I just got back from Montreal, but will need some time to catch up on other things before I can get back to the bulk of today's blogging. Still, to get things started, here are a couple of links:
Dave Krieger echoes the sentiments of many of us here in his take on yesterday's loss. It was bound to happen sometime, the real question is what comes tonight and this weekend. Do we bounce back, or do we wilt?
His take on Finley is also surprisingly similar to mine. I don't mind having Fins around as a coach/player as long as his PT is limited to no more than a handful of AB's a week, he was a solid performer in his time and probably has a lot of wisdom he can impart on the kids, but to use him as a fill-in starter over Spilborghs, even if it's against a lefty vulnerable pitcher such as Wellemeyer, isn't warranted. If Hurdle can't figure that out.., well, actually I'd rather just axe Hurdle if he can't figure that out, but somebody has to be taken away from the damage that could be caused on that lineup card.
According to Baseball Prospectus, outside of the H-bomb, Kaz-Mat and Tulo, nobody on the team has an offensive VORP higher than tonight's starter Aaron Cook. Let me just say that this shouldn't be a proud accomplishment for anybody other than Cookie. Ryan Spilborghs hasn't had enough bats to prove himself yet, but the rest of the team needs to start producing a bit more. Taveras is on the right track, if he can ever stick in the lineup long enough to make a go of things he might be okay, but we'll need quite a bit more from our catcher or third base slots to make a solid play for games when our starters aren't on like last night.