People are up in arms over Dale Sveum's use of Carlos Marmol in the Mets series.
Sveum put Marmol in the game in the 9th. The Cubs were leading 3-0.
Marmol has a Marmol moment, flushing the lead and game away by yielding a walk-off three run home run to a AAA batter just called up to the majors.
The Mets are bad. The Cubs are worse.
It may have been a directive to "show case" Marmol to prospective East Coast teams. Most general managers know by now whether they will be trade deadline buyers or sellers. There is going to be a demand for closers at the deadline.
Marmol probably solidified his ticket to play out his contract with the Cubs.
The Cubs have blown 15 save opportunities so far this year (second only to the Dodgers.) The Dodgers are in need of a closer. It would be ironic that the best available closer may be Kevin Gregg, the same player the Dodgers cut in spring training. One analyst thought the Dodgers would not trade for Gregg, because that would be a screaming acknowledgement that the ream screwed up its original roster.
The Tigers are in need of bullpen help, so the rumors are starting to bubble that Detroit could kick the tires on Gregg. Beat reporters have indicated that the Tigers have had no interest in Marmol.
