About stuff like this. Apparently, one good game makes you worthy of a long-term deal, even if you're 29, are blocking a prospect, and haven't had a solidly above-average season in your whole life.

One more thought before I head off to class: In 2002, John Smoltz was the Braves' closer. He allowed eight earned runs on April 6, then allowed just 22 more the whole year over the course of 80 innings. It still took him until the middle of June to permanently get his ERA below 5. How must Damaso Marte be feeling right now? Not only did he cost the Bucs a chance to win last night and narrowly avoid completely blowing the game before that, but he hasn't pitched more than 59 innings since 2004. His final line for the year is going to look pretty raunchy, almost regardless of how he pitches the rest of the year.