Buente, Tankersley, and Lamb Up; Peterson & Badenhop Down

Some shakeup action by the big club, a night after the bullpen blew a nice Nate Robertson start against Atlanta. Badenhop was the prime culprit in the meltdown -- the sinker hasn't been sinking -- and he's coming back to New Orleans to work on it. It's disappointing for him to have regressed like this after being a good piece of Florida's pen last year. His ERA was over 10 in May.

It'll be good to have Peterson back; he wasn't seeing much action in Florida and was 1 for 16, usually pinch hitting. Give the guy a break. Pinch hitting is hard.

Mr.Z is pleased for both Buente and Lamb. Buente's 2.70 ERA this year has earned him a shot in the show, where he's got a shot at solidifying himself as a legitimate big league bullpen arm. Lamb was born to pinch hit and gets another crack at being Florida's #1 lefty bat off the bench; the Lenny Websters, Ross Gloads, and Mike Lambs of the baseball world (old guys) tend to make for better pinch hitters than the Bryan Petersons or Emilio Bonifacios (young guys).

Tankersley certainly hasn't been overwhelming in New Orleans, but he's held lefties to a .143 BAA, Fredi Gonzalez loves a LOOGY, Florida just put Reynel Pinto on the DL, and Dan Meyer stinks. If you, reader, are left handed, younger than 40, and certain astrological phenomena align, you too might have a career in baseball.