It's official: Ben Hendrickson is starting tonight's game. Ned has decided to push Dave Bush back a couple of days to keep Doug Davis and Chris Capuano on schedule, which means Bush won't pitch again until the 11th. (I'm not a fan of this move: maybe Ned forgot that Bush is one heck of a pitcher.)
This got me thinking: with some off-days in May, how worried should we be about having a giant question mark in the back of the rotation? Assuming that the plan stays the same--keeping Ben Sheets, Capuano, and Davis pitching every fifth day and moving Bush around as necessary--Hendrickson (or whomever else) will start exactly three times between now and May 30th. (Including tonight.)
If you're keeping score at home, those dates will be May 13th (against the Mets at home) and May 20th (against the Twins at home). Given that the Brewers fifth starter will pitch on the 6th, 13th, 20th, and 30th of this month, it's understandable that the brain trust didn't call upon Dana Eveland. The 30th is possible as a date for Tomo Ohka to return, though that relies on somewhat foolish optimism. Also optimistic but less foolish: Rick Helling could return by then as well.
And hey, while we're on the subject of optimism, maybe Hendrickson will pitch so well that we'll forget we ever worried about all this.