Steve Phillips' "Analysis" Leads Off This Week's Chicago Baseball Week In Review

Here at the Chicago Baseball Week In Review, The Big Dead Sidebar will tackle each of Chicago's baseball team's most pressing issue. For the Cubs, the Marmol v. Gregg debate is raging again, while the White Sox are searching for answers at the top of the order.

ESPN's Steve Phillips catches a lot of crap at his job, mostly because he is bad at it. Cubs closer Kevin Gregg is also bad at his job. I wonder how Gregg feels about Phillips, because America knows how Phillips feels about Gregg -- especially after allowing a ninth inning home run to Rickie Weeks.

"Carlos Marmol has swing-and-miss stuff. Kevin Gregg doesn't. Look, Kevin Gregg is a serviceable major league pitcher, but when it comes to getting the big out in the ninth inning ... "

On the surface, replacing Kerry Wood with Kevin Gregg looked like a bad idea. In the clubhouse, replacing Kerry Wood with Kevin Gregg looked like a bad idea. On the mound, well, Cubs fans see it, right?

I'll agree with Phillips' assessment of Gregg as a serviceable reliever, as he is a guy I wouldn't mind seeing in non-pressure middle relief outings. Contact pitchers fail in the ninth inning (see Joe Borowski, Ryan Dempster) and since Gregg has never converted a meaningful save, I find it difficult to feel comfortable when he toes the rubber in save situation.

It won't be long until "Gregg is our closer" becomes as annoying as "Rex is our quarterback."

In Marmol We Trust.

One week into the season, I feel as if White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is just looking past the No. 1 hitter in the order. Dewayne Wise got the job, but wasn't getting it done. You would have been foolish to think he would. Don't be surprsied if Guillen flips the script and throws out a line up where Quentin, Fields, Thome, Dye and Konerko are batting one-through-five because only that man is that batsh*t crazy enough to make it work.

Who knows, maybe Guillen can catch lightening in a bottle with Josh Fields hitting second instead of ninth. But if the ChiSox could find that on-base guy to get on in front of the thumpers, they would run away and hide with the division.

Ooh, I found that guy. His name is Gordon Beckham.

Since Scott Podsednik stole some hearts by stealing bases in 2005, the South Siders have been searching for the right kind of lead off hitter and is a bit reminiscent of the North Siders' search for a productive third baseman.

The difference is, Pods produced a ring.