Does this mean that the logical strategy for next year is to beef up the lineup by finding more productive bats at the CF and catcher position and then making a strong move to have a formidable bullpen?  When all is said and done, that might be enough to keep them in contention until the break and then they could risk ...

 Brouhard, Tell me, except for Gallardo against anybody else, what match up vs. the Cards or Cubs do you like?   JK

 Bender, Well, the reason I would put Parra and Looper in the same general category is that both of them have the tendency to go off the reservation about once every three starts. And while it seems cool to make the observation that we suffered the Weeks loss and the Bush loss and are still "in it" there are real problems with ...

Igniter,   Hoping that Manny Parra would step up was about as optimistic as thinking JDLR was going to step up 5 years ago.  Good solid starters might go through rough patches, but Parra has never showed that he can be a consistent winner. The job of the GM is to construct a team where everything does NOT have to go right for you to ...

 We should make a last minute move for Halladay.  DM has just pretty much ensured through inaction that we will not be able to make a serious run at a league championship or WS.  Philly, LA, the Cards, the Cubs, the Giants all got way better and he has the guts to put CV and Burns out there over the next 5 days??? No way this team ...

 While I appreciate all the detailed and informative posts on this topic, it comes down to simple math for me: a) We cannot even hope to contend for anything this year, even if by miracle they pull it together and make the playoffs, they don't surpass what they did last year. + b) Washbourn wants to play here and this is the last year ...

 cpk: Why would you blame Melvin? After all, it's not like he's responsible for Gagne, Suppan, Gerut, Rieske.... I lose respect for Mr. A every day he keeps this bum on. Only in management/Congress can you screw up this much and still have a job. DM is the Billy Hall of GMs...

 Alf, 1) Yes, for the most part, Yost had more talent last year especially. But if you compare Gallardo to Sheets, it is hard to say that you would take Ben in a landslide by any means. 2) I'm not sure that Macha refuses to play small ball.... he might if he had more consistent hitters. How do you play small ball when so many guys in ...

 Seattle, As nuts as that sounds, it is the logical thing to do if you take a reality check and conclude that this team cannot make it past last year's achievement any time soon unless it undergoes major reconstruction. And I'm not that far from that conclusion right now. But, you add an ace to this team and some dormant bats come ...

 All I know is that if both the Cubs and the Cards make moves and we do not, we are in real trouble in those series. The Cards already look like they are just plain better than us, especially against other teams. For some reason, we always play them pretty tough. But what scares me is that if somehow Halladay ends up in Chicago or St. Louis, ...