Besides the Cubs winning the series against the Brewers (in their usual exciting fashion), the most promising development going forward may have been on the mound. After Ted Lilly’s pitch count tipped over 90 pitches in the fifth inning, reliever Michael Wuertz made his appearance. No thanks. Wuertz sat down and Carlos Marmol got up.

While others in the bullpen think its funny for Marmol to carry out a pink “Hello Kitty” backpack out to the bullpen before the game (due to being the youngest), they need to realize that he is good. Damn good.

The Cubs needed a right hander and had the option of Wuertz or Kerry Wood. Sorry, but I’ll pass. You have to believe if either of them came into the game, well, the outcome may and probably would have been different.

Not only is Marmol the youngest in the bullpen, but he may be the very reason the Cubs bullpen stays afloat into the playoffs. He came in and struck out five out of the eight Brewers he faced. One of them being Prince Fielder who he dumped on a beautiful slider.

When Marmol comes in, he’s lights out and tonight was no different. If you’re surprised, look at his stats this season. He has the lowest ERA on the Cubs pitching staff with a 1.53 average. As an FYI, that’s fourth best in the NL as a reliever. He has the most strikeouts for a Cubs reliever with 72. He has a .180 batting average allowed, fifth for an NL reliever. With all that, he’s number one as a reliever with 6.3% runs scored when he inherits runners. The best number of all is that he’s only 24 years old.

Sure he’s young, but if a Cubs starter falters early, he’s the one to count on for middle relief. If Lou Piniella or Larry Rothschild didn’t realize it before, they did tonight.

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