Borowski looking good at AAA Iowa.

Joe Borowski made his debut with the AAA Iowa Cubs last night, and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Cubs Nation eagerly awaits his return.

And if you're wondering why JoBo's return is so desperately anticipated, take a look at what STATS, Inc. (via Cubs.com) has to say about current Cubs closer LaTroy Hawkins:

The folks at STATS, Inc., did a little extra research on LaTroy Hawkins and
pitchers and their effectiveness in the ninth inning. Since 1995, Hawkins is
17-for-30, or 57 percent, with a one-run lead in the ninth, while STATS,
Inc., says all pitchers in baseball have a 75.1 percent success ratio.

With a two-run lead, Hawkins has a 91.3 percent ratio, while the rest of
baseball is at 89.4 percent. And, STATS, Inc., says Hawkins has an 89.5 percent
success ratio with a three-run lead while other pitchers have a 95.5 percent
rate.

57 percent conversion rate with a 1-run lead? Terrible numbers, true, but it's worse than you think. He's only 7 for 17 as the Cubs closer in those situations - a wretched 41% clip. That means that during his stint as the Twins closer, he managed to go 10-for-13.... 76% - slightly above the league average! (And he still managed to get permanently bounced from that closer role.... the Twins may have been on to something.)

If Borowski returns and closes out games as he has in the past, it will be a shot in the arm for a Cubs team that desperately needs something - anything - to go right. As always, time will tell.

Around the Horn

Looks like Jim Brower is the man in San Francisco, at least for now. Of course, he blew last night's save, so Felipe Alou may call a different name for the next save opportunity. It's not like any one of SF's myriad journeyman middle relievers is really any better than the rest of them.

Todd Jones picked up a save in Florida, owing to the fact that Guillermo Mota AND Antonio Alfonseca are on the DL. The injury to the former hurts the Fish's chances, but the injury to the latter spared all of South Florida from the spectacle of Pulpo in the 9th inning.

As John Hill at the Cub Reporter noted yesterday, the Reds bullpen picked up what has to be the most hilarious blown save of all time, allowing the Cards to come back from a 9-3 deficit... with most of the damage coming with two outs. Cincinnati relied on the twin scourges of David Weathers and Danny Graves to handle the ninth inning - a combo who, you may recall, combined for the weakest save ever recorded.

It should be only a matter of time until Ryan Wagner takes over as the primary closer in Cincinnati. Danny Graves has allowed a run in 7 of his last 9 appearances, (although he's somehow picked up saves in 7 of those outings), which simply isn't going to work over the long haul. Then again, Graves has been on the verge of losing the Cincinnati closer job for years, and it never seems to happen.

No other movement on the closer carousel, but for a while there, it looked like Ryan Dempster may have been headed for the Cubs bullpen, and rumors were circulating that he could even be the closer. Kerry Wood's injury put and end to that talk. Not that LaTroy Hawkins fantasy owners can rest easy - Joe Borowski will make his first appearance at AAA Iowa today, and every indication points to JoBo returning to the closer role as soon as he's able. We'll keep you posted.