My post, moved from the game thread from last night.

MY bad on posting it in the thread, though some of the logic on what is allowed in thread is confusing, but it ain't my site nor my buck, soooo...

Heck, I'm glad some folks can keep a glass half full view, but I just don't see anything yet that indicates the negatives will stop.

People keep saying things like "when Ianetta/Tulo start hitting..." "when Willy starts getting on base..." etc, but I'm not seeing why that will occur. Is it something in their swing? Their fouling off of balls? I guess I don't see it, which makes me think that in the long run it's not much more than hopeful thinking. These guys the last few years are becoming interchangable. Where's our Brandon Webb, Dontrell Willis,Jimmy Rollins, for example? We have some nice players, but I'm sorry-none are great. Do we really have enough great players coming in our system to be contenders? Are these the guys who can make us contenders?

The thing that frustrates me is MLB has had 4 expansion teams since what, 1977? Two of them have won world series, and rebuilt their team from the ground up once or more. Granted, they (Flordia and Arizona obviously) have also had some horrible seasons too. But ultimately they have remained competitive in general. Hell, I'd take either franchise's overall record and world series wind versus a franchise that is holding on to a weak Wild Card round appearance over a decade ago like it's trying to avoid grim death.

When you look at Colorado and Tampa, though it's not even close. The Rockies out class Tampa, but that's kind of like saying you beat up the no armed kid- not much of a challenge. Neither has really been a success nor shown much of a tendecy to become successful.

I don't see, even just 14 games in, how this season ends up much different than the last two. We'll have some bright spots, some nice players, some hope for the future and overall not enough to be in it to win it. We're just good enough to not be the laughing stock and no where good enough to compete. We're the Post 1985 Kansas City Royals- essentially irrelevant.

I've watched nearly every game this year, and I don't see how this team is fundamentally better than last years team.

I have gotten to the point that I don't see it changing until we get a total change of ownership and management. Look at the long term losers- often the attitudes, philosophies, and metrics mean a perpetual stagnation.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to put money down on it, because so far, I don't see many reasons why I will be.

As a follow on- I didn't get to see the end of the game last night, which appears by reading this mornings papers, to have been a nice comeback.

Rox Girl has a nice point this morning on the high level of pitching we've faced this year. Good points on why the team is treading water at below .500 and extrapolating out that several of those folks won't live up to their career numbers. Probably true, but if some exceed and some dip below, you've got an average. How does that average stackup? Without that I can't really tell anything other than what those pitchers were before this year.

I'd be curious on their stats for this year  so far versus lifetime, and how those rank versus other divisions pitchers (since we've faced all division foes).

I guess what I am driving at is what if their stats for this year say that they as pitchers are weak, versus the rest of the NL? That would tell me that there might not be the relief in sight that some are saying there will be.

Of course the reverse might be true too- that we as a team have faced a torturous road thus far and that statistics say it shoudl get easier.

It'd be an interesting exerices to me.