You know, yesterday, Don Mattingly’s injury-fueled bizarre lineup entertained me greatly; predictably, they scored one run and lost quietly. Today’s lineup, in part because it’s a day game on the road after a night game at home, is even weirder. Matt Treanor! Adam Kennedy! Elian Herrera! Tony Gwynn, leading off because he’s kinda fast even though he can’t get on base! I get that you have to sit A.J. Ellis sometime, of course, and at least Jerry Sands is in at first base in place of James Loney. But man, I still can’t believe this is where we are on May 16. Take a look at that lineup and realize the simple fact that Andre Ethier – mercifully back in right field – is the only Opening Day starter on the field. As pal Jay Jaffe noted, the third best career OPS in this crew belongs to Sands, at a meager .722.

Fortunately, I suppose, the San Diego team we saw earlier this year is about on the same level as the Albuquerque squad we’re seeing today, though I’ll say this – at some point, Chris Capuano is going to regress. Let’s hope it’s not today.