Here is what I would like explained to me:
How on Earth can you go through a trade deadline and behave like a team that believes its playoff chances are not completely extinguished this year, then put Jeff Locke on the mound 48 hours later? And if you do go ahead and put Jeff Locke on the mound, then why is he pitching in the fifth inning when he is slowly losing his grip on this game and you have legitimately SEVEN decent-to-good-to-great relievers that can take you through the ninth inning? And when he does start said fifth inning, even though it’s obvious he’s going to have trouble with it, then why is he not pulled until a 4-3 lead becomes a 5-4 deficit?It is unclear to me how this is even reasonably sensible behavior. If you are going to try to win, try to win. If you are going to start Jeff Locke and give him enough leeway to lose a game, then don’t trade for Ivan Nova or Antonio Bastardo, and don’t take a lesser return for Mark Melancon to ensure that your bullpen stays strong, and don’t keep no-future guys like Freese and Joyce around.
Ryan Vogelsong starts tomorrow, so, yeah.
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