roy oswalt is expected to return to the rotation this weekend, so this may be kyle kendrick's last start for a while.



also, the bullpen looks a little short today. they're only carrying 6 relievers as it is, and both madson and bastardo have pitched each of the last 3 days, while stutes threw 2 innings last night. i can't imagine they'll be unavailable, but i think charlie would prefer to hold them out if at all possible.


that leaves juan perez, david herndon, and brad lidge to soak up innings at the end of the game.

if i were running the team, i'd try to get as many innings as possible from kendrick, even if it would cost a run or 3 on the backend, and when he's used up, i'd put herndon in the game with the same aim.

How bad are you if your are the Rockies if KK shuts you out for 8 innings? Nice performance for Kendrick, even if I missed the 5th through 7th with a case of the shut-eye.

How bad are you if your are the Rockies if KK shuts you out for 8 innings? Nice performance for Kendrick, even if I missed the 5th through 7th with a case of the shut-eye.

kendrick became a man tonight. they needed quality innings from him, and he came through in a big, big way.

so did the bats. for all the talk of rollins being overrated, howard being overpaid, and ibanez being overaged, those 3 have really carried the offense for the last month. add in victorino having a career year and hunter pence coming to play, and it's just really fun to be a fan right now.


this is really, really impressive. this is a team that has the best record in baseball, that has an 8 game margin over everyone else in the national league, and despite that excellence, they're only just now starting to play up to their potential.