I think you are right that this level of futility had to be unexpected. I was one of the biggest critics of the off season construction of this pitching staff, and I fully expected that it would fall apart at some point. However, I did not expect it to fall apart this rapidly. The injuries to Bailey has certainly accelerated this collapse. IMO, a healthy Bailey would have delayed this situation. His presence would not have prevented the collapse. His presence was not going to make Buchholz, Lester or Beckett any better. His presence wouldn't have turned Melancon into a shut down 8th inning guy. The pitching was going to fall apart. I never had any doubt about that. The only questions were when it would happen, how bad it would be and whether our offense could bludgeon us past it. The injuries to the offense have highlighted the pitching deficiencies, because with 3 elite batters they cannot consistently bludgeon the other teams. The disintegration of the pitching was definitely foreseeable. The rapidity of the disintegration was unexpected.