Kid K Marks a Milestone

Seventeen years ago, on August 11, 2003, Cubs righthander Kerry Wood struck out his 1,000th batter in just the 834th inning of his career. He thus became the fastest pitcher in history to reach 1,000 strikeouts.

     Wood had exploded onto the scene five years earlier when he struck out 20 Houston Astros in his fifth major-league outing. That particular effort was certainly among the most dominant of all time. Wood walked none, hit one batsman, and allowed only one hit, an infield single (off third baseman Kevin Orie's glove) that could have easily been ruled an error. No one has ever struck out 21 batters in a game, and no one except Wood has ever struck out a number of batters that equaled his own age at the time.   

KERRY WOOD

     The 1998 Cubs rode Wood's Rookie-of-the-Year performance and Sammy Sosa's mind-boggling offensive production into the postseason, where they were summarily dispatched by the Atlanta Braves. Wood missed the entire 1999 season with an elbow injury and was able to make only 23 appearances in 2000. 

     Wood was at the peak of his powers in 2001, 2002, and 2003. For the 2003 Cubs, he won 14 games, led the league in strikeouts and fewest hits per inning, and made the All-Star team. Now 26, he combined with other relative youngsters Mark Prior (22), Carlos Zambrano (22), and Matt Clement (28) to form the Cubs' most effective rotation in several decades. They ranked 1-2-3-4 on the club in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), with Sosa fifth. 

     The Cubs won their division and captured their first postseason series since 1908 (getting even with the Braves for 1998), but fell short of their first pennant since 1945 in the most excruciating fashion. Game 6 of the National League Championship Series was infamous for the foul ball that left fielder Moises Alou might have caught if not for the intervention of a fan. In Game 7, Wood helped his own cause with a two-run homer but ended up taking the loss as the Florida Marlins again came from behind to win.

     No one knew it yet, but Wood's best days were already behind him as the Marlins celebrated. He was never a bankable starting pitcher again. A succession of injuries required him to visit the disabled list 16 times over the course of his career. He had a few okay years as a reliever for the Cubs, Indians, Yankees, and Cubs again before hanging it up at the age of 35.

     Although his career is a prototypical case of what might have been, Cub fans have always held Wood in high esteem. He was a game competitor, never made excuses, and he clearly loved 1) playing for the Cubs, 2) Cub fans, and 3) Chicago. He and his family reside in the area to this day.

A Tale of Two Teams in One City

    

PAUL KONERKO

     When the White Sox visited Wrigley Field two weeks ago to open this year's crosstown series against the Cubs, they were seven games under .500. Like the Cubs, who were six under, they appeared to be going nowhere.

     We didn't know it at the time, but the South Siders had already turned the corner. Their wins over the Cubs on June 11 and June 12 were their third and fourth in succession. After losing 1-0 to Ted Lilly and the Cubs on June 13, the Sox reeled off 11 victories in a row to make it 15 out of 16. They've crept to within a game and a half of the division lead, and the remainder of the season now beckons promisingly.

     All of a sudden, no one is talking about the supposed feud between Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams, about the inflammatory tweets of Guillen's son Oney, or about whether the Sox insulted Guillen's other son Ozney by drafting him in the 22nd round. Side issues are placed to the side when a team is focused on winning.
     The Sox have employed excellent pitching, tight defense, and just enough offense to turn their season around. "They're playing good baseball," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "Give them credit." The Sox are playing the way Guillen envisioned they would all along. "Whoever's surprised out there about what we do," Guillen declared, "they're crazy!"
     There is a long way to go, but if he continues at his current pace and the Sox keep winning, veteran first baseman and team captain Paul Konerko will be an MVP candidate. So far he has clouted 20 homers, knocked in 56 runs, and is batting over .300. "He gives it all he has every day," said Guillen. "A very quiet leader. When the game is on the line, he is more relaxed and more confident."

    

CARLOS ZAMBRANO

    
     As for the Cubs, what can you say? They are headed in the opposite direction as their crosstown rivals, having fallen to 10 games below .500 before (barely) salvaging yesterday's game against the Sox. Their problems include lack of any consistent offensive production (especially from erstwhile mainstays Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez), spotty defense, frequent mental lapses, and a general malaise.
     On Friday, the Cubs were coming off a 13-inning marathon the day before, and everyone knew that they needed starter Carlos Zambrano to give them some innings. Alas, Zambrano gave them just one (and a bad one at that, in which he yielded four runs) before a ridiculous tirade in the dugout earned him a suspension of indefinite length.
     It is certainly Piniella's and general manager Jim Hendry's fondest wish that Zambrano has already pitched his last game in a Cub uniform--but how eager will another club be to take him off their hands, given his exorbitant $18.75 million salary, his very unsatisfactory performance, and his increasingly intolerable behavior?
     The contrast between Zambrano and a real professional like Konerko is striking. It would be hard to imagine Zambrano's manager saying, "He gives it all he has every day." He gives what he wants when he wants. He has no shortage of talent, but he is woefully short in the categories of focus, discipline, and maturity. Unlike Konerko, who time and again has been at his best in clutch situations, Zambrano generally comes up empty when his team needs him the most. For Carlos, it is not about the team. It is always about Carlos.
     Harry Caray once pungently said of a certain pitcher (whose name unfortunately escapes me), "He has a million-dollar arm and a ten-cent brain." In Zambrano's case, the arm is valued at $18.75 million per year.