Long and short on Marmol

The Cubs' Carlos Marmol threw three pitches in San Francisco, and his ERA jumped another 19 points to 3.75. After tossing back-to-back balls to Rich Aurilia in the seventh, the Giants veteran deposited Marmol's only strike over the left field fence. Marmol was pulled without recording an out.

Fantasy Impact: Marmol's ERA reached a season-low 1.04 in mid May. It was at 2.09 on June 15th. Then came a four-run, no-out performance at Tampa. Marmol's never seemed to be the same. For a guy who looked like a challenger to Kerry Wood for the closer's role back in spring training, this is a long fall. The Cubs need Marmol to return to form, otherwise their bullpen could make this a short autumn.