I don't know how this little tidbit got past me.
Apparently, Willis is sticking in the rotation and Bonderman is heading to the pen. Hmmm... I don't know exactly what to say here, as I don't know what the right managerial move would have been. Bonderman got shelled in his season debut, but Willis has been bad in his last few starts, making his one good start look very much like an outlier. I'm talking real bad, for clarification--a 2.00 WHIP in your last start will do that. I will say that Bondo doesn't look ready either. His velocity is gone and he still can't throw a change up, I'm not even sure that the bullpen is the right choice for him, given his historical penchant for having terrible 1st innings. I don't know if there is data to back me up on that, but ask anyone--it is as good as fact. The article mentions a possible trip to the minors, but apparently such talk has not been broached in the clubhouse.
Sigh. Such is the life of a team that appears one piece short of the puzzle. Both Bonderman and Willis look like borderline #5 guys right now, which just isn't going to cut it. I'll be interested to see how this all plays out in the next few weeks, although Willis does have the advantage of being a lefty in a rotation of all right-handers. Certainly, I wish them both the best and would like to see them return to their former selves.
Also, I'm going to throw it out there because it went through my head when it first happened, even though the chances of it happening are .00001%, but for a team that needs a lefty, how about taking a flier on Tom Glavine down the stretch for a championship run if it comes down to it? Just a thought.
