2008 Woodie Awards
Three and Out
From the minds of WMEB's newest sports talk show
Sean Hladick, Jonathon Madore and Steven Moran
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Maine Sports
They've stabilized their pitching issues, and ace Carlos Zambrano has jumped out to a 3-1 start posting a tidy 2.33 earned run average. Veteran Ryan Dempster is off to his own hot start this season with a 3-0 record and a sub-three ERA. Jason Marquis and Rich Hill give them solid depth, and it is only a matter of time before Ted Lilly gets his control issues straightened out. Most important for the Cubs has been the emergence of Kerry Wood as a strong closer. Wood has already racked up four saves and two wins on the year, and while he doesn't have the same fiery fastball from his youth, his movement and placement are significantly improved.
While pitching wins championships, the Cubs have a powerful hitting lineup from top to bottom with Aramis Ramirez, Derek Lee and Kosuke Fukodome anchoring. Center fielder Felix Pie and shortstop Ryan Theriot give them impressive speed on the base paths.
All in all, this is the most well-rounded Cubs teams in recent memory. Now all they need is a little curse breaking magic, and the North Side of Chicago will get their long awaited opportunity to celebrate.
- Steve
Third Down: Closing out a great career
He's been one of the most fearsome closers for the past 16 seasons. He's topped 30 saves 12 times. His entrance to a ballgame is unmistakable, and yet it might be time to say goodbye to the great Trevor Hoffman.
As my favorite closer of all time, Hoffman has anchored the San Diego bullpen for most of my life. His masterful control of the strike zone and absolutely lethal change-up has put him at the top of the all-time saves list with 528 as of April 26. Most importantly, by my completely biased opinion, Hoffman has established "Hells Bells" as the coolest entrance music for a closer ever.
Despite all of these credentials, his two blown saves and 8.22 ERA to start the season may mark the beginning of the end for Hoffman. There will be no shame when he calls it quits, and by all accounts, Padres management has no plans of pushing him out anytime soon.
"This will be the last uniform he wears. If he still wants to play and he's as successful as he's been in the past, I don't anticipate it being difficult," said San Diego general manager Kevin Towers about resigning him in an interview with ESPN.
While it sounds like his career may not officially come to an end for another season or two, it does appear that the invincibility that surrounded Hoffman is gone. I still expect Hoffman to reach 35 or more saves this season and perhaps next, but it won't be in his usual fashion - anticipate some wild rides along the way.
So for baseball's truest fans, try and catch some of Hoffman's saves while you can. Baseball's greatest closer is approaching the final innings of his career.
- Sean
Out:
Thank you to all of our listeners and readers for a great year.
While pitching wins championships, the Cubs have a powerful hitting lineup from top to bottom with Aramis Ramirez, Derek Lee and Kosuke Fukodome anchoring. Center fielder Felix Pie and shortstop Ryan Theriot give them impressive speed on the base paths.
All in all, this is the most well-rounded Cubs teams in recent memory. Now all they need is a little curse breaking magic, and the North Side of Chicago will get their long awaited opportunity to celebrate.
- Steve
Third Down: Closing out a great career
He's been one of the most fearsome closers for the past 16 seasons. He's topped 30 saves 12 times. His entrance to a ballgame is unmistakable, and yet it might be time to say goodbye to the great Trevor Hoffman.
As my favorite closer of all time, Hoffman has anchored the San Diego bullpen for most of my life. His masterful control of the strike zone and absolutely lethal change-up has put him at the top of the all-time saves list with 528 as of April 26. Most importantly, by my completely biased opinion, Hoffman has established "Hells Bells" as the coolest entrance music for a closer ever.
Despite all of these credentials, his two blown saves and 8.22 ERA to start the season may mark the beginning of the end for Hoffman. There will be no shame when he calls it quits, and by all accounts, Padres management has no plans of pushing him out anytime soon.
"This will be the last uniform he wears. If he still wants to play and he's as successful as he's been in the past, I don't anticipate it being difficult," said San Diego general manager Kevin Towers about resigning him in an interview with ESPN.
While it sounds like his career may not officially come to an end for another season or two, it does appear that the invincibility that surrounded Hoffman is gone. I still expect Hoffman to reach 35 or more saves this season and perhaps next, but it won't be in his usual fashion - anticipate some wild rides along the way.
So for baseball's truest fans, try and catch some of Hoffman's saves while you can. Baseball's greatest closer is approaching the final innings of his career.
- Sean
Out:
Thank you to all of our listeners and readers for a great year.
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