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.

I was asked by Bleacher Report to do an article on Michael Jordan, and I got the first six bottles of Jordan Gatorade produced, check it out if you can here.

I am also going to be part of the new and exciting Fan Huddle. It is launching September 10th of this season. Everything looks outstanding and there are a ton of dedicated writers who can fill you in on any team you want. If you want to check out my writing I will be doing fantasy basketball analysis for the NBA Central Division. To read any of my work there, go to FanHuddle.com any date after September 10th.

Now on to Cubs analysis. I will start by giving my thoughts on the team in two words.

They suck.

Now on to why the suck.

Most recently, they suck because they couldn’t even do what they prided themselves on directly after the All-Star Break. You will recall that they beat up on the lowly Nationals and Reds, then lost two of three to the strong Phillies.

Last night, they got strait up run by the Nats, losing by a final of 15-6. Really? The Nationals beat a team 15-6? In fact, it was the most runs the Nationals have scored all season, and they did so against our “ace” Carlos Zambrano.

Come on Big Z, your ERA rose from 3.35 to 3.80 in one game, just 4.1 innings, and in August. That number should never jump that high this late in the season. But that’s what happens when you allow eight runs in just over four innings.

But it wasn’t just last night, since their magical 14-5 start to the second half that saw them even take the lead in the division, they have been just plain awful, going 5-13 and dropping to nine games out of the lead in the division and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card.

They lost two of three to the horrible Padres, and three of four to the struggling Dodgers. So there has to be a reason for all of this horrible play right? Lets take a look at the people who are to blame for this.

Kevin Gregg is the biggest reason for the recent downfall in my opinion. Unlike a starting pitcher, a loss means that he did something wrong and screwed up the game. He has three losses this month compared to just two saves. No closer should ever, ever, ever have more losses than saves for an entire month.

Even his one win this month came after he blew a save, which, in my opinion, should not be counted for a win, so excluding that win, lets take a look at his stats for the month of August. 0-3, 9.00 ERA, 2 saves, 3 blown saves, 9 K, 5 home runs against. That’s our closer, but at least he is only ruining us for $4,200,000.

But our closing pitcher isn’t the only one to blame here, let’s start playing the blame game with some other players who, well, deserve it.

Let’s pick on Milton Bradley A.K.A The Lefty Bat to Put the Cubs Over the Top. Sure, he went 4-4 last night with a home run, but that home run made the game 12-5, hardly an important knock. We also can’t overlook the goose-egg he laid in the hit column against the Dodgers. Four games not a single hit.

Last night was also his last multi-hit game since August 11th when he went 2-6 against the Phillies. One multi-hit game every two weeks doesn’t cut it in the majors, especially when we are paying you $7,000,000 (I type out the zeroes so you can see just how much this man is draining from the Cubs).

However, just because Bradley is new doesn’t mean that he is the biggest drain on the Cub’s wallet. Just look at Alfonso Soriano, the $17,000,000 mistake (see the recurring theme).

Soriano hasn’t had a multi-hit game since August 7th, and he is still on that streak. But the more important streak for Soriano is his hitless streak. He hasn’t gotten a hit since August 20th, although he has been injured for two of those games, he is still on a three game hitless streak.

Now he is officially day-to-day and it seems like he has tendinitis. However, his absence may help the team more than it hurts it. He is batting .157 this month without a single home run (a streak that goes back to July 29th) and just four RBI’s.

John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny, you have been great since you came to the Cubs. Grabow, you still haven’t allowed a run since putting on a Cubs uniform. Gorzelanny, you have had two bad starts, but add in your three good ones, and you’re doing better than most wearing Cubbie blue.

Sorry you couldn’t get to play for a contender like you thought you would.

Randy Wells, Micah Hoffpauir, Jake Fox, Jeff Baker, Aramis Ramirez, Koyie Hill, Derek Lee and Ted Lilly, you did all you could to keep this broken ship from sinking. Sorry you had to be here for such a disappointing season.

-Joe Willett

The Cubs’ slamming of the Astros came after routing them 12-0 the day before. Everyone in the lineup is contributing, and you no longer hear anyone saying the word “slump.”

Kosuke Fukudome went 3-for-3, and was only a home run away from the cycle. Soriano went 2-for-3 with two walks, while both Jake Fox and Milton Bradley belted home runs.

Pitcher Kevin Hart started off a little rough, but finished nicely and got the job done. Hart went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits.

The Cubs have added bullpen help, making a trade for Pirate’s left-handed relievers John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny. The Cubs will send Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, and Josh Harrison. This trade will give Piniella some flexibility in the bullpen with another lefty.

Depending on the result of the Cardinals game, the Cubs have a chance to re-gain sole possession of first place in the NL Central. Once they can get a few of their players back from injuries, it feels like they’ll be tough to beat. Life is good for a Cubs fan.

Note, there will be further analysis on the Cubs trade later in the day

-Ben Calloway