The Cubs’ bullpen has always been an issue of concern, and they have been going from closer to closer pretty much every season.

Most recently, Kerry Wood and Kevin Gregg held down the closer position, but neither of them were closer for more than one season. So what will the bullpen look like this season?

Closer: Carlos Marmol
Rest of bullpen: Complete Mess

I know that doesn’t offer up too much when it comes to telling you who will pitch what innings this season, but at this point, you’re guess is as good as mine.

The Cubs lost Kevin Gregg and Aaron Heilman during the off-season, and with Angel Guzman missing a lot of time at best, the Cubs are in desperate need of somebody to get the ball into Marmol’s hands.

Jeff Samardzija had a great season two years ago, but had an above-7.00 ERA last season in about 35 season. He is still young and raw and he could return to 2008 form.

John Grabow is the most experienced option and the fact that he is a lefty helps out too. However, he has never been exactly overwhelming, and with a career ERA of 4.03 he isn’t a prime option.

Esmailin Caridad is a possible option, he had a low ERA, struck out a good amount of batters, and had two holds in 19.1 innings last season. But for him to come out of nowhere and be consistent all season is a stretch.

The best chance that the Cubs have to fix their bullpen this season would be by some sort of trade, but Spring Training deals are rare.

Of course the Cubbie faithful could take up a different strategy in trying to fix the bullpen. Pray…a lot. Pray for Guzman’s injury to just go away, pray for Samardzija and Caridad to have magical seasons, and I can’t stress this enough, pray a lot.

Either option is viable, and with Jim Hendry’s past, I feel the second option is more likely to work than the first.

I’m Joe W.

But for a team that is supposedly the best team in the NL Central, Cubs GM Jim Hendry has built a club that is flawed in one very critical area, the pen.

Yes, the Cubs allowed Kerry Wood to leave because they figured Carlos Marmol was ready to assume the closer role, but just to make sure, Hendry acquired Kevin Gregg; who blew the most saves of anyone last year.

Gregg has not instilled much confidence thus far. Neither has many of his mates.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella has no confidence in left-hander Neal Cotts, or right-handers Luis Vizcaino or Angel Guzman.

David Patton, who pitched so well in the spring, has never pitched above Class A.

Several lefties were available this spring, rather cheaply in fact, yet Hendry did not even bat an eye.

It’s no coincidence that the teams who played for the National League pennant last October, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, had the top two bullpens in the league.

So, is there a secret to how a bullpen can get better?

”You just have to pitch better,” Aaron Heilman said. ”There’s no magic formula.”

There isn’t a whole lot missing on this team, to be honest. The lineup is solid, and the starting staff should be good enough to win the division, unless injuries come up and bite us.

The bench is good, with the always-ready Reed Johnson, versatile Aaron Miles and speedy Joey Gathright (though Gathright could have saved the dramatics and won the game himself on Saturday if he had a better AB).

Backup catcher Koyie Hill did a nice job while Geo Soto was nursing his sore shoulder.

Micah Hoffpauir hits the ball hard most of the time, and is a clear upgrade over what we had from the left side last season, save for Mike Fontenot, who is now starting.

So that leaves the bullpen as the remaining piece of the championship puzzle. Perhaps Hendry will be able to find some help around the trade deadline. In the meantime, two pitchers are throwing well at Iowa.

I almost hate to mention the name, but Chad Fox seems healthy, though for how long is anybody’s guess. And Jason Waddell is throwing the ball very well right now for Iowa.

By the way, though this isn’t a bullpen note, Jeff Samardzija had a solid start for Iowa on Saturday. He allowed two runs on only one hit over six innings, though the bullpen blew the game for Iowa.

Jeff Stevens, acquired in the Mark DeRosa salary dump, struck out three of the four batters he faced. If Stevens were left-handed, he’d be pitching in Wrigley right now.

One of the concerns I have is the use, or should I say over use of Carlos Marmol. He has appeared in seven of the Cubs first 11 games.

Kudos to Angel Guzman, who finally was useful for the Cubs on Saturday. We need more of that, come to think of it. Meanwhile, let’s savor two wins against a tough Cardinals ballclub.

-Bob Warja

But when a pitcher doesn’t go deep into the game, as was the case today with Rich Harden, there is no way our pen can hold the opposing team down.

First of all, it seems every time Howry comes in he gives up at least one run, usually a home run. Maybe they released the wrong guy in Eyre today. Perhaps it should have been Bob Howry.

Of course, add to the misery the fact that Carlos Marmol went through a really bad stretch from June through mid-July.

And Kerry Wood had been unable to pitch since July 11 because of a blister, until today.

Even Chad Gaudin has been unreliable. So who is left?

Well, the answer is few bullpens are good enough to support a short staff. Here’s how the Cubs rotation has performed over their last 10 starts:

* All Cubs starters have averaged just over 6 innings per start, except Rich Harden who has averaged exactly 6 innings since joining the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano, who has averaged just less than 7 innings per start.

But when a starter goes less than six is when we notice the problems in our bullpen.

Here’s how Cubs relievers have performed over their last 10 appearances:

* Bob Howry has been scored upon in five of his last 10 appearances
* Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol and Chad Gaudin each have been scored upon in three of their last 10 appearances
* Sean Marshall has been scored upon in six if his last 10 appearances
* Neal Cotts has been scored upon in only two of his last 10 appearances

Incidentally, Scott Eyre, released today, had given up runs in four of his last 10 appearances, in case you were wondering. Couldn’t they have sent Marshall to Iowa and kept the veteran Eyre? It’s obvious Marshall isn’t pitching well anyway.

Well, at least the Cubs won today, though once again a relief pitcher (Howry) got a win he didn’t deserve. Of course, Harden can’t just blame the bullpen today as he wasn’t at his best, forcing more from the pen than what they are capable of. Come to think of it, some things are better in small doses.

-Bob Warja