Curveballs

Man, I don't think I have ever seen a guy throw so many consecutive curveballs. Don't get me wrong, Parisi has a darn good curve. But you gotta think that eventually they can sit on it and whack a game winning single to right field. I was just shocked that it took so long for a hitter to do it. When the game was over, I wasn't even mad or upset or frustrated. Sometimes, the opposition just beats you. It was nobody's fault. We didn't pitch poorly, play porous defense, leave runners on base or anything like that. One major league team just did enough to beat another major league team. That's all. You've got to look at the positives. Todd Wellemeyer. Might I remind you that he was released by the Kansas City Royals about a year ago. He is our 3rd best starter and that is no slap at Pineiro/Loper. Wellemeyer has simply been that good, and he seems to be getting better by the start. In fact, he may even be our #2. I find myself thinking about the future of this organization. Wellemeyer is putting himself into that conversation. Other positives of note---McLellan. He is leading the majors in holds, take it for what its worth. All I know is that it is nice to have a 4 pitch guy out of the pen who throws fairly hard. He has to be in the rotation conversation next spring. Finally, lets go back to Mike Parisi. I don't think that he will be in rotation 2009, but I have liked him a lot so far. If he can throw that many curveballs for strikes and consistently fool major league hitters with it (with the exception of a single pitch), it must be a darn good offering. I am not sure if he has a 3rd good pitch. One way or another, I would love to see him stick around as a long man. By my estimation, we are putting together a stellar pitching staff for 2009 right now.

I don't want to take away from the here and now, but this is an exciting situation. Here is an early projection for our pitching outlook:

Rotation
Chris Carpenter
Adam Wainwright
Todd Wellemeyer
Joel Pineiro
Kyle McLellan/Jaime Garcia

Bullpen
Kyle McLellan/Jaime Garcia
Mitchel Boggs
Mike Parisi
Randy Flores
Tyler Johnson
Ryan Franklin
Chris Perez

I have not even included Thompson, Reyes, Izzy, Motte, or Kinney, We still look like we're in good shape.