12 games

The Ms are 12 games above .500.

I just wanted to write that down and click PUBLISH.

They've won eight in a row. (PUBLISH again.)

They haven't played this well since 2003 (when they were a much better team, at least on paper). And strangely enough, it's the bench and bullpen that seem to be driving this surge ahead. We have six players batting over .290, and half of them are 2nd-stringers (and unfortunately, two of them are catchers). Can we sit Sexson and let him spell Broussard a couple times a week, instead of the other way around? And I wonder if Burke can play left field?

And then there's Weaver, who has pitched, no kidding, three great games in a row. (I half expect to get an error message when I click PUBLISH on that one.)

And J.J. The best closer in baseball this year, handily.

It's all very exciting, very heartening, and it also seems a little tenuous. But I'm glad it's happening now, right in the meat of the season as we appraoch the All-Star Break (and the trade deadline). It's great time to be gaining momentum and emerging as a contender.

I don't know how Hargrove's bewilderingly sudden exit will affect their momentum, but I have a hunch that McLaren is the best set of hands for this team to fall into. He's a warm guy, has been with the team a long time, and he's just a little bit Lou.

This is fun. Winning is fun.

PUBLISH that.