Yardbarker: Kerry Wood

First volley of projections for 2010 Indians

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:00:25 -0500

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP Could Sowers finally be the number-four starter of our dreams? Browse more photos » ACTA Sports has begun taking orders for The Bill James Handbook 2010, which customarily will include James' projections for every major league player. (Full disclosure: ACTA occasionally sends me a review copy of one of their books, and I am totally in the bag for them.) Jame...

Hate Mail

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:47:44 -0500

Kerry Wood speaks about the hate mail received by African-American players and manager Dusty Baker during Wood’s time with the Cubs. I actually got a letter like that once when I was at ESPN. Ken Griffey, Jr. was going for the record of consecutive games with a home run, and I calculated the odds of [...]

Cleveland Indians pitcher Kerry Wood says African-American players for the Chicago Cubs received hate mail

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:20:45 -0500

Kerry Wood says African-American players on the Chicago Cubs received hate mail.

Is Kerry Wood Now A Liar?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:47:32 -0500

Finally, somebody stood up and talked about what was going on with the Cubs. Cleveland Indians closer and ex-Cubs ace Kerry Wood didn’t dismiss the notion that Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley and other African-American players may have experienced racial insensitivity during their time in Chicago. “I know just from the experience of playing with those guys, and I’ve seen some of the mail that they get, obviously not a lot of us get that kind of mail,” Wood said o...

Lock Down Pen Does It Again

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:00:36 -0500

In mid-May, if I told you that the Indians bullpen would be set with a reliable set-up crew in front of Kerry Wood by late August, would you have believed me? Of course you wouldn’t have. But again yesterday, it was a flawless performance from the much maligned bridge to closer Kerry Wood that helped [...]

Game #70: Wild Wood Throws Another One Away in 6-5 Disaster in 13

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:51:04 -0500

Maybe Kerry Wood is secretly still playing for the Chicago Cubs? How else can you explain how Wood, who had blown two saves in 10 chances entering Friday, has already blown two saves in two games in Chicago, as Saturday he basically threw the game away, allowing the Cubs to rally for two 13th inning runs [...]

Anatomy of a pitch: the 12-6 Curveball

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:37:39 -0500

With pitchf/x being all the rage these days, I thought I would give a primer on what makes pitches do the crazy things they do. I’ll start with the curveball, since I’ve always found it to be the most interesting. As we will see, curveballs are also pretty simple to analyze. Note: I’m doing this entirely from a physics perspective, not a baseball perspective, and I know nothing about pitchf/x. I have never personally thrown any of these pitches (other than maybe a ‘f...

WOOD’S BACK AILING, CHICAGO LAUGHS

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:36:27 -0500

Thanks to Big D for sending this along. Looks like ol? Woody has a sore back. Maybe he was trying to pick up all his The Cleveland Indians insist their new closer?s sore back is nothing. But with Kerry Wood, it always seems to be Wood, who had a history of arm injuries with ...

Cubs Rumors: Kerry Wood

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:52:03 -0500

According to MLB.com, Kerry Wood is close to signing a 2 year deal (with a possible 3rd option year) with the Cleveland Indians. As a huge fan of Kerry Wood, a deal like this would ensure that the Cubs would face him only in interleague play. (which is a series at Wrigley this year, June 19-21) ...

Dusty Baker Interested In Wood

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:56:23 -0500

According to the Chicago Tribune, Reds manager Dusty Baker has interest in bringing in Kerry Wood to be the Reds setup man. The Cubs decided to pass on offering arbitration to Wood, who has thirty-four saves last season. The Cubs feared that Wood would accept the offer, mostly because of his desire to stay in Chicago. By not offering Wood arbitration, he becomes much more desirable to teams who value their draft picks. The Reds probably do not have much chance of signing Wood, who is reportedly seeking a multi-year deal and a guaranteed closer spot.A
The Rangers, Angels, Mets, and Tigers are reportedly showing interest.A
This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

Hey Kerry, Remember That Time I Ruined Your Arm And Your Career? We All Had A Good Laugh; Anyways Want To Play For Me Again?

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:00:55 -0500

Remember 2003? Ahh, we all remember the good old days, when our good 'ole skipper Dusty would shred our pitchers' arms to no end by leaving them in too long and running up their pitch counts. I wrote a wonderful ode to Dusty's amazing ability to manage his pitchers here. Well apparently now that ...

A True Kerry Wood Eulogy

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:11:16 -0500

On Thursday we found out that Kerry Wood would not be back next year. I wrote about the sadness I felt about it but I don't think I was truly able to capture the essence of how Cubs fans are feeling. Fortunately for us, a commentor on Shysterball has eloquently put the whole thing in context: " I am a die-hard Cub fan, I was raised that way by my father. I was only 7 in '84, I remember that team well but didn't experience the heartbreak that many fans old enough to proces...

Rangers After Wood

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:05:31 -0500

According to Ken Rosenthal, people within the industry believe the Rangers will pursue closer Kerry Wood. The Rangers would receive a big boost from Wood, and probably have the inside track at this point, mostly because Wood is from there. However, the Mets, Angels, Tigers, and Diamondbacks have expressed interest in the closer, who is reportedly seeking a multiyear deal. Wood went 5-4 with a 3.26 ERA and 34 SV in 65 games this season, and is just 31. He is probably looking for seven to eight million dollars annually and could get more if the demand is high.
Wood will probably wait on Fuentes and Rodriguez to sign, mostly because it will drive up his price even more.A
This story was approved by MLB Rumors.

The "Who did Kerry Wood Strike Out?" Quiz

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:50:52 -0500

On May 6, 1998 twenty-year old Kerry Wood recorded 20 K's against the Houston Astros. It was just Wood's fifth career start. Every batter in the starting lineup struck out at least once, as did the only pinch hitter Wood faced. Can you name every Astro that struck out that day in 5 minutes or less?

Beckham Earns His Paycheck One Injury At A Time

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:15:19 -0500

David Beckham finally returned (again) from his injury to play last night. Things went pretty well until, guess what? He was injured again. He is starting to remind me of Kerry Wood.