Hell of a way for a 50 game errorless streak to end. And a disappointing performance from the bullpen, which has been great all season.
But it is worth noting that Joaquin Benoit has surpassed his previous highest single-season appearance total by 10 games, and C.J. Wilson is 19 above his previous high. I think you are seeing the effects of Ron Washington having to ride the bullpen hard all year. Hopefully, in 2008, the starters will be able to do a better job carrying their share of the load.
What shouldn't be overlooked, though, is that Edinson Volquez was outstanding again last night. Having been burned by the 2005 Kam Loe finish and the 2006 Robinson Tejeda finish, I'm not going to get too fired up just yet, but I am starting to think that (barring injury), the 2008 rotation is probably pretty close to being written in ink right now.
Evan Grant goes through the fallout from the Padilla plunking incident. Padilla apologized to the team, and has been slotted to start on Wednesday (likely his final start of the season, given the likely suspension that will be coming down), with Luis Mendoza taking what would have been Padilla's spot on Friday.
Richard Durrett asks what should be done with Padilla, and hits on one of my pet peeves:
Last year wasn't a career year for Padilla. He had a better ERA, ERA+, and WHIP in 2002 and 2003 than in 2006, and had more innings in those two years, as well. I just don't understand why people keep claiming that 2006 was a career year for him...