Anyone (us included) who was looking forward to seeing the human waterbug that is Andy McDonald back in the Blues' lineup this week may have to suffer some more disappointment.

No worries, we're Blues fans, we drink disappointment like it's an elixir.

McDonald himself admitted to Jeremy Rutherford of the Post-Dispatch that the ankle wasn't feeling 100% as he tried it out in practices recently and team president John Davidson seemed to indicate that it might not be until after the All-Star break before McDonald is back.

"If they tell me (Jan.) 18 or whatever, then we'll look at that. But my feeling would be the first game after the All-Star break. I don't want a long-term injury with him. This kid is a valuable player. We can't mess with him."

You know, for our money, no spoken phrase tells us that someone is frustrated like the words, "or whatever."

We read you, JD. Loud and clear. We'll go ahead and pretend like having Brad Winchester on the power play is just fine for now. Or whatever.