In sports sometimes the rookies can surprise even the most hardened professional players.

A few weeks ago, Vidalia native Jarrett Hoffpauir amazed St. Louis Cardinals fans by knocking in the go-ahead run in his Major League debut.

Three of the City of Natchez’s “rookies” have equally impressed us, though it took a little bit longer before they made contact with the ball.

Rookie aldermen Dan Dillard, Ernest “Tony” Fields and Mark Fortenbery have shown great wisdom and common sense during the recent city budget woes. Collectively, the three men have been the voice of reason during budget discussions.

And Tuesday, the three plowed ahead with beginning to get the city’s finances righted again despite cries of “what’s the hurry?” by a few of their more experienced fellow office-holders.

The three fiscal musketeers are leading the crusade to ask the tough questions about the city’s finances and — finally — we’re beginning to see glimmers of hope that they’ll get the city back on track.

Cutting their own salaries by 10 percent was an important political move, but it’s going to require much, much more to get the City of Natchez back on solid fiscal ground for years to come.

Changing health care benefits for city employees was also likely a necessity.

The mayor points to a plan that will slowly fix the habit of borrowing money over time, but we’re of the belief that the best solution is an abrupt change in spending. Fix it now, not tomorrow.

Natchez needs a financial home run, not just a base hit, so swing for the fences rather than just trying to bunt our way around the bases.