3/27 Marmol not a fan of Arizona

Carlos Marmol may be one Cubs pitcher who wouldn’t mind seeing the team move to Florida. The dry Arizona air is not helping him get a good grip on his slider, which may be contributing to the closer’s struggles in his last two games. He took the loss Friday, serving up three runs, and has given up home runs in each of his last two outings.

“I’m OK,” Marmol said Saturday. “I tried to make my pitch, they saw it. We’re in Spring Training now. I didn’t walk people — that’s what I’m looking for is not walking people.”

And that’s what the Cubs want to see is better control, no walks. Pitchers do seem to favor Spring Training in Florida.

“I can’t feel my slider,” Marmol said. “That’s why I hit people with my slider. I can’t feel it in my hand. That’s why I want to leave here.”

He’s actually talking about leaving for the regular season, not Mesa.

What about his mechanics?

“I’m OK,” Marmol said. “My fastball is good. My slider, I need to work on it a little bit. We’ll see.”

It’s been a better spring for the right-hander who knows he’s the closer. There’s no competition this time.

“I feel good about that, I feel very comfortable,” Marmol said. “I don’t have to fight for the position with anybody. I feel more confident and I want to go out there and give my best.”

Lou Piniella tried to show the media what Marmol was doing wrong after Friday’s game. We’ll let pitching coach Larry Rothschild handle the mechanics.

“Sometimes you do a bad thing [with mechanics],” Marmol said. “Who knows? Nobody’s perfect. You make a mistake. Sometimes you win the battle, sometimes they don’t swing and miss, and sometimes you pay for it. I feel very comfortable and confident.”

– Carrie Muskat