I know closers are overrated, but come on now

First it was Trevor Hoffman getting a middle finger-shaped "Peace Out!" memo from the Padres after 16 years of service, 11-12 of which were spent as one of the best relievers in baseball. Now the Cubs, after making out with their reflections in the mirror for the last few weeks, have decided to give a similar treatment to Kerry Wood:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/kerry-wood-and-cubs-split.html

This transaction reeks of the old "Baseball for People Who Are Nothing But PR Dumbshits Who Know Nothing About The Game, by Frank McCourt with a preface by Ned Colleti" strategy: the Cubs didn't want to overpay to keep Wood, so they decided to trade their young, cost-controlled fireballing RP for an older and much more expensive RP that will probably be more effective in 2009 and maybe 2010, but almost definitely not beyond that...just because he was more well-known. "Hey, instead of putting Matt Kemp in center field, let's sign Juan Pierre! He's a recognizable name, who gives a shit if he sucks?" I mean, seriously, how many teams in baseball does Ned Colleti work for?

Also...it's a shame that Kerry Wood is no longer a Cub. You really had to be a hardcore baseball fan in 1998 to understand his meaning to Cub fans; his debut season (the 20-strikeout game, the 233 Ks in only 166 innings, etc) was right up there with Mark Fidrych's and Fernando Valenzuela's, and his 2002 and 2003 seasons were similarly excellent. Sammy Sosa was the main man in Chicago during those years, but Wood was the up-and-coming star, the guy who was going to lead the Cubs back into regular contention for the first time since like 1720. Then his injury troubles finally took hold of his career in 2004, and he only pitched in 36 games from 2004-2006. 2007, though, saw him make a remarkable heartwarming comeback as a solid reliever as he helped lead the Cubs back to the playoffs. 2008 was even better, as he became a dominant closer who posted a 1.09 WHIP, .219 BAA, and 84 strikeouts in 66.1 innings as the Cubs made the playoffs again (and it shouldn't even matter, but the NLDS loss this year was not in any way his fault). It was the Kerry Wood comeback story for most of 2008, as the Cubs had their old hero back, the guy who had stuck with them through thick and thin (personally and team-wise), and loved playing with them so much that he offered to take a one-year contract to come back to Chicago, even though he could easily get a multi-year deal from someone else. If there was ever a guy who truly embodied a classy athlete from 1998-2008, it was Kerry Wood.

Knowing all that, the Cubs not only let him go, but also traded one of their best prospects to acquire a guy who had nine blown saves and a 1.28 WHIP last year to take his place.

Makes perfect sense to me.