You Take the Good, You Take the Bad

How do you put a positive spin on 13-0 sixth-inning deficit?

Well, it counts the same as any other loss in the only statistic that matters in the end, and you're not wasting a gutsy performance from your starter to get it. You can treat the second half of the game like putting in the B squad in a spring training game, which you can't when any pitch could be a game-changer. Shake the rust off of the new guys on your bench. Let Michael Reskovich and Freddy Bynum come in and get two hits and an RBI apiece. Give Aardsma and Ohman and Novoa a couple innings and see if they can work their way out of a jam (they couldn't). Give your big three relievers a day off in a stretch where you don't have a day off for the next two weeks. Give Michael Barrett his first at-bat after jamming his fingers where a big hit isn't crucial.

And you can get out-scored 18-8 over two games and still have a chance to take two of three in the series.