"Kerry Wood needed a defined role based in reality, not legend.

Hall of Fame projections were attached to his right arm the moment he broke into the major leagues in what seems to be a lifetime ago.

And it has been difficult living up to expectations he created as a 20-year-old baseball phenomenon, a hard-throwing ace targeted for Cooperstown the day he struck out 20 batters in just his fifth start for the Chicago Cubs.

More than a decade has passed and Wood is no longer chasing the ghost of his past."