tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post115464063743935779..comments2024-02-23T20:49:09.057-08:00Comments on obsessivegiantscompulsive: NL West End Boys: End Game 2006obsessivegiantscompulsivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-1155093095955727092006-08-08T20:11:00.000-07:002006-08-08T20:11:00.000-07:00I said my dauber was down, not down and out. I st...I said my dauber was down, not down and out. I still see the half glass full, just I was really disappointed that they showed no life when Lowry had pitched the best game of his season. I'm still aiming for the World Series.<BR/><BR/>And I still believe it's a very solid lineup up and down, I'll post more detailed thoughts on that another day (or refute myself if the data don't support it).<BR/><BR/>All I can say is that things are different in the playoffs, barring a major injury. If we can get our guys to the playoffs (assuming we make the playoffs) healthy enough, we should be very competitive with the other teams, probably Mets, Cards, and maybe Reds or even another NL West team, we're all in the hunt for the Division title and the Wild Card spot.<BR/><BR/>The Cards starting pitching is so bad that they resorted to Ponson and now Jeff Weaver. The Reds or NL West team or heck any of the teams only 5.5 games out, all have their weaknesses too.<BR/><BR/>But our ace in the hole, if things continue to work out are Schmidt, Morris, Lowry, and Cain as our starting four plus our bullpen.<BR/><BR/>If the losing streak happened 3 weeks earlier, it probably would have been followed by a long win streak to balance things off, that is the way it has been all season long, not too far up, not too far down, for all the NL West teams. Like for the Dodgers right now, they won 10 games straight and they are still not in first place, because they lost something like 13 of 14 before that. Yin and Yang.<BR/><BR/>We just need to get it going enough to get into the playoffs, then we have as good a chance there as any NL club, the Cards I mentioned, the Mets are trying out rookie starters left and right to find someone who will stick, scrounging for Orlando Hernandez as their savior, but if our rotation is humming along like it has been plus our lineup is healthy, we can get into the World Series. Pitching is the best way to get there and our rotation is shaping up pretty well now, we don't need to be the greatest during the season, we just need to be good enough to get into the playoffs and just be on a roll by then.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23735245.post-1154898660396528882006-08-06T14:11:00.000-07:002006-08-06T14:11:00.000-07:00Martin, I'm glad someone is able to look at the gl...Martin, I'm glad someone is able to look at the glass and describe it as "one-quarter full." But I see it as three-quarters empty. With a hole in the bottom. In the midst of gale-force winds. The fact that the glass is sitting on a table known as the NL West should not distract us from the water level, the hole, or the winds.<BR/><BR/>Bonds, Alou, Durham, Matheny, & Niekro have been injured and/or underperformed. Winn & Feliz have been simply Winn & Feliz, and we should expect nothing more. Only Vizquel has been what we hoped or expected. And I think we could foresee our current situation as early as mid-May.<BR/><BR/>If only the losing streak could have happened 3 weeks earlier, Sabean may have been motivated to do what needs to be done. Instead, we are "going for it" this year.<BR/><BR/>On the bright side, we've managed to keep Benitez away from the Middle East, Tyler Walker away from SF restaurants, and Shea Hillendbrand away from John Gibbons. I believe that puts us solidly in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com