we've been scoring runs just fine over the last few weeks. it hasn't mattered. the bullpen is absoutely killing us right now. i don't agree with the notion this team needs a major shakeup in the lineup. 2B - Loretta CF - Pence 1B - Berkman LF - Lee 3B - Lamb RF - Scott SS - Everett C - Ausums with reasonable pitching, that lineup is just fine, assuming people play to expectation. we need to make a decision with jennings. he's trade bait, potentially. but i'd be looking for starters and bullpen help. sampson has been a pleasant surprise, but we either need to get jennings on board or move on and find someone else to fill that role.
Down 11 games with three v Brewers. I have to believe it will take a MINIMUM of 2 of 3 (if not a sweep) to delay being a SELLER. If the Good Guys flame it's the end of the game.
I listen about selling Lee but Oswalt is a bargain and Berkman is just having a off start to the season.
that line-up, to me, is every bit as question mark-riddled as this year's line-up coming out of spring training. it's old, too - just a single everyday player under 30; the rate of diminishing returns goes up tremendously. i think every single team in baseball could use loretta/lamb type guys, but i'd rather they anchor my bench. imo, handing lamb and/or loretta a starting position next year is the same as placing a band-aid over a gaping wound.
no i was just adding those guys to hunter pence on the list of people we need to hang onto. i love roy oswalt, i wouldn't trade him for any player in the league.
If you sell the parts of this team that are marketable, all you will have left is scrubs and whatever prospects our big guns get you. I promise that '08 and '09 will make '07 look like '05. We will become the NL answer to the Kansas City Royals.
We need one starter as is. If we lose Jennings, we will need two. Backe coming back will help, but that just gets Woody out of the rotation. We need to get Wandy out of there as well. Wandy in the bullpen would be a plus. We also NEED a young catcher who can hit. We have nobody on the farm to fill that role. Ausmus, as bad as he can be at the plate, is the best we have and he is nearing the end of his career. This could be a disaster if it goes unaddressed.
Mid-season is like you're nearing closing time at the bar. There are parts which could go elsewhere at inflated prices as teams believe they could make a play off run. I want to be a seller - not a dumper. I want the team to prosper, not go in the dumper. Sell smart - so there's hope for next season!
