Okay. Something's gotta happen. Hudson's REALLY slowed down. Last 3 starts he's given up 9 earned runs! He gave up 3 the first 4 starts. We also need a COF, such as Byrnes or Kearns. Unlike some people I know, I am not a 'trade Kelly Johnson' guy. Johnson will succeed, he just needs a bit more time. He's been putting the bat on the ball recently. Furcal has been better the last 17 games, batting .250 and drawing 8 walks (a .383 OBP, not bad), but he still needs to pick his bat off the bench and swing it at the plate. We need a RF defensively; Kearns would do the trick. Our OFs are 1 CF (Jones) and 3 LFers (Jordan, Johnson, Langerhans). Jordan has been horrendous; he's gotta go (.200 AVG in June, 1, count it, 1 RBI and 1, yes, 1 BB). Langerhans has picked it up in June with a .382 AVG, and a .426 OBP. 6 EB hits). Andruw's been hot recently, about our only bright spot. LaRoche is batting .333 in June, has been getting hotter recently. Giles has lost 11 points off his average and 10 off the OBP. He needs to step up and be a leader. Marte, like Kelly, needs some more time. Hampton needs to come back ASAP, Hudson needs to pick it up and Smoltz needs to get his team to score runs. If everything works out fine with the FO, we should have a lineup like this in August and be well in the race, if not ahead:
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1B: LaRoche
2B: Giles
3B: Marte
SS: Furcal
LF: Johnson/Langerhans
CF: Jones
RF: Kearns/Langerhans
SP: Smoltz
SP: Hudson
SP: Hampton
SP: Ramirez
SP: Davies
SP: Thomson
SU: Sosa
CP: Reitsma
Platoons with LaRoche at 1B: Franco.
Has surgery: Chipper
Bench:
Langerhans (starts 1/2 the games, most oft used pinch-hitter)
Jordan: stick a fork in him, he's done
Betemit: spells Giles/Marte/Furcal
Orr: spot starts at 2B/LF
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But for now,