Look at first post and the one after.

[The best teams get built not only to be good overall but to match up against the top clubs in the sport. That is the whole philosophy used by my all-time favorite manager, Tony LaRussa.]

Team philosophy, for our team, needs to be balanced by baseball strategies. When to pinch hit, pinch run, double squeeze. And BoMel has a load of prospects ripping it up down inthe minors. Lets just call them up. I mean, they can't do worse than what we are doing now.

[BoMel is pretty good]

Bo(nehead) Melvin, is hard. He is average. Good at some things, bad at some. He needs to sit down, chat with someone who has manager experiences and learn when to do necessary things.

[but if LaRussa/Duncan ran the D-Backs we'd be 10 games up on the Dodgers by now.]

yes, and no. LaRussa gives confidence to his team, but Melvin can't do it because his emotions are shown unlike LaRussa. I mean, does LaRussa look pissed if his team loses? or when his team wins? You can't tell. The team is concern about their own asses so far. Instead of making the team happy. Look at the way they play. No confidence whatsoever.

And LaRussa would not have a fit about the pitchers because he would simply say "hit the showers, you still have to support the team." after the first inning.

• Bunting is over-rated. There are almost no occasions where it is justified. If you have anything like a half-decent hitter up, you're better off with a man on first and no outs, than a man on second and one out. There are exceptions, depending on the circumstances, but they're few and far between.

• Speed. I believe the phrase is "meh". :-) All the speed in the world won't help if we don't get on base. See Marland Williams for details. Decent speed will help stay out of double plays, and it can help un-nerve certain pitchers, but if you're going to steal bases, you'd better be very good to make it worthwhile, because getting caught or picked off is a total momentum-killer.

• Oddly, as Counsell has waned, Hudson has waxed:
  Mar/Apr - Counsell .324, Hudson .237
  May - Counsell .296, Hudson .233
  June - Counsell .200, Hudson .325
  All told, they're about what I expected: a little less power from both, but otherwise, there or thereabouts.

• "If BoMel wants to start Gonzo, have him start at RF." Worst. Idea. Ever. Hitters would be able to walk from first to third on any ball hit to right field; at least with Green there, we have a vague chance of stopping the more sluggish ones. You need a decent arm to play the position, the last thing Gonzo has. Do agree Gonzo is not a cleanup hitter any more, and BoMel does seem to have realised that over the Mets series. But at an OBP of .350, he's still getting on base more often than Counsell, Hudson, Estrada and Tracy.