So the Padres have found themselves mired in a world of suck. Happens to the best teams. I'm not gonna bother figuring out when it's happened to other teams, but trust me it does. Sometimes, things just suck. Think about when things suck for you. Are you a failure because of it? Hell no! You stick your chin up and you do something constructive! Or you just mope and wait for the suck to pass and when things are good you worry constantly about when things'll suck again.
Something constructive. Let's figure out how Bochy Black should be using his bullpen. Here's how I'd do it. Tell me how you'd do it. This is based on what we're working with right now. Hampson's up and Snacks is down. Haven't looked to see who's on the farm.
Closer: Hoffman
Setup: Heath Bell
If the starter comes out in the middle of an inning, I think Cla needs to be our holder. Strikeout type of guy who also throws a crazy number of ground balls. I know that some people would like to see him in a setup role, but I think he should be used as a setup only if a starter has managed to get to the 7th inning on his own. At that point, Cla's crazy delivery would be most effective. I don't ever want Cla to see a team for more than 25 pitches total in a series.
As far as Linebrink goes, I can't blame anybody for being hard on him, but I'll stop just short of turning his name into a dirty word. I guess I don't mind if you do, but it's not his fault he can't get guys out. I don't ever see pictures of him partying and boozing it up the night before sucking ass. Also, I have trouble blaming Bud Black for using the bullpen that way. I've said it over and over again. I think Black's getting word from above that Linebrink needs to be used as the 8th inning guy. Also, I have trouble blaming the offense because, frankly, I'm not keen on upgrading any position players except maybe Marcus Giles. Sorry, Marcus.
Go ahead and vent. A nice little losing streak gives us the opportunity and I promise not to chastise anybody for being negative.
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