Wood could so he should

By Steven Chaitman | Aug 04, 12:56 PM

It's been so strange the last few weeks that people have even turned it into a conspiracy. What is it? It's Kerry Wood's blister.

I have to admit that even in my mind, Kerry Wood and his persistent blister created a few moments of doubt in terms of sincerity. Given Woody's injury history and the Cubs' post-All-Star slide, it wouldn't be far-fetched to think the Cubs were hiding something.

But in an interview of ESPN Radio 1000, Wood says he's ready to close and that he would tell the team today that he wants to pitch. Now we just have to see if they'll let him.

Ever since Carlos Marmol started losing his touch and Wood's blister formed, I've been longing for the day when the Cubs would again play a game where their starter went 7 innings, Marmol mowed 'em down in the 8^th and Kerry finished things off in the 9^th. With Ryan Dempster on the mound tonight against the Astros, it's as good a time as any for that to happen.

That secret desire aside, if I'm Lou Piniella, I let him pitch. With a comfier lead than usual in the Central and a big series against St. Louis this weekend, this seems like a great opportunity to break Kerry back into a playing routine.

If this blister really is that bad, then I can't imagine waiting longer will be any more ideal for his finger than getting out there now. Either way you risk some sort of re-aggravation, though Kerry has thrown plenty of pitches and says he's in no pain.

As a fan, I feel good about having Woody back to restore some predictability to the Cubs' bullpen. As much as it's been overshadowed, no one watching could ever guess who'd be warming up when the last couple of weeks.

The good thing is that little sore is pretty much the only issue. At least the Cubs are covering up those double plays with wins. Oh, and in other news I'm one step closer to getting my Reed Johnson jersey.

Tagged: baseball