According to Larry Stone, Ryan Rowland-Smith has been moved to the bullpen, and Ian Snell is back in the rotation. This shouldn’t be the least bit surprising, as RRS is out of options and there was just no way they could justify giving him another start. As much as I like him, he’s just looked absolutely awful – and to be honest, I kind of like him better in relief anyway. He’s been extremely inconsistent since they put him in the rotation, and I’m just not sure he’s really suited to be a starter.

One big positive that comes from this, is that we finally have a lefty in the bullpen. Granted, it’s a lefty that’s pitched terribly all year, but a lefty nonetheless. As for what this means for the rotation…. don’t get too excited. As pitiful as Hyphen has been, there isn’t any reason to believe that Snell is going to be all that much better. He didn’t look good before they sent him to the pen, and there’s nothing that leads me to believe he’s going to look good now. Who knows? Maybe he’ll surprise us all. But if he doesn’t, hey, Erik Bedard!