splish splash...

It's raining, it's pouring...the Bucs and Mets were postponed until August 11th. Not that we were looking forward to Pittsburgh crossing swords with Johan Santana that much anyway. Ah, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Our rotation now sets up this way: Ian Snell will pitch tomorrow night, and Tom Gorzelanny will go Wednesday afternoon. Zach Duke will start Thursday in Washington, with Phil Dumatrait, Paul Maholm and Snell slated to hurl the other three games against the Nats.

On the hot stove front: Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports on Xavier Nady and the possibility of the Bucs's offering him a long-term contract:

Nady has one more year of arbitration before he can become a free agent, making it likely that both sides would be wary of any type of deal. The Pirates aren't going to invest the type of money in Nady that he could likely garner in the free agent market, especially if he has a breakout year in 2008 to go along with a solid 2007 (.278, 20 HRs, 72 RBIs.)

On the other side of the coin, with Scott Boras as his agent, Nady will almost certainly want to test the free agent waters. So he's a strong candidate to be moved this season, while his value is up and he still has a year to go before free agency.

MLB Trade Rumors reports that David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News quotes Phillies GM Pat Gillick as saying he's still looking for lefthanded relief help. Recently signed lefty Steve Kline, now in AAA, is in the mix to fill the role, but isn't a lock.

It speculates that John Grabow would be a nice addition to the Philly pen. Damaso Marte is also probably available, along with a half dozen other possibilities. Then again, they could just pick up a lower-cost guy like Ray King or Mike Stanton.

The Pirates are beginning to become a little concerned with Chris Duffy's slow recovery. Nate McLouth has grabbed the CF bull by the horns, and with Andrew McCutcheon on the horizon, Duffy is pretty well blocked in the Buc's near future.

The Pirates would like to trot him out and see if they can get something for the oft injured 28 year old CF'er. But they can't move him until he hits the field and is showcased to the rest of the league as a healthy and productive player again. It's been nearly a year since he's played a game.

On the MLB front: The Red Sox released ex-Bucco reliever RHP Dan Kolb, 33 years old, from his contract with Triple-A Pawtucket.

There is no definite guesstimate for 34 year old RHP Kris Benson's recovery from the strained groin he suffered Saturday in an extended spring-training game. He's listed as day-to-day.

Benson can opt out of his Philly contract May 15 if he pitches at least 10 minor league innings or June 1 if he doesn't. His worrisome shoulder has been fine.

Anna is reported to be healthy and rarin' to go.

After showing some optimism for a return this week, outfielder Moises Alou's timetable could change after a C.T. scan taken Friday in Florida on his left ankle revealed what GM Omar Minaya called the "potential for a slight fracture." He'll have a MRI taken today.