Hot Coffey! (4-8)

Dear Ken Macha,

You hanging in there, Ken?

After another tough week filled with frustrating losses, it’s like you just can’t catch a break.  While some fans are already wondering who we can jettison mid-season in order to add another starting pitcher, I think it’s a little hasty to think about those questions just yet. Perhaps our most vocal of fans are a little too accustomed to the “every game counts” mentality of the football season or maybe they just want to give Tom Haudricort an aneurysm. Either way, it’s about time we focused on some of the better moments and performances of this short season. Maybe it’ll cheer you up a bit.

Let’s start with the offense.  Mike Cameron is earning love from Miller Park Drunk for being the equivalent of chairs at a tailgate party.  Does that make  Craig Counsell the ever-helpful beer-fetching child?  Corey Hart is starting strong, too, sporting a robust .385 OBP.  He’ll look even more brooding  on the basepaths now that he dyed his hair black.    Ok, maybe that’s about all the good news on the offensive side.  Everyone else is doing just enough to keep the fans at bay for now.  The pitching is where you should find some solace in the poor start.

Our starting pitching has been characterized as erratic, but every starting pitcher has had a quality start this week. Even Jeff Suppan had a quality start on Sunday; maybe that talking-to you gave him did some good.   This hasn’t necessarily translated into success for you yet, but it’s a good sign that soon you won’t have to answer questions about your starting pitching woes from everyone with an opinion about your starting pitching woes!

The bullpen, Ken, is where you can find the best news so far.   Five words: Mike DiFelice and Todd Coffey.  This dynamic duo is keeping you in games long enough for your defense to make game-losing errors or for your closer to blow saves — sometimes both!   Throw in R.J. Swindle — what a great name for southpaw strikeout artist — and maybe you’ll be able to put your middle-relief on auto-pilot once Trevor Hoffman returns.

Coffey, with his barrel-chest and ginger beard, single-handedly saved the day on Sunday, pitching out of a bases-load jam for you and then going another two innings for his first save since 2006.   Even more impressive is that he hasn’t given up a run in 17 innings dating back to last year.    This guy is hungry, Ken, and not just for the tasty desserts in the Metavante Club.   Keep him fed with innings, save opportunities and  Dippin’ Dots.

There’s a lot going for you, Ken.  Your team hasn’t been blown out 22-4 and you’re only 3.5 games out of first place. Plus, you get to face a struggling Phillies squad for a three game tilt starting Tuesday.  Tune out the naysayers, feed the Todd and let’s get some revenge on the Phillies!

Best Regards,

Rob Vosters