inari

That'd be pretty absurd considering how lengthy his first inning was.

My tears are flowing.

It started last year, when he should've won the gold glove.

Just got back from class. Something's wrong with Pujols, I hear?

I love the new OBP-machine that is Aramis Ramirez.

Way to break out of your slump, D-Lee!

I honestly hate Lilly just as much as Marquis at this point.

Stop frigging stealing bases you stupid idiot, Lou.

Lilly has done away with all of the positive feelings I had towards him that he created last year. I'm so sick of him right now.

He's having a down year, I'm hoping he picks up his K rate. His usage has been pretty erratic too. Just recently he had 1 outing in 7 days, then was used 4 straight games, and now has had 6 days off. Maybe giving him a more "routine" role could help jumpstart him, especially since we have Lieber and Hart right now to pitch in long relief. He seems to have an established role in Lou's mind - 6th inning with a lead or getting out of jams before that. At least, that's when it seems to me he is most often used.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's nothing to worry about in terms of Sabathia's chances for success

Pretty well said. I think it's fairly obvious that don kessinger is just a joke account.

Meche is definitely an upgrade over Marquis.

Given the his recent trends, it looks like that trade might not have been so bad for us after all.

I like Wainwright a lot, but I'm not shedding any tears. We have the best record in baseball, I want a 5.5 game lead to go with it.

Maybe not as a starter, but he's still an AS at this point, don't you think? Given that Bengie Molina has a pretty good chance of being the obligatory Giants representative, there's a chance that only one of Soto and McCann will make it. I mean, it's almost certainly going to Soto because there's no way he'll lose that lead. However, I'd love to have him deserve it.

Soto's continuing to fade, and now probably doesn't deserve that All Star spot over McCann.

N/A

I didn't realize just how dramatic his newfound penchant for walking has been. In 558 PAs last year, Aramis drew 43 walks. In 243 this year, he has drawn 34. Whoa.

Is Bruce sitting?

I hope not. I've got my fingers crossed that Roger Clemens will stop in his restaurant make a steroid confession over a plate of Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. :rotfl:

I love DeRo.

Don't tell them that. DBacks fans will tell you that theirs is the toughest division. Ah yes, home of the 5-team division with 4 teams below .500. Of course I'm embellishing a bit due to the early season, but from a winning % perspective, the NL West is technically the worst division in baseball right now That's because we're destroying our division at 17-5 vs. them. Everyone else is destroying them too.

Hm. I don't really know how to react besides that. Hm.

The issue with Tim Redding is that he's an absolutely terrible pitcher. As in, worse than Jason Marquis. Based on what? There's a difference between not being a healthy pitcher (like Mark Prior) and being a bad pitcher (like Marquis). Redding is not a terrible pitcher at all. Quite the opposite, he just hasn't been healthy. In 2003, his only relatively healthy season, he had an ERA+ of 119. He pitched in pain until he was shut down in 2004. He got in a whole 30 innings in 2005 before being set back and shut down again. He didn't pitch in 2006. Since coming back in the second half of '07, he's put together 27 straight starts with a combined ERA+ of around 115. My main concern with him is he's averaging just under 6 innings pitched an outing, but that should be expected given how little he pitched from the break in '04 to the break in '07. If you think Redding sucks, then you must think Prior sucks given his 2006 performance. You can't judge a pitcher as good or bad based on injury plagued seasons. If you want to assume that the only full season he's had is the only one that's actually indicative of his abilities, more power to you. Everything that he's done in his professional baseball career at any level suggest that he's pretty bad. I hope Jim Hendry won't use your line of thinking. His BABIP is also pretty low (.246).