The Cubs have shut down 34-year old righty reliever Kerry Wood for the rest of the season as he needs surgery on his left knee. Wood pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he was 3-5 with 1 save, a 3.35 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He only gave up 45 hits in 51 innings this year while whiffing 57 batters, so he showed in 2011 that he still has it. Wood has now pitched in 331 games (178 starts) in his 11 years with the Cubs and he is 80-66 with 35 saves, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Wood wants to return to the Cubs in 2012 and I think they should re-sign him as he looked good in 2011. But, if the Cubs don’t want him back, Wood has stated that he will retire.

27-year old righty reliever Justin Berg is going to have Tommy John Surgery tomorrow which will wipe out his 2012 season. Berg pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he is 0-0 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has now pitched in 60 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Cubs and he is 0-1 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. This won’t be a huge loss for the Cubs, but it would have been nice to have him around in the pen in 2012.

UPDATE: (9/29/2011) - The Cubs have designated Justin Berg for assignment.

UPDATE II: (10/5/2011) - The Cubs have outrighted Justin Berg to AAA.

The Cubs have placed 27-year old righty reliever Marcos Mateo on the 15-day disabled list with a case of right elbow inflammation. Mateo has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Mateo will be replaced by 25-year old righty Chris Carpenter who has been called up from AAA. Carpenter has pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has given up 11 hits and he has walked 6 batters in his first 6 2/3 innings this year for the Cubs, so they hope he will be better this time around.

The Cubs have placed righty starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano on the 15-day disabled list with lower back soreness. Zambrano has started 18 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 6-4 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. 38-year old righty Ramon Ortiz will be called up to take Zambrano’s spot in the starting rotation until he’s ready to return to action. Ortiz has started 15 games in AAA-ball for the Cubs so far this year and he is 6-3 with a 4.44 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Ortiz has given up 113 hits in his first 95 1/3 innings in the minors so he hasn’t been missing many bats. Ortiz pitched in the majors last with the Dodgers in 2010. He has pitched in 274 games (212 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 85-82 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.

The Cubs have placed 25-year old righty swinging 2B Darwin Barney on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained right knee. Barney has played in 63 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 73 for 248 (.294 avg, .679 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 1 homer, 25 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. 29-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker and 25-year old lefty swinging Blake DeWitt will likely platoon at 2B until Barney is ready to return to action and they will likely do a decent job. Baker has played in 34 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 34 for 98 (.347 avg, .846 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 15 RBIs. DeWitt has played in 49 games for the Cubs this year and he is 30 for 106 (.283 avg, .711 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs.