The Cubs didn’t find a bona fide closer last year until Ryan Dempster took over in mid-May. Then they had a hard time getting the ball to him with a chance for a save.
Though Dempster led the National League in saves percentage in 2005, the Cubs still lost 20 times last year when leading or tied after the seventh inning, accounting for nearly a quarter of their 83 losses.
General manager Jim Hendry’s latest attempt to solve the late-inning blues was to give veteran right-hander Bob Howry a three-year, $12 million deal and left-hander Scott Eyre $11 million over three years.
Hendry was criticized in some quarters for overpaying for his middle relief duo, but if the two can change the direction of the team by providing some real relief in the seventh and eighth innings, the money will be well spent.
“It is an important role,” Howry said. “[Remember when] Seattle had (Jeff) Nelson, (Arthur) Rhodes and (Kaz) Sasaki. If they had the lead after six innings, you might as well pack it up and come back tomorrow because the game is over.”
Howry, 32, spent the off-season throwing with former White Sox teammate Keith Foulke, a close friend who lives a half-mile from him in nearby Glendale, Ariz. Foulke and Howry were the 1-2 punch that helped lead a young and inexperienced Sox bullpen in their division-winning year in 2000, and now Howry is hoping to team with Eyre and Dempster to change the Cubs’ fortunes in ’06.
Howry’s career got off course after he was traded to Boston in 2002 and tried to impress his new team by throwing through elbow pain. But recurring soreness forced him to undergo surgery in July ’03. After the Red Sox released him, Howry managed only a spring training invite with Cleveland on a minor-league deal in ’04 while rehabbing his right arm.
Just when it looked like Howry might be washed up, he posted a 2.74 earned-run average in 37 games with the Indians. In 2005, he set career highs in victories (seven), ERA (2.47), holds (29) and opponents’ batting average (.191).
His 79 appearances, tied for third in the American League, was 10 more than any previous year in his career.
“It’s nice to know that, if nothing else, my body could hold up, and after all those appearances I still was throwing the same at the end as I was at the beginning,” he said.
In Cleveland, Howry was primarily a one-inning reliever, pitching the eighth to get the ball to closer Bob Wickman. His role with the Cubs likely will be the same, though he also could spell Dempster at times when the right-hander needs a day off from closing. Howry had 28 saves with the White Sox in 1999 before losing the job to Foulke in 2000.
The key to Howry’s revival was the return of his fastball.
“Once I shut it down and had the surgery, it was the best thing I could’ve done,” he said. “I’m back to where I was before shoulder surgery in 2000. After that season I lost my velocity, went from throwing 94-96 (m.p.h.) to 89-91, and it really never came back until after that elbow surgery in ’04. It has been back for a year and a half.”
Despite his success in Cleveland, Howry knew the Indians weren’t likely to offer a long-term deal because of the team’s financial limitations. Hendry came at him aggressively, giving him the role the Cubs had hoped LaTroy Hawkins would fill when they signed him to a three-year deal before the 2004 season.
Having already lived in Chicago, Howry felt the Cubs would be a good fit for him and his family. One week into spring training, he said he knows he has made the right decision.
“You don’t find it often where the entire clubhouse of guys mesh really well and get along,” he said. “We had that in Cleveland and it makes it a lot more fun. After coming from something like that, it’s nice to come from another locker room where it’s that way–joking around and having fun, but at the same time working hard to get your stuff done.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
