First Findings - Howry doing

During an interview with WGN TV on Sunday night, Sweet Lou remarked that Bob Howry is the favorite out of the gates for the closer job.

This isn't as important a comment as people might want it to be. Essentially, Piniella is acknowledging the job Howry did in a stint as closer last year while Dempster was out. Additionally, Wood's situation leaves some unknown factors regarding durability and the concern about pitching back-to-back games as would be required of the closer. Finally, the wildcard for Marmol is that he has a short history and, though he excelled, he is still very young and it's impossible to predict how he would do as full-time closer.

The competition is still in full swing and will be determined by how the candidates perform this spring. Either way, as I continue to emphasize, the Cubs have a solid group to end games with. The kind of pitching the Cubs are usually facing in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings when they need a run or two.