Dusty Baker wakes up - LaTroy Hawkins finally out in Chicago?

LaTroy Hawkins, whose struggles as the Cubs' closer have been obvious to everyone in the nation except Dusty Baker, has finally, at long last, gotten "Johnny Toothpick" to notice his remarkable knack for failure.

I was in attendance at yesterday's Cubs/Pirates game (brief recap: 24-degree windchill, Maddux flirts with a no-hitter until Patterson misplays a Jason Bay warning-track fly that would have gone 500 feet if not for the swirling winds, DuBois is completely locked in, hitting everything hard, so Dusty, of course, lifts him for Jose Macias, Patterson's HR puts the Cubs up 3-2 in the 8th, Dusty calls on LaTroy Hawkins to protect the 1-run lead.)

Anyway, LaTroy has been remarkably bad in 1-run save situations. Historically bad. In fact, he has blown 10 of the 16 1-run save situations that he's faced as a Cub. He's 6-for-16. And of course, he gave up 2 runs yesterday, giving the Pirates the win.

After the game, Dusty expressed puzzlement that his in-game strategy had blown up so spectactularly:

"We have go back to the drawing board on something else, that's what we have to do. It seems like he hasn't been good with one-run leads. I can't figure it out. He has the stuff. I can't figure it out right now."

In all likelihood, Joe Borowski will be given a shot at closing when he returns this week. He'd won the job in spring training prior to breaking his hand, he's been successful in the role in the past, and Dusty likes veterans - especially veterans who have had success for Dusty-led teams. There's also a chance that Mike Wuertz or Chad Fox could see the next save opportunity. As always, we'll keep you posted.