It was the same story for the St. Louis Cardinals tonight, but unfortunately the offense couldn't bail them out of this one. They almost did though, tying up the game at three in the bottom of the ninth, but reliever/closer Ryan Franklin showed the Cardinals' most gaping hole: a guy that can come in and shut out an opponent.

Colorado Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes has had a mediocre season by his standards, going 1-4 with a 3.23 ERA, but he hasn't allowed an earned run in his past six appearances, all one inning stints.

It's still puzzling to me why the Cardinals haven't taken a look at the crafty left-hander as a legit option to close games. Franklin and Co. certainly aren't doing the job, so if the 'Birds want to make the playoffs, something needs to be done to improve their chances.

Starting off with enhancing our bullpen for the late-game situations is probably an important role. But that's just me.

Either that, or we can be content to lose a plethora of close ballgames when we are in the middle of a tight division race.

Just a suggestion, Mr. Mozeliak...