Game Thread Part 2/Eventual Bitch Session

bullpen drops from #1 to #29

We have to rename the position that Ross is playing

he at least looks salvageable

Now you have T.S.F. Juan Castro pinch hitting for him.

First of all, Bronson said he was out of gas after the seventh. His curveball wasn't working, so he had to throw more fastballs than usual, and that took it out of him. Thought with a 6-2 lead he was OK.

Also, asked Jerry why Castro, he seemed peeved at the question. Said he thought he was the best chance to get on base. He didn't want to use Javy without someone on base. Of course, not using Javy meant no one got on base.

Asked him about Junior, and again he seemed upset with the question, saying Junior wasn't even in the ballpark.

I don't think Narron had anything to do with the loss tonight. Saarloos, Weathers, and Stanton had all pitched well before tonight. Who else was he supposed to bring in? Obviously, this raises the issue of how good our bullpen is. The answer is: not very. Bill Bray and Gary Majewski are the prospective saviors! Huzzah!

Anyway, this season is far too young to overreact, but jeez, these past couple of games have been frustrating.

After Weathers gave up the 3 runs in the 8th for the tie:

MoFo: "Who's y'alls closer?"
Me: "That's him."
MoFo: "Why did you bring him in in the 8th?"
Me: "To make sure that didn't happen."
MoFo: "What didn't happen?"
Me: "What just happened"

Exeunt, MM getting filthy drunk at bar...

• Josh Hamilton continues to amaze me. His current homerun rate is about equal to that of A-Rod, who already has 10 homers. The kid really has everything to not only be a good player, but to be an absolute star, and evidently he has it in him to fulfill some of that right now, which I don't think anyone could have expected.
• For the record, Adam Dunn's batting average of .317 is 70 points above his career mark, yet his OBP of .379 is exactly equal to his career mark. He's on pace for 43 homeruns and just 97 RBIs. Oh, and he's striking out at pretty much the same rate he has in the past. His new approach is nice and pretty for all the idiots on talk radio, but thus far, Adam Dunn's production with a .317 average has been the same as what he was giving us with a .250 average. Hopefully his lack of power thus far (he has three real homeruns this season, and two came in his first two ABs of the season) as well as his fairly poor walk-rate is just Dunn being Dunn (and therefore streaky) and not a byproduct of his changed approach, but you have to wonder.
• Alex Gonzalez's defense has not been anywhere near what it was cracked up to be, and that's not just because of his error tonight. His range has been mediocre and he hasn't been the surehanded guy we're paying almost $5 mil this year. Offensively, he's managing to hit .286 but still be almost completely useless at the plate. He needs to come out of it both offensively and defensively.
• Phillips has some big-time power. Can somebody untell him that? He could definitely hit 30 homers in a season if he keeps swinging at it like he is right now, but he needs to level out his swing if he wants to be all that productive of a player.
• It'd be nice to know what's wrong with Conine.
• I propose that until someone distinguishes himself as not useless, all members of the bullpen should be assigned a letter to be referred to by. They don't deserve names.
• It's a shame that Arroyo can't get a win, and while I'm sure some people will look down on it, I liked his backhanded jab at the bullpen after the game. They deserved it.
• While it ultimately had no bearing on the game, Narron taking out Dunn for Hopper in the top of the 8th was an infuriatingly bad move. First of all, Dunn's defense hasn't been a problem this year. Second of all, he's the team's second best hitter right now. Lastly, Norris Hopper isn't even that good of a defender himself. C'mon, Jerry. You can't start with defensive replacements with two innings left to go when the guy has yet to do any butchering this year.
• Ross and Edwin have to start hitting sometime...right?