Another fallen soldier

Sweet Jumpin' Jeebus on a Pogo Stick!

In addition to the multitudes who had already bailed early on the season (Glaus, Wells, likely Overbay, Thomas) and those who were never healthy (Ryan, Romero, Chacin), we now have word that Shaun Marcum is toast for the final week of the season (knee surgery), and that A.J. Burnett had to be scratched for today's 1:05 matchup with the Yanks for personal reasons.

We probably shouldn't really care at this point in the season, given that the playoffs are a faint memory tucked far back in our soul somewhere with all of our other hopes and dreams that have been crushed. But we'd still really like to see this team on the plus side of .500, and doing that with a glorified Syracuse Chiefs roster is going to be a bit of a challenge.

UPDATE, 12:55 - Frank Thomas is in the lineup, though possibly not at his usual full speed lightning-quick first-to-third pace. Also, Curtis Thigpen gets another start at first. We kinda wanted to see John-Ford Griffin get some time at either first of the outfield, if only to get a last look before he scampers off to be stuck at AAA in someone else's system.