During this season I've run into two problems. I've been circling the first problem all season, and after some time in the desert to think about it, I've become convinced that there are too many baseball numbers on the Internet. Of course that makes me part of the problem. I've decided the world would be a better place if we would just go with ZiPS or PECOTA, and work in current season results, with no other numbers beyond that. That's something of an oversimplification, but that gets to the heart of matter.

The second problem is more immediate. As you may have noticed, the 2006 Cardinals aren't an appealing bunch. I watched "Titanic" on the flight back from Phoenix, and right now I care more about the sorry state of the wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic than the sorry state of the of the wreck at Busch III. I'm tempted to call myself a fairweather fan, but I cared much more about the 2003 bunch than this group. I think this is a symptom of two bigger issues. First, this mockery of a pennant race drives home an ugly point, that MLB has set-up a system that doesn't adequately distinguish the great teams from the mediocre (or worse) teams. Bud Selig has earned a swift kick in the backside for making the hunt for a playoff spot unwatchable. Second, I don't see how Walt Jocketty or anyone else can restore this team to glory without a fair heaping of luck. The Cardinals don't have much of a farm system, they don't win bidding wars and the Twins aren't handing over Joe Mauer for Carmen Cali and the Yankees aren't handing over A-Rod for Juan Encarnacion. The Cardinals can buy their luck in a weak division, but there's not much art in that.

When I put the two together, I come to a natural conclusion: I'm getting off my soapbox and shutting my laptop down. Thanks to Josh for the opportunity here. I've really appreciated it. Thanks to anyone else that's shown up, even the folks who called me an idiot. Take care all.