Rotblatt wrote: How can you possibly say that, Elster? Despite Willie's gross incompetance, we're STILL only 3.5 games out of the wild card slot. Don't you think that giving Seo 7 or 8 of Ishii's starts would have netted us a game or two? Or that using Heilman in close games instead of Aybar or DeJean would have gotten us a game or two? And how about replacing Cairo with a kid with some range? I'm not so sure how much altering the lineup would have helped in terms of winning more games, but it sure wouldn't have hurt. Not really. The problem with this team is not all of that as much as the fact that we can't hit. That isn't Willie's fault. Sure, if he had made every decision perfectly we might be better off. But let's not forget that Bert and Loopy lost two leads in Milwaukee, and then there's opening day, and then there's the other games the bullpen lost Petey's leads. Not to put all the blame on the bullpen, but that's just a few examples where the players didn't perform. (I think overall the bullpen has been average to above average. There have also been plenty of instances of 1-0 losses or 2-1 losses. As frustrated as I am with Willie, I think to blame him for missing the playoffs is silly and probably just a reaction to today's mismanagement. The lineup is the problem. I really think one huge bat (*cough* Delgado *cough*) would've been what pushed us into the playoffs, not a different manager.