This is humiliating.What else is there to say? Three days in a row, we blow a save in the 9th inning. Two times it’s Hanrahan, one time it’s Saul Rivera. But what does it matter which one? The only reliable guy in the bullpen is Beimel, and he can’t pitch everyday from the 7th inning on. First 5 losses or so, we can’t get the starting pitching together. Now we’re getting decent starts, and the bullpen falls to pieces. COMPLETELY. It’s not just that they fell to pieces – the Marlins had no fear. NONE. They were so comfortable at the plate, they might as well have set up condos in Clarendon.

This is when…you know what dammit? This is when I want someone, preferably one of our harder throwers, to drill someone in the ass. What does it matter if we have the baserunner? We’re walking them anyway. A ball in the ass, or in the ribs, or even on the hands. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t recommend we try for the hands deliberately *at all* – that could actually hurt someone (as Nomar fans know too well. ) But when the Sox had vintage Pedro…Captain Intangibles and Fonzie (when he played for the Evil Empire) both took a ball off the hands facing Pedro. It wasn’t deliberate. But they were both crowding the inside of the plate, digging in, getting comfortable. Pedro did not allow you to do that. If your hands are in the strike zone, then watch out for strikes.

Wow. “We’re gonna have a whole new bullpen tomorrow.” Manny is PISSED. Good for him. Manny Acta is not the problem. Manny is a mellow, sabermetric-minded guy, very much in the mold of Tito, who is a great manager. The starting pitching sucking, proceeding to the bullpen SUCKING, is not Manny’s fault.

This is a better team than our record shows. Our 2-3-4-6 and sometimes 5 hitters are a good core (the offense has not been the problem this year, which is such a joy after last year.) Lannan, Olsen, Cabrera, and Martis are buckling down. J-Zimnn arrives just in time. This will get better, but bloody hell was it painful this weekend.