Goat of the Day: Carlos Marmol

MLB Playoff Goat will point out the most dubious factor that resulted in a postseason loss on a daily basis.

My partner in crime, Pat "Shades" Lackey, already lambasted Cubs manager Lou Piniella for his horrendous logic in pulling Carlos Zambrano out of a 1-1 game prior to the 7th inning. Rather than flog the soon-to-be deceased equine, I will concentrate on the man whose error on the playing field magnified the awful judgment call by Piniella.

Pitching in his first playoff game ever, 24-year-old Carlos Marmol, who was downright dirty in the regular season, grooved a fastball down the pipe to Mark Reynolds, a 24-year-old who never played a game in Triple-A, and up until Wednesday night, was most notorious for tying the record by a non-pitcher for most consecutive strikeouts. The sad thing for Marmol is that he could ultimately be the reason the Cubs get eliminated early in the postseason once again, leaving masses of fans longing for a World Series title. The bright side -- if there is one -- is that Marmol learned you can't lose focus on any pitch in the playoffs. Now he knows it takes just one poorly spotted fastball for an entire game, or worse yet, season, to be lost. And for that, hopefully Marmol will be better off in the long run.

Oh yeah, and as for you Piniella, that's a move worth being fired over.