If it wasn't clear before last night, it must be today: expect to see changes to the rotation. Last night's "fifth-inning fiasco" may have been the tipping point for deciding Morales' rotation status. And Wells didn't help his cause to move into the rotation after his performance last night.
Morales isn't the only one in trouble, as Ubaldo Jimenez and Mark Redman are also walking a fine line. The article speculates that if both Jimenez and Redman continue to struggle, expect Jimenez to move to the bullpen and Redman to be cut loose. If both moves happen and Franklin Morales is demoted, who does that leave as possible rotation candidates? Well, Matt Morris doesn't appear to be an option, but Josh Towers and Greg Reynolds may be promoted. However, O'Dowd doesn't sound too enthusiastic about promoting Reynolds now:
"Towers has been good, and Reynolds had a good start last time out. We would like to give Reynolds more time down there, though," said O'Dowd of the prized prospect.
Maybe a few more good starts by Reynolds and O'Dowd will be a bit more confident in him.
But as we all know, it hasn't been just the pitching. O'Dowd also had this to say:
"Frankly we deserve to be (10-16)," said O'Dowd, who is mulling over a couple of minor trades to improve the club. "It's a lack of execution. Our starting pitchers, overall, haven't performed. We haven't gotten big hits. We haven't run the bases well. There is no rhythm to our games, offensively or defensively."
Well, we have Cook on the mound tonight. What does that mean? Good pitching, no hitting. How about changing the latter tonight, guys?