Before we throw Ron Villone under the bus, we should really appreciate what Joel Pineiro did last night. 7 innings, 4 K's, 1 earned run, no BB's, and an overall excellent outing that gave our team a chance to win despite practically no offensive output. You must also give credit to Kyle Davies, who has been extremely solid with the Royals after some shaky outings last year. FanGraphs shows that the game was dead-even at the time of the home run, and a swing of momentum either way would have changed the outcome of the game. Unfortunately, my boy Mike Aviles decided to showcase his home run ability last night for us, furthering my opinion that this guy would be a really solid pick-up in July. It's up to the Royals in determining if he is part of their future or not...

I'm hesitant to say it was a successful outing for Jason Isringhausen last night, but he did come through in the end and that merits some applause. I'm still looking for that killer curveball to make it's way back into Izzy's repertoire. He used it once last night, hitting Olivo in the back in what was really a poorly executed pitch. Without that curveball, he throws fastballs and cutters, and, without a stronger velocity on those pitches, he's going to struggle.

The obsession with lefty-righty match-ups needs to stop. It's been written that managers do not use their best relievers nearly enough, and that was the case last night. Both Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez should have been valid options given the off day on Monday. Ron Villone is a situational pitcher, someone who can come in and get LEFTIES out. What's that, Tony? You're not listening? OK, nevermind.

Hot Stove Alert!

MLBTR reports that both the Rockies and Padres have decreed that they shall not beith sellers at thy forthcoming deadline of trades. That could meaneth Brian Fuentes (the popular name on VEB today), Matt Holliday, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf might all be off the market. Take it for what it's worth. Our lefthanded relief help might need to come from somewhere else.