was there in '03, the most fun season in a long time (up until it wasn't).

KJM mentioned to me that some people (meaning, I think, me) have a connection to Wood because of 3 games: the 20K game, and the two playoff games against Atlanta. While that's part of it, it was bigger than those games. Wood in 1998 was not just the 20K guy -- he represented the Cubs becoming competitive again. He was the hero of the dawn. It was not just the one game; it was a feeling, and it was a feeling for much of that season, and it was a feeling that we hadn't felt in a while.

Then, in 2000 and more so in 2001, there was the sense that Wood could just take over a game. I remember being at a game on June 27, 2001 against the Mets with my older brother. After Piazza hit a HR in the first, the Mets couldn't do anything against Wood until the 7th inning. More so even than any of the games in '98, that was the game where I felt like this was the guy with the moxy to make something special happen. Wood felt like a Cubs ace.

No, it wasn't those signature games in '98 and the '03 playoffs when he meant the most to me, it was during the times inbetween.

I've always thought that out of the current guys on the Cubs, if there was one guy to be a clubhouse general, it would be Wood. This is the sort of guy that -- it seems to me -- other players can rally behind. We even saw smidgens of that last summer when he came back into the bullpen; a few games, there was just a different feel about the other guys on the team once Wood was back in some fashion.

People scream about the money, the lack of return on investment, and they're not wrong. People doubt whether he'll ever achieve his potential, and they are right to doubt because history is on their side. In both of those cases, though, I'm not one of those people. I can't be.

It's not just personal, though, meaning it's not just that I want him to succeed so strongly. I honestly, rationally, objectively and truly still think Wood has it in him. He has not been defeated. His story will not end with a fizzle in '06.

2) I see that Kyle Farnsworth has signed with the Yankees, and a lot has been made of the money they're paying him. As in, it seems like a bit much. I didn't think of it immediately, but after a moment, I realized: Leo Mazzone! That's why Farnsworth is getting this money. If Mazzone saw something in him while he was with the Braves, then it must be there. Especially since the Yankees were courting Mazzone hard for a while there a few weeks ago.

There are certain ex-Cubs who were not there for a whole era but yet to which we will always feel an attachment, or a fondness. It happens especially if they had a signature moment. Gaetti in '98, for example. Or Glenallen Hill in '00, the rooftop shot. (I went nuts yelling down the hall in my fraternity house, but only one other person was watching the game. It was one of those times when I was glad I put in the time to watch a game during a bad season, when most people stop paying attention. You just never know when something special might happen.)

Farnsworth is one of those guys. One of my favorite jokes over the last few years has been that when Farnsworth clocked Paul Miller, he became a verb. As in, he Farnsworthed that other dude -- he really creamed him.

I remember in 2002, my roommate and another friend and I bought day-of-game tickets one evening, and we sat just a few rows up from the Cubs bullpen catcher. It was one of Mark Prior's early Cubs starts, if I recall correctly. Later in the game, Farnsworth started warming up, and being even with the bullpen catcher, we could get a sense for just how fast he was throwing, and time our imaginary swings. My goodness. I think I would have had to start swinging before he began his windup.

PMc mentioned to me in an e-mail that Farnsworth should thrive in NYC... in the nightlife at least, if not on the mound. Made me smile; of course, it's also true. Actually, now that I think about it, with the drink prices in Manhattan, the inflated contract is probably just about right once you factor in the cost of, um, living.

I'm also trying to imagine a conversastion between Farnsworth and Jason Giambi. The possibilities are endless, aren't they?

JG: "Dude -- what was that chick's name last night?"

KF: "Which chick? The tall one or the short one?"

JG: "The one doing shots of Patron like it was her job. I don't remember if she was tall or not. I was sitting down when she started licking my ear."

KF: "Dude, I was looking at the bottom of a bottle of Wild Turkey by that point. All I can say is that the redhead stole my boxer shorts when she left this morning. Probably see 'em on E-bay or some shit."

JG: "Frickin' internet. With the internet and the camera phones and all that I don't even see a point trying to keep a girlfriend. It always ends ugly."