Good thing a lot of people don’t share your pessimism, because it certainly would be depressing without the excitement many are feeling! (Especially given that the NL Central still stinks!)

I’m not sure why so many people are down on Stanton. While he’s no Trevor Hoffman, he’s also no Ryan Franklin. He’s a non-factor. Besides, he’s not the only one in the pen. I don’t think this pen is bad at all. Could it be better? Yes, but we aren’t going to have to pray for a complete game like we did last year. Actually, there were some points last year when we just knew the pen would blow it. At least this year there’s a fighting chance that they’ll keep the lead.