As our rotation sizzles, and others around the league fizzle, it should in theory mean that we can clear up the logjam that's brewing when Brian Lawrence is eligible to come off the DL without a waiver drop. Theories like this always seem to look much better on paper than they work out in real life, though. Four out of five teams in the AL East have starter ERA's over 5.5 after one time through, you'd think one of them would like a Josh Fogg or Brian Lawrence.
Don't expect any relief for our offense today, as we go aginst Jason Schmidt of the Dodgers. This is another matchup we've been traditionally bullied in, as Tracy Ringolsby points out numberwise in his notes column. Ultimately by the middle of this season our bats have to turn the tables on these top pitchers in the division if we're to have a chance of competing.
As Jim at the AZ Snake Pit points out, Livan Hernandez had yet another effective outing, this time against a team that the Sky Sox would beat handily. Unfortunately it still counts on the VORPometer, and Hernandez is up to 6.0 for the young season. Given that I doubt Livan will maintain that .186 BABIP when he faces real competition, and that his K's seem down from last year already, I'm still feeling confident here. Tomorrow's start with Rodrigo will tell me more, though.
Update [2007-4-9 12:35:43 by Rox Girl]:
I missed this tidbit from Ken Rosenthal earlier:
Click on the link and read the note just above that regarding the Padres for comparison. This is why I feel we have a good chance of passing them ultimately.