Would this be a .500 or close to it club if Marmol's dead ass was gone before the season? He blew a bunch of games early on that should have been wins.

The biggest thing is that they have changed the culture. These guys play hard. The dead ass days are no more under this regime.

Good pitching, defense, everyone busting their ass and timely hitting is the kind of ball I like to see. You won't dominate the all-star roster or have leaders in the offensive stat columns but you give yourself a chance to win everyday instead of being all or nothing.

Can we at least revisit the coach Dale contract at this point? You dont just travel to the coast, play SF and sweep them, even if they sucked, its a hard road trip. Just ask the Sox and the trip to the A's over the years. He has put together a good staff, someone gets some credit for Travis Wood? Traded away 2/5 of the starters, didnt have a closer to start the season and the team has played over .500 since May 5.