[marcshoe]

I don't expect 100 losses. However, this has been the most...hope-free?...season in some time. If the team loses 100 games, that would be, practically speaking, insignificant, except for whatever role it plays in getting a higher draft pick or waking up the powers that be.

I've always been highly critical of the lose-more-games-so-we-can-get-a-higher-pick crowd, but this season, there is no hope for anything significant. There will be no overall progress. The signs of better things come with Homer Bailey's appearances, the beginnings of promise for Josh Hamilton, the possibility of Joey Votto's debut, and one or two other things. It's starting to look like Dunn's not here long-term (hey, why would you want to keep a 27-year-old left-handed 40+ HR guy in a home-run park with a short right field fence?). Junior's resurgence is fun, but will only make a long-term difference for the team if Krivsky does the painful thing.

So, I don't expect 100 wins. Things will even out a bit, even if the team gets gutted. But in the long run, if it happens, it won't change the way I feel about this season.